Letter from Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani to a jurist (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret)

Among the letters of Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) transcribed in Djawahirou-l-Ma’ani, is one addressed to a jurist, a notable of the city of Salé.

Praise be to Allah, peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Your letter has reached us, we have read it and understood the meaning of its content. You asked us about our situation and that of our companions. Know that, by Allah’s grace, we are well and doing well, to Him be praise and gratitude until His approval. He has showered on us and our companions what He has showered on all Muslims. Praise be to Allah in all situations. We ask Allah – glorified and exalted – to shower us with His care in this world and in the hereafter. May He overwhelm us, and you, with His goodness and generosity, from this moment and forever. May He be for us and for you an ally, a help, a support and a sustainer in every state, in ease and in difficulty. May He envelop us, and you, in His most complete protection, His constant preservation and His most precious safeguard. He is, indeed, the Guarantor in this and the Able.

And what I urge you to do, in your journey and in your actions, is to cling firmly to Allah as much as you can. Resign your heart by consolidating it in the ways of divine decrees. Do not accustom your defiled soul to impatience with Allah’s command, for this brings about the servant’s destruction in this world and in the Hereafter. And if the situation around you tightens and misfortunes persist, then seek refuge with Allah – exalted – and immobilize your position before the door of His benevolence. Implore, through the fullness of His benevolence, the relief and dissipation of what afflicts you, intensify the supplication and invocation of Allah for this.

However, this must be done in a state where the heart is entirely absorbed by Allah, far from any distractions, like an elderly woman with only one child who is suddenly snatched from her hands to have his head cut off. She implores Allah’s help and the assistance of people to rescue her. In this state, nothing else torments her, only the fate of her child matters to her, and her heart is no longer interested in any other matter in this world or the hereafter.

This is why anyone who finds himself in such a state and who, faced with the misfortunes and difficulties that afflict him, seeks refuge with Allah, while invoking Him with the name “the Benevolent” (Al-Latif) as much as possible, then relief will be brought to him quickly. Otherwise, the situation will persist.

And take care not to exhaust yourself in the pursuit of your (material) world to the point of overstepping the limits that Allah has set in His Law, for you will destroy yourself and have no refuge with Allah. Understand the meaning of the prophetic saying reported in the Sahih: “Is it not true that the Holy Spirit has breathed into my heart that no one will die before having exhausted his sustenance. So fear Allah and behave decently during your search, and do not assume, when you see things coming slowly, that you might be able to acquire them through disobedience to Allah. Indeed, one cannot obtain what is with Allah except through His obedience.” Now this ocean is indeed the one in which you see all creatures drown and get lost, except those whom His grace has preserved.

Beware, and beware again, of continually seeking Allah’s help for every misfortune. With this way of acting, your impatience with Allah’s decision will become a habit. You won’t benefit from your life. Also, this affair should only be done from time to time: one moment you strengthen yourself, in accordance with Allah’s decision without getting impatient and without asking for relief, and at other time you implore Allah’s relief. Whoever goes to Allah with this way of doing things, the gates of bliss will then be open to him in the Hereafter, and he will manage to have a good life, in accordance with His word – glorified and exalted: “Whoever, man or woman, does a good deed while being a believer, We will make him live a good life…” (Sura 16 The Bees, verse 97).

And what we have just mentioned is sufficient. May Allah’s peace and mercy be upon you.

Text taken from the book Djawahirou-l-Ma’ani.
Research and translation by Zawiya Tidjaniya El Kubra of Europe.