Letter from Seyyidina Sheikh Ahmed Tijani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) to the disciples of Guemar

Letter from Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) to the disciples of the region of Guemar (Algeria), dictated to his scribe Muqaddam Sidi Ahmed ibn AbdSalem Filaly (may Allah be pleased with him)

Praise be to Allah. From the illustrious Imam, of noble lineage, guide to creatures, the shining proof of Islam, the Knower in Allah, Abu-l-‘Abbas, our master and lord Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Salim Tidjani, the Sherif Hasanite.

“To all our loved ones and holders of our affection, the disciples of Guemar, as a whole and each one personally. May peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah the Most High, His blessing, His salutations and His pleasure as long as existence and nothingness do not meet. I give thanks to Allah for you, He besides whom there is no other divinity. Then I ask Allah – glorified and exalted – that He grant you the gift of being under His sufficiency, His guardianship, His defense, His protection, His alliance, His guidance, His care, His surveillance, His custody, His choice, His power, His invincibility, His safeguard. It is from Him that help comes, and in Him that infallible trust is placed.

I recommend the muqaddam to exhort the disciples, to remind them, to advise them, to visit their sick, to attend their funerals, to take care of those who are well, to relieve them of what worries them, to endure patiently their nuisance, to recognize their qualities, to be indulgent towards their faults, to hasten to satisfy them, to reconcile them mutually, to see to it that their hearts are in harmony, without considering himself to be more advantaged than they are. He must teach the ignorant, remind the forgetful, and encourage the careless. Let him not be miserly to them with what he has in his hands.

I recommend that the disciples be kind to him, honor and respect him, obey him in what he recommends and defends, and be at his service, for he is the Sheikh’s representative.

I recommend you to fear Allah in secret and public, to turn back to Allah in all things, infinitesimal or immense, to follow the Sunnah in words and deeds, to turn away from creatures in acceptance or rejection, to be satisfied with Allah in the little or the much, in what is enviable or despicable, to take the Sunnah as a judge in your words, your thoughts, your actions and inactions. And act only for Allah in all things. 

I forbid you to spread rumors, to associate with those who have no morality. Devote your time to what will benefit you at the end of your life, and whose consequences you will enjoy in the Hereafter. I recommend that you preserve your time, be assiduous in the performance of your prayers and be awake to the watchfulness of your Creator, as well as that of His witnesses among you. Also be awake to His power to act against you, in all your states.

I enjoin you to frequent one another, to love and visit one another. Make your most fruitful trade your affection, for as the trustworthy truthful one (may the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “You will enter Paradise only when you believe, and you will believe only when you love one another…” Or in the sense of what he said (may the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him).

Take care of your prayers, make your time beneficial and correct your conduct. Advise one another, shake hands, consult one another, visit one another, give one another food, recommend to one another what is proper, help one another and ensure respect for the sanctity of each other, thus conforming to what the rights of brotherhood demand. 

May peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad and his family.”

By permission of Seyyidina (may Allah be pleased with him), I, his scribe Ahmed ibn AbdSalem Filaly, servant of the Hadra Tidjaniya, greet you. Peace be upon you. 

Research and translation by the Zawiya Tidjaniya El Kubra of Europe