Question-answer 49

Was Sheikh Ahmed Tijani a Shiite? Can the Tariqa be passed on to a Shiite? Did Sheikh Tijani write about the Ahl al-Baït ?

ANSWER 

1. To the question “Was Seïdina Ahmed Tidjani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) a Shi'ite”, the answer is no. The point he shares with Shi'ism is his intense love and respect for the descendants of the Prophet (PBUH), even though he himself is one of them, and this love is demanded by Divine Law regardless of one's obedience within Islam.

Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) says: “Verily Allah wills nothing but to remove defilement from you, People of the Household, and to purify you fully.” (Sura 33 The coalitionists, verse 33) 

The Prophet (may prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “Love God for what He gives you in blessings, and love me for the love of God and love my family for the love you have for me.” 

The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Keep your affection for my family. Whoever finds Allah by loving us will enter Paradise through our intercession. By him who holds my soul in his hands, the servant's deed will only be recognized if he recognizes our right" (Reported by Tabarani in El Awsat). 

Thus, he multiplied the marks of respect (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) towards the noble descendants, to the point that his companions could tell whether the honored person was a Sherif or not. Indeed, the great companion Sidi Abdelwahhab ibn El Ahmar (may Allah be pleased with him), one of the elite of the elite and pillars of this blessed Tariqa, much beloved by Seïdina Ahmed Tijani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) said: “The Tariqa Tidjaniya is based on three things that are its core and its secret: Constant love for the family of the Prophet (may prayer and peace of Allah be upon him); Doing one's prayers on time; And abundance in prayers over the Prophet (may prayer and peace of Allah be upon him).”

This, then, is what Seïdina Ahmed Tijani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) had in common with our Shi'ite brothers, but in terms of jurisprudential rite he was a Sunni with strong Malikite dominance. Whereas for the Shiites, the particularity is that their schools are based solely on the family and descendants of the Prophet (PBUH), and more specifically on a line of descent from Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet (PBUH). It should be noted that there is divergence between several Shi'ite currents on the number and choice of these Imams, but this is generally the most authentic and reliable source for our Shi'ite brothers. It should also be noted that the noble prophetic descendants are to be found in both the Sunni and Shi'ite branches. Indeed, they include descendants of Imam Hussein as well as Imam Hassan, and others are of the Hanafite or Shafi'ite or Hanbalite or Malikite rite.

2. To the question "Can the Tariqa Tidjaniya be transmitted to a Shiite" it is necessary to know, as one of the great scholars and masters in the Tariqa Tidjaniya, Sheikh Idriss El Iraqi (may Allah be pleased with him) pointed out, that there is no condition in the Tariqa Tidjaniya obliging the follower to be of this or that school of jurisprudence, whether Sunni or Shiite. Everyone is free in his choice, the only consideration to be made is that the belief ('Aqida) must be authentic (indeed there also exist, among some who claim to be Shiites, minority sects with erroneous and false beliefs rejected by all).

But there is no general approach that would lead one to proclaim that "all Shiites are bad and all Sunnis are good" or vice versa, just as one cannot say today that all those who claim to be Sufis are right. For each individual, it will depend on the conformity of their beliefs and actions with the authentic precepts of religion, and so on. Moreover, we must realize that this noble religion is that of the middle way and that it is a very great risk to adopt extreme attitudes by moving away from the mutual respect that is incumbent upon us. It is even worse and more perilous to engage in criticism of those who were chosen by Allah to be close to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), whether they are among his family or his companions.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah! Allah! (meaning I warn you against Allah) regarding my companions. Do not target them after me. Whoever loves them out of My love, I will love him, and whoever hates them out of My anger, I will hate him. Whoever wrongs them, then he has wronged me, and whoever wrongs me, then he has wronged Allaah, and whoever wrongs Allaah, surely He will seize him with His grasp." (Reported by Tirmidhi from Abdullah ibn Maghfal) Hasan-Good

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also became angry with those who mistreated the pious daughter of Abu Lahab, on the pretext that Allaah had condemned her father to Hell. He stood up in great anger and said, "What are the thoughts of those who offend me among my relatives? Whoever offends my close relatives offends me, and whoever offends me offends Allah."  

In a long hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: « « […] « And members of my family, I remind you to respect God through the members of my family, I remind you to respect God through the members of my family!” (Reported by Muslim from Yazid ibn Hayyan (may Allaah be pleased with him)) 

No Shiite or Sunni who would venture into this dangerous territory can claim to rely on the words of the elders to justify their rejection of the other and their disrespect for those who preceded them in the faith. This is only the position of certain marginal scholars on both sides, a position which is very far from the prophetic teaching and those who have collected it with veracity. For example, here is the middle path taken by the greatest Shiite references:

In Nahju-l-Balagha, the most esteemed book among the Shiites, we read these words of Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "So-and-so is admirable; he straightened what was crooked, he healed wounds, he observed the law, he fled from heretical innovations, he set out in pure and almost spotless clothes, he always paid homage to God with his obedience and always feared Him as one should; he left them in the middle of a road where paths cross, where those who are lost cannot find life and where those who follow the right direction are reassured." The term "so-and-so" refers, according to most Shiite commentators, Al Bahrani among others, to Abu Bakr the Truthful and according to others to 'Umar.

In the Kashf al-Ghumma, a work by Ali ibn Issa al-Ardabali, one of the most renowned scholars among the Imamites, we read the following: "Imam Ja'far (peace be upon him) was asked if it was permissible to adorn a sword with precious stones. He replied: "Yes, Abu Bakr the truthful had enriched his sword with precious ornaments." The Imam's interlocutor said to him: "How can you say that?" (i.e., give this title to Abu Bakr) The Imam stood up impetuously and shouted: "Yes, the truthful, yes, the truthful, and those who do not call Abu Bakr the truthful, may God confound them in this world and the next."  The commentators of the said work quote the following excerpt from a letter of 'Ali on the account of Abu Bakr and 'Umar: "By my life, they occupy an eminent position in Islam and their loss is a misfortune for Islam. May God have mercy on them and reward them in proportion to the greatest good they have done."

The author of the book "El Fousoul" who is one of the greatest Imamite scholars, quotes these words from Imam Mohamed el Bakr: "People spoke before him of Abu Bakr, 'Omar and 'Othman in a disrespectful manner. The Imam asked the interlocutors: "Are you the Emigrants who left their homes and their property, desiring nothing but the grace and favor of God, to defend God and his apostle?" They replied: "No." He continued: "Are you then among those who love the Emigrants who took refuge with them?" They said: "No." He said: "Who are you then if you do not belong to one of these two categories? For you are not, I affirm, of those of whom God said: "those who came after them saying: "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith; and do not put in our hearts any rancor for those who have believed. Our Lord, You are Compassionate and Most Merciful." (Surah 59 Exodus, verse 10). Thus according to this illustrious Imam those who speak ill of 'Umar, Abu Bakr and 'Uthman do not belong to any of the three categories (verses 8, 9, 10 of this same Surah) that God has praised.

In the commentary attributed to Imam Hassan el 'Askari, eleventh Imam among the Twelver Shiites: "God revealed to Adam that He will grant to each of those who loved Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), each of the descendants of Muhammad and each of his companions (may Allah be pleased with them), His graces and His favors with such abundance that if they were shared among all the beings that God will have created from the beginning until the end of time and if these beings were all infidels, they would be enough to lead them to a good end, to true faith in God and to make them deserve Paradise: whoever, on the contrary, has aversion to Muhammad, to his family, or to his companions or even to a single one of them, will be subjected to tortures so atrocious that if they were applied to all the beings created by God they would be enough to annihilate them completely."

Likewise, those among the Sunnis who take the extreme position of asserting that all Shiites claim that the Quran has been altered without even a minimum of regard for the prophetic lineage among them, these are only relying on exceptions which they transform into generalities.

Sheikh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawaih, one of the greatest scholars of the Imamites, said in his "Exposition of the Dogma": "We believe that the Quran that God revealed to his Prophet is the one that is in the hands of everyone, and nothing more; the number of its chapters, according to all, is one hundred and fourteen, but according to us, the two chapters "By the rising day" 93 and "The opening" 94 form only one, and the two chapters "it does not shine" and "Have you not seen how" also form only one. Those who attribute other opinions to us have lied." 

In the commentary "Majmou' el Bayan" which enjoys great authority among Shiites, Sheikh Abou-l-Qassim 'Ali ibn Houssein el Moussaoui says: "The Quran was at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as it is today, because it was taught and learned by heart; some companions of the Prophet were even distinguished by the way in which they knew the Quran; it was recited before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and several of his companions repeated the entire Quran from memory several times in his presence; among others, Abdallah ibn Mess’oud and Oubey ibn Ka’b are cited […] those of the Imamites and the Hachaouites who support a contrary opinion do not count, because they base themselves on some uncertain traditions which cannot destroy the certain result of the authentic tradition.

Qadi Nourullah Chausatri, a famous Shiite scholar, says in his work "Masaiboun Nawasib": "It is generally believed that all the Shiite Imamites affirm that the Quran has been altered; but this is only the opinion of a very small number of Imamites without authority." 

Therefore, it is preferable and beneficial for all to adhere to mutual respect, especially since the Fatwa unanimously issued during the 2005 Islamic Conference in Jordan, which stipulates and officially declares the religious duty to recognize and honor the sanctity of the Muslim, regardless of his school of jurisprudence, among the Sunnis and the Shiites. Whoever goes against this Fatwa, goes against the values of Islam. 

We find the great wisdom of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in two hadiths that appear similar, but as if each of them was addressed, on the one hand, to the future Sunnis and on the other hand to the future Shiites. Indeed, in one hadith he says: "I have entrusted to you two things by which you cannot go astray: the Book of Allah and my Tradition (Sunnati), they will not separate until they join me at the Basin." (Al-Hakem according to Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them) - Authenticated by Albani-Sahih) and in another hadith he says: "I entrust to you two vicars: The Book of Allah which is a rope stretched between what is in the heavens and the earth, and my family from the people of my house and they will never separate until they join me at the Basin." (Ahmed, Tabarani according to Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with them) - Authenticated by Albani-Sahih). Thus, it is as if one is addressed to the Sunnis and the other to the Shiites. 

3. To the question "Did Seyyidina Ahmed Tijani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) write about the Ahlou-l-Baït", the answer is that in fact he did not write any book, but there are some statements about the value and exceptional merit of the station of the descendants of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). However, as we have discussed previously, this is not in a reductive perspective, but rather general, because the Ahlou-l-Baït do not belong only to Shiism but to the entire community. However, the great scholar and special companion of Seïdina Ahmed Tijani (may Allah sanctify his precious secret) Sidi Mohamed ibn El Mechri (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a book on the value of the descendants of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and defended him against certain detractors, this book is called Nousra El Chourafa Fi rad ‘ala ahlou Jafa (Help to the Sharifs in responding to haughty people).
 

Source : https://tidjaniya.com/fr/question-reponse-49/