Al-Mashyakha Al-Kubra, Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji At-Tijani
(1882-1952)
It is narrated that one day the French colonial mayor was passing by through the city mounted on their horse when they passed by Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji. At the time Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al-Hajouji was not just an academic scholar, but they were also one of the great amongst the Saints of Allah who would recite 100 million Salawat Al-Fatih & complete 100 khatams of the Holy Quran as a gift for Rasul Allah ﷺ. Shaykh Ahmad Az-Zawi would say that they did not reach the rank of meeting with the Prophet ﷺ whilst awake until they persisted in sending salutations upon Him 50 thousand times every single night for an entire year. If that was the fath (opening) given to the one who sent 50 thousand salutations upon Him ﷺ, then how about the one who would send 100 million salutations upon Him ﷺ? When Sidi Shaykh saw the French colonial mayor, they turned away from them in order to avoid meeting them. Perplexed, the mayor got down from his horse to personally greet them, but the Shaykh quickly walked away. Later on, their son asked why they did this as it put their family at great risk of being jailed by the French authorities. Sidi Shaykh replied, “I could not shake my hand with an unbeliever after I had shaken it with Rasul Allah ﷺ”.
The reviver of the second generation awakening of the Tijānīyya order, the great gnostic of Allāh, a descendant of Mawlay Idrīs (d/791), the great grandson of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ, the Sharīf, Al-Mashyakha Al-Kubra, Sīdī Shāykh Muhammad Ibn Al-Mahdi Al-Hajouji Al-Idrissi Al-Hassani Al-Fāsi.
Al-Allāma Sīdī Shāykh Muhammad Al Hajouji was born in the city of Fez, which was founded by their great grandfather Mawlay Idrīs over a thousand years prior to their birth. They were born on the 27th of Ramadān in the year 1882 on the night of Laylatul Qadr; when Allāh Almighty had sent down the Holy Qurān to the heart of Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ, on that same night approximately 1300 years later Sidī Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji was born.
Just from their name alone, it shows the nisba (connection) and high status they carried even amongst the Sharīf and Sa’dāt. They held the lineage of Al-Idrisi Al-Hasani; an honourable lineage which goes through Mawlay Idrīs to Imām Hassan to the beloved of Allāh, Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ. It is a lineage which is extremely revered in the entire region of Morocco, and was also an ancestral line shared by 4 other pivots who shaped the outline of tasawwuf in not just Morocco, but the entire world. They were; Sīdī Abd Al-Salām Ibn Mashīsh (d/1227), Sīdī Abdul Azīz Ad-Dabbāgh (d/1719), Sidi Ahmed Ibn Idrīs (d/1837), and Sidi Muhammad Ibn Al Habīb (d/1972). It is very likely that Sīdī Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji had even met Sīdī Muhammad Ibn Al-Habīb as they shared several of the same teachers and they were both present in the Al-Qarawiyyīn University in 1900 & 1901. However, Sīdī Muhammad Ibn Al-Habīb had stopped their studies in 1901 at the age of 25, whereas Shāykh Muhammad Al Hajouji had only just began. At around the same time there was also another gnostic of Allāh present in the Al-Qarawiyyīn institute by the name of Sidi Ahmad Al-Sukayrij (d/1944), so all 3 Qutbs (Pivots) were contemporaries of each other and present in the institute at exactly the same time.
In their heart contained memorisation of all 30 chapters of the Holy Qurān as well as the entirety of Sahīh Al-Bukhāri which contains over 4,000 pages and 7,563 hadith of the Rasūl of Allāh ﷺ. in 1900, at the age of 18, Sīdī Muhammad Al Hajouji began attending the Al-Qarawiyyīn University to study the Islamic sciences receiving authorisation from a number of distinguished ulama in the subjects of hadīth, exegesis, scholastic theology (ilm al-kalām), grammar (na’hw), and commentaries on notable works among the canon of Māliki Fiqh. They compiled a book by the name of Kitāb Nayl Al-Murād Fi-Ma’rifat Rijāl Al-Isnād, which contains the sciences they had acquired and the scholars they had acquired them from. The most notable of these include:
- Sīdī Muhammad Ibn Abdessalām Genoun
- Shāykh Muhammad Ibn Tuhāmi Al-Wazzāni
- Shāykh Tayyeb Ibn Abi Bakr Ibn Kirān
- Shāykh Ahmed Ibn Al-Jīlāli Al-Amghari
- Shāykh Moulay Abdellmālik Ad-Darīr Alawī
- Shāykh Muhammad Ibn Qacem Al-Qādirī
- Shāykh Ahmed Ibn Muhammad Al-Khayyāt
- Shāykh Muhammad Ibn Ja’far Al-Kattāni
- Shāykh Ja’far Al-Kattāni
One of their teachers, Shāykh Muhammad Ibn Ja’far Al Kattāni (d/1927) was one of the greatest scholars of their time, who was given ijaza to guide and instruct in over 40 spiritual orders including the Kattāni, Darqawi, Shādhili & Tijāni Sufi orders. They travelled all over the world in search of sacred knowledge, even having exchanged knowledge with the Qutb of Ash-Shām Al-Sharīf, Al-Muhaddith, Shāykh Badruddīn Al-Hassani (d/1935). Their knowledge encompassed all the religious sciences having taken hadith and ulūm from their father and over 30 different Shuyūkh. They were deeply immersed in the sciences of hadith, knowing their mutun and their isnād by heart. This was the calibre of just one esteemed persona that Sīdī Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji took their knowledge from, so one can only imagine the knowledge and light they possessed having took from multiple teachers of sacred knowledge.
Not only was Sidi Shāykh Muhammad Al Hajouji a master of hadith, exegesis, theology, grammar, they also studied subjects among the sciences of arithmetic, geodesy, astronomy, physics, geography, algebra, music, geometry the calculation of spaces (taksir), judical astrology, and genealogy. Not only this, but they were also a master of arcane sciences such as awfāq and sirr al-‘hurūf (secrets of the alphabet) and more which led them to acquire the status of Al-Mashyakha Al-Kubra, and thus consequently being appointed as a teacher at the Al-Qarawiyyīn University. it is to be noted that around 600 years prior to this, Shāykh Ul-Akbar, Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabī (d/1240) was also present in the institute, such was the calibre of Saints the university had received.
After being firmly grounded in the legalistic subjects of islamic learning, Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji desired to further their understanding of the ‘divine secrets’ through the academic teachings of Tasawwuf (Sufism). During this time they studied the writings of;
- Shāykh Abu Najīb As-Suhrawardi
- Shāykh Ul-Akbar Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabi
- Imām Abu Hāmid Al Ghazāli
- Shāykh Ahmed Ibn Atā’allāh Al-Iskandari
- Shāykh Abd’ Al-Wahhāb Ash-Shārāni
- Al-Ghawth Sīdī Abdul Aziz Dabbagh.
In my best guess, the works they may have studied (alongside others) may have been; Kitāb Al-Adab Al-Murīdīn by Shāykh Abu Najīb As-Suhrawardi, and perhaps even The Awārif Ul-Ma’ārif by their paternal nephew Shāykh Shahāb Ad-Dīn Suhrawardī. The Futuhāt Al-Makkīya of Shāykh Ul-Akbar Muhyiddīn Ibn Arabī and perhaps even their Fusūs Al-Hikām. The entirety of the volumes of the Ihyā Ulum Ad-Dīn of Imām Abu Hāmid Al Ghazāli. The Kitāb Al-Hikām of Shāykh Ahmed Ibn Atā’allāh Al-Iskandari and Al-Ibriz by the Ghawth Sīdī Abdul Azīz Ad-Dabbagh.
They were initiated into the Tariqa Muhammadiya Ibrāhīmīya Hanīfīya At-Tijāniya order at the hands of the great scholar, The Qutb, Sīdī Al-Ahsan Ibn Muhammad Al-Bāqili Al-Hassani. Normally for seekers of the path it takes years and years of immense mujāhida, riyāda, tazkiya, and great spiritual advancement on the path of sulūk (wayfaring) before the veils are removed from them and their inner sight (basīra) opens up. But within just a few months of initiation, Sidī Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji began to have such profound mystical experiences; Allāh Almighty had stripped the veil from their sight, the imperfection from their hearing and sense of smell, the flatness from their taste, the knots from their hands, and the weight from their feet and body.
Sīdī Abdul Azīz Dabbagh (d/1719) would mention regarding this that those endowed with deeper vision (basīra), the words of the Prophet ﷺ are not hidden from them. When a person speaks in the winter, steam emits from their mouth, and when a person speaks in the summer, steam does not emit from their mouth. Similarly, when a person repeats the words of the Prophet ﷺ, light emits from their mouth, and whoever utters words other than the Prophet ﷺ, the words come forth without light. Regarding this, Sīdī Abdul Azīz Ad-Dabbagh would give the example of a lamp, and how if a lamp is fed, it’s light would grow brighter. If it was to be neglected, it would remain the way it was. This is how the knowers of Allāh are when they hear the words of the Prophet ﷺ; their lights grow brighter and their divine insights increase, and thus their states change. However, If they hear the words of anyone besides the Prophet ﷺ, their states remain exactly as they were.
Sīdī Abdul Aziz Dabbagh would also say that there exists a thread of light upon the head of every believer pertaining to their level of faith. The thread of the light of faith would extend from the head of the person and stretch to the realm of Barzakh. Depending on a person’s allotment in pre-eternity, it may have the thickness of a thread, or of a reed, or even the thickness of a palm-tree; the latter belonging to the great among the Friends of Allāh. Similar threads are observed between the bodies of the infidels and their abode in Barzakh, except that these threads have a blue color tending toward black. This is a sign of wretchedness in whomever it’s observed. Depending on a person’s degree of unbelief, the thread in question will also vary in thickness as was the case with the thread of the believers.
While journeying through the winding lanes of Fes, the vision of Sidi Muhammad Ibn Al-Habib (a contemporary of Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji) fell upon a man as they were walking along Zuqaq Al-Hajar. Above their head, a radiant light extended stretching towards the heavens, casting a celestial glow. Sidi Muhammad Ibn Al Habib would mention that the brilliance of the light was so immense, they were certain it was visible for everyone to see. However, as they followed the man through the labyrinthine streets of Fez, a stark reality emerged – there was no one else who was able to see the radiance of the light stretching heaven ward. The gap between Sidi Abdul Aziz Ad-Dabbagh & Sidi Muhammad Al-Habib was around 250 years apart, yet this light was still present 250 years later. The law of the conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transferred; a light which was present then, it is also present now as its origin is the One from whom all other lights are formed.
When the words of truth are spoken, there emits a golden light from the mouth of the one speaking, and when the words of bātil (falsehood) are spoken, there emits a dark blue/black colour. As the words are spoken, the colours then form an arrangement in barzakh, and those who have access to barzakh are able to see the arrangement of those lights through their basīra. One of the things that separates the Saints of Allāh from the mystics & sages of other paths is the access to the realm of Barzakh and beyond. The spirituality of those who do not proclaim the testimony of faith (shahāda) is limited to the parameters of this world, and so though they may experience degrees of fana (annihilation), and the death of their lower self (nafs), these are merely shadows of the fana experienced by the Awliyā. What causes this distinction is the presence of the light of the Prophet ﷺ, this light enables them to access realms, stations and dimensions that no other forms of spirituality can take as they do not contain the light of the Prophet ﷺ.
A Hindu yogi once came to a Sufi Master and proclaimed that they were able to teleport wherever they wanted at the blink of an eye. They explained that upon closing their eyes, a guiding presence would materialize, transporting them to any destination they desired across the world. When questioned by the Sufi Master about their emotions towards this transporting presence, the yogi admitted to feeling fear but claimed dominance over it. The wise Sufi Master discerned that the presence responsible for teleportation was, in fact, a jinn. He cautioned the yogi, revealing the jinn’s cunning nature, which, under the guise of subservience, would ultimately seek to possess the yogi’s body. Sultan Bahu (d/1691) would state that the folding of time and space can only occur once the seeker has completely transformed his soul through the various degrees of metamorphosis, into pure light (nūr). This transformation enables the soul to merge with the speed of light and transcend even that, effectively folding the dimensions of time and space. In Tasawwuf, this phenomenon, is known as Tay Al-Ard, the folding of the earth.
Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al Hajouji was also amongst the great knowers of God who had access to the spiritual assembly of the Saints, otherwise known as The Diwan. An assembly of Awliya which occurs in the cave of Hira and is attended by some from amongst the friends of God, both those whom are alive and those whom have passed, though not all of them have access to this assembly. In the Diwan are also present from amongst the women, though their number is small in comparison and only amounts to 3 rows. They are situated above the dawa’ir (circle) of the first row, in the space between the Ghawth and the three Aqtab (Pivots). The Angels, and the perfected ones from amongst the Jinn are also present in the assembly, though their number does not amount to even a single row and therefore they are situated at the back of the assembly. The language spoken in the Diwan is known as Syriac, or Suryani, which is a language spoken in the celestial spheres and is a medium used by the angels to communicate with one another. Arabic is only spoken when the Prophet ﷺ is in attendance of the Diwan, otherwise the gatherings take place in Syriac. Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Al-Hajouji was one of the great friends of God who had access to the Diwan, and was even presented to the assembly by the Prophet Himself ﷺ!
When asked regarding the Ecstatic Dancing (raks) during the dhikr (remembrance of God) in the Tariqa Tijanniya, they replied; “Our feet are so planted in the ground of Shariah (Islamic Law), we dont dance with our feet during Dhikr, rather we are like the trees, only swaying back and forth!”. By Allāh, since i have seen the light of Sīdī Muhammad Al-Hajouji, barely a day has passed without their image coming to my remembrance. Such is the jazb (spiritual attraction) they have created within me, and thus inspired my heart to write this work on them. My words will always fall short to honour and truly show the rank of the Shaykh. None the less, if you have managed to arrive at the end of this work, then please recite a Fātiha and present it to the rūh (soul) of Sīdī Muhammad Al-Hajouji. Know that in reality this Fātiha is not for them, it is for you, that perhaps through this you may receive an opening by the barakah of Sīdī Muhammad Al-Hajouji At-Tijani.
