The merits that we are going to consider number forty: the first fourteen are reserved for those who are attached to Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) through faith (belief), submission, respect and renunciation of all opposition, through his love and love for the people of the path with respect and veneration and without causing them any harm whatsoever.

As for the remaining merits, they are for all those affiliated to the path, who accomplish their litanies and even if they have not encountered Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) in this world. Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said that this had been guaranteed to him by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and that without doubt it would be accomplished nonetheless on the condition never to believe yourself safe from ALLAH’s ruse and never to abandon the path.

Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) warned his companions saying (or words to that effect): “I say unto you that the Master of Existence has affirmed that he who insult us and persist in insulting us without repentance will die as a disbeliever. I tell you that he who takes our wird and thinks that no sins can harm him and that because of this he is exposed to sins and disobedience all the time thinking that he is safe from ALLAH’s punishment, ALLAH is going to put hatred for us in his heart to the extent that he insults us. Then ALLAH will let him die a disbeliever, so beware of disobedience.”

By Sheikh Mohammed El Mansour Mohieddine Tidjani, may ALLAH grant him his kindness, the most insignificant of Seyyidina Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani’s disciple (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret).

According to Tamin ibn Aws Addari (may ALLAH be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The deen (religion) is naseehah (advice, sincerity).” We said “To whom?” He (peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him) responded: “To ALLAH, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.” (Muslim)

The first step on the path towards ALLAH is veracity. He who is truthful, whose steps have been rooted in sincere love towards Seyyidina Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and who has strengthened his bond to the rope of the Tariqa, truly he will not seek, nor covet other Awliya (Saints) - be they alive or dead – but him. And this: even if he meets the present Pole and notices the numerous prodigies proving his particular degree of sainthood, he will remain rooted in sincere love towards his Sheikh. 

One of the members of the Tariqa reported that he met El Khadir (peace be upon him) who said to him: “I am El Khadir, do you have any request?” He answered: “Know that ALLAH the Most High has fulfilled me with he who is superior to you and to all others amongst the Saints: my Sheikh and the link to my Lord, Sidi Ahmed Tidjani (May ALLAH sanctify his precious secret)”.

ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted) said: “If you (really) love ALLAH then follow me, ALLAH will love you and forgive you your sins. And ALLAH is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Sourate 3 Al Imran, Verse 31)

THE TIDJANIYA'S CONDITIONS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO 5 CATEGORIES:

1ST CATEGORY: THE SPECIAL COMPANIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SHEIKH AND HIS DISCIPLE

1. The disciple must follow no other spiritual path for the entire duration of his life -- The Tidjaniya pledge is a life-long commitment (with no possibility of abandoning it)

2. The disciple must limit his visits to the saints, whether they are dead or alive to those that have been authorized by Sidi Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), although he must show full respect for the sanctity of all the saints. It is permitted to visit the companions (may Allah be satisfied with them all) of the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him), those who follow the Tidjaniya path, and, of course, the Prophets.

3. The disciple must perform all the mandatory prayers of the Tidjaniya, i.e. the compulsory litanies (the adhkar which are: the Lazim, Wadhifa, and Hadra on Friday), with great care and assiduity, throughout his life. Note that when a pious vow has been taken, even though, from a general point of view, a voluntary good deed may be considered to be commendable, it becomes obligatory within the context of the pious vow.

4. The disciple must never express outrage, animosity or hostility towards Seyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may Allah be satisfied with him). Such disrespectable behaviour is characterized, for example, by not heeding his recommendations and warnings.

5. The disciple must always and unceasingly show love towards Seyidina Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH be satisfied with him).

6. The disciple must never criticize Seyidina Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH be satisfied with him).

7. The follower must firmly believe and never refute the words of Seyidina Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH be satisfied with him), for they follow the Qur'aan and Sunnah. The same applies to all of the Awliya.

The follower who disrespects any of these conditions will immediately lose his affiliation to the Tariqa. He will only reconnect with Sheikh Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH be satisfied with him) after repenting, and, having renewed his pact with him, (with one of his Muqqaddam), expressing profound sincerity in the desire to further his education.

« O ALLAH, send blessings on our Master Muhammad, who opened what was closed, who sealed what had gone before, the helper of Truth by the Truth, the guide to Your straight path, and on his family, may these blessings be equal to his immense position and grandeur. »

This special prayer was given by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Seyyidina Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), in an awakened state, during the daytime, to be recited and to be transmitted.

A pole, by the name of Sidi Muhammad El Bakri (may ALLAH be pleased with him) had also been acquainted with this prayer. He had spent several years in retreat in Mecca with the intention that ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted) would teach him the formula of prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) which brings together all other prayers and their secrets.

And thus, this prayer was revealed to him : an angel descended upon him bearing a luminous tablet upon which Salat el Fathi was inscribed. At that time, this prayer was reserved for the Hidden Pole (Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani, may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and his disciples and thus constituted a personnel blessing for Sidi Muhammad El Bakri (may ALLAH be pleased with him).

In order to benefit from the special blessings of Salat el Fathi, two conditions must be met :

I - His origins

It is unanimously recognised among both the elite and the common scholars of this Tariqa that Sidi Hajj Ali Tamacini (may ALLAH be pleased with him) is of noble and purified prophetic descent (lineage). The elite and the special saints such as Sidi Muhammad El Habib (may ALLAH be pleased with him), son of Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), bore witness to this. When Sidi Muhammad El Habib (may ALLAH be pleased with him) wrote to him, after the laudatory salutations, praised him in this way: “Sidi Hajj Ali Tamacini el Hassani (that is to say the descendant of Hassan, son of Ali and Fatima, may ALLAH be pleased with them).” This testimony from the beloved Sidi Muhammad El Habib (may ALLAH be pleased with him) who had received the warranty of the divine knowledge from the Prophet himself (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient. Sidi Ibrahim Riyahi (may ALLAH be pleased with him), the pious scholar and great companion of Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), also referred to his status as “Sherif” in a poem:

“The Sabt of the best creature upholds him 
Through both a spiritual and physical lineage”

His status as Sherif was confirmed, among other things, by the fact that Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) established him at the station known Ghawth (Supreme Succour or Supreme Pole) and that of great Calipha of the Tidjaniya for approximately thirty years. Had he not been of noble prophetic descent, he would not have been able to bear this heavy burden for such a long time.

Indeed, the spiritual scholars and the virtuous know that whoever attains the station of the Great Qutbaniya without being of Sherifian descent, would not be able to assume this task for any length of time, because he would die and leave this earthly life for the hereafter. The reason for this is that his earthly body does not contain the fragrance of Muhammadian secret which is specific to his noble and purified descendants. Likewise, it is because of this particular prophetic secret that our Masters, the Poles who are descendants of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), were able to attain that which the Poles who were not of Sherifian ancestry were unable to attain. Sidi Hajj Ali Tamacini (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was able to remain at this station for such a long time by the grace of this specificity.

"After mentioning ALLAH, and the prayer and salutation upon the Messenger of ALLAH (peace and blessings be upon him), here is some advice for all those seeking advice for themselves, and the advice from the Lord is defined by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: “The deen (religion) is naseehah (advice, sincerity).” We said “To whom?” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) responded: “To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.”

Among this advice, the first is the fear of ALLAH, beside whom there is no Divinity except Him. As Ali (may ALLAH be pleased with him) advised his children with these words: "O my sons, I exhort you to fear ALLAH, The Immense, in secret as in public, to be honest in your speech in satisfaction as in anger, to observe justice towards friends as towards enemies, to be moderate in wealth as in poverty."

Then, it is necessary to take refuge in ALLAH and to rely on Him when afflicted with trials and tribulations, and to attach the heart to ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted) as much as possible according to one's rank with ALLAH. One needs to adopt a respectful restraint towards ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted) such as defined in the word of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "Have a true respectful restraint towards ALLAH". They said: "We have this respectful restraint, praise be to ALLAH". He said: "What you’re saying is not what I mean, for the respectful restraint is to preserve the head and what it contains, to safeguard the belly and what it gathers, to remind oneself of death and trials. One who longs for the hereafter forsakes the ornaments of this world; and whoever achieves all this, has a true respectful restraint towards ALLAH".

Sidi Hajj Ali Harazim (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was the perfect wali who has been attained knowledge (Marifa), the great caliph endowed with the elevated station (Maqam), the gatherer of knowledge and secrets, at the highest summit of superior degrees, sun of joy that illuminated the horizon of superior degrees, unequalled by any.

He was among those who had attained perfect knowledge and sainthood. He detained high rank with Seyyidina Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) who held him in high esteem. Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) spoke of his high rank to his companions to such an extent that he was envied by all, both near and far.

Of him, Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) used to say: “Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: “He holds with you the rank that Abu Bakr holds with me.””

After mentioning the Name of ALLAH and praising Him and saluting the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), may the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of ALLAH be upon you.

Then, I exhort both you and myself to preserve the commandments in the following prophetic words: "There are three causes of salvation and three causes for going astray”:

As for the causes of salvation, they are: the fear of ALLAH (Taqwa ALLAH) both in secrecy and in public, the veracity of the spoken word, both in contentment and in anger, steadfastly moving towards the goal, whether in richness or in poverty. As for the causes of going astray, these are: surrendering to avidity, following one’s passion, self-satisfaction with one's own opinion.”

And also:  "Under the firmament, there is no divinity more worshipped than a passion pursued”

And also: "To refrain from interfering with what does not concern you is the proper practice of Islam”

And also:  "Do not wish for confrontation with the enemy, rather, ask ALLAH for salvation. If  you do meet the enemy, then show patience".

Although this relates to fighting disbelievers on the path of God, these days it also relates to the need to be lenient towards evil coming from all people.

When a person wishes harm upon others deep down in his heart, ALLAH will direct these people against him in such a way that he will not be able to do anything against them. The servant should beseech ALLAH to protect him from provoking evil and discord among people.

Among the great companions endowed with knowledge and prodigies, holder of high degrees of sainthood, elite among the elite, is Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) who hails from Morocco.

At the beginning, he was the intermediary between Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) because when Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) wished to speak to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he was overwhelmed with modesty. This is a well-known characteristic among the great saints of the community, who always used an intermediary between themselves and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for their request, because in his presence, they forgot everything and were unable to speak to him. Although he was very young, Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) often met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in an awaken state. Sid Abdelaoui (may ALLAH be pleased with him) said of him that he used to meet the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) twenty-four times a day. Also, the Messenger of ALLAH (peace and blessings be upon him) adivised Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) to take great care of him.

"After praising ALLAH, may His Name be glorified and exalted, His Greatness is Immense, His Power is elevated, His Majesty Sanctified.

This letter is intended for all the followers living in Fes and in the Maghreb, may the peace of ALLAH be on you, as His Mercy and Blessing, may all this be granted to you as long as ALLAH's Kingdom lasts.

From ALLAH's poor servant, Ahmed ibn Muhammad Tijani:

We ask ALLAH, may His Power be glorified and His Immensity elevated, that He gazes upon you with the look of love and satisfaction, with that of care and overflowing grace, with that of election and choice.

May all the benefits of religion, both in this world and the next be granted to you as much as possible and may you be spared and protected from all the evil of religion both in this world and the next, until all your sins, small or large, disappear by submerging them in the ocean of His forgiveness and generosity.

May He quickly meet all your requests and needs insofar as they are not disobedient. May He powerfully help you in what is predestined for you. If they are not in compliance with your predestination, may He replace all your requests with what is better and loftier.