Trials and Alleviation of them (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret)

This letter is among those that Seyyidina Ahmed Tidjani (may ALLAH sanctify his precious secret) sent to his disciples:

« In the name of ALLAH, May the prayer be upon the Prophet, Praise be to ALLAH, Exalted is his Praise, This letter is intended for all our beloved disciples and equally for each and every one personally, may the peace, the Mercy and the Blessing of ALLAH be upon you, on behalf of Ahmed ibn Muhammad Tidjani,

We request ALLAH on behalf of all of you and your elite that he bestows oceans of Solicitude and Approval upon you – may He be glorified and exalted- equal to that received by the greatest knowers among His servants and by exceptional people, until all your misdeeds are wiped away and that none of them could be reason for reproach. May all your sins and marks of your negligence be received by His Pardon and His Indulgence and may you never be confronted by them.

We also request from Him, may He be glorified and exalted, that he inscribes you all in the register of people of bliss, in which only his greatest Allies (Awliya) and His Exceptional people are recorded; those for whom there is neither modification nor change. May He apply the Kohol of His Lights on your view, those lights which he showered upon spirits in the time pre-existence, may He expose you to His Grace both in this world and the Hereafter, may He look upon you with His Gaze of Mercy through which he who is gazed upon is then spared all affliction both in this world and the Hereafter.

But know also that all of the servants in this world must share in the tribulations of our times, whether by being affected by harm or by being deprived of a blessing, or the sadness caused by the death of a loved one or by destruction or anything else that cannot be entirely enumerated or itemized. Whosoever is affected by anyone of these tribulations should be patient and should redouble his patience in order to swallow his bitterness in small sips for this is the only reason that ALLAH’s servants have been put in this world. Whosoever fears that he is not able to bear his burden, that he is not able to resist the load that falls upon him should force (put the squeeze on) himself to accomplish one or even better both of the following:

– Firstly to recite diligently a thousand “Ya Latif” after each prayer, if possible. If not, recite a thousand “Ya Latif” in the morning and a thousand in the evening. In this way, he will hasten liberation from the affliction in question.

– Secondly to recite a hundred prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Salat el Fatihi, and offer the reward to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If possible, recite a hundred prayers upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after each prayer, if not, one hundred in the morning and one hundred in the evening.

For each one of these two recitations (that is to say Ya Latif and the prayer upon the Prophet and the offering of the reward to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)), one should establish the intention that ALLAH, Exalted, will liberate from all misfortune, and that He makes them a safeguard against affliction. This will hasten help. Similarly, he who has debts and is unable to honour them, or he who has a large family and find himself even more impoverished with no door to access the causes of livelihood. He should accomplish one of the two above, or both of them, and he will rapidly see deliverance from ALLAH.

This is also the case for he who fears probable perdition like fearing a creditor who accepts no excuses and grants no extension in the payment period, when he is not in possession of the money demanded, or even both situations together, or any other form of fear. Here again, he should compel himself to accomplish either or both of these recitations which will rapidly dissipate them but even more quickly if alms are given, whether a little or a lot, with the intention of warding off any fear that may occur, or with the intention of hastening deliverance from affliction and torment. This is even better to hasten deliverance and relief.

Then, encourage each other to patience and encourage each other to mercy and be extremely careful not to neglect the rights of the brothers, observing that which attracts their love, or wards off trouble, or by giving help in the face of difficulty, because he who is tried by negligence for his brothers’ rights, will then be tried by negligence for the Divine rights.

And certainly ALLAH will help his servant in equal measure to the help that the latter gives to his brother.

Keep your heart safe from dislike or contempt for anyone who has acted according to the truth but contrary to your passionate desires, or who has taken away something futile contrary to you passionate desires, because this is considered as association with ALLAH (Shirk). In this way, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, or in words to that effect: “In my community, Association is less than the marks left by an ant moving over a rock, and the least of all (association) is to love because of falsehood and to hate because of truth.”

Likewise, keep your heart safe from loving or appreciating whosoever accomplishes whatever is vain or destroys that which is true according to your own passionate desires, because this also is part of association (Shirk) with ALLAH, Exalted. The believer loves truth and loves its people. He loves to be told the truth and that we act upon the truth. He disapproves that which is vain and those who uphold it (its people). He hates the accomplishment of that which is vain and acting upon it. And peace be upon you.

Remark:

It should be noted that considering our words concerning the preservation of the rights of the brothers that it should be without difficulty, compulsion, or burden, according to capacity and possibility except in certain situations where hostility, severance of bonds of brotherhood, corruption of the heart from a brother is feared. He should hasten to purify his heart because this will bring ALLAH’s approval (The Exalted). It should also be noted that disapproval of whosoever accomplishes whatever is vain should only be accomplished within the heart, because outwardly expressing this to one of our members could cause even greater harm. Consequently, it is preferable not to express it outwardly. And peace be upon you. »

Research and translation by Zawiya Tidjaniya el Kubra in Lyon, France