AHL AL-BAYT

IMAMS OF THE AHL AL-BAYT (AS)???

    Question:

    As-Salam Alaykum Sidi,

    You have stated previously that a Tijani should not make Tawassul through those saints of the Ahl al-Bayt who are not Tijani.

    However, there is a Qasidah attributed to the great Tijani Khalifah, Shaykh-al-Islam Ibrahim al-Rayahi (RA) where he makes tawassul through the 12 Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, of whom only the first 3 are Sahabis and the rest are non-Tijani Saints. Here are the relevant lines from the Qasidah:

    توسلت بالصديق خلك و الذي= مـرارا أتى التنزيل وفق الذي يبدي

    و عثمان ذو النورين من حييت له= ملائك فاستحيت من وجهه الوردي

    و حمزة و العباس و الصحب كلهم= و لا سيـما ءآل خصوصا ذوي ودي

    أبـا حسن باب العلوم و من أتى= بـنوه بـحـورا عذبـها دائـم المد

    بهم جئت يا خير الورى متوسلا= أرى أنني ألححت في مطلبي جهدي

    و حاش لهم أني أخيب و فد أتى= بأسمائهم نظمي فرائد في عقد

    أدرت بهم أفلاك أمري كما ترى= بروجا و لكن كلها مطلع السعد

    هم حسن ثم الحسين و نجله= علي الذي زان العبادة بالزهد

    و باقر علم وهو والد جعفر= أبو الكاظم القرم الهمام بلا جحد

    علي الرضى ثم الجواد محمد= علي التقى و العسكري أبو المهدي

    و سيدنا المهدي الذي سوف تنجلي= به ظلمات الجور و الزيغ عم حد

    فها أنا مدل يا كريم بجاههم =و حاش لهم أني أقابل بالرد

    و صلى عليك الله ما أنت أهله= و سلم تسليما تقدس عن عد

    وءآلك و الأصحاب طرا و تابع= و بعد فذا دلي لجدواك يستجدي

    How do you explain this???

    Answer:

    Wa Alaykum As-Salam Sidi,

    I state again that a Tijani cannot make Tawassul through any of the noble saints of other Ahl al-Bayt except those who were Sahabah, or those who are Tijanis. The 12 Imams (or 12 Qutbs to use the correct right term) are no exception to this rule.

    The case of Mawlay Idris (RA) makes it very clear, for he is from the Hasanid Side what Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq is from the Husayni Side. i.e. the 4th grandson of the Prophet (SAW). Yet Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RA) did NOT allow his murid to greet Mawlay Idris (RA), who is buried near the Tijani Zawiyah in Fez.

    Of course, it goes without saying, that we MUST love and honor all of them.

    Of the 12 Imam (a Shia concept), we can and should make tawassul through the first three only, as the first three: our Masters Ali (RA), Hasan (RA) and Husayn (RA) are the Essence of the Ahl al-Bayt and they are among the Sahabah.

    We make tawassul through Sayyidah Fatimah (AS) as well.

    The rest of the Ahl al-Bayt are their descendants only, and not the essence. As far as we are concerned, we drink from the Five (Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan and Husayn) and then Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Tijani (RA), who is the complete inheritor of the Wilayah of Imam Ali (AS).

    According to Shaykh Ibrahim (ra) and most Tijani scholars, the Mahdi will also be a Tijani so we can make tawassul through him. But we cannot seek any spiritual assistance from the rest pf the Saints of the Ahl al-Bayt as their status is lesser than that of Khatam al-Awliya and al-Qutb al-Maktum Sayyiduna Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (RA)....who is the whole Ahl al-Bayt in one Dhat. Ali was the beginning and he was the Seal.

    Shaykh Ibrahim (RA) wrote about Shaykhuna al-Tijani (RA) in his al-Sirr al-Akbar referring to this eternal reality:

    ال   النبي   محمد

    جمع أتى في مفرد

    The "Family" of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)

    is a Plural that was manifested in a Singular (Khatam al-Awliya)

    The Maqam of this Tariqah, its Shaykh and it Men is VERY VERY VERY GREAT, beyond any human comprehension.

    Indeed, our Guide Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RA) said:

    The Prophet (SAW) told me in wakefulness:

    "Your companions are my companions!"

    أصحابك أصحابي

    Now, as for the poem attributed to Shaykh-al-Islam al-Rayahi (RA), I found it in the Tijani Dua book:

    أحزاب وأوراد القطب الرباني العارف الصمداني

    سيدنا ومولانا الشيخ أحمد التجاني

    رضي الله عنه وعنا به ونفعنا به آمين

    However, my copy of it (printed by ad-Dar al-Ifriqiyyah of Kano Nigeria) and edited by the great Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Tijani (RA) of Egypt included only the tawassul by the Sahabah of the Ahl al-Bayt and did not include the lines in which tawassul is made by other non-Sahabi non-Tijani Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (RA).

    Do note also that that this poem was written by the Tijani Khalifah of Tunis, Shaykh-al-Islam Ibrahim al-Rayahi (RA), rector of Zaytuna, before he had taken the Tariqah Tijaniyyah (read footnote on p.166 of the Azhab).

    He wrote the poem as an ending to his Salat entitled al-Narjasah al-Anbariyyah fi 's-Salat ala Khayr il-Bariyyah.

    Sidi Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz (RA), who is the compiler of the Ahzab, added this Salat in this Tijani compilation due to its beauty, but deleted those lines that include tawassul through non-Sahabah. He explicitly mentions this in the footnote on p.182.

    His deletion of those lines confirm what I stated, for he was an expert on the Rules of the Tariqah.

    So the poem as we Tijanis are supposed to recite it is only:

    على باب خير الخلق أوقفني قصدي= لعلمي بأن المصطفى واسع الرفد

    وقد جئت لا علم لي ولا تقـى =ولكن كل الخبث يا سيدي عندي

    فيأمن وجود الكائنات بأسرها= به أتري غيي و عندكم رشدي

    ونفحة جود منك يا أجود الورى =لعمري وجد ما له بعد من فقد

    توسلت بالصديق خلك و الذي= مـرارا أتى التنزيل وفق الذي يبدي

    و عثمان ذو النورين من حييت له= ملائك فاستحيت من وجهه الوردي

    و حمزة و العباس و الصحب كلهم= و لا سيـما ءآل خصوصا ذوي ودي

    أبـا حسن باب العلوم و من أتى= بـنوه بـحـورا عذبـها دائـم المد

    بهم جئت يا خير الورى متوسلا= أرى أنني ألححت في مطلبي جهدي

    و حاش لهم أني أخيب و فد أتى= بأسمائهم نظمي فرائد في عقد

    أدرت بهم أفلاك أمري كما ترى= بروجا و لكن كلها مطلع السعد

    هم حسن ثم الحسين و زينب= شموس الهدي زانوا العبادة بالزهد

    1 corrected line and 3 Deleted Lines

    فها أنا مدل يا كريم بجاههم =و حاش لهم أني أقابل بالرد

    و صلى عليك الله ما أنت أهله= و سلم تسليما تقدس عن عد

    وءآلك و الأصحاب طرا و تابع= و بعد فذا دلي لجدواك يستجدي

    The following 3 lines were deleted by Shaykh al-Hafiz (RA) as they have Tawassul by non-Tijani Qutbs:

    و باقر علم وهو والد جعفر= أبو الكاظم القرم الهمام بلا جحد

    علي الرضى ثم الجواد محمد= علي التقى و العسكري أبو المهدي

    و سيدنا المهدي الذي سوف تنجلي= به ظلمات الجور و الزيغ عم حد

    The names of the following non-Sahabi non-Tijani Qutbs of the Ahl al-Bayt were removed by Shaykh al-Hafiz (RA):

    The Noble ones: Ali Zayn al-Abidin al-Sajjad (whose name was replaced by that of al-Sayyidah Zaynab bint Ali, a Sahabiyyah), Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far al-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, Ali al-Rida, Muhammad al-Jawwad, Ali al-Taqi, Hasan al-Askari and the Imam al-Mahdi, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all.

    Note that not all the Ulama of the Tariqah agree that the Mahdi will be a Tijani, for some (like Sidi Sukayrij) believe that he will only ask the Duas of the Tijanis, but wont take the Tariqah, and will be guided by Allah independently. This is a weak opinion though and Shaykh Sukayrij (RA) based it one text only.

    Unfortunately, in some copies and books, this pre-Tijani poem of Shaykh al-Rayahi (RA) is reproduced fully without the appropriate deletions, therefore causing confusion among Tijani disciples.

    So, I think the matter is very clear now.

    Shukran for bringing it to my attention!!!

    We say as Mawlana Sahib al-Faydah (RA) said:

    حسبي  ببر  روءوف

    حسبي  به  و كفاني

    حسبي  به  و  بطه

    حسبي بشيخي التجاني

    Sufficient for me is the Generous and Compassionate One (Allah)

    He is Sufficient for me and Enough

    Sufficient for me is Him and Taha (SAW)

    Sufficient for me is my Shaykh al-Tijani (RA)

    Duas given and taken,

    Servant of the Tijani Door

    Fakhruddin bin Ahmad al-Tijani

    Feb 28, 2013