12 Defending Tijaniyyah
12 Defending Tijaniyyah
Here is a DETAILED ARTICLE I wrote in DEFENSE of the Tariqah Tijaniyyah.
Please do not quote it or use it without my permission and without mentioning my
name.
That will be a major sin.
Hope everyone benefits. Ameen
Fakhruddin Owaisi al-Madani
Shaykh Jafar al-Kattanis son, another great Moroccan scholar and saint (who settled
in Madinah), Sidi Muhammad bin Jafar al-Kattani (d. 1925) described Shaykh Sidi
Ahmad al-Tijani (R.A.) in his historical masterpiece on the Awliya and Salihin of Fez named
Sulwat al-Anfas wa Tuhfat al-Akyas fiman Uqbira min al-Ulama wa al-Sulaha bi-Fas, thus:
Al-Shaykh al-Wasil, al-Qudwah al-Kamil, al-Tawd al-Shamikh, al-Arif al-Rasikh, Jabal alSunnati wa al-Din, Alam al-Muttaqin wa al-Muhtadin, al-Allamah al-Darrakah, al-Musharik alFahhamah, al-Jami bayn al-Shariah wa al-Haqiqah Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani.
The famous Mauritanian Qadiri Shaykh, Muhammad Fal bin Ahmad al-qil
compiled the names of the some of the famous Awliya from the blessed Ahl al-Bayt al-Nabawi
in a poem. I quote some lines from this beautiful Tawassul of his:
Wa Ma min al-Aqtabi Aydan Yantami
Ila Zura Bayt al-Nabiy al-Akrami
Fa-bil-Imam al-Arif al-Rabbani
Dhil-Majdi Abd-al-Qadir al-Jilani
Wa bid-Dasuqi al-Tawil al-Bai
Wa al-Badawi wa Ahmad al-Rifai
Wa al-Shadhili Sayyidi Abil-Hasan
Dhis-Sayti fil-Afaqi wa al-Zikr al-Hasan
Wa bil-Imami Ghurrat al-Alami
Abd-al-Salam bin Mashish al-Sami
Wa Sayyidi Abd-al-Aziz al-Fasi
Yuraf bid-Dabbagh ind al-Nasi
Wa bil-Jazuli al-Azim al-Shani
Wa bish-Sharif al-Majid al-Tijani
However, one who understands the maqamat of the Awliya refrains from saying anything
disrespectful.
In the specific case of the Tijaniyyah, Mauritanian shaykh Muhammad al-Khadir alMayabi al-Shinqitis distasteful book Mushtaha al-Kharif al-Jani fi radd zalaqat al-Tijani played a
major role in instigating it.
This Khadir al-Shinqiti (also known as Ibn al-Mayabi al-Jakani) was criticized by his
own learned brothers for his fanaticism. In Aqidah, he was a anthropomorphist Wahhabi and
vehemently anti-Ashari. In Fiqh, he was a Maliki extremist. In Tariqah, he nominally
followed the way of his forefathers, the Qadiriyyah. These points alone should explain to
some extent his hatred for the Tijaniyyah.
For, Sayyidina al-Qutb al-Maktum wal Khatam al-Muhammadi al-Malum al-Ghawth alRabbani Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani (R.A.) was an Ashari in Aqidah, a broadminded Maliki who
openly disagreed with the Madhab on a few issues, and the founder of a Tariqah that
overtook the Qadiriyyah as the leading and fastest growing Sufi Order in Mauritania and
West Africa. Today, it is the largest Sufi Order there. About 30 % of all Mauritanians belong
to it.
Khadir al-Mayabi al-Shinqiti was also the Mufti of the Malikis in Madinah under
Wahhabi rule in the 1930s. His prime rival in the leadership of the Malikis in Madinah at
that time was the great Muhaddith of Madinah, the Senegalese Shaykh Alfa Hashim al-Futi, a
staunch Tijani (and nephew of the legendary Tijani warrior saint Haj Umar al-Futi Tal).
Khadir passed away in 1935. Shaykh Alfa passed way in 1930. Shaykh Alfas ijazah was
highly prized by the Ulama and he was more popular with the students of Ilm in Madinah
and Makkah than al-Khadir al-Shinqiti.
Moreover, Khadir was a Mauritanian, Shaykh Alfa was Senegalese, Khadir was a
Wahhabi in issues of Kalam, Alfa was an Ashari, Khadir claimed to be a Qadiri, Shaykh Alfa
was a Tijani. All of this contributed to friction and grudges, which came out in the form of a
book condemning the Tariqah Tijaniyyah. The Wahhabi rulers received the book well.
Shaykh Alfa was allowed to teach in the Haram but was banned from promoting his Tariqah
publicly (he nevertheless, secretly gave the Tijani Way to students in the Hijaz from West
Africa to Indonesia where it spread greatly through his muqaddams).
In any case, Khadir al-Shinqitis anti-Tijani book (Mushtaha al-Kharif al-Jani) was
refuted by many prominent Ulama of the Tijaniyyah from Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria,
Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt and Sudan.
A respectable Mauritanian Shaykh (Sidi Ibrahim Walad Hayba) told me that in
Mauritania, people believe it to be a curse to possess al-Khadirs book in their homes, and
that indeed some people who brought that book in their homes incurred great calamites.
One remembers the hadith qudsi, Whoever shows enmity to a Wali of mine, I declare war on
him.
Our late Ustadh, Muhaddith al-Hijaz al-Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki once
told us that Shaykh Nur Sayf, one of the Ulama of Makkah, who was Fani fi Mahabbat alTijani used to say al-Khadirs book is indeed Mushtaha al-Kharif al-Jani!!! (it is amazing
how the books of the detractors of the Awliya are many a times disgraced simply by their
names!)
What follows is a list of names of some of the famous Ulama who refuted
Muhammad al-Khadir al-Shinqiti (Ibn al-Mayabi) and other ignorant/jealous critics of alQutb al-Maktum Sayyidina al-Shaykh al-Tijani (R.A.) and the Order named after him:
1) The Qadi of the Maghreb, the Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqih al-Nahawi al-ArifBiLlah, Sidi al-Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij al-Ansari al-Fasi (1944). He authored many
authoritative works in explanation and defence of the Tijaniyyah, including a detailed
refutation of al-Khadirs book, called Al-Sirr al-Rabbani fi Radd Turrahat Ibn-Mayaba al-Ani
allati Tabajjaha biha fi talifihi Mushtaha al-Kharif al-Jani.
This and numerous other fantastic works of Sidi Ahmad Sukayrij on a large variety
of subjects can be downloaded from his thoroughly updated website:
www.cheikh-skiredj.com
One wishes that all great traditional scholars of the past had admirers who would put
all their works on the net like Sidi Sukayrijs students did in Morocco. Its a remarkable job
indeed to upload nearly 150 Arabic works (including may voluminous ones) on one website.
2) The Mauritanian Tijani Shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Saghir al-Tishiti al-Shinqiti
(d.1854), who authored the famous defence of the Tijaniyyah named Al-Jaysh al-Kafil biAkhdh al-Thar mimman Salla ala al-Shaykh al-Tijani Sarim al-Inkar.
3) The Shaykh al-Islam of Tunis, rector of the Zaytuna University, Sayyidina alShaykh Ibrahim al-Rayahi (d.1848), a man who was known as the Izz-al-Din bin Abd-al-Salam
of his time and revered in the courts of the Sultans of Islam from Fez to Istanbul.
He was originally a follower of the Shadhili Tariqah, but took the Tijaniyyah after
awe-inspiring meetings with Arif-BiLlah Sidi Ali Harazim, a Khalifah of the Qutb al-Maktum.
Shaykh al-Islam al-Rayahi authored Mibrad al-Sawarim wa al-Asinnah fi al-raddi ala man
akhraj al-Shaykh al-Tijani an Dairat Ahl al-Sunnah in defence of the Tijaniyyah.
He writes in one of his poems:
Wa al-Imam al-Tijani Ahmad fina
Daiyan bil-Huda li-Dar al-Salami
Kayf La wa al-Imam Ahmad Qutbun
Ma Lahu fi al-Maqami Qutbun Musami
Khatamun Khassahu al-Ilahu bi-Fadlin
wa Ataya min al-Mazaya al-Izami
4) The Sultan of West Africa, the great warrior Saint, Amir al-Muminin al-Haj Umar
al-Futi Tal (d.1864). He authored the renowned Rimah Hizb al-Rahim fi nuhur Hizb al-Rajim, a
superb defence of the knowledge of tasawwuf in general and the Tariqah Tijaniyyah in
specific. Many books have been written on the life and times of this great man, one can
check the note on him in the index of the Reliance by Shaykh Nuh Keller.
5) The famous Moroccan Faqih and advisor of the Sultan, Arif-BiLlah Sidi
Muhammad al-Qurashi al-Kansusi (d.1876) of Fez, who is also referred to as Shaykh
Akansus. The Shaykh was originally on the Shadhiliyyah-Nasiriyyah Tariqah, and then took
the Tijaniyyah after witnessing some Kushufat Rabbaniyyah from the fuqara of al-Qutb alMaktum Sidi Ahmad al-Tjiani (R.A.).
This prominent Faqihs taking of the Tijaniyyah caused great jealousy amongst many
so-called scholars, some of whom then attempted to steer him away from it by condemning
the Tariqah itself. Prominent among these was the politically motivated Ahmad al-Bakkai alKunti of Mali.
However, their ill-advised effort didnt succeed, but rather made the Shaykh author
Al-Jawab al-Musakkit fi al- Radd ala man Ankara ala al-Shaykh al-Tijani biduni Tathabbut, one of
the best defences the Tijaniyyah to date.
6) The famous Mauritanian Qadi and Faqih, Sidi Muhannad Baba Walad Ubayd
al-Daymani (d. 1865).
He authored Al-Adb al-Yamani in defence of the Way of Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani.
There is an interesting story on his taking of the Tariqah Tijaniyyah. Contemporary
Mauritanian Scholar Shaykh Sidi Abd-Allah al-Hadi al-Yaqubi narrates in his Tawali al-Suud
fi Hayat wa Manaqib Abis-Suud (p.136) that Sidi Muhannad Baba had actually seen a dream in
which he saw the caravan of Prophet (S.A.W.) stopping to rest by a certain spot near his
desert encampment.
Thereafter the Prophet (S.A.W.) asked him to prepare a tent for him to make his
prayers, which he did. Then, after Maghrib Salah, he saw the Prophet (S.A.W) making a
certain unique Zikr with his Sahabah there. Then the dream ended.
Soon after seeing this dream, the caravan of the great Mauritanian Tijani saint Sayyidi
Mawlud Fal (d.1859) stopped near his desert encampment at the same spot the caravan of
Prophet (S.A.W.) had stopped in the dream.
After a while, Sayyidi Mawlud asked Sidi Muhannad to prepare a tent for him to
make his prayers, which he did. Then, to his amazement, he saw Sayyidi Mawlud making the
same Zikr with his disciples after Maghrib Salah that he had seen the Prophet (SAW) make
in the dream.
When Sidi Muhannad asked Sayyid Mawlud Fal what Zikr he was making, the saint
told him that it was the daily Tijani Wazifah, which the Prophet (SAW) had instructed al-Qutb
al-Maktum Shaykh Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani (R.A.) and his followers to make.
This was more than enough sign for Sidi Muhannad Baba. So he immediately took
bayah in the Tijani Way, and went on to become a renowned Mauritanian Sufi Alim.
The biography of Sidi Muhannad Baba can be checked up in Al-Wasit fi Tarajim
Udaba Shinqit by Shaykh Ahmad bin al-Amin al-Shinqiti (d.1913).
7) The Imam al-Muhaddithin of Egypt, Arif-BiLlah Sidi al-Shaykh Muhammad
al-Hafiz al-Tijani (d.1978). This celebrated Egyptian Alim authored many scholarly works in
defense of the Tariqah and explaining some of the more problematic issues relating to it;
among them are, Asfa Manahil al-Safa fi Mashrab Khatam al-Awliya and Radd Akadhib alMuftarin ala Ahl al-Yaqin. There is also his famous khutbah called Radd al-Shubuhat.
8) The exiled Sultan of Morocco, Amir al-Muminin Mawlay Abd-al-Hafiz (d.1937),
who was a King and Scholar at the same time. Originally, the Sultan was an enemy of the
Tijaniyyah, but changed after coming in contact with Sidi Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij, from
whom he took the bayah.
After that, he authored the following books in the defence of the Tariqah, Zajr alMutadi Ala al-Janab al-Ahmadi, Al-Jamiah al-Irfaniyyah fi Shurut wa Jull Fadail Ahl al-Tariqah alTijaniyyah and Nahr al-Jazur (which was specifically in refutation of Khadir al-Shinqiti).
On his repentance from condemning the Tijanis and taking the Tariqah, the learned
Monarch wrote:
Wa inni wa in Kuntu al-Musi alladhi Itada
Wa Haraba JahranHa Ana al-yawma Taiu
Although I was the sinner who had attacked and fought (the Tijani Way) openly
Here I am today as an obedient one (to Shaykh al-Tijani)
9) The early 20th century Azharite Shafii Faqih, Muhammad Hasanayn alTasfawi, who was originally a Naqshbandi but took the Tijani Way after visions of a famous
Tijani saint. He authored Al-Fath al-Rabbabi fima yahtaj ilayhi al-Murid al-Tijani, in which he
answers various accusations against the Tijaniyyah.
The book has a poetic taqriz by the Grand Mufti of Sudan, Shaykh al-Tayyib
Hashim who wrote:
Amuhammad al-Tasfawi qad ahsant fi
Haza al-Kitabi wa Jita bil Burhani
Am dha Kitab al-Fathi fada Mainuhu
Bi-bayani Sirri Tariqat al-Tijani
10) The learned Senegalese Shaykh Muhammad al-Khalifah bin Abdullahi
Niasse (d.1945), the elder brother of the Shaykh al-Islam al-Haj Ibrahim Niass (R.A). He
authored a detailed refutation of Khadir al-Mayabi al-Shinqiti, which has been published
11) The Mufti of the Malikis in Madinah and Teacher in the Prophets Mosque,
Shaykh Alfa Hashim al-Futi. The Shaykh was born in Senegal, but migrated to Madinah due
to the French occupation of his land. He used to teach Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh in the Haram
of Madinah and was highly regarded by the students of knowledge in the Hijaz. Although he
was banned by the Saudi authorities from teaching Sufism or openly practicing the Tijani
Tariqah, he nevertheless wrote a poem (mandhumah) in defense of the Tijani usage of the
word Asqam in a salawat on the Prophet (SAW).
12) The mid-20th century Algerian scholar al-Faqih al-Usuli Shaykh Sidi Abu-Tahir
al-Maghribi l-Abil-Qasim. He authored the Ifham al-Khasm al-Mulidd bid-Difa an al-Shaykh
al-Mumidd, a brilliant defense of the Tijaniyyah.
He authored the book after an Algerian Salafi newspaper delightfully reported the
news of Shaykh Alfa Hashims interrogation and persecution in Madinah by the Wahhabi
Qadi there. It was a Moroccan Wahhabi, taqi-al-din al-Hilali who first alerted the Wahhabi
authorities in Madinah that Shaykh Alfa Hashim, the renowned teacher in the Haram, was
secretly practicing and promoting the Tijani Tariqah.
Subsequently, Shaykh Alfa was called in and interrogated by the Wahhabi Qadi, AbdAllah bin Hasan l-al-Shaykh. In conclusion, it was agreed that he could continue to teach in
the Haram, on the condition that he would not propagate the Tariqah. The Algerian Salafi
newspaper al-Shihab reported the whole incident, endorsing the accusations of Kufr made
against the Tijaniyyah by the Najdi Qadi. This caused a stir in Algeria, which was the
birthplace of the Tijaniyyah, and consequently Shaykh Sidi Abu-Tahir, a practicing Tijani
himself, took it upon himself to refute these accusations.
What makes his work unique is that the learned Jurist employed many hitherto
unused Usuli and Fiqhi points in defense of the Tariqah, and its beliefs and practices. He also
quoted extensively from previous scholars such as Imams, al-Ghazali, al-Shatibi, Ibn-Hajar,
Ibn-Abi-Jamrah, Ibn-al-Haj, Ibn-al-Qayyim, al-Suyuti, al-Alusi, and others. This has made it
one of the best books written in defense of the Tariqah, to date.
This original manuscript came into the possession of the Shaykh al-Islam fi Ifriqiya
Mawlana al-Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (d.1975) of Senegal (he was given the title of Shaykh alIslam fi Ifriqiya by the Ulama of the Azhar. The grand Muhaddith of Morocco Sidi Abd-alHayy al-Kattani mentioned him thus in the Ijazah he gave him, Hadrat al-Alim al-Fadil, alSufi al-Nabil al-Kamil, al-Murshid al-Jalil, al-Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse bin al-Hajj Abd-Allah alTijani, Hafizahu Allah wa Raah).
Shaykh al-Islam Niass mentions in his Al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin fi al-Tijaniyyah wa alTijaniyyin that he noticed many discrepancies between the original and published versions of
the Jawahir when he used to teach it to his students.
He also mentioned that he had compared this original copy with another
handwritten manuscript by the Khalifah of the Qutb al-Maktum in Mauritania, Arif-Billah
Sayyidina Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Alawi al-Shinqiti (RA), and found that the two
manuscripts were the same, thus confirming that the published versions had unauthorized
additions in them.
This also confirms what the Ulama of Syria contended that immoral people working
for the French rulers of North and West Africa had interpolated such things in the book to
cause division and hatred between Muslims and especially the people of the Turuq.
Any student of the history of Islamic scholarship knows that such interpolations
have been all too common in our history, especially in Sufi works. The books of men like alGhazali, al-Jilani, Ibn-Arabi, al-Sharani, Rumi have all been known to be tampered with.
In the Tijani context, Sidi Ahmad Sukayrij tried to clear some of the mess in his work
called Jinayat al-Muntasib fima nusib ila al-Shaykh al-Tijani bi al-Kadhib. He mentions that even
the sons of the Qutb al-Maktum had burnt some books containing false attributions to him.
The original copy of the Jawahir remains today with the grandson of Shaykh al-Islam
Ibrahim Niasse (RA), his eminence Mawlana Shaykh Hassan Cisse of Senegal.
Fourthly, shedding more light on how interpolation might have taken place,
Zakariya Wright (Stanford) writes in his On the Path of the Prophet: Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and the
Tariqa Muhammadiyya (p.107):
Later Tijanis have offered a further explanation of how the statement of the worth
of the Salat al-Fatih over the Quran came to be in the Jawahir al-Maani in the first place.
According to Shaykh Hasan Cisse, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (RA) had proposed that
what was meant was six thousand khatms (seal or completion). The scribe had understood
this to mean a completion of the Quran, but in reality the statement was to be understood
in the context of people of Fes at the time, who used to boast of the number of khatms of
prayer on the Prophet, Dalail Khairat, they had finished.
Finally, when Sayyidina Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (R.A) was asked, Will there be
statements falsely attributed to you, he replied by his well known answer:
Yes! Therefore, if you hear any statement attributed to me, weigh it with the scale
of Shariah, if it is in line with it, accept it, and if it contradicts it, then leave it.
This is the first Saying of Sayyidina al-Qutb al-Maktum (RA) that his student al-Sharif
al-Tayyib al-Sufyani quotes in his collection of the Shaykhs sayings called Al-Ifadah alAhmadiyyyah li-Murid al-Saadah al-Abadiyyah.
Therefore, it follows that if any statement goes against the Shariah, it cannot be
attributed to Sayyidina Shaykh (RA).
B) Some Shaykhs of the Tariqah have chosen another route here, and that is to
explain away the supposedly anti-Shariah sayings as from the Shathat (ecstatic statements) of
the Awliya, or make a Shariah compliant Tawil (explanation) of them. Many previous Ulama
had done the same with the seemingly unorthodox statements made by famous Sufis, e.g.
Sayyidina Bayazids statement: To see me once is better for him (the murid) than seeing
Allah a thousand times.
The detractors argue that Tijanis claim that the Salat al-Fatih is superior to the
Quran. This is a lie forged against Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani, may Allah be pleased with him.
For he states in the Jawahir al-Maani that the Quran is superior to all Azkar and all prayers;
this is brighter than the light of the Sun
But! If the person who recites the Quran - regardless of whether he knows the
meaning or not - continuously disobeys the commandments of Allah, then the recitation of
the Quran is not the best thing for him to do. On the contrary, the more he reads, the more
he sins and the curse on him becomes greater
Therefore, for such a sinner, praying for the Prophet (S.A.W) is much better than
reading the Quran, because whoever prays for the Prophet once, Allah blesses him ten times
and the entire universe also prays for him ten times. Thus, he obtains everlasting bliss. The
promises made by Allah here (i.e. regarding the rewards of making the Salawat), are fulfilled
whether in favor of the obedient or the disobedientThus, major sinners such as these are
doomed to damnation and affliction when reciting the Quran, and to bliss when praying for
the Prophet (S.A.W.).
(End of quote from Shaykh-al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse)
The Muhaddith of the Holy Lands al-Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki (who was
not a Tijani) also supports this viewpoint when discussing the issue of preference between
reciting the Quran and reciting the Salawat, in his Manhaj al-Salaf fi Fahm al-Nusus. In fact, in
another work of his on polemical issues, Huwa Allah, he explicitly quotes Shaykh Sidi Ahmad
Tijani to this effect, thus vindicating the great Shaykh from the allegations against him.
3) That the great reward in the recitation of the Salat al-Fatih does not mean its
superiority over the Quran, for many lesser acts of worship have been promised rewards
which seem greater than the ones promised for superior acts of worship.
For example, it is narrated that the Shaytan flees from hearing the Azan but not from
the Salah or the recital of the Quran although the latter are greater acts of worship.
Also, many Prophets displayed certain miracles which our Prophet (S.A.W.) didnt
display; however this cannot be implied to mean that they are greater than him. Also, many
Sahabah are praised in the hadith in ways Sayyidina Abu-Bakr was not, nevertheless he is still
considered greater than them on the whole. The Ulama also mention that it is afdal to recite
Tasbih and Azkar on certain occasions than reciting the Quran. Nevertheless, the Quran
remains the greatest of all speech.
The Usuli Shihab-al-Din ibn Idris states in al-Furuq the principle, Tajwiz Ikhtisas alMafdul bima laisa lil-Fadil i.e. the possibility of an inferior to possess a quality that is not
present in the superior. He mentions many examples of this from the Quran and Sunnah.
The Allamah al-Muhaddith al-Faqih al-Arif-biLlah Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Fal bin Bab
al-Alawi al-Shinqiti also states this point when discussing this issue in his poetic refutation of
Khadir and his predecessor in condemning the Tijanis, Adaybaj al-Kamlili (all 3
Mauritanians!):
Wa man Yaqul Inna al-Salata Aksaru...
Ajran min al-Qurani La Yukfaru
Idh Kasrat al-Ujuri La Tastalzimu...
al-Afdaliyyata Kama Yulamu
Mimma Hakahu al-Nawawi wa Ibn-Hajar
fi al-Fathi Aydan Nassa Dhalika Zakar
Wa Adaybaja Dha Jahilahu wa al-Khidru
Fa Jaa Minhuma Kalamun Nukru
Bihi Yulabbisu ala Dhil-Jahli
Wa Kullu man Kana Daif al-Aqli
fa-Kaffara Imam al-Awliyai
Wa al-Jahlu wa al-Hasadu Asl al-Dai
Ibn-Arabi also authored a book about this position called Anqa al-Maghrib fi Khatm
al-Awliya wa Shams al-Maghrib. He specified the Seals address as Fez and that his kunyah will
be Abul-Abbas; and this kunyah is famous for those whose names are Ahmad.
Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Kunti (the great Mauritanian Qadiri Scholar/Saint) mentioned in
his Kitab al-Taraiq that he (i.e. the Seal) would appear in the 12th century (hijri).
Now, none of these signs gathered in any of the Awliya who were attributed with
this maqam (of Khatm al-Wilayah) save Sayyidi Ahmad al-Tijani, may Allah be pleased with
him.
For, he was from the Maghreb, a Sharif Hasani, and his generosity was so famous that
it was used as an example. Furthermore, he was in the 12th century and he lived, became
known and passed way in Fez and was buried there.
His name was Ahmad, his kunyah was Abul-Abbas, and the peoples condemnation
of him is from the most manifest signs that make us firmer in our belief and conviction
about him.
Moreover, he (Mawlay Ahmad al-Tijani), may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned
and he is a truthful person that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) told him in clear terms
while he was awake and no regard is given to those who deny this (i.e. meeting the Prophet
(S.A.W.) while awake as the proofs are against them) He, the Prophet (S.A.W.) told him that
he (i.e. Mawlay Ahmad al-Tijani) is the one who holds this position (i.e. the Seal of the Saints).
We have no reason to falsify the claim of a Wali with regards to something that is
possible. Therefore, we believed in him like we believe in all the Awliya.
(End of quote from Shaykh al-Hafiz from his commentary on the Ifadah)
In conclusion, we ask Allah to grant us love for Him and love for all those who
loved Him, and Husn al-Zann in Him and His Awliya. Ameen.