Content of the Tidjaniya litanies

The three essential litanies (adhkar) of the Tijaniyya are the Lazim, the Wadhifa and the Haylala on Friday — for more details see the Tijaniyya Fiqh web page

These three mandatory litanies for the disciple correspond to the three levels of religion that were taught by the prophetic tradition:

– LAZIM / “ISLAM” / SHARIA
– WADHIFA / “IMAN” / TARIQA
– HAILALA / “IHSAN” / HAQIQA

Each of these evocations has its particularities, but they are all based on expressions which come from the Quran and the Sunnah. Reciting them is an inexhaustible source of blessings like the Kawthar of The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and neglecting or abandoning them is an open door to misfortunes.

The three expressions are:

1 – Asking ALLAH for forgiveness (Istighfar):

ALLAH (The Glorified and the Exalted) said:
“Those who say, “Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,”
The patient, the true, the obedient, those who spend [in the way of Allah ], and those who seek forgiveness before dawn” (S3, V16-17)

“And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by permission of Allah . And if, when they wronged themselves, they had come to you, [O Muhammad], and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of repentance and Merciful” (S4, V64)

“And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness of Allah will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful” (S4, V110)

“But Allah would not punish them while you, [O Muhammad], are among them, and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.” (S8, V33)

“And said, ‘Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers.” (S71, V10-12)

“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah ? – and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.” (S3, V135)

– The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O people! seek forgiveness from ALLAH. Verily, I seek forgiveness from Him a hundred times a day.” (repported by Muslim)

– The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “There is no servant that asks ALLAH’s forgiveness seventy times a day without being forgiven seven hundred sins. Woe to the servant who commits more than seven hundred sins in a single day.” (Baihaqi and ibn Abi Dunya)

– Anas Ibn Malik (May God be satisfied with him) reported that The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “ALLAH the Exalted said: “O son of Adam! As long as you invoke Me and place your hope in Me, I will forgive whatever sins you have committed, and I will not set store by it. O son of Adam! If your evil deeds reach the sky, and then you ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you. O son of Adam! Even If you come to me with sins as big as the earth and then you meet Me and you assiociate nothing and nobody with me then I will come to you with equal pardon.””” (Tirmidhi)

– Abou Sa’id el Khoudri (May God be satisfied with him) reported that The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Satan had declared: “O Lord! I swear on Your Glory, I will not stop tempting Your slaves as long as their souls remain in their bodies.” The Lord said, “I swear by My Glory and Majesty, I will continue to forgive them as long as they ask My forgiveness.”” (Ahmed and El Hakim)

– In “Targhib el Taleb“, it is reported that The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Excessively implore forgiveness because this removes sins in the same way that fire devours wood and that sheep eat grass. If a person’s book rose up to the sky and did not contain the request for forgiveness, then it would not have a single light, but if it rose up with the request for forgiveness in it, it would be radiant. There is no group that sits together to distract themselves but who closes with the request for forgiveness, without this meeting being fully counted as an assembly seeking for forgiveness.“

– According to Ibn Chaïba in “Kanz“, it is reported that Abou Darda (May God be satisfied with him) said: “Blessed is he whose book contains even only a few requests for forgiveness.”

– Abou Hourayra (May God be satisfied with him) said: “Since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) I have seen no one reciting as much as him: “I ask ALLAH for forgiveness and to Him I repent.” (Ibn Asakir and Abu Yala)

– Yahya ibn Muadh said: “The one whose goal is not ALLAH’s forgiveness is a not a knower.“

– Ibn Wahaba said: “He who has commited sins is not searching for God’s approval but His forgiveness and yet he who has perfected his knowledge is certainly in this state.”

2 – Sending Prayers (Salat ala Nabi) upon The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

ALLAH (The Glorified and the Exalted) said: “ALLAH sends His Salat on the Prophet (Muhammad saw) and also His angels too. O you who believe! Send your Salat on him (Muhammad saw), and salute him with a worth salutation.” (S33, V56)

– Ibn Masud (May God be satisfied with him) reported that the Messenger of ALLAH (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “On the Day of Judgement, the people the most worthy of my solicitude and my love will be those who blessed me the most in this world.” (Tirmidhi)

– Abu Talha Al Ansari (May God be satisfied with him) reported that the Messenger of ALLAH (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “One day, ALLAH’s messenger was of good disposition and joy was visible on his face. They said: “O Messenger of ALLAH, this morning you are of good disposition and happyness is visible on your face.” He said: “Indeed, an emissary came to me from my Lord, The Powerful and The Glorious, and told me: “for each member of your community who prays one prayer upon you, ALLAH will record ten good deeds on his behalf, ten sins will be forgiven and he will be elevated by ten degrees and he will do likewise.”“ (Ahmed and Nissa-i).

– According to El Khatib in “Kanz“, it is reported that Abu Bakr Siddiq (May God be satisfied with him) said: “Sending prayers upon The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) erases sins more than water extinguishes fire. Saluting The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than freeing slaves and the love of the Messenger of ALLAH (peace and blessings be upon him) is better than freeing souls or combat by the sword in the way of ALLAH.”

– The imam Ali (May God be satisfied with him) said: “On the Day of Judgment, whoever sends blessings upon The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a hundred times on Fridays will come with a light on his face so big that people will ask: “what deed did he accomplish?”” (Baihaqi)

3 – The Kalima “LA ILAHA ILLALLAH”: “There is no God but ALLAH”

ALLAH (The Glorified and the Exalted) said:

“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah” (S47, V19)

“Indeed they, when it was said to them, “There is no deity but Allah ,” were arrogant.” (S37, V35)

Abu Said al Khudri (May God be satisfied with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and be upon him) said: “When Musa asked ALLAH to teach him a prayer to recite whenever he remembered or called upon Him, ALLAH answered: “Say, O Musa, “There is no god but ALLAH” Musa said: “O Lord, all your servants say these words. ” ALLAH said:”O Musa, if the seven heavens and all they hold, and the seven earths as well, if all these were weighed against this word of “There is no god but ALLAH” the latter would outweigh the former.”(Nissa-i, Ibn Hibban and El Hakim)

– Talha ibn Ubeydullah reported that The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The best word the prophets before me and I have said is “There is no God but ALLAH.” (Malik)

– Qurtubi reported that The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The angel of death came to a man. He looked at each one of his limbs and found not one good deed. Then, he opened his heart and found nothing. Then, he opened his mouth and found his tongue stuck to his palate saying: “There is no God but ALLAH”. He said then: “Paradise is compulsorily your home because of these words of sincerity i.e. “There is no God but ALLAH.“

– Sahl Tustari (May God be satisfied with him) said: “The word “There is no God but ALLAH” has no other reward than the contemplation of The Noble Countenance of ALLAH, whereas Paradise is the reward of good deeds.“

He also said: “Upon pronunciation of the word of oneness, the darkness of disbelief will be dissipated and the light of oneness is established in his heart. If a believer has said it a thousand times a day, each time, it removes something, according to the Prophet (pbuh) this is the best dhikr, this is the right way for the worshippers to proceed and the pilar of the traveler, it is provision for the journey and the excellence of those who have gone ahead.“