Shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (ra) admonition on shukr (Gratitude)

All praises and gratitude to Allah the Magnificent and the Merciful. May Allah continue to shower His blessings on the chieftain of creation, the Noble Prophet Muhammad. The finest of Allah’s mercy also be upon the seal of sainthood, the hidden pole, Shaykh Ahmad Tijanni. This piece of admonition by our Noble Shaykh is retrieved from a tijani work (Mifathu Sahadatuh-l-Abadiyah Fih Fatalib-l-Ahamadiyya) written by shaykh Al-Haj Abubakr Al-futi Al-jalawi Al-futi (ra) translated with exegesis by AbdulRahmon Hussein Oke and its intended to reach all muslims especially those who wish to be well grounded in the course of gratitude and the Tariqat Tijanniyat’ due way of appreciating Allah’s Rahma and Majesty in any state.

  

“Mandate upon yourselves gratitude to Allah in all occurrences with or without cause. Giving thanks to Allah is a due course in following Allah the most exalted. You should have the integrity to be grateful to Allah in all ramifications, the easiest of the appreciation means is giving ‘thanks by tongue’ and nothing should hinder you from that while the greatest height in giving thanks by tongue could be reached by recitation of (surat) faatihat following the mercy of Allah. One should intend drowning deep in gratitude secretly or publicly anytime Allah gives mercy. Anyone who recites this will find his name as a great person in Allah and it (surat faatihat) could be recited from one to hundred times and the reward (for the recital) will continue to increase in Allah’s benevolence according to the recital’s station as truthfully promised. The extent of praises cannot be measured as said by the prophet (saw) and among the praises is (this supplication) ‘Allahuma laka l amdu wa laka shukru mislu maa ahata bihi ilmuka min sifaatika wa jamihi mahaamiduka alati hamidta bihi nafsaka bi kalmaatika wa lati hamidta biha kula fardi min khalqika bi ayyi lafs zikrika bihi kuli hamdu minka wa min jamihi khalqika adada maa ahaata bihi ilmika ala jamihi maa ahata bihi ilmika min nihaamika ala fahuwa hamdu jaamihu li anwaahi l mahaamidi mustagriq li shukri ala jamiji niham”

“I implore you to be mindful of things that devastate the mercy of Allah, be careful of stretching your hand into what Allah is not pleased with such as: drinking of alcohol, fornication, bribery and other vices like struggle for leadership and kingship or making omen befall Muslims by murdering them, embezzlement of their monies, enslavement of their relatives or  slightly injuring them. Whoever does these while he dwells in Allah’s fortune would surely find the fortune devastated by Allah and He’ll also be angry with such person. Anyone who indulges in such acts and does not find his fortune devastated should bear in mind that he’ll surely experience the anger of Allah and His wrath in life and hereafter”  

In accordance to the divine injunction and prophetic tradition it is mandatory on every muslim to give thanks and be grateful to Allah in any state while most of us think giving gratitude to Allah is only mandatory when Allah’s mercy descends, our Noble Shaykh Ahmad Tijanni made us know that it is incumbent to give thanks to Allah when vice-events happen to us and this is predominantly the way of the Sufi gnosticism.

From Tariqat Tijanniyat point of view, it is worthy of note from the admonition that the best way to being grateful is recitation of surat faatihat and in another Shaykh Ahmad Tijanni’s admonition he implores his disciples to recite the surat faatihat with Bismillah Rahman Raheem and this is basically while the secrets of the Tijanniya path is dominated by surat faatihat as the tariqat is rooted to the path of giving Shukr to Allah. Recitation of surat faatihat will also accord bountiful reward from Allah as it is the hub of the divine words apart from being the surat of gratitude.

From Sufi point of view, the path of shukr is the most promising way to get closer to Allah. Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Ad-dabbagy (ra) was asked about the best way to move closer to Allah and he genuely asserted that walking on the path of shukr would make one nearer compare to the path of riyada (engaging in activities that will draw one to spiritual height) and it also encompasses all other ways to attain spirituality. It could be recollected that the great Succour, Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (ra) is always enigmatically saying the statement “Alhamdulilah ala kuli ahl – gratitude to Allah in all states” Giving gratitude to Allah in state of adversity and sadness draws one closer to Allah and will increase one’s station if pronounced with sincerity. This also serve as a thin chance with high reward to worship Allah, the exalted and it is with this golden opportunity the people of Gnosticism attain illumination of vanishing into Allah in the course of shukr and by these they gain the easiest way to appraise Allah’s Majesty

Care should be taken not to fall victim as an ingrate by indulging in acts that would label one a tyrant using the fortunes given by Allah to torment others.

May Allah illuminate the eye of our heart to see, appraise and follow the truth. AMIN!

Sermon of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RTA) delivered in Sham (Non-fragmented part)

The original transcript of this sermon was retrieved from a tijani archive compiled together by shaykh Al-Haj Abubakr Al-futi Al-jalawi Al-futi (May Allah be pleased with him) and then translated by the poor servant and destitute-to-Allah, seeker of Allah’s mercy, AbdulRahmon Hussein Oke.

Shaykh speaks!

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praises are due to Allah the Most High. Blessings be upon the Prophet (may Allah’s peace be upon him). Here is a sermon to all brothers (in Islam) from the slave and destitute-to-Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad At-tijanni Al-assani (May Allah be pleased with him). May Allah’s peace and mercy be upon you! Let it be known (may Allah’s mercy be upon you). Verily, man is not created to this world except to worship Allah, bring forth the command of Allah, refraining from the forbidden, standing by the rules (of Allah), moving his face towards Allah and with this he’ll attain the divine station and prophetic ways. Allah says ‘I have not created the jinn and man except to worship me (Quran)’, Allah (swt) says again ‘Haven’t I warned you oh children of Adam not to worship Shay’tan (Quran)... Allah (swt) says again ‘verily, this your Nation is one nation and I am your Lord, you should worship me (Quran)”

“Lay emphasis on what is to be observed with respect to solat (the five daily prayers), its verdicts, rules and regulations; these are written in the book of authors. It is also important to be mindful of terms and conditions of solat, its compulsory acts, while giving attention to stage of Rukuh and Sajdat according to the prescription of the Prophet (May Allah’s peace be upon him) in his explanation (Perform rukuh until you are certified then raise your head to stand uprightly and then make sajdat until you are certified then raise your head and seat rightly and then seat again until you are certified. Repeat the whole act for the rest of the rakat - Hadith). You should then be careful while performing rakat, one stage after the other as negligence of things that invalidate solat had nullified so many people’s salat. This is evident from statement of the prophet (saw) in sound prophet relations: the prophet was said to have ordered a man who performed solat in an unaccepted way thrice, he was commanded to perform the solat the fourth time after he had been taught the right way by the prophet (saw). And hence, the prophet said “Perform solat as you see me perform it” (hadith). Verily, he (the prophet) completes the rukuh and sujud with comportion while the verdict of comportion in solat is to complete the rules and tasbih in the duo (sujud and rukuh). ‘The first of the deeds that would be looked unto by Allah is solat, if it is accepted the rest of the deeds would looked into and if not, Allah would not looked into anything (Hadith)”

“It is compulsory to complete cleanliness from dirt by perfection of stage of ablution and baths. A lot of people of this generation joke with ablution and do not complete it which invalidates their solat. Anyone whose ablution is nullified, his solat is nullified. Care should be taken while standing in solat as the station of solat in iman is comparable to the station of Ruh (spirit) in the body and if there’s spirit there’s life while absence of spirit is absence of life. After solat, I admonish you on completion of the rules and regulation guiding fast, mindfulness of its verdict, its compulsory acts and invalidators both in the evening and night. This should be followed by breaking of fast with halal food. I also draw your attention to giving alms, its systems, methods and laws guiding it are all written in the books of authors. I also draw your attention to performance of the five daily prayers in congregation only if the imam will perfect the sujud and rukuh. You should also be mindful of surat fatihat, its recitation should be perfected. Hundreds of solat without recitation of surat faatihat is incomparable with one solat with faatihat”

“Be mindful of sins, verily, its oasis is great, its darkness is enigmatic until it hinders the sinner from refraining from it unless the sinner is sincere in remorsefulness from sin. Let the wise get busy with deeds that cleans one from sins after the sound compulsory prayers, the mukafirat (sin cleansers) should be done enormously. No doubt, whosoever indulges in recitation of sin cleanser after myriad of sins, verily the repercussion of his sins would be lessened and this is better than committing sins without reciting the sin cleansers. The Almighty said ‘Verily, the act of goodness takes away the bad acts’ (quran). And the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him said ‘when you perform bad deeds, you should make good deeds follow it and this (good deeds) deletes (bad deeds) - Hadith. All sins come in two ends; the ends attributed to world and the ends attributed to the hereafter. The one attributed to the world wouldn’t be lifted except by firstly, giving out sadaqat in the name of Allah, the Almighty, in halal monetary terms (or anything that could be given out and within the scope of shariah), with this the repercussion of sins would be lifted. Secondly, the return of the sinner to the doorstep of Allah, the Mighty, by seeking forgiveness, pleading for pardon, humbleness towards Him, making enormous dua with sole aim of seeking forgiveness. All these could avert the perils attributed to sin if they are performed in rightful way. While the end attributed to hereafter could only be lifted except through the ways explained in the book of Hadith. Amongst the mukaffirat l zhunub (sin cleansers), the mighty, gracious and vibrant of them is sending salat on our master, the prophet (saw). Verily, there’s no closeness (to Allah) greater than that and one who indulges in this act would not be given any record of sin and there’s no capacitation that is sufficient in cleansing one from sins other than this (sending blessings upon the prophet). Anyone who intends doing this should hastily do so by following the rules that guides it and these include: purification of the body, cloth and place where the salat would be recited and it should be done with the sole aim of seeking Allah’s face and glorifying His Majesty. The intention should be clear, the acts should be purified and show-off should be avoided and verily, one recitation (of salat on the prophet) according to sound news is equivalent to four hundred battles (Jihad) in the course of Allah while each battle is equivalent to four hundred witnesses in the course of Allah. And more so, one bird would be created by Allah (swt) from recitation of one salat which would praise Allah with all tongues (languages) and all the rewards from the praise would be given to the reciter of the salat. And also it is written in the hadith that Allah will create one angel from recitation of salat which will seek forgiveness for the reciter (from moment of recitation till the day of Qiyamat). From one recitation again, the reward of ten good deeds would be given, ten bad deeds would be cleansed, one would be lifted in ten folds, Allah (swt) will bless the recite ten times, the angels in seven heavens will bless the reciter while each angel will say ten salat for the reciter”

“And among the cleansers of sins is salat tasbih which could be found in the book of Hadith and this is sufficient in wiping all sins from the creation of abd till his death. And also among the cleansers of sin is the recitation of the last verses of suratul Ashr, the reciter would be forgiven the sins he had earlier committed and the latest one. Also among the cleansers of sins is recitation of salat ala Nabiyy eighty times both in the night of Friday and after solat asr on Friday. Alas, the first eighty salat of Friday night would clean sins of four hundred years while the one of Friday evening would clean the sins of eighty years. Another mukaffirat zunub is recitation of ‘subhaLah wal amdu lilah wa ilaha ilalah Allahu akbar, wa la haola wala quwata ila bilah mal ha maa alima wa adada maa alima’. Furthermore the indulgence in the recitation of musabihatu-l-ashara, hizbu sayf day and night will make no sin to be recorded for its reciter. And also the recitation of Yaa man ashara jamila wa satara qobiha….. is also efficient in cleansing sins in which the reciter would be given then reward of mankind.

“I admonish you to be watchful and mindful of parts of issues that could make Allah let one die a kaafir (unbeliever) without doubt. The first of the kind is causing bad things to befall a fellow Muslims, secondly, enormous adultery/fornication without taubah, thirdly, false claim of wilayat (sainthood), fourthly, taking part in affairs of shaykh without permission. Fifth, intentional falsehood against the prophet (saw) with narration of his sayings. Sixth, criticism, backbiting, false claims against another without second thought. Verily, these are a thing that cut one from the line, causes one to die as an unbeliever even if one does the best of deeds and never seek forgiveness from these. We seek refuge from that”

“I admonish you of purification of heart from bad thought and bad envy on muslims, whosoever has the character would not excel. I also admonish you to refrain from suggesting bad things to Allah and His slaves. The prophet says ‘there are two characters in which there is nothing that could supersede it, first, good attributes to Allah and to his slaves and there are two characters in which there’s nothing worse than them, bad attributes to Allah and His slaves’. I also warn you against haram consumption of food and embezzlement of money as whosoever indulges in this duo would have all his good deeds nullified by Allah. You should also be mindful of friends in commercial activities while care should be taken to avoid buying and selling on acts that are prohibited and these (acts) could be found in the book of jurisdiction.” 

“I urge you to be mindful of the time and period you move close to Allah either carrying out good work or recitation of Qur’an or sending blessings on the prophet (saw). Whoever completes the recitation of salat on the prophet ten thousand times would be among the ones favored by Allah in hereafter. And if one is busy (or finds the counts much) should recite the salat five hundred times either once daily or once in the morning and evening. And if one is preoccupied (or finds the count much) should recite it three hundred times at the stipulated period. Whosoever does this would excel with Allah’s favour in hereafter and finds all his intentions eased, life sufferings would be lifted and finds his generations excel. This should also be accompanied with regular recitation of Qur’an and the purified statement ‘laila ila Allah’ hundred times and then ‘subhanalah wali madu lillah wa ilaha ilalah Allahu akbar wala haola wala quwata ila bilah malha maa alimawa adada maa alima wa zinata maa alima – ten times”

“I also mandate you to give out sadaqat everyday, the smallest it; four cakes, whosoever does that would be protected by Allah from perils while intention of sadaqat is to seek the face of Allah (swt). I also mandate you to refrain from mingling with people while your voice is raised in vices”

End of sermon.

May Allah give us Allah! Amin!!!

Sermon of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RTA) delivered in Sham (Part Three)

In this concluding part of the sermon, shaykh painstakingly pointed out some points that we believed are negligible but are fast in pulling one away from Allah and could make one an enemy of Allah. Therefore, it is strictly advice to be conscious of these points and apply shaykh’s advice in all our day – day activities. May Allah in His infinite guidance shields us from acts that invites His wraths. Amin!

Shaykh speaks!

“I admonish you to be watchful and mindful of parts of issues that could make Allah let one die a kaafir (unbeliever) without doubt. The first of the kind is causing bad things to befall a fellow Muslims, secondly, enormous adultery/fornication without taubah, thirdly, false claim of wilayat (sainthood), fourthly, taking part in affairs of shaykh without permission. Fifth, intentional falsehood against the prophet (saw) with narration of his sayings. Sixth, criticism, backbiting, false claims against another without second thought. Verily, these are a thing that cut one from the line, causes one to die as an unbeliever even if one does the best of deeds and never seek forgiveness from these. We seek refuge from that”

It is incumbent on every seeker of the face of Allah to refrain from these acts as it will invalidates one’s good deeds and invites the wrath of Allah (swt), we seek Allah’s guidance from that.

Shaykh speak!

“I admonish you of purification of heart from bad thought and bad envy on muslims, whosoever has the character would not excel. I also admonish you to refrain from suggesting bad things to Allah and His slaves. The prophet says ‘there are two characters in which there is nothing that could supersede it, first, good attributes to Allah and to his slaves and there are two characters in which there’s nothing worse than them, bad attributes to Allah and His slaves’. I also warn you against haram consumption of food and embezzlement of money as whosoever indulges in this duo would have all his good deeds nullified by Allah. You should also be mindful of friends in commercial activities while care should be taken to avoid buying and selling on acts that are prohibited and these (acts) could be found in the book of jurisdiction.” 

In one of prophetic narrations, it was reported that then heart is the power house of the body and once the heart is faulty every other part of he body would be faulty. Such is the same when relating with people care should be taken to avoid harboring things that could actually invalidate one’s good deeds. More so, our day to day activities should be carried out strictly according to shariah as indulging in things that are haram is of grave concern.

Shaykh speaks!

“I urge you to be mindful of the time and period you move close to Allah either carrying out good work or recitation of Qur’an or sending blessings on the prophet (saw). Whoever completes the recitation of salat on the prophet ten thousand times would be among the ones favored by Allah in hereafter. And if one is busy (or finds the counts much) should recite the salat five hundred times either once daily or once in the morning and evening. And if one is preoccupied (or finds the count much) should recite it three hundred times at the stipulated period. Whosoever does this would excel with Allah’s favour in hereafter and finds all his intentions eased, life sufferings would be lifted and finds his generations excel. This should also be accompanied with regular recitation of Qur’an and the purified statement ‘laila ila Allah’ hundred times and then ‘subhanalah wali madu lillah wa ilaha ilalah Allahu akbar wala haola wala quwata ila bilah malha maa alimawa adada maa alima wa zinata maa alima – ten times”

The above azkar in remembrance of Allah should be done at the stipulated time while the time should be strictly adhered to as the best of zikr is the that done systematically with strict adherence even if it is short and concise.

Shaykh speaks!

“I also mandate you to give out sadaqat everyday, the smallest it; four cakes, whosoever does that would be protected by Allah from perils while intention of sadaqat is to seek the face of Allah (swt). I also mandate you to refrain from mingling with people while your voice is raised in vices”  

And this finalizes the sermon of shaykh delivered to his beloved in Sham, it is expected of mureeds and mureedats to keep their voices low and desist from uttering false statements while emphasis should be laid on avoiding statements that could incur the wrath of Allah while chatting with people or giving alms to the needy. Oh beloved reader, it could be recalled I wrote in the beginning of this paper the assertion of shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (rta) attributing his sayings and actions to shariah and prophetic tradition, meaning everything said in the sermon is of relation to the divine words and prophetic sayings. So, I urge you to act well on them and take heed of the warnings. May Allah (swt) envision our ways with nur hidayat (light of guidance). Amin!

I shall conclude this sermon with the special words of wisdom admonished by shaykh to some of his special disciples and thus all of us all!

Shaykh speaks!

“Be warned! Be warned of incapacitation, sluggishness, tardiness and reluctance in executing what I have commanded, sitting in places of transgression and doubt. I admonish you of the fear of Allah secretly and publicly, follow the prophetic way in utterances and idiosyncrasies and then be pleased with Allah in time of adversity and abundance. Seek your lord in all endeavours and states. Turn away from expecting too much from people; wisely apply prophetic tradition in all facets. Stay firm in your Lord in every move and places. I implore you of patience, remembrance of Allah; move closer to Allah with guiding rules while you also desist from bad deeds while patience on bad occurrences draws one closer to peace and thanks in the end”

Pertinent to thorough and faithful studentship as a disciple of shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (May Allah be pleased with him), it is highly imperative to follow the above words of wisdom of shaykh as he’s versatile in the fear of Allah and teaching us part of the way in seeking Allah’s face as a teacher is necessary. May Allah give us Allah! Amin!!!

Sermon of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RTA) delivered in Sham (Part Two)

May Allah give us Allah! In this median part of the sermon, shaykh Ahmad Tijani (May Allah be pleased with him) in his vast ocean of knowledge and experience highlighted some salient points with respect to seeking forgiveness from Almighty Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and how to get closer to Him while attaching great importance to sending blessings upon the prophet (saw) as the key point in attaining Allah’s forgiveness and mercy.

Shaykh speaks!

“Be mindful of sins, verily, its oasis is great, its darkness is enigmatic until it hinders the sinner from refraining from it unless the sinner is sincere in remorsefulness from sin. Let the wise get busy with deeds that cleans one from sins after the sound compulsory prayers, the mukafirat (sin cleansers) should be done enormously. No doubt, whosoever indulges in recitation of sin cleanser after myriad of sins, verily the repercussion of his sins would be lessened and this is better than committing sins without reciting the sin cleansers. The Almighty said ‘Verily, the act of goodness takes away the bad acts’ (quran). And the Prophet, may peace and blessings be upon him said ‘when you perform bad deeds, you should make good deeds follow it and this (good deeds) deletes (bad deeds) - Hadith. All sins come in two ends; the ends attributed to world and the ends attributed to the hereafter. The one attributed to the world wouldn’t be lifted except by firstly, giving out sadaqat in the name of Allah, the Almighty, in halal monetary terms (or anything that could be given out and within the scope of shariah), with this the repercussion of sins would be lifted. Secondly, the return of the sinner to the doorstep of Allah, the Mighty, by seeking forgiveness, pleading for pardon, humbleness towards Him, making enormous dua with sole aim of seeking forgiveness. All these could avert the perils attributed to sin if they are performed in rightful way. While the end attributed to hereafter could only be lifted except through the ways explained in the book of Hadith. Amongst the mukaffirat l zhunub (sin cleansers), the mighty, gracious and vibrant of them is sending salat on our master, the prophet (saw). Verily, there’s no closeness (to Allah) greater than that and one who indulges in this act would not be given any record of sin and there’s no capacitation that is sufficient in cleansing one from sins other than this (sending blessings upon the prophet). Anyone who intends doing this should hastily do so by following the rules that guides it and these include: purification of the body, cloth and place where the salat would be recited and it should be done with the sole aim of seeking Allah’s face and glorifying His Majesty. The intention should be clear, the acts should be purified and show-off should be avoided and verily, one recitation (of salat on the prophet) according to sound news is equivalent to four hundred battles (Jihad) in the course of Allah while each battle is equivalent to four hundred witnesses in the course of Allah. And more so, one bird would be created by Allah (swt) from recitation of one salat which would praise Allah with all tongues (languages) and all the rewards from the praise would be given to the reciter of the salat. And also it is written in the hadith that Allah will create one angel from recitation of salat which will seek forgiveness for the reciter (from moment of recitation till the day of Qiyamat). From one recitation again, the reward of ten good deeds would be given, ten bad deeds would be cleansed, one would be lifted in ten folds, Allah (swt) will bless the recite ten times, the angels in seven heavens will bless the reciter while each angel will say ten salat for the reciter”

In this part of the great admonishment, it is obvious that recitation of salat ala Nabiyy (saw) is sufficient in cleansing one from sins and making one closer to Almighty Allah. In one advice given by shuyukh of tariqat tijaniyat they made us understand that the best of salat to be recited is salat faatih and should be recited with authority, meeting its terms and conditions, following its rules and regulations as well as its verdicts. It is worthy of note that forgiveness of Allah is the best step to get closer to Allah and attain the aforementioned prophet ways. Aside recitation of salat, shaykh further speaks on some litanies that are effective and efficient in lifting the veils of sins

Shaykh speaks!

“And among the cleansers of sins is salat tasbih which could be found in the book of Hadith and this is sufficient in wiping all sins from the creation of abd till his death. And also among the cleansers of sin is the recitation of the last verses of suratul Ashr, the reciter would be forgiven the sins he had earlier committed and the latest one. Also among the cleansers of sins is recitation of salat ala Nabiyy eighty times both in the night of Friday and after solat asr on Friday. Alas, the first eighty salat of Friday night would clean sins of four hundred years while the one of Friday evening would clean the sins of eighty years. Another mukaffirat zunub is recitation of ‘subhaLah wal amdu lilah wa ilaha ilalah Allahu akbar, wa la haola wala quwata ila bilah mal ha maa alima wa adada maa alima’. Furthermore the indulgence in the recitation of musabihatu-l-ashara, hizbu sayf day and night will make no sin to be recorded for its reciter. And also the recitation of Yaa man ashara jamila wa satara qobiha….. is also efficient in cleansing sins in which the reciter would be given then reward of mankind.

May Allah bless our shaykh for enlightening us. Most of these litanies are compiled in the book of awrad of tariqat tijanniyat while some are in the Qur’an and some in the book of Hadith. . I implore you oh beloved reader to patiently and carefully read the concluding part. May Allah’s mercy be with us. Amin!

Sermon of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RTA) delivered in Sham (Part One)

Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (rta) admonishes his disciples and beloved ones in sham. The admonishment is a glad tiding in guiding all followers, students and beloved ones of shaykh through the journey to the Lord. It could also be followed strictly by all muslims as its basis is rooted to the exegesis of the ultimate commands of Allah (swt) and His Noble prophet Muhammad (saw). Before I proceed, I wish to draw your attention oh beloved reader to this statement of shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (rta), Which says;

“When you hear something about me, weight it on the scale of shari’ah if it’s measurable (fixes on the scale), work with it, if it does not refrain from it”

Shaykh Muhammad Hafiz At-tijanni explains this by asserting that

“Anything that doesn’t corroborate with the shari’ah, he (Shaykh Ahmad Tijani) desists from it”

The above assertions simply tells us that the authority that comes from shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (rta) is within the scope of shari’ah and if this is the case I believe nothing should be of doubt about him as its referred from the prophetic sayings that if you tag the truth as lie you have committed sin and vice versa and I think it’s in the interest of one who doubts his ‘personality’ to leave issues concerning him as it is instead of chiding him in order not to fall in the trap of shortcomings..

The original transcript of this sermon was retrieved from a tijani archive compiled together by shaykh Al-Haj Abubakr Al-futi Al-jalawi Al-futi (May Allah be pleased with him) and then translated by the poor servant and destitute-to-Allah, seeker of Allah’s mercy, AbdulRahmon Hussein Oke. From here I’ll proceed to the sermon which would be in three parts. May Allah give us knowledge and understanding to comprehend the truth and be able to work within the scope of the truth.

Shaykh Speaks!

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praises are due to Allah the Most High. Blessings be upon the Prophet (may Allah’s peace be upon him). Here is a sermon to all brothers (in Islam) from the slave and destitute-to-Allah Ahmad ibn Muhammad At-tijanni Al-assani (May Allah be pleased with him). May Allah’s peace and mercy be upon you! Let it be known (may Allah’s mercy be upon you). Verily, man is not created to this world except to worship Allah, bring forth the command of Allah, refraining from the forbidden, standing by the rules (of Allah), moving his face towards Allah and with this he’ll attain the divine station and prophetic ways. Allah says ‘I have not created the jinn and man except to worship me (Quran)’, Allah (swt) says again ‘Haven’t I warned you oh children of Adam not to worship Shay’tan (Quran)... Allah (swt) says again ‘verily, this your Nation is one nation and I am your Lord, you should worship me (Quran)”

First and foremost, it is incumbent on every seeker to bear in mind that every step taken in life should be directed towards knowing Allah with the intention of seeking His majestic face. This very first part of the admonishments of Shaykh should be strictly adhered to exoterically and esoterically in order to attain the said divine station.

Shaykh speaks!

“Lay emphasis on what is to be observed with respect to solat (the five daily prayers), its verdicts, rules and regulations; these are written in the book of authors. It is also important to be mindful of terms and conditions of solat, its compulsory acts, while giving attention to stage of Rukuh and Sajdat according to the prescription of the Prophet (May Allah’s peace be upon him) in his explanation (Perform rukuh until you are certified then raise your head to stand uprightly and then make sajdat until you are certified then raise your head and seat rightly and then seat again until you are certified. Repeat the whole act for the rest of the rakat - Hadith). You should then be careful while performing rakat, one stage after the other as negligence of things that invalidate solat had nullified so many people’s salat. This is evident from statement of the prophet (saw) in sound prophet relations: the prophet was said to have ordered a man who performed solat in an unaccepted way thrice, he was commanded to perform the solat the fourth time after he had been taught the right way by the prophet (saw). And hence, the prophet said “Perform solat as you see me perform it” (hadith). Verily, he (the prophet) completes the rukuh and sujud with comportion while the verdict of comportion in solat is to complete the rules and tasbih in the duo (sujud and rukuh). ‘The first of the deeds that would be looked unto by Allah is solat, if it is accepted the rest of the deeds would looked into and if not, Allah would not looked into anything (Hadith).

The first deed to be perfected as an abd (slave) in ibadat is solat, shaykh laid emphasis on this especially the stage of rukuh and sujud as its most delicate stage that could either validate or invalidate one’s solat. It is worthy of note that patience coupled with awareness of rules guiding each stage of solat is of utmost important.

Shaykh speaks!

“It is compulsory to complete cleanliness from dirt by perfection of stage of ablution and baths. A lot of people of this generation joke with ablution and do not complete it which invalidates their solat. Anyone whose ablution is nullified, his solat is nullified. Care should be taken while standing in solat as the station of solat in iman is comparable to the station of Ruh (spirit) in the body and if there’s spirit there’s life while absence of spirit is absence of life. After solat, I admonish you on completion of the rules and regulation guiding fast, mindfulness of its verdict, its compulsory acts and invalidators both in the evening and night. This should be followed by breaking of fast with halal food. I also draw your attention to giving alms, its systems, methods and laws guiding it are all written in the books of authors. I also draw your attention to performance of the five daily prayers in congregation only if the imam will perfect the sujud and rukuh. You should also be mindful of surat fatihat, its recitation should be perfected. Hundreds of solat without recitation of surat faatihat is incomparable with one solat with faatihat”

Ablution should be carefully performed, solat in congregation is utmost importance, zakat and sadaqat and surat faatihat in solat should be carefully noted. I implore you oh beloved reader to patiently and carefully read the second part. May Allah’s mercy be with us. Amin! 

Selected azkar of some high ranking disciples of Maolana Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RTA)

The different selected azkar were ordered by Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (rta) to be recited by nine of his disciples. Thus, the list of the azkars, the selected prayers and time of prayers:

One: The knower, Seyyid  Al- Abass  A-Sharqowi

Prayer: Bismillah lazi la yaduru maha ismihi shayhun fil ardi wala fi samahi wa huwa Semihu –l- Aleem  – 400

Time: once both in the morning and evening

Two:  The knower, Seyyid Muhammad ibn Mushri

Prayer: Hizbu sayfi  – 7

Time: Between night and afternoon

Three: Sheriff Seyyid Umar As-baggi

Prayer: HasbunaLah wa nihma l wakeel  - 10,000

Time: Morning and evening

Four: The Knower, Seyyid Abu Mas’ud

Prayer: La haola wa la quwata ila biLah Al-Aliyyu Al-Azeem  -  400

            Ayyatu l  qursiyy – 100

Time: Morning and evening

Five: Seyyid Abu Jahr Ibn AbdulRahman

Prayer: Bismillah Rahman Raheem Yaa Hafiz Yaa Manih Yaa Lateef hasbunalLah wa nihma l wakeel – 400

Time: Morning and evening

Six: Seyyid Abu Samaahat

Prayer: Yaa Lateef  - 100

Time: Morning and evening

Seven: Sheriff Seyyid Abdul Waahid Abu Ghaalib

Prayer: Jaoharatu l Kamal – 100

Time: once daily

Eight: Seyyid Al –Haj Aliyyu

Prayer:  Ayyatu l kursiyy – 410

            Bismillah Rahman Raheem wa la haola wala quwata ila bilah Al- Aliyyu Al-Azeem,       hasbiyaLah     min kuli shayhin yaglib kuli shayhin wala yaqif li amriLah shayhin      wala    haola walaquwata ilabilah Al- Aliyyu Al-Azeem hasbunaLah w animal wakeel           – 7

Time: morning and evening for the first prayer and every two Thursdays for the second prayer

Nine: Seyyid AbdulRahman Al- baradei

Prayer: Hihtajabtu bi nur wajhi Lah Al-Qodim Al-Kaamil wa tahasantu bi husniLah Al-            Qowiyy A-shaamil wa ramaytu min bagy aliyi. Bismilah wa sayfihi Al-qootil. Allahuma Yaa            Ghalliban ala marihi wa yaa Qaahiman faoqa khalqihi waa yaa   Haalohan bayna -l  marhi wa qalbihi ala bayni wa bayna shaytan wa nazgihi wa bayna maa la taqota li bihi  min  ahdin min khaliqihi wa kaf al-sinatihin wa arjulihin wajhal bayni wa baynahu  zuudan min nur azamaatika wa ijaaban  min qudratika wa  jundan min sultanika  inaka   Ayyun Qaadirun. Allahuma agish ani absaara nur, wa zulmati ata  inubaali bi absaarihin  yakadu sanaa  barqahu yazhabu bi absaari yuqolibLah layla wa nahara – 21

            Hizbu Bahr - 1           

            Qasidat shaykh Al-bikri - 1 

Time: once daily

This night prayer is best suited for seeking protection and guard against spiritual enmity and foes. For the benefits of those who wish to recites this azkar, I have decided to include the qasidat of shaykh Al-bikri whule Hizbu bahri prayer could be found in the litany books of Tariqat Tijaniyyat.

Qasidat Al-Bikri

                        Maa arsala Rahman ao yursalu

                                    Min rahmati tashadu ao tansil

                        Fi malakutilah ao mulkihi

                                    Min kuli maa yahtas ao yashmal

                        Illla wa Ta’h Al-Mustafa abduhu

                                    Nabiyuhu mukhtaar Al-Mursal

                        Wasitat fiha wa aslu laha

                                    Yaalam a’za kulu man ya’qil

                        Waluz bihi fi kuli maa tarji

                                    Inahu Al-ma’manu wa l ma’aqil

                        Wa hut ahmal raja indahu

                                    Fa inahu Al –marjihu wa – maohil

                        Wa naadih in azimat anshabat

                                    Asfaaraha washahkhima Al-mu’dil

                        Yaa akrama khalq ala Rabihi

                                    Wa khayra man fihin bihi yusal

                        Qad masani Al-kurbu wa kam maratin

                                    Farajta karban bahduhu yuzhil

                        Fabalazi khasaka bayna l-warah

                                    Bi rutbatin anha al- hula tanzil

                        A’ajil bi izhaa lazi ashtaki

                                    Fa’in taqaqafta fama ashal

                        Wa lan tara a’jaza mini faman

                                    Lishidat aqwi wala ahmal

                        Fa anta baabu lah Ayyu amrihi

                                    Ataahu min ghayrika laa yadkhul

                        Alayka salla Lahu maa saafahat

                                    Zahra rawaabi nasmatu shama’alu

                        Musaliman maa faaha itru himaa

                                    Wa taaba minhu anudu wal mandal

                        Wa’al wa ashaab maa garadat

                                    Saajihatu amluduha mukhdil

It is in the interest of the recite of this prayer to indulge in enormous hadiya to Shaykh AbdulRhaman Al-Baradei as well as Shaykh Ahmad Tijanni (rta) in order to hasten the journey and istijabat of this dua’. More so, the best time for this prayer is late evening, midnight or early morning.

NOTE: to all non tijani murids, seek the permission of a sound shaykh of this tariqat before going ahead to recite this prayer. May Allah accept it as an act of ibadat.  AMIN.