The Biography of Sidi Ahmed Et-Tidjani
His Noble Genealogy (R.A.A)
Birth & Education
His First Trip to Fez and His Departure to the desert (R.A.A)
His Pilgrimage (RA) and His Visit to the Prophet (SAW)
His Return Home (R.A.A.) and His Second Trip to Fez.
His Attainment of the Status of the Grand Magnate (Qutbaniyyah)
His
Noble Genealogy (R.A.A)
He is the Sheikh of the Tariqa, the Concealed Magnate
(El-Qutb El-Maktoom), and the Known Mohammedan Seal, the noble & virtuous,
Abul-Abbas, Sidi Ahmed the son of the famous saint & renowned scholar, imam
Abu-Abdullah, Sidi Mohammed - who was called Ibn-Omer for his strict observance
of religious duties - ibn El-Mukhtar ibn Ahmed ibn Mohammed ibn Salim ibn
Abul-Eid ibn Salim ibn Ahmed, who was called "El-Alawani", ibn Ahmed
ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas ibn Abdujjabbar ibn Idriss ibn Is'haq ibn Ali
Zein El-Abideen ibn Ahmed ibn Mohammed En-Nafs Ez-Zakiyah ibn Abdullah El-Kamil
ibn El-Hassan El-Muthanna ibn El-Hassan El-Sibt ibn Ali ibn Abu-Talib (R.A.A.),
from our reverent & noble mother Fatimah Ez-Zahara'a (R.A.A.) daughter of
the Master-of-the-universe; the Messenger of Allah Seidna Mohammed صلى الله
عليه وسلم.
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Birth
& Education in a Religious Environment
Sidi Ahmed El-Tidjani was born in 1737G (1150H) in the town
of Ain Madhi, the home of his late ancestors. His fourth grandfather, Sidi
Mohammed ibn Salim had moved, with his family, from the outskirts of Asfi, in
Morocco, and settled in Ain Madhi, amongst the tribe of Bani-tojeen or
Tidjanah, and got married from them. Thus, his descendents are known as the
"Tidjanis"; called after the tribal name of their maternal-uncles.
However, his real ancestry traces back to Seidna El-Hassan El-Sibt ibn Seidna
Ali ibn Abu Talib (R.A.A.).
Ain Madhi was a town of great scientific importance, with
an environment full of devoutness and piety, as it was a centre of knowledge
and righteousness since inception. Most of the family members of Sidi Ahmed
Tidjani, who constitute part of this town, had possessed a high degree of
knowledge in both shari'a (Islamic jurisprudence) and sophism. His grandfathers
were amongst the finest religious scholars and were well established in
sainthood; like his two grandfathers Sidi Ahmed ibn Mohammed, and Sidi Mohammed
ibn Salim who migrated to Ain Madhi. The father of Sidi Ahmed Tidjani was a pious
scholar, very devout to the Sunnah (the Prophet's Tradition), a teacher and
adherer to Allah, and to the truth who would never concede to a blamer. He had
a room in his house where no one was admissible but for remembrance of Allah
(dhikr).
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani grew up under righteous parents, who
raised, educated and cultivated him, as their peers would do. Wherever he moved
in Ain Madhi, he would find himself among religious scholars, and under the
care of religious jurists, and teachers, in the mosque or zawiyah, dedicated to
teach their students useful Islamic sciences. Thus, he grew up in an
environment full of virtuousness, religiousness and preservation.
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani possessed a high degree of aspiration,
spiritual energy, and noble character; guarded by divine providence and
auspice. He was never accustomed to the habitude and excessiveness of people.
He (R.A.A.) was very determinant and resolute; he would never give up what he
had started, and had never left an unfinished business. His aspiration had
always been supreme, and never inclined to the petty and insignificant.
Under this exemplary care, amidst a family of knowledge and
righteousness, Sidi Ahmed Tidjani grew up with noble manners, perseverance and
diligence, holding fast to the religion and the path of the rightly-guided,
venerated by both the commons and the elites. Within this environment, which is
naturally disposed for special care and guidance, he memorized the Qur'an, by
age seven, as narrated by imam Warsh the student of imam Nafie, under the
renowned righteous jurist & scholar sheikh Mohammed ibn Hammu Et-Tidjani
El-Madhawi (of Ain Madhi & Tidjana tribe), who in turn studied and
memorized the Qur'an under the saint Sidi Eissa Bu-Ukkaz Et-Tidjani El-Madhawi.
Then, Sidi Ahmed Tidjani concentrated his efforts in studying the fundamentals
and branches of religious and artistic sciences. He mastered them and conceived their intricacies and fine points. He
continued his education until he qualified for teaching and ifta'a before he
made his first trip to Fez. During this time, and while in Ain Madhi, he
inclined to solitude, meditation and asceticism, and attracted to devout
worshiping and night prayers.
As soon as he
attained puberty his father got him married without delay, in order to preserve and
safeguard him, and in observance of, and compliance with Sunna. He (R.A.A) started to guide people to Allah
and exhort them to the righteous path, support Sunnah and revive the religion
in the hearts of the believers. He and his family were renowned as examples in
reviving the Sunnah and in commanding what is good & prohibiting what is
evil. He had well deserved the name of religious revivalist.
Despite his young
age, these qualities convinced the people of Ain Madhi to, unanimously, appoint
him as a successor to his father in the zawiyah; he was, then, 16 years old. He
carried this mission for five years teaching Qur'an & Sunnah and other
religious sciences.
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His First Trip to Fez and His Departure to the desert
(RA)
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
was never content with the treasure of knowledge he attained in Qur'an,
jurisprudence and sophism at his birthplace. He decided to move to Fez, in
1758G (1171H). Fez, the Idrissi city, was of great scientific significant,
holiness, historical symbolism, and strong spirituality. In his early twenties,
he (R.A.A) departed Ain Madhi, heading towards Fez.
During his stay in
Fez he had been attending scientific assemblies, debating and reasoning with
its prominent scholars. However, his real interest was more oriented towards
the spiritual side, as evidenced by the quality of persons he met inside and
outside the city:
1. He met, in the city of Wazan, the
saint Mawlana Et-Tayeb ibn Sidi Mohammed ibn Mawlay Abdullah ibn Ibrahim
El-Yamlahi El-Wazzani, who was in charge of the wazzani tariqa and its zawiyah,
succeeding his brother sheikh Mawlana Et-Tuhami El-Wazzani. Sidi Et-Tayeb was a
very famous man; people used to pack up and set off to see him. He authorized
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani to give permission to people in the Wazzaniyah tariqa, but
he abstained, as he was busy with himself (R.A.A).
2. He had got acquainted, in
Ezzabeeb Mount in Bani Wanjal, with the saint Sidi Mohammed ibn El-Hassan
El-Wanjali. He said to Sidi Ahmed Tidjani, when he first saw him and before
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani talked to him: you will attain the standing of the Great
Magnate (El-Qutb) Abul-Hassan El-Shazily. And, he asked him to return back to
his hometown. Sidi Ahmed Tidjani was content with having his blessings without
taking from him.
3. He met in Fez with the righteous
saint Sidi Abdullah ibn Sidi El-Arabi ibn Ahmed ibn Mohammed El-Ma'ani
El-Andalusi, from the sons of Ma'an. He discussed with him various matters. He
prayed three times that Allah takes care of Sidi Ahmed Tidjani.
4. He embraced the Nasiriyah tariqa
from the reverent saint Abu Abdullah Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdullah Et-Tazzani, but
he declined it soon thereafter.
5. From the authorized muqddam at
the time, he embraced the Siddiqiyah tariqa, which was attributed to the famous
qutb Abul-Abbas Sidi Ahmed El-Habeeb ibn Mohammed, who was surnamed by
El-Ghumari Es-Sajlamasi Es-Siddiqi; He then declined it soon thereafter.
6. He met with the righteous saint
Sidi Ahmed Et-Tawwash, who had been residing in Taza. Sidi Et-Tawwash taught
him a Name and asked him to stay in seclusion and keep patience until Allah
bestows him with revelation. However, Sidi Ahmed Tidjani did not help him with
what he asked of him, so he requested him to recite the Name without seclusion.
Sidi Ahmed had recited it for only a short while. Sidi Et-Tawwash foretold him
that he will attain a very significant standing.
7. He embraced the Qadiriyah tariqa,
in Fez, for a short period and then gave it up.
This is a very short
summary of the scientific and spiritual meetings and contacts he had in Fez and around it, in his first trip, before he
return to the desert.
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
had moved to a town called El-Abiad, in the desert, where the zawiyah of 'Sidi
El-sheikh' was located. Sidi El-sheikh is the well-known sheikh Sidi
Abdul-Qadir ibn Mohammed El-Abiad. He had chosen it as an inhabitance and
domicile; where he devoted himself to worshiping and teaching for five years,
from the beginnings of 1181H. During those years, he dissociated himself from
all hindrances and obstacles, and fully concentrated on dhikr (remembrance of
Allah) and meditation until the lightening of revelation started to sparkle in
him. People started visiting him in order to take from him. Nevertheless, he
had been refusing, saying that 'All of us are equal in benefiting from each
other, and there is no advantage of one over another in claiming sheikhdom but
for bad heresy. During this period, he visited his hometown and birthplace: Ain
Madhi.
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His Pilgrimage (R.A.A) and His Visit to the Prophet
(SAW)
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
started his trip, from the zawiyah of Sidi El-Sheikh, to Tlemcen, and then
began his pilgrimage journey from there, heading towards Mecca, in 1772G (1186H). When he reached the town of
Zawawa or Azwawi, he heard of the renowned imam and
sheikh Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdur-Rahman El-Azhari. He visited him and got, from
him, permission in the khalwatiyah tariqa. He arrived at Tunisia, in the same year. There he met with some more
saints; one of those is the famous wali Sidi Abdus-Samad. The sheikh of this
wali told him, through special envoy, that he is beloved. Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
stayed in Tunisia for one year, moving between the Capital and the city of Sousa, delivering formal opinions in Islamic
jurisprudence and answering many questions, and studying, as well, number of
books, such as the 'Book of Wisdoms'. He soon became very reputable, and the
news reached the ruler, who invited him to stay in Tunisia for teaching and benefiting people by his
knowledge. He offered him a house and a good remuneration. However, Sidi Ahmed
Tidjani, whose affection was strongly attracted towards the supreme and holy,
kept silent when he received the letter of the ruler, and sailed off to Egypt next day. As soon as he reached Cairo, he visited its grand sheikh, at the time:
Sidi Mohammed El-Kurdi, the Egyptian by residence and Iraqi by origin &
birth. They held various deliberations among themselves. Then sheikh El-Kurdi
asked him, after a few days, about his demand (aspiration). Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
answered him by saying that his demand is to attain the status of the Grand
Magnate. Sheikh El-Kurdi said, "You will get more than that".
From Egypt, he (R.A.A.) left to Makkah, which he arrived
at in Shawwal 1187H (1773G). There he heard of sheikh Abul-Abbas Sidi Ahmed ibn
Abdullah, the Indian, who had no permission to meet anybody. In spite of that,
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani received from him special knowledge, through a special
envoy, without meeting with him. He foretold Sidi Ahmed Tidjani about what he
was destined to, and gave him glad tiding that he will inherit all his secrets,
endowments, cognition, and illuminations. And, before his death on 20th
Dhul-hajja 1187H he gave Sidi Ahmed Tidjani a very special Name, and asked him
to recite it for seven days in seclusion until Allah endows him with
revelation, but Sidi Ahmed Tidjani did not do it. He also told him that he
would meet the Qutb El-Samman in Medinah, and gave him glad tiding that he would
attain the status of Sidi Abul-Hassan El-Shazily, as he had been foretold
before by Sidi Mohammed ibn El-Hassan El-Wanjali.
After he performed
hajj and visited his grandfather, the Prophet Seidna Mohammed صلى الله
عليه وسلم, in Medinah, he went to
see Sidi Mohammed ibn Abdul-Kareem El-Samman. During this meeting, he asked
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani to stay in seclusion with him for three days, but Sidi Ahmed
Tidjani politely excused himself. He gave permission to Sidi Ahmed Tidjani in
all the 'Names', and told him that he is the Grand Magnate (El-Qutb
El-Jami'). He gave him the glad tiding that he will realize his aspiration and
obtain the "Absolute General Authorization".
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His Return Home (R.A.A.) and His Second Trip to Fez.
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
returned back to Cairo, with the pilgrims. As soon as he arrived, he visited sheikh El-Kurdi,
to greet him, out of respect and good conduct. Sheikh El-Kurdi warmly welcomed
him, and asked him to visit him on a daily basis. He complied with his wish.
Those daily meetings had evolved into scientific assemblies, and dialogues. In
those meetings, he answered with great competence and mastery questions on
legal issues of jurisprudence. He quickly became widely known in Egypt; many scholars visited him and benefited from
his profound knowledge.
Sheikh El-Kurdi,
then, authorized him in the Khalwatiyah tariqa and tarbiyah (spiritual
training), but Sidi Ahmed Tidjani was hesitant to accept. Sheikh El-Kurdi,
then, asked him to authorize people under his guarantee. So he accepted. Sheikh
El-Kurdi, wrote him the "Authorization and the Chain of Authority".
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
traveled back to Tunisia, where he did not stay for long. He left to Tlemcen in 1774G (1188H).
He stayed there for three years in devout worshiping and guidance of people to
Allah. In 1777G (1191H) he (R.A.A) made his second trip to Fez from Tlemcen, with the intention of visiting
Mawlay Idriss El-Azhar. He met, during this trip, with his scribe &
trustworthy Sidi Mohammed ibn El-Mishry El-Hassani El-Subaa'ie El-Sa'ihi of
Takrat. Since then, Sidi El-Mishry, lead the prayers for Sidi Ahmed Tidjani and
his family, and wrote the answers on his behalf until 1794G (1208H); the year
that Sidi Ahmed Tidjani started himself to lead the prayers, in compliance with
the instruction of his grandfather Prophet Mohammed صلى
الله عليه
وسلم. And, in the city of Wajdah (Oujdah), while
returning back to Fez, he met, for the first time, Sidi Ali Harazim Baradah
El-Fezi (from Fez), who accompanied him to Fez. Sidi Ali Harazim said, about
this meeting, "I saw a vision, two years before this time, that showed my
companionship with, and guidance by him. Then, two or three days, after he
revealed himself to me, he reminded me of my vision, which I had
forgotten." During this meeting, he authorized him in khalwatiyah tariqa
and confided him with special knowledge and foretold him of what would be of
him in revelation and strengthening. Thus, the first persons whom Sidi Ahmed
Tidjani had authorized in the khalwatiyah tariqa were Sidi El-Mishry and Sidi
Ali Harazim Baradah. These two companions lived up to the expectations, through
the dedication and effort they had shown in servicing, and spreading of, the tariqa.
After visiting the
maqam of Mawlay Idriss, he told his caliph Sidi Ali Harazim of his decision to
go back to Tlemcen. He (R.A.A) bid him farewell, the same year he came to Fez,
and asked him to hold fast to the vow, belovedness, and truthfulness & devotion
in his endeavor to Allah.
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
stayed in Tlemcen for a while and, then, departed to Qasr El-Shallalah &
Abu-Samghun.
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His Attainment of the Status of the Grand Magnate
(Qutbaniyyah)
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani
dismounted in Abu-Samghun in 1781/2G (1196H). There he attained the Grand
Magnate status (Qutbaniyyah) and the great revelation, which he had endeavored
to with great patience and endurance. Before this great attainment he (R.A.A)
left Abu-Samghun twice for a short while: in the first time, he visited Saint
Sidi Mohammed ibn El-Fadeel, of Takwarin, in the western Tawat. They took from
each other some of the secrets of the tariqa. In the second time, he (R.A.A)
met with his companion and student saint Sidi Mohammed ibn El-Arabi Ed-Damrawi
of Taza, who, then, used to mediate in carrying the answers from the Prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم to him, in the beginnings. That was because he
(R.A.A) could not ask the Prophet directly out of deep respect and politeness
before the holy presence of the prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم.
Sidi Ahmed had
attained the grand revelation in Abu-Samghun, the same year he arrived there,
after he left Tlemcen in 1196H. Thereon, the prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم gave him a full and absolute permission, while he
was fully awake, to breed and educate all the beings, in their generality
without exception. The prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم specified to him the Wird: a hundred times of
Istighfar and a hundred times of prayers upon the Prophet. The Prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم authorized him to give permission in the Wird
to any Muslim who asks for it and accepts to abide by its conditions. By 1200H
the Prophet, صلى
الله عليه
وسلم completed to him the Wird, by adding a hundred
times of the holy word "La Ilaha Illa Allah" (There is no God but
Allah).
The Prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم told him (R.A.A) that he is his educator and
guarantor; and that nothing will reach him from Allah but by his holy hands,
and through him صلى
الله عليه
وسلم; and said, "No sheikh has favor on you; as I
am your true intermediary and supporter…so abandon all that you have
taken from all other tariqas, and hold fast to this tariqa without seclusion,
or retirement from people, until you reach your promised status, and you are as
you are, without hardship, difficulty, or strive, and relinquish all
saints." In compliance with this Mohammedan instruction he (R.A.A) left
all tariqas, and ceased asking anything from other saints. This indicates the
significance of the status of Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani before Allah and before The
Prophet صلى
الله عليه
وسلم,
as the Prophet told him that his 'Revelation and Arrival' would be attained
through his holy hands صلى
الله عليه
وسلم.
And, he whose revelation and arrival were attained through his holy hands is
superior in status and supreme in stature, as is well known amongst the
sophists. After the attainment of this grand revelation, holy secrets,
illuminations, elevations and promotions had started to outpour into him in
Abu-Samghun and Shallalah. He soon became so reputed that great masses of
people started visiting him to take his Wird, to be affiliated with him, and
get more of what he (R.A.A) gives them in sense and meaning.
He (R.A.A) moved from Abu-Samghun in the Sahara, on 17 Rabi
Awal 1213H, and entered Fez in 6th Rabi Thani of the same year.
He (R.A.A) established the foundations of the zawiyah, and
continued spreading the tariqa. The tariqa took off to pervade the whole far
west (Morocco), the Sahara, and the west Sudan. And Sidi Ahmed Tidjani emerged
as an established saint, dedicated his whole life for spiritual education,
training, guidance, and promotion of the endeavourers to the divine proximity;
especially in the period following his permanent settlement in Fez until the
day he met his Lord on Thursday morning, 17th Shawwal 1230H, at 80
years of age. He was buried in Fez (R.A.A).
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani possessed high spiritual energy,
determination, perseverance of Allah's sacred rights, and firmness of resolution.
He labored in his beginnings on perfection of repentance with its conditions,
and on adherence to shari'a bounds. He also neglected his will, and cut himself
off his desires and other hindrances, and totally devoted himself to Allah by
preserving His rights. Thus, truth was unveiled to him. He never resorted to
the allowances and far-reaching interpretations, and set himself to diligence
and sedulity. He (R.A.A) minded his own business, and held fast to the Qur'an
and Sunnah and the footsteps of the righteous ancestors. He totally turned
himself to his Lord, so Allah sufficed him. He (R.A.A) reinforced his
foundations first by preoccupying himself with the study of the Qur'an and
Sunnah, and deep & thorough comprehension of the fine and subtle sciences
and abstruse issues.
Sidi Ahmed Tidjani was one of the greatest scholars and men
of knowledge. He was highly regarded, revered, and admired by all the scholars,
without exception. To him, indisputably, has ended the leadership of this
matter of education & guidance of the worshipers and cultivation of the
followers; uncontested by the masters of this knowledge. There was no saint who
had ever reached his heights, and none will be. He (R.A.A) was of high
morality, fine proprieties, good manners, sublime prestige and dignity. He
(R.A.A.) was judicious, always cheerful, and of great modesty and decency,
bound by the ordinances of shari'a and Sunnah etiquettes, loving to the
righteous, generous and respectful of the people of knowledge.
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