The spiritual journey via the straightest path – part 2 – EL Madrassa Ahmediya Fi Haqq Tariqa Tidjaniya
To my dear and beloved Tidjani child,
“Your Sheikh is not only the one you listen to, but he is the one from whom you learn.”
“ Know my child that search for truth is the driving force of faith, a continuous and never-ending pursued of truth. The man who stops on the path of truth, has ceased to believe.”
The well beloved chosen one, our Master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended. So the one whose hijrah was to Allah and His Messenger, then his hijrah was to Allah and His Messenger…” (Boukhari and Muslim)
The invaluable teaching of my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), the Hidden Pole and recognized Muhamadian Seal, does continue.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: « The prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden me to orientate myself (towards ALLAH) by means of divine names. He has ordained me to orientate myself (towards ALLAH) by means of Salat el Fathi.”
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) had given his authorization to some of his special companions so that they could orientate themselves through some divine names and then he immediately changed his mind and led them to the accomplishment of Salat el Fatithi saying: “The prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has forbidden me to orientate myself (towards ALLAH) by means of divine name. He has ordained me to orientate myself (towards ALLAH) by means of Salatoul Fathi.” Thus complying with the words of ALLAH which say “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)” (Quran S59 V7) This occurred one or two days before his death.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), at his beginings, used to accomplish Salat el Fatihi. He said about it: “During my return from pilgrimage to Tlemcen (before the time of Fath) I concentrated on perfoming Salat el Fatihi given its merits. Indeed, a single (Salatoul Fatihi)(is equal to) is equivalent to 600 000 of any other prayers as it was written in Ouird Jouyoub. The author said that Sidi Muhammad El Bakri, who was a pole, stated: “May he who recites it only once and does not enter Paradise, catch and take me before ALLAH (on the Day of the last Judgment)”. I recite it incessantly until my departure from Tlemcen to Boussemghoune. When I noticed a prayer equivalent to 70 000 recitations of Dalail Khairat, I forsook Salat el Fatihi and concentrated on this particular prayer given its blessings. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordained me to go back to Salat el Fatihi, so I asked him what its merits were. He informed me that once is equivalent to all the glorifications of all creation as well as the formulas of evocation and supplication be they big or small and to six thousand recitations of the Quran which is also evocation […]”
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said describing the huge merit and immense value of Salat el Fatihi : “The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: “Nobody has prayed upon me in a better way than with Salat el Fatihi.””
He (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) also said: “If the inhabitants of the seven heavens and all that they contain, and the inhabitants of the seven earths and all that they contain gathered to describe the worth of Salat el Fatihi, they would not be able to.”
He (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) also said: “All that you have heard regarding the merits of Salat el Fatihi compared to what remained hidden is comparable to a drop in an ocean.”
Glory be to the One who has given His immense gifts to my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret).
My dear and beloved Tidjani child,
Know, may ALLAH have mercy upon you, that the grace of this unique pearl mentioned previously can only be acquired by he who recites it under two conditions:
The first condition is to receive authorization (iznou), indeed my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “The grace we have mentioned can only be acquired if I give direct authorization or through a certified intermediary.” He also said: “None in this world can authorize Salat el Fatihi except us or our companions in the Tariqa.”
The second is that he who recites this prayer should firmly believe that it comes from ALLAH in the same way as the hadith Qudusi and that it is not the result of a human composition. It was sent down on a luminous tablet written by a pen of The Almighty, it is not the result of the composition of such and such, and he who does not believe in this will not be able to benefit from the merits mentioned regarding it.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “Salat el Fatihi was not composed by El Bakri: he orientated himself towards ALLAH for a long period of time in order to receive the revelation of the prayer (upon the Prophet) that contains more merit than all the prayers put together and also contains the secret of all the other prayers. After lengthy supplication his prayer was granted. An angel came to him with this prayer written on a luminous tablet.”
This unique pearl includes three stations: outer, inner and hidden inside. My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “The stations of Salatoul Fatihi are three in number: outer, inner and hidden inside.”
It is mentionned in « Jami » of Sidi Mohamed ibn Mechri (may ALLAH be pleased with him): “Speaking of the merits of Salat el Fatihi, Seyyidina (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said that it has seven or eight degrees and all the merits that has been unveiled to his companions are only part of the first degree, all the rest is hidden.”
Up to you to be convinced because the secret of the Tariqa is in conviction.
My dear and beloved Tidjani child,
Know, may ALLAH have mercy upon you, that the realities of Salat el Fatihi are linked with the reality of our chosen beloved Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the reason why My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said the following words mentioned in the book Dourrat el Kharida: “If I tell you even one of the realities of Salat el Fatihi, all the great scholars would decree my execution.”
And in another version, found in El Ifadat el Ahmediya: “If I tell you even one of the realities of Salat el Fatihi, all the great knowers would decree my execution.”
This is because it is related to the hidden aspect of Muhamadian Reality and to elevated, well-guarded secrets that reason alone cannot understand, even the great knowers’ aspirations cannot apprehend (perceive).
Thus, there is no greater deed than the Salat el Fatihi in order to orientate towards ALLAH, except through His Great Supreme Name for he to whom ALLAH (The Glorified and The Exalted) has granted this favor. My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said:
“Nobody can orientate himself towards ALLAH by a better deed than this (Salat el Fatihi), whatever it may be, nor can he orientates himself by a deed which, because of its benefits, is greater and more loved by ALLAH, with the exception of a single station: where we orientate ourselves towards ALLAH through His Supreme Immense Name. This is the only exception, because this is the summum of orientation and the highest degree of all forms of adoration. So there is no limit to its merits no culmination (end) to its degree. The Salat el Fatihi follows directly after it in terms of degree and orientation as well as the merits and the success of obtaining the love of ALLAH for he who recites it and also the best outcome.
He who orientates himself towards ALLAH (The Glorified and The Exalted) (through Salat el Fatihi), having faith in its worth, has triumphed in gaining ALLAH’s approval and the rewards in this world and the Hereafter exceed the sum of all that can be obtained through other adorations.”
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) was asked in order to know whether, in his day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was aware or not of Salat el Fatihi which is a grace for the End of Time. He (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) answered: “Yes, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was aware.” Somebody asked him: « Why did he not say it to his companions given the endless blessings that it contains?”
He replied : « Two things prevented him. The first is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that it would come at the End of Time and he who should receive it would not appear in his day. The second is that if he had spoken about the immense grace obtained with so few deeds to them, they (may ALLAH be pleased with them) would have insisted on knowing it given their intense search for good. But It was not to appear at that time, this is why he did not speak about it to them. Furthermore, knowing the weakness of the people of this era and the chaos and corruption in which they would find themselves, ALLAH had mercy on them and granted them great blessings in exchange for simple deeds. He saves His Mercy for whom He wants when He wants. We should not say that what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told us during his lifetime is not the same as what he transmitted to us after his death. In truth, this two things are similar excepting that what is for the common people is for the common people, and what is for the elite is for the elite. And so of course obligatory deeds remained unchangeable for all, as, for exemple, in the hadith where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answers the question “which deed is the best?” saying “Prayer in its proper time.””
Consequently we understand that the best deed for he who evokes, after performing the obligatory litanies, is the recitation of Salat el Fatihi. It is the banner of our blessed Tariqa Muhammadiya, and this was the way of My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) because this unique pearl is the means of access to the Presence of the well beloved chosen one, Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Through it, the follower can be raised to the Divine Presence, in these days of degeneration and corruption.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “These days, nobody can escape from sin because it falls on people like heavy rain, so multiply whatever enables you to expiate such as Salat Fatihi, for no sin can escape it, whether isolated or regrouped […].”
My dear and beloved Tidjani child,
Know that the attachment to knowledge of secret of letters and alchemy is a fruitless trade and who he practices it, will only reap tiredness
In fact, my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), said regarding this: “all the doors of the evocations and secrets have been closed and only the doors of prayer on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Name El Latif have remained opened. Likewise, when the Sultan Mohamed Ibn ‘Abdallah was about to die, by the authorization of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the doors of magic and alchemy were also closed. For he who practices any of these things even to perfection, with the permission of ALLAH and so in compliance with the authorization of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Rouhani in charge of these secrets will corrupt them all.”
As a result, it is inappropriate to immerse yourself in the domain of particular secrets linked to formulas of evocation, divine names, letters and mystical charts because all this lead to great danger and heavy consequences.
This can only be undertaken by he who has a specific authorization from the chosen well beloved Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or from my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) or from those who detain the authorization to transmit particular secrets within our blessed Tariqa Muhammadiya.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “Know that your attraction towards the use of particular secrets in view of worldly goods, while your tongue indulges unreservedly in slander, backbiting and in all that does not satisfy ALLAH and while you are absorbed in what takes you away from ALLAH, know that it is a trade where the only profit is tiredness because there is nothing to be gained from it. Indeed, secrets are an ocean of covetousness and he who wants to benefit from them is comparable to he who wants to seize “a mirage on a desert plain that a thirsty man thinks is water.” (S24 V39)
Indeed, regarding particular formulas and their secrets, none of the creatures of ALLAH can expect to master them except one of these two categories of people:
– A person who has obtained the triumph of sainthood.
– A person who spends most of his time evoking ALLAH and in true orientation towards Him (Glorified and Exalted) as well as praying upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), yearning for His Noble Face without any another motive and acting diligently in this way, refraining from saying unlawful words such as slander, backbiting, falsehood, mockery, and all that is disapproved.
In addition, he protects his heart from all that displeases ALLAH such as pride, jealousy, injustice towards people and hatred without any religious motive or any such thing. All that has been said should be accomplished for ALLAH (may He be Exalted). In this way, some secrets and particular formulas may come to this person.
With the exception of these two categories, all others will reap only fatigue by using secrets.”
Consequently, beware of indulging in the secrets linked to the formulas of evocation, to the divine names, to the letters and the mystical tablets specific to the Shadhiliya or to any other spiritual paths and my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) repeated in one of his letters: “Regarding your request concerning the use of the “Chadhili circle” with the names and secrets, the answer is: “you should know that indulging in the texts of the elites such as “Chadhili circle”, with the divine names, letters and tablets, is but a mirage in the distance, where we imagine that we can quench our thirst, but when we reach there, we find nothing but fatigue and covetousness in which not even a small amount of profit can be found, not even the benefit of an advantage […]”
Indeed, many evil men use subterfuge to deceive greedy people, extorting considerable amounts from them, passing themselves off as wisdom and secret holders with the ability to fix their situation (resolve their problems), and having the power of influence through the divine names, letters and mystical tablets, where they are in fact the most ignorant.
My dear and beloved Tidjani child,
Know that, my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), before attaining the great opening, used to authorize evocation of secret divine names to his beloved as well as those close to him and his elite amongst those who were strongly bound to him. These evocations were employed for the benefits that they brought in order to acquire particular blessings and to help them to reach the truth or to repel harm from creatures.
Following this, he completely turned away from this and forbade it to all those who spent their time in such activity. Amongst them there was the great intermediary Sidi Mohamed Ibn ‘Arabi Damraoui (may ALLAH be pleased with him) who used to meet the beloved Chosen One Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) twenty four times a day and who was under the particularly caring gaze of my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) complying with the recommendation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved by God.
Despite this, he said to him: « If you aspire to attain the opening, then you must abandon these things ». He perfectly mastered the mystical tablets and demonstrated it among the brothers and the loved ones, for example by demultiplying small coins, but my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) forbade this saying: “If ever you do this again, the relationship between you and me will be severed.” So he stopped immediately this practice.
It has also been said that a character by the name of Abdsalem ‘Alami El Jabali (may ALLAH be pleased with him) was studying in a school and researching particular azkar (litanies) and esoteric secrets regarding science of letters, practicing alchemy, but because he was achieving nothing, he doubted the capacity of certain people and so he was orientated towards my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret). Consequently he came to him with the intention of asking him for the way to use the spiritual power of the surat “Alam nachrah laka […].”
But my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) knew what he was going to request through unveiling and before he even had a chance to ask, he made the following allusion: “A person was reading the surat “Alam nachrah laka […]” and suddenly two spiritual servants appeared before him and said: “we are the servants of these surat, one of us is in service to Mawlana Muhammad Ben Nasr and the other is in the service to Mawlana Muhammad Charqi, and you cannot reach us through them because they will interpose themselves between us and you”.
Then he turned to our character and said: “O you the students who think that you are our masters, within you, you hold the book of ALLAH and learn religion, and yet you cling to everything that displeases ALLAH. If you turned to prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) it would be enough in the face of everything.”
Thus, he (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) took him by the hand and lead him towards what would be benefit him the most, advising him and warning him against worship for personal gains and turned him towards accomplishing prayer on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In his hands, our character beseeched pardon and repented, then he solicited the Tariqa of my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) who gave it to him.
My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) sent a letter to his companion, the erudite, the devoted, the follower of the path, Sidi el Mouhib ben Qadour Zarhouni (may ALLAH be pleased with him) through whom he orientated him to give himself to the evocation of Salat elFatihi, saying to him:
“[…] You asked me authorization for additional formulas of evocation. Know that I give you authorization concerning evocations and names, verses and invocations, wherever they are and however they are formulated, except for those which belong to the litanies of other Chuyukh which are obligatory in the affiliation to their paths. Know that all the evocations, invocations, prayers on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that you would perform, and this for a hundred thousand years, reciting them a hundred thousand times every day, the total benefit would not be worth the reward of one single Salat el Fatihi.
If you want to be among the winners in the Hereafter, then perform it according to your ability, because this is the vast treasure that ALLAH grants to he who accomplishes it. Also if you wish to add supplementary evocation to the obligatory litanies, perform Salat el Fatihi, this is my advice for the sake of ALLAH.”
My dear beloved Tidjani child,
Indeed all the good is in following the exemplarity of my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), and all the bad is in diverging from his straightest path in the spiritual journey to ALLAH (The Glorified and The Exalted) through this noble Tariqa Muhammadiya.
Know, may ALLAH have mercy upon you, that my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) has not forbidden the use of secret formulas of evocation to these noble figures because of any incompetence on their part in this domain. Who better than these eminent figures would be able to use these secrets? In reality, he alone knows the reason for his action, guided by a secret which is only accessible to those who drink at his source, knowing his objective concerning the education of his companions.
This procedure enabled the suppression of any form of aspiration on their part for benefits obtained through the secrets so that they would be fully orientated toward the ultimate goal, that is to say to reach the Holy Presence of The Supreme Master. Indeed, the search for secrets is one of the greatest veils that prevent attaining the Desired One. In this way, he orientated them to most exact path and the straightest way through our noble Tariqa Muhammadiya. My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “For sure, our tariqa is that of the elite but it is not founded on the use of secrets formulas.”
So it is this way that the caliph of the Sheikh, the eminently known as “The voice of the Tariqa”, the erudite Sidi Muhammad Kensoussi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) advised a brother in one of his letters, saying: “If you desire great success and if you accept my advice, know that all that you add to the accomplishment of the essential litanies in order to obtain the reward, proximity of ALLAH (The Glorified and The Exalted) and request for His Approval, may it be by accomplishing Salat el Fatihi. No other worship can equal Salat el Fatihi and only the station of the Supreme Name is above it for he who has been rewarded with the Supreme Name by ALLAH.
So accomplish it again and again, it is definitely the treasure that ALLAH mercifully manifested in these days for weaklings like us. If you heard what great blessings ALLAH has planned for those who accomplish it then surely you would not perform anything else […].”
The learned Sidi Mohammed Kensoussi (may ALLAH be pleased with him) also said in another letter to a brother : “[…] You have informed me that you have forsaken all form of litanies in order to concentrate all your aspiration and all your attention on performing Salat el Fatihi, and that you recite it many times day and night. Know that you have discovered the great treasure and attain the success, he who performs Salat el Fatihi cannot despair or lose. Give thanks to ALLAH for this, for indeed you have reached, in a short time, the ultimate station that even the most perfect people cannot hope to attain.”
In conclusion, regarding the immensity of the merit of Salat el Fatihi, its worthiness is sufficient for he who is awakened. Know that this unique pearl is the secret of the Tariqa and that it is renowned both among the ordinary people and the elite within our noble Tariqa Muhammadiya.
In order that you fully benefit from it, I advise you to accomplish it with the presence of the heart. Indeed, Abundance of prayers and salutations upon the beloved chosen Seyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the pole around which the path of our blessed Tariqa evolves. He who evokes this unique pearl should be in the best of dispositions, and the most perfect of these consist of penetrating its meaning while listening attentively to the recitation, interiorly visualizing the presence of the approved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as much as possible, convinced that he is sitting beside him (peace and blessings be upon him) and drawing his irrigation.
Know, may ALLAH have mercy upon you, that my advice to you is following that of my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) and that it is ALLAH who guides on the straight path.
My dear and beloved Tidjani child,
For sure, he who wishes to attain love of ALLAH (The Glorified and The Exalted) and the love of the well beloved chosen Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then he should devote himself to accomplishing Salat ef Fatihi with the presence of heart. My Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) said: “The state of presence is the soul of action.”
There is no greater intermediary in order to attain the goal than performing this unique pearl satisfying its conditions of necessity and perfection. This is the pure authentic path brought by my Master, my Sheikh, my Excellence and most beloved Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) which follows precisely and assiduously the path of the well beloved chosen Seyyidina Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In this way, he complies with the words of ALLAH: “Indeed in the Messenger of ALLAH you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in ALLAH and the Last Day and remembers ALLAH much.” (Quran S33 V21)
Finally, my dear and beloved Tidjani child, know that for he who does not satisfy all the requirements of the instant, that instant is lost to him.
We request ALLAH the Most High, the Most Powerful, to grant us all that He loves and approves, He is the One who sustains us until then and Capable of all that.
Written by the most insignificant of Seyyidina Sheikh Ahmed Tidjani’s disciple (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret), Mohammed El Mansour El Mohieddine Tidjani, may ALLAH grant him his kindness.
Zawiya Tijaniyya el Kubra of Europe