The Other Side Of Sufism

Notes on the Tijaniyyah Order Like the other Sufi orders, al-Tijaniyyah is a condemned bid'ah, since neither it nor the others existed at the time of the Prophet nor during the era of the two succeeding generations. Imam Malik, may Allah grant him His Mercy, said,

"He who introduces a bid'ah in the religion of Islam and deems it a good thing, claims by so doing that Muhammad  betrayed (the trust of conveying) the Divine Message." ⁽⁸⁵⁾

In his critique on the Tijaniyyah Order, al-Anwaar Ar-Rahmaniyyah, the late al-Shaikh Yusuf al-Ifriqi wrote:

"Any one who applies himself to the acts of devotion other than those brought about by the Divine Message of Prophethood, doubtlessly belongs to the Fire--doomed sects."⁽⁸⁶⁾

This is confirmed by the statement made by the Prophet  to his companions:

"He who will live (long enough) will see many different (ways). Keep you to my Sunnah, and the Sunnah of the well-guided khulafa'; hold fast thereto. And beware of innovations (in matters of religion). Verily, every innovation is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire." ⁽⁸⁷⁾

Al-Shaikh al-Ifriqi lister in his book the following tenets, quoted from the major writings of al-Tijaniyyah Order, with his valuable comments on each:

They claim that their wird was kept by the Messenger of Allah  , who did not teach it to any of his companions, knowing that the time to make this wird public was not due, and that the person by whom this wird was to be made public was not yet in existence. ⁽⁸⁸⁾

The wird in question consists of three lines, poorly constructed grammatically:

"O Allah, praise our master Muhammad, the opener of the locked, the seal of what had preceded, the supporter of the truth by the truth, the guide to Your straight path, and his family with the estimation and the great honouring that are due to him."

By saying, "The Messenger of Allah kept that wird and did not teach it to any of his companions," Ahmad at-Tijani, head of the Tijani Order, refutes the words of Allah: meaning,

"O Messenger! Convey to the people what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message (at all)."

Imputing distrust to the Messenger of Allah is unanimously agreed upon by Muslim scholars as an act of disbelief. In identifying himself as "the person by whom this wird is to be made public," at-Tijani places himself above Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the best man after the Prophet  . This is utter flippancy and apostacy.

"A single recitation of the above wird, which is called salatul fatih, is equal to every celebration of praise that has taken place in the universe, and to every dthikr and every supplication major or minor, and is equal to reciting the Qur'an six thousand times." ⁽⁸⁹⁾

This is apostacy and impiety, and anyone who does not deny it becomes an apostate himself. Is there anything better than the Qur'an? The person who made such a falsehood obviously did not know Muhammad  , nor did he know the Message with which he was sent, or why he was sent. Allah the glorious says: meaning,

"Surely, those who forge lies against Allah do not prosper." (16.116)

Recitation and application of the Qur'an are the best acts of worship. The Prophet said:

"The best thing that I and the Prophets before me said is La ilaha illal-lah, 'There is no god worthy of being worshipped beside Allah.'"

A statement like at-Tijani's is only a means of turning the more naive of the Muslim community away from the Qur'an.

"He who does not believe in salatul-faatih is from the Qur'an shall be deprived of its reward." ⁽⁹⁰⁾

And the Muslims say, he who believes it to be from the Qur'an is a clear kafir, or infidel, because Divine revelation was received only by the Prophets. This salatul faatih is found neither in the Book of Allah nor even in a fabricated hadeeth. People are divided into two groups over this issue: those who believe that it is from the Qur'an and those who believe that it is not. The former are out of the fold of Islam; the latter are out of the fold of at-Tijaniyyah Order.

"A pulpit of light shall be place for me on the Day of Judgment, and a caller will call out, loud enough to be heard by everyone in the assembly: 'O people of the assembly! This is your imam, from whom you were seeking help unawares."⁽⁹¹⁾

The writer of the above statement appoints himself as a prophet, because it is the Prophet Muhammad  who will be the speaker on the Day of Judgment, as reported by Anas bin Malik. He also implies that the Prophets and the Messengers were all seeking his help, for they will also be in the assembly on that day, and that is impossible. A statement like that can be made only by someone who claims lordship.

"He who happen to look at us on Friday or Monday shall enter Jannah without reckoning or punishment; even if he were an infidel, he would die in the state of iman."⁽⁹²⁾

Allah the Exalted says: meaning,

"Who is more wrongful than he who forges lies against Allah, to lead people astray without knowledge? Surely, Allah does not guide the wrongful."(6.144)

At-Tijani elevates himself above all Prophets by claiming such a privilege. Ash-Shaikh al-Ifriqi wrote:

"The Prophet lived with his uncle Abu Talib for years, yet the latter died an unbeliever. So did Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab, who looked on the Prophet  . The son of Prophet Noah and the father of Prophet Ibrahim both died as unbelievers too. None of these unbelievers drew benefit from the company of the Prophets."

Now compare the blasphemous statements of at-Tijani with words of the man most beloved of Allah, the last of the Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad  :

"By Allah, (though) I am the Messenger of Allah, I know not of what is going to happen to me tomorrow."⁽⁹³⁾

Allah, glory be to Him, addresses His beloved Messenger: meaning,

"Say, 'I have no power to do you either good or harm.' Say, 'Surely none can protect me against Allah, nor can I find a place of refuge beside Him.'" (72.21,22)

At-Tijani further claimed that he met the Prophet personally, not in his dreams but while he was awake, and that the Prophet  gave him his guarantee of security and freedom from fear in the Hereafter and that whoever say at-Tijani would have the same guarantee if he died in the state of iman. The answer to this falsehood is a warning from the Prophet  himself:

"He who willfully or intentionally forges a lie against me, let him occupy his seat in the Fire."⁽⁹⁴⁾

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Footnotes: 

85. Sh. Al-Albani, op. cit. 86. In the authentic hadeeth reported by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawood and others, the Propeht  said:

"My nation shall be divided into 73 sects, all of whom are in the Fire except one." His Companions said, 'Which one is the save?' He replied, "(The one whose members adhere to) what I and my companions are adhering to today," In another account, he said, "Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama'ah". (the Sunni Muslim)."

87. Abu Dawood & an-Nisaa'ee 88. at-Tijani, op. cit. 89. Ibid, p.96 90. Ibid, p.80 91. at-Tijani, Baqiyyatul Mustafid, pp. 79, 80 92. at-Tijani, Jawahir al-Ma'aani. p.129 93. Bukhari 94. Muslim