AHMAD TIJANI AND THE BOOK "JAWAAHIR UL-MA'AANI"

By

Ibn 'Abdillah As-sudaisiy

8th Muharram, 1438 AH (10th October, 2016)

When Prof. Quadri was discussing the preservation of the Tijaniyyah sufi thought, he mentioned the fact that Ahmad Tijani didn't write any book before he died. But his thought was preserved after the second month of his arrival in Fez (Morrocco) when he delegated a right-hand man, 'Ali Araazim to write his biography, including his teachings and doctrines. It was based on this order that 'Ali Araazim wrote the book 'Jawaahir al-Ma'aani'. This fact alone is an indication that Ahmad Tijani's spiritual thoughts were well preserved. In the same vein, the book shows that it is not easy to lie against him because it was completed during his lifetime and he was fully aware of its contents.

It should be noted that this is the most respected of all the books of the Tijaniyyahs. Prof. Quadri said the book "Jawahir al-Ma'aani' is undoubtedly the most popular and most widely read of the Tijaniyyah works and it has contributed immensely to gaining many adherents for the tareeqah". It should be noted that the same book is the main authority on the belief of the Tijaniyyahs that one recitation of Salaatul Faatih is an equivalence of reciting the whole Qur'an 6000 times. 

The most worrisome of the beliefs of the Tijaniyyah on this book is the claim by Ahmad Tijani that: the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم directed him to write the book so that it could serve as a guide to all awliyaa' who would benefit from it (See Vol.1 pg. 53 of tge book). On this, Prof. Quadri himself noted that this particular claim is disturbing. The writer said and i quote him verbatim,

"This statement of Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani is disturbing. If he had praised the Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم for inspiring him to write the book which he, in turn gave to his disciple, 'Ali Harazim to do, that might be acceptable. But for him to attrubute the book to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is absurd and incredible" [See pg. 7 of Y. A Quadri, 'Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani, The Founder of the Tijaniyyah Sufi Order in Islam']

This clearly shows that tareeqatut Tijaniyyah (and many other sufi sects) has no basis in the shari'ah. Muslims must be very careful not to fall into the traps of shaytan in this regard. It is not everyone who appears to be Muslim that is really Muslim. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى in His mercies has made the Qur'an and Sunnah the only sources of our guidance. Anyone who looks elsewhere for guidance would be misled a great deal. 

May Allah guide us aright.