Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi, may ALLAH be pleased with him
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.
During the time that our master (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) spent in Bussemghune, he often traveled to Taza to meet his eminent companion and pupil, the great Knower Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him). At this time, he was one of his special companions, part of the circle of his beloved. According to the recommendation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Seyyidina watched over him more on more. Thus, he visited him often during his lifetime and even after his death to the extent that it was not necessary to mention it in the book entitled Djawhiroul Ma’ani.
Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised me to watch over Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) and told me that he had a right over me.” He also specified that he was a sherif from Idmar, a tribe of the region of Taza. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) had many merits of which the most important was that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had assured him of his love and it is with his consent that he became the intermediary between the Seal of the Prophets and the Seal of Sainthood. Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “By ALLAH, I have never seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) take as much care of someone as he does of Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi and Sidi Hajj Ali Harazim. By ALLAH, he loves them both as if they were his own children.”
After his death, Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) appointed the Caliph of great worth Sidi Hajj Ali Harazim (may ALLAH be pleased with him) in his place, according to the order of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was among the pure Shourafa (descendant of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him) and he was assassinated.
After he had settled in Ain Madhi, the virtuous qualities that were attributed to him spread among the people. This became a subject of discussion among the women in the whole province who talked about that to their husbands, provoking jealousy among his enemies who finally incited an individual to assassinate him. Preceding this terrible act, the individual in question often visited Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) and requested dua of him, but Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi chased him away saying: “Get away from me, doer son of doer, because my enemies will induce you to kill me!” And in fact, this prediction was accomplished. One day, this man arrived whilst Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi was busy and he used this moment of distraction to shoot him. According to the predestine decree of ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted), he collapsed. Through spiritual unveiling, Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was aware of the scheming of his enemies as well as what was going to happen to him.
ALLAH chastised these conspirators as well as his assassin. Their group was scattered and dispersed and their descendants nearly disappeared. Those who remained in the region were completely ruined and their faces were marked by the horror because of ALLAH’s intense revenge. May ALLAH protect us from repeating the same error: that is opposing our masters the Awliya, because this leads undoubtedly to perdition. ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted) said in a qudusi hadith: “I will declare war on whosoever attacks one of my wali.” (Bukhari)
Hearing the death of Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him), a certain wali of Tunisia, who was not a member of the Tariqa Tidjaniya, wanted to take revenge on the inhabitants of Ain Madhi. Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) wrote him a letter warning him against the consequences of such an act. He sent six delegates to convey the message of which the great scholar Sidi Muhammad ibn Mechri (may ALLAH be satisfied with him). His only option was to conform to these orders and to lay down his arms.
Sidi Muhammad ibn Arabi (may ALLAH be satisfied with him) was the prodigy of his time due to what was known of his secrets and knowledge. He received gifts from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) both in dreams and awakened states, enough to astonish minds and graspable only by the greatest masters. One day, in a dream, he received a poem by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When he woke up, he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him for his commentary on this poem. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to him that it is through the love of the Sheikh that he was able to obtain these blessings and that, without this love, he would never have seen him (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed him to convey the poem and its commentary to Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret). He also received from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a prayer called “The Pearl…” (Yaqutati-l-Muhataj…), which contains great blessings for the believers who read it, as it was said by the Prophet himself (peace and blessings be upon him).
Concerning the beneficial effect of propriety and presence of heart during the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) said: « He who accomplished the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), should do so with the intention of conforming to the order of ALLAH, and with reverence, respect and love for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He should visualize him (peace and blessings be upon him) in the best way possible, and in his meditation, see his noble image as if he was present and recite the prayer upon him (peace and blessings be upon him) with presence, contemplation and propriety. If he performed it this way even once a day, he will be counted among those who pray profusely upon him.”
He also said regarding the presence of the heart during the prayer: « If, during the prayer, a person’s heart is divided into ninety-nine parts, and only one of those parts is present, then, because of the presence of this single part, all of the dispersed parts will be gathered and accepted. If the person who is praying does not keep even a single part, and he realizes the absence of the presence of the heart only after finishing the prayer, then he should return to the place of his prayer and pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the intention of repairing his prayer. Without doubt, his prayer will be repaired and accepted because of the prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Before entering the Tariqa of our Master Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (peace and blessings be upon him) was part of the Tariqa Bel Ben ‘Azuz. Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) had said, concerning this tariqa, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said to him: “Bel Ben ‘Azuz is a daemon of this community.” When he met Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and noticing all his prodigies, he requested his Baraka to follow his Tariqa. Following the recommendation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) made him his intimate companion.
Among the events that are recorded about him, it is said that Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) had sent someone to invite him to come and visit. For this, he assigned his companion Sidi Hajj Musaqam (may ALLAH be pleased with him) who brought for him a horse belonging to another companion. He found Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) in Taza and gave him the message from the Sheikh. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi jumped up immediately to answer these summons. During the journey, the horse died, and so Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi ordered some ruhaniyun (spiritual entities) to enter the horse so that it could travel as far as Bussemghun. As they were journeying, his travelling companion said to him: “O master, the bad smell of this horse is disturbing me.” And so he gave the order to step up the pace. As soon as he arrived at his destination and dismounted, the horse fell to the ground and maggots emerged from it. Thus, he met Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) with whom he talked about secrets.
On the instruction of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) reserved a room knows as “Bayt Sirr” (the room of the secrets) in each of his dwellings. When Seyyidina was building his blessing dwelling in Bussemghun and also in Ain Madhi, Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) told him that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said: “When you have built this house, keep one room and call it “Bayt sir”, perform your litanies and your evocations and all that I have instructed you to do there. Nobody but you should enter this room. In this way, you will see the blessings and the graces increase upon you and you will attain all your goals.”
This room was divided by sheets of hardwood and Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) would sit on one side whilst the noble intermediary Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) would sit on the other.
It is said than one day, when Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was performing zikr in this room, a ruhani (spiritual entity) came to him with a glass containing a drink of such intense luminosity that it lit up the room where he was sitting. The ruhani told him: “Drink!” But Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) thought to himself: “I do not wish anyother but Seyyidina Sheikh to drink this glass.” Then he called Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) saying: “O father” and repeated this from time to time. Seyyidina did not answer because at that moment he was immersed in his zikr. When finally he had finished and answered, Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) told him: “O father, the ruhani came to me with a glass in order to drink and so I called you in order to give it to you, but because it took so long, the ruhani went away.” Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said to him: “We have much hope that ALLAH will bring it back.”
Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said that among all the blessings that Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) received was that, one day, his wife in Ain Madhi had a craving for honey although it was not the season. Her husband was inclined to refuse her nothing, but at that time he apologized that he was unable to satisfy her craving. However, she did not accept his excuses and insisted, so he said to her:
« Go into the courtyard because Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) has sent some for you. So she went out and found upon a skin a large quantity of honey. His wife often boasted about her husband to the other women in the neighbourhood to such an extent that they made their husbands jealous with their gossip and this was to a large degree the reason for their plot to assassinate him.”
Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani’s son also said that Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) had plantations and that when they needed watering, clouds formed to shower his field without showering the neighbouring land. This is among the extraordinary blessings granted to our masters the Awliya.
Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) had misunderstandings with the chiefs of certain tribes that planned to capture him and to fight all those who opposed them.
When they reached Ain Mahi, they left no other choice to the inhabitants but that of handing over Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) upon pain of destroying the whole village, sparing nothing. They were so numerous that it was not possible to ward them off. The inhabitants of Ain Mahdi had no other alternative but to beg him to give himself up and according to ALLAH would have decreed. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) did not even raise his head and began to draw on the earth with his finger on the ground something that resembled writing and then he took a small piece of paper and drew letters upon it. Then he tore the paper in two and threw it towards the men who had come to capture him.
The two pieces of paper floated around until they came together and according to ALLAH’s decree, the army quarrelled and fought among themselves breaking down their unity and this hostility continued.
Sidi Ahmed Abdeloui (may Allah be pleased with him) had said that because of the strength of his spiritual opening and despite his young age, Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) envied and desired to reach the degree that was reserved to Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret). He wrote him a letter in which he revealed that he had seen a station (maqam) situated between that of Prophecy and that of the Poles which is not possible to inherit and which is reserved for a single member of this community. He admitted that he envied this station for himself but he did not dare to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in case it had not been reserved for him and out of fear that everything would be taken away from him.
Indeed, he was informed that this immense blessing was reserved for Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and so he rushed to inform him. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) requested Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) to give him, in return for this news, the reward of ten times Ismu Allah El A’dham, ten times Salatul Fatihi and ten times Miftahul Qutbaniya, because he had noticed that one single word of evocation pronounces by Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) surpassed what his children, his ancestors, and himself could evoke in the course of seventy years.
He loved Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) intensely and even more so when he came to know more about the unique and special station that he held with ALLAH (The Glorified, The Exalted). Once, he said: “One of the most eminent and elevated angels came to me and said: “Know that, simply upon hearing my name, the angels tremble with reverential fear because with my proximity with ALLAH, but Ahmed Tidjani has more merits than me with ALLAH.””
Among the stories that have been told by trustworthy people, one tells of a visit to Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) by a group which included Sidi Muhammad ibn Mechri (may Allah be pleased with him), Sidi Hajj Ali Tamacini (may Allah be pleased with him). They asked him the following question: “When animals died, do they go to Paradise or not?” He thought to himself: “They think that I am wise but I am not. Despite this, he who loves me will go to Heaven, and he who hates me will go to Hell. I was puzzled by that question and did not know what to answer until I met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about it. He said that some animals go to Paradise: that is to say those that belong to the Prophets, the Messengers and the Saints, and also those that die during combat, those on which Hajj is performed, and all those that die on the Way of ALLAH. There is a Paradise for those animals which is not the one of the creatures endowed with reason: there are no buildings and it is full of the kind of vegetation that they like and desire.”
He was also questioned about the hadith which states that the stingiest of all men is the one who does not pray upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he hears his name. Does this concern saying his name when talking about him (peace and blessings be upon him) or also saying his name when speaking of someone else? Because there is a divergence on the subject. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Arabi Damrawi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) answered: “
What is meant by this is that this refers to the name when it designates our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, a person who hears his name and does not pray upon him is considered to be stingy. If we are referring to a person other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we should not pray when we hear his name.”
Once, he said: « When a servant disobeys, the scribe angel on the left says to the scribe angel on the right: “Should I inscribe this for him?” He answers: “Do not inscribe it because ALLAH, The Exalted and The Honored, has generously granted his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only to inscribe disobedience commited by the believers of his community after three days. If they repent, then this disobedience will not be inscribed, but if they do not, it will.” The angel answers: “May ALLAH grant us relief.”
Another time, he was questioned about the fulfilment of obligations of which we are unaware with regards to the right of creatures over us. Sidi Muhammad (may ALLAH be pleased with him) wrote to Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) to ask him and he get the following answer: “You must perform Salat Fatihi and then say: “I offer the reward of this prayer as a compensation for all those to whom I have obligations, those who have suffered an injustice on my behalf, those who have a right over me and those to whom I am indebted and who will claim their debt on the day of Judgement in front of You, from the moment that my mother gave birth to me up until the day I will be buried in the ground.” O ALLAH, accept this from me and convey the reward to them so that it may be shared among all my beneficiaries according to the obligations, injustices, debts and the rights that I owe them.”
Sidi Muhammad ibn Arabi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) died in Ain Madhi (Algeria) at the age of 28 and leaving two daughters behind him. He passed away several months before Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) left for Fes. His tomb, which is famous and often visited for the Baraka, is in Ain Madhi.