If you are searching for the Light of Muhammad, then know that this is where the pangs of your separation ends and the start of your journey begins. To begin the path is not so easy, it demands from you that which you desire the most, so the question remains, are you ready to give up that which you love the most? Are you ready to leave behind your self, and efface yourself in the Oneness of your Lord.
“What use are your eyes if they have not been given a vision of the Messenger of Allah?”
The inheritor of the Light of Muhammad, and the one from whom flows the Light of Muhammad, the unique man of Allah of His time, the Sahib Al Waqt, the ocean of knowledge basking in the light of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, The Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Gilani of his time, the Knower of Allah, the gnostic, leader of the Shadhili Darqawiya Order, The Qutb, Sidi Mohamed Al Faouzi Al Karkariya.
He is the Murabbi (spiritual trainer), Shaykh Abu Abd Allah, Sidi Mohamed Faouzi b. Tayyib al-Karkari, may God sanctify his inner secret. His very name bears the mark of a profound spiritual connection (nisba) and the lofty rank he occupied, even among the noble Sharīf and Sa’dāt. Holding a lineage of Al-Idrisi Al-Hasani, he is part of a distinguished family tree that traces back through Mawlay Idrīs and Imām Hassan to the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
This blessed ancestry carries immense reverence throughout the region of Morocco and far beyond, as it reflects the noble heritage shared by some of the most transformative figures in the history of Sufism. Alongside Sidi Shaykh Fawzi al-Karkari, three other towering spiritual figures who have shaped the path of Islamic mysticism across the world are Sīdī Abd Al-Salām Ibn Mashīsh (d. 1227), Sīdī Abdul Azīz Ad-Dabbāgh (d. 1719), and Sidi Ahmed Ibn Idrīs (d. 1837). Their influence extends across centuries, not only guiding the faithful within Morocco but leaving an enduring legacy that has enriched the practice of Tasawwuf globally.
“Consider then your state and see where you are in terms of giving your goods (nafaqa) and selling your nafs, are you or are you not able to give up the shadow of your being, to fade away and disappear into the Light of the Lord? In the Light of the Lord there is neither money nor nafs. The Light of the Lord is a Breath of the Spirit, pure and immaculate. If you have a single dirham in your pocket, the Diwan will not accept you into its bosom. Get rid of the dirham, and then come and enter the Divine Presence.
If your nafs still cares about your wife, daughter and son, you are forbidden to enter the Diwan. Get rid of your nafs, and then come and enter the Divine Presence. In the Diwan of the Lord, there is only “Light upon Light, Allãh guides to His Light who He wills” [s24.35], and only people of total and absolute purification by the Divine Light can enter it.
Of course, there is absolutely nothing that could defile these people. Spare us the words like, “The world is in my hand, not in my heart!”, the language of “specialists”, forget this immediately! Do not even say it in the presence of the Ahl Allah! The dunya will not come out of your heart until it leaves your hand! Only by tearing it out of your hand can your heart get rid of it, and only then will you begin to realize its true value, only then will you begin to savour the handful of Light that you have in your heart, and only then will you be able to access the Diwan.
Then and only then, go and take what you want from the dunya. Just as Sulayman (‘alayhisalam) did when he plunged into the Luminous Presence, fainted there and disappeared completely, he said; “Lord, forgive me and give me the gift of a kingdom such that no one after me will have such a kingdom” [s38.v35]. It was then that the wind was indeed subjected to him, the mountains were subjected to him… even the Shayatin were only acting under his orders! All this obviously by the Permission of Allah, but this happened only after Sayyidina Sulayman reached the Exclusive Handle of Light and plunged into it with a total and absolute dive.
Your share in the spiritual dimension will therefore only be according to and in proportion to your plunge and erasure into the Light. Therefore, consider your state; have you really killed yourself, in a total death? Did you really realise death, did you really die before you died?
It is not a matter of being drowned in carelessness (ghafla), never doing dhikr, and then coming to me and saying; “Ah… Sidi Shaykh, get me out of this state…” As was the case of a disciple who recently came to tell me that he could no longer evoke the Name of Allah. Ah well… you can no longer evoke the Name…Of course not! In truth, it is not you who can no longer evoke the Name, but rather the Name that does not want you! Because you are impure!
The verse says: “Allah wants only to rid you of all defilement, O people of the house (Ahl Al-Bayt), and to purify you totally” [s33.v33]. The Ahl Al-Bayt are the people of the Presence, the people of the Shining Handle, they are not defiled, they are not affected by impurity. They are of immaculate purity, such are the Ahl Al-Bayt. Ahl al-Ka’ba, the people of the House of Sayyidina al-Mustafa. Ahl bayt al-Haqq, Ahl bayt al-Ma’mour! They are the ones who enter it, they are the ones who reach the state of intimacy, like Sayyidina Ibrahim alayhi salām.”
