Abu Abdallah Sidi Sahnun ibn El Hajj from Laghouat, Algeria (may ALLAH be pleased with him)

Abu Abdallah Sidi Sahnun ibn El Hajj (may ALLAH be pleased with him), the majestic scholar, unparalleled at his time, of extraordinary knowledge, of very high degree was one of the most eminent scholars of the Tariqa to whom we referred. He received the Tariqa from Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) who used to write to him.

Here is the letter that he received from Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) for the disciples of Laghouat where he describes some of the blessings that ALLAH has granted him:

«After mentioning the Name of ALLAH and the prayer and the peace upon the Prophet,

By the grace of ALLAH, this letter is intended for our beloved and sincere friends, so-and-so, and all the disciples there in Laghouat, each one and individually by his own name. May the Peace, the Mercy and the blessings of ALLAH be upon you, from the one who writes this to you, the poor servant of ALLAH, Ahmed ibn Muhammad Tidjani.

We beseech ALLAH, may He be Glorified and Exalted, that He sustains you with His Help and that He bestows upon you the oceans of His Grace and Friendship, may you be sufficed by Him in the face of all the hardships of this world and the next. May He protect you from poverty in this world, and punishment in the Hereafter. I draw your attention to the fact that ALLAH’s Grace has no limits and that the Grace is entirely His, He gives it to whom he wishes and I tell you that none of the Saints, however great or small his worth, will be able to attain our station with ALLAH in the Hereafter, or even come close, and this goes for all of the Saints, following the age of the Companions and up until the day when the trumpet is blown.

None of them can attain our station, nor even come close because of its inaccessibility to all forms of intelligence and the difficulty of its path, even for the greatest of the greatest; and I can only tell you this because I have heard it and received this guarantee directly from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

It is not possible for any of the great men (Awliya) to obtain access to Paradise for his companions without undergoing judgement and punishment with the exception of myself, whatever degree of sins they may have reached and whatever disobedience they may have committed (because he mentioned that he had requested ALLAH to guarantee repentance and sainthood before death).

In addition to this, He (peace and blessings be upon him) assured them of certain things that he said to me, of which I am not authorized to speak. They will only be seen and known in the Hereafter.

Despite this, we do not denigrate sacredness of our masters the Awliya, nor do we depreciate their worth. Honour the sacredness of the Awliya, both the living and the dead, because if you honour their sacredness, ALLAH will honour you and if you despise them, ALLAH will humiliate you and will be wrathful with you, so do not denigrate the sacredness of the Awliya. May The Peace be upon you ».

Research and translation by Zawiya Tidjaniya el Kubra in Lyon, France