Tidings

Ahmad al-Tijani was born in 1737 in southern Algeria. He came from a poor Berber family. He studied religious sciences, was associated with the Halvatites and other Sufi orders ^[1] .

In 1781-1782 he began his sermon, claiming that he received “instruction” from the prophet Muhammad himself, who allowed him to establish his independent tariq. After settling in the oasis of Abu Smagun, at-Tijani began active preaching ^[1] . In 1789, he, along with his followers, moved to Fez, where he lived until his death. There, he encountered a hostile attitude of the population and other Sufi brotherhoods, but managed to gain a foothold and build a monastery ( zawiya ). From there, the tariqah spread its influence to other areas of the Maghreb. Ahmad at-Tijani appointed Ali at-Tamasini as his successor, but after many years of struggle, the brotherhood was led by two sons of at-Tijani ^[2] .

Ahmad Tijani also forbade his followers to take the oath ( bai ) to the sheikhs of other tariqas, to use their grace ( baraka ) and intercession ( shafaat ). In return, he promised them salvation and his intercession on the Day of the Last Judgment ( kiyamat ) ^[1] .

Tarikat sought to pursue an independent policy. During the French occupation, the leaders of the fraternity embarked on a path of cooperation with the French authorities, but most of the followers in Morocco refused to recognize the occupiers. In the middle of the XIX century. representatives of the fraternity began to convert to Islam the population of the Senegal and Niger rivers . The creation of a separate state, as well as the ongoing active anti-Christian propaganda, provoked a military confrontation between the French, which ended in the defeat of the fraternity. During this period, several branches formed in the fraternity, the largest of which were khamaliya and yakubiya ^[2] .

In the 1920s in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, a wide campaign was launched against the brotherhood, but the brotherhood retained many followers both in the Arab countries and in other non-Arab countries of Central and West Africa (Senegal and Nigeria) ^[1] .

Currently, the number of tariff followers is about 100 million people. The spiritual leader of the tariqah is ^[3] .

Ahmad at-Tijani did not demand from them asceticism and solitude, introduced a quiet dhikr, considered it unacceptable to visit ( ziyarat ) the “holy places” of other Sufi sheikhs and tariqahs. The views of al-Tijani show a strong influence of other Sufi thinkers (Ibn al-Arabi and others). He declared himself the “supreme pole” ( Qutb ) and “the seal of Muhammad’s holiness” (hatm al-vilay al-Muhammad). Ahmad al-Tijani appropriated absolute infallibility, which was unacceptable from the point of view of orthodox Sunni Islam ^[1] . He refused the chain of spiritual continuity ( force ), claiming that he received his teaching and prayers ( wird ) directly from the prophet Muhammad. Members of the tariqa considered themselves elected and opposed themselves to other Muslims, which also caused sharp criticism from representatives of other areas of Islam ^[2] .

• Ali-zade A. A. Tijanita // Islamic Encyclopedic Dictionary . - M .: Ansar , 2007 .-- 400 p. - (The Golden Fund of Islamic Thought). - ISBN 5-98443-025-8 .

• Kolodin, Alexander at-Tijania (neopr.) . The culture of faith. A guide for doubters. Date of treatment January 11, 2014.