LETTER #5 FROM THE DISCOURSES: “ON GATHERING FOR THE DAILY WAZIFA AND SPENDING ONE

S TIME OFFERING ‘SALATUL FATIHI’:

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
All praise and thanks belongs to Allah, The Lord of all the worlds. The Most Gra
cious, The Most Merciful. The Master of the Day of Judgment. After this:
This letter is written to our beloved brothers and sisters in the city of Fez, M
orocco--the abode of our beloved and sincere disciple, the Gnostic who is comple
ted annihilated in the love of Allah, His Messenger(SAWS), Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijan
i(RA) and his Secret. The noble Muqaddam with special permission (Idhn al-Khas)
in the Tariqa Tijaniyya--the Essence of Divine Secrets (Dhat al-Asrar ar-Rabban
iyya)--and for these (noble descriptions) let the strivers strive! The perfect
master, Sidi Al Hajj Saalim.
As-Salaamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah Ta’ala wa Barakatuh, a greeting which is support
ed by the Madad of our master Ahmad al-Tijani(RA). After humbly praying to Alla
h Ta’ala with supplications for myself and for you, asking that He guide us all to
that which He loves and is pleased with, and that He bestow upon us the wellnes
s and felicity of both this life and the next! My advice to myself and to you a
ll is to have conscious awareness (Taqwa) of Allah--in both public and private--
for that is the secret of secrets! The (basic meaning of Taqwa is) to obey the
commands and avoid the prohibitions of Allah, outwardly and inwardly! “O you who
believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those of you who are in authori
ty.”(4:59).
The most important of the commands of Allah is the performance of the five (5) d
aily Salat in congregation, after the prerequisite purification with water--exce
pt for the one with a valid excuse for Tayammum. Of equal importance is the com
mand to perform the daily Wazifa in congregation with the brethren, as congregat
ion is a condition for its (correct) performance. Whosoever abandons the Wazifa
or abandons the congregational recital has surely become cut off from the Tariq
a Tijaniyya, and we seek refuge in Allah from that!
It is also important that you spend your moments sending abundant prayers and sa
lutations upon the Prophet(SAWS) with “Salatul Fatihi Lima Ughliq”, and I especially
advise you to do this at night and the last one-sixth (1/6th) of the night is t
he best! Verily, it has been narrated that in every night there is an ‘hour’ wherei
n prayers are answered, and that is the ‘hour’ in which the Real manifests Himself (
Tajjali al-Haqq) to accept the supplications and other acts of worship. This ‘hour’
is hidden in the different parts of the night, but it is thought that this ’hour’ is
in the last sixth of the night.#
I advise you to occupy your time in the remembrance of Allah, Glorious and Exalt
ed is He! I also urge all of you to take every opportunity to attend the gather
ings of Dhikr, especially when the seniors (Kabir) are present! They are a peop
le whose company will never bring misery! Allah Ta’ala says, “O you who believe! R
emember Allah with much remembrance.”(33:41), and I guarantee all of you to reach
the degree of “much”! Know that if each of you had one hundred thousand tongues whe
reby you made Dhikr with, silently and audible, day and night--you would not att
ain the degree of “much” in the Presence of Allah Ta’ala!
It has been narrated that the Prophet(SAWS) said, “This world has been cursed, and
everything in it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allah and its people.” Th
erefore do not pay any attention to the speech of the enemies of the Deen--those
who run away from the remembrance of Allah! They are a people who have been dr
iven away (from the Presence of Allah), and we seek refuge in Allah from that!
It is mandatory for an intelligent person to show mercy and compassion upon his
own soul and to (save his) Deen by fleeing from such (critics of Dhikr) in the
manner you would flee from a lion! There can be no benefit in keeping company w
ith a person who has been driven away by the Real! In fact, there is absolutely
no benefit, but rather harm!
I advise all of you to be obedient to whatever your Muqaddam orders you to do, i
n the way of good or prohibiting you from what is disliked, for the sake of Alla
h and by Allah. Be for Allah and Allah will be for you! Be with Allah and Alla
h will be with you! These are two guarantors for your safety and security from
every type of evil and corruption, because Allah is far exalted above evil and c
orruption!
Whosoever has to ask, let him ask of Allah! Whosoever needs assistance, let him
seek the assistance of Allah! Whosoever has a desire, let him seek its fulfill
ment from Allah! By Allah, there is nothing with anyone else (with which to ben
efit you)--either inwardly or outwardly--either in this world or the life to com
e! You should know that Allah--the Divine Conductor of Existence--has driven ma
nkind towards their destruction and no one is saved except the one who has been
blessed to love our master, Shaykh al-Khatm Ahmad al-Tijani(RA)! This love is a
guarantor that you will become a Gnostic (‘Arif), due to the guarantee given by t
he Master of Existence (Sayyid al-Wujud)!
O my brothers, you should know that the believers are like a solid cemented stru
cture, each brick standing upon the other. A believer is the brother to his fel
low believer, and your Wali is only Allah, His Messenger(SAWS) and the believing
men and women! Abu Hurayra (RA) has narrated that the Messenger of Allah(SAWS)
said, “Do not try to find fault with each other, do not spy on one another, do no
t vie with one another, do not envy one another, do not be angry with one anothe
r, do not turn away from one another, and be servants of Allah, brothers to one
another, as you have been commanded. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, he do
es him no wrong, nor does he let him down, nor does he despise him.” This especi
ally applies to the companions of our Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani(RA), who said:
“Verily, we have a degree in the Presence of Allah which reaches such a height tha
t I am forbidden to divulge its reality to you. If I were to express it, the ma
sters of truth and gnosis would be unanimous in killing me (declaring me guilty
of unbelief) to say nothing of other people. It is not the degree that I have m
entioned to you. No indeed, it is beyond that! Among the special traits of pecu
liarity of my unique station is that whosoever is not on guard against disturbin
g the hearts and minds of our companions will be banished from nearness with All
ah and he will be deprived of what He has bestowed upon him and he will ultimate
ly face destruction.”
He also said, “I advise each of the Muqaddams to spread the robe of concealment ov
er every defect and flaw and to pardon and forgive the mistakes of the brethren
. Whenever you see a spark of evil cropping up between the brethren, you must r
ush to put out. I order all of you to be obedient to whatever your Muqaddam com
mands you of good and to hasten to what will bring reconciliation between the br
ethren. I warn each of you about looking into each others worldly affairs, or f
rom desiring the possessions of the brethren, knowing that Allah (alone) is the
One Who bestows and He is the One who withholds; He is the One who humiliates a
nd He is the One who exalts.”
I advise all of you to hold to this letter and what it contains, and I ask Allah
that He rectify our spiritual state and our destiny, and I ask that He grant us
sincerity in our worshipful service (‘Ubudiyya) and help us to fulfill the rights
of Lordship (Rububiyya). I ask that He be a Guardian over us and that He cause
us to die with the love of Shaykh al-Khatm Ahmad al-Tijani(RA) and that He gath
er us with his group in the company of the Prophets and Messengers in the vicini
ty of the Master of Existence(SAWS), in the highest portion of ‘Illiyun! Salaam.
Transcribed by Sidi Ali Cisse from the dictation of our Shaykh and Teacher, Mawl
ana Ibrahim ibn AlHajj Abdullahi al-Tijani
1350H/1931-1932