Did The Prophet (SAW) Or His Companions (As'hab) Recite Any Wird?

Yes, the Prophet (SAW) has had Awrad and recited it. In fact before the five daily prayers were given to the Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had his Wird as directed by Allah, e.g. his visits to the cave of Hira.

Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Qur'an:

"Remember your Lord {O Muhammad} within yourself, with humility and awe, without loudness in voice, in the mornings and evenings. And be not of those who are heedless." (Q7:205)

This is the Tijani Wird during the morning and evening.

In another Ayah, Allah (SWT) says:

"Therefore be patient with what they say, and glorify your Lord with his praise before sunrise and before sunset, glorify Him during the hours of the night as well as the ends of the day, so that you may find satisfaction." (Q20:130)

Allah (SWT) also says:

"Keep yourself content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening seeking his Face; and let not your eyes turn away from them desiring the attraction of worldly life; and obey not him whose heart we have made heedless of Our rememberance, who follows his own desires and goes extremes in the conduct of his affairs." (Q18:28)

Shaykh Abu Bakr Siddiq Yusuf of Ilorin, Nigeria, says that this verse shows that the Prophet (SAW) was giving Wird because Allah ordered him not to take his eyes off (the As'hab) those who call on their Lord morning and evening seeking His face.


Muqaddam Anwer Bayat, The Divine Opening, p.38

Ignorants

On the scholars who look at Sufis with suspicion:

According to Ghazali, "If someone possesses no portion of the knowledge of the (Sufi) people, he is in danger of coming to a bad end. The least portion of this knowledge is to believe (in its existence) and to accept its possessors." He also said,

The saintly Substitutes (Abdal) have isolated themselves in the extreme regions of the earth, concealing themselves from the eyes of the general public. They do not pay attention to the scholars of the time, whom they regard as ignorant of Allah. They see themselves as scholars, and consider avoiding the ignorant to be among the virtues of true believers, as Allah has said, And turn away from the ignorant (7:199).


Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, The Removal of Confusion, p.104

Tawhid & Iman

Tawhid is the absolute requirement of Iman and who has none of Tawhid has none of Iman. Iman is a requirement of the Shari'yah and whoever has no Shari'yah has no Iman and has no Tawhid. Adab is a requirement of the Shari'yah and whoever has no Adab has no Shari'yah, and no Iman and no Tawhid.

From Bughiyat al-Mustafid of Sidi Arabi ben Sayeh (RTA)

Adab

Adab generally means beautifying yourself with every good behaviour and to abstain from every bad behaviour. It profits a Mureed, all the way. Adab has been classified into three types.

1. The Adab of the Murid (student) with himself, technically known as the Adab for Allah within himself i.e. to hold on to the Din, by doing what should be done and stopping where he should stop and following the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). By doing this, Allah will be pleased with him and he will enter Paradise with the first ones.

2. The Adab with the Shaykh is to respect him openly and in secret and never criticize him and always hold him in high esteem after the Prophet (SAW).

3. The Adab with his Tijani brothers.


Excerpt from the book The Divine Opening
Authored by Muqaddam Anwer Bayat

Categories of the Shuyukh

1. The Muqaddam that gives Ba'yah, he is Shaykh to whomever he gives Ba'yah to.

2. The Shaykh that links you with Allah, is called Shaykh Al-Murabbiy. This person must have the capability of guiding the Mureed to Allah and making the Mureed a Muqaddam. And some of these Shaykhs have Kashf and others do not have this quality.

3. The last category is the Qutub Al-Zaman (The Pole of the Time), whom all the Shuyukh are answerable to. This person may be known or unknown, but no time period will exist without him existing, and he is the true Khalifah of Shaykh Tijani (RTA) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW).


Excerpt from the book The Divine Opening
Authored by Muqaddam Anwer Bayat

MUQADDAM: The Conditions and Obligations

Aside from outlining the shaykh’s requisite spiritual abilities, Shaykh Ibrahim also detailed more specific behavior to which spiritual guides were meant to adhere. Most obviously, the guide must first precede the disciple in following guidance. Moreover, the guide should never see himself as the source of spiritual guidance, but must stay closely connected to his own guide. In one letter to a group of authorized spiritual instructors (muqaddamun), Shaykh Ibrahim wrote:

"I advise the instructors (muqaddamin) connected with us, with loving and kindly counsel, advice for the sake of God and by God, that they should all proceed in consistent earnestness with the guidance and advice of the brethren, in the religion and the spiritual path. In all cases, this can only be done after they follow (such guidance) themselves, for they can only command something after they have preceeded others in doing it; and they can only restrain others from doing something after they have restrained themselves. Let them not be lazy in appointing an arbitrator between themselves in everything of significance. There is nothing more harmful to the common folk than the faults of the elders, may God overlook our faults and theirs. And let them [the Muqaddam] not break the connection between themselves and their exemplar [Shaykh], for in so doing they will also cut off their own spiritual assistance as well as that of their followers."

In the same letter, the Shaykh went on to list a series of strenuous obligations for such instructors [muqaddams]. They must recite twelve thousand times the prayer Salat al-Fatihi in one twenty-four hour period, perform at least fifty cycles (rak’a) of supererogatory prayer, attend the congregational prayer five times a day, and lead the congregational remembrance (wazifa) in the place of prayer (zawiya) “even if alone.” They must give charity every day, even if only a loaf of bread. They must give respect to the descendants (shurufa’) of the Prophet Muhammad, all the saints (awliya’), the scholars (‘ulama’), and the students of Islamic knowledge (‘ilm). He also warned them against dividing against each other: “You must cooperate in your goals by the covenant of [abiding to your] word. Surely in coming together is mercy, and in division is punishment.”

Being a spiritual guide thus requires an exemplary work ethic and model social conduct as well as a special relationship with God.

Source: Jawaahir al-Rasaail, p. 34

Excerpts from the book: Living Knowledge in West African Islam
Author: Ustadz Zachary Wright

Gathering in Allah

The meaning of our gathering in Allah is the fact that all of us call each other to Allah the Blessed and Exalted. Each of us calls the other to being busy with Allah, and the reality of busying yourself with Allah is to busy your outward with the outward sacred law (shariyah) and your inward with the inward reality of the Haqq (Allah), and to fulfil the rights of everyone and everything that has a right over you, in order to differentiate between the different stations (maqamaat) and to differentiate between the divine presences (hadaraat) and to differentiate between the spheres (dawa'ir), these are in addition to the divine realities (haqa'iq) and relations (nisaab) and manifestations (tajalliyat) and within that you will be able to give everything its due right, and this is our responisibilty that has been made an obligation for all of us. And as for our seperation, our separation (farq) does not overpower our union (jam') neither does our union overpower our separation, and everyone of us withdraws ourselves towards Allah and maintains awareness of his presence (muraqaba) and witnesses his presence (mushahadah) and is absorbed and drowned in his presence with a real absorption and drowning (istighraaq), which then causes him to fear Allah outwardly and inwardly and engage with Him and approach Him with our bodies and with our hearts.

- Shaykh Ould Khayri

On Tariqa

Sufism is a spiritual clinic with doctors who have knowledge of attending to ailments of the Soul. For a sick patient who requires cure and doses of medicine from the clinic, there is the need for him to make the declaration of his sickness and acceptance of patienthood. In taking Tariqa, one should be aware that Tariqa is a commitment and the begining of an endless journey.

Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse (RTA)

Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Al-Hajj Abdullahi Niasse (RTA)

"Grant me the Qutbaniyya of every Qutb; the Fardaniyya of every Fard; the Ghawthiyya of every Ghawth; the Jam'iyya of every Jami'; until we have no partner or associate and no rival or competition! O You who have no partner or associate in Your Kingdom!"— Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Al-Hajj Abdullahi Niasse (RTA)

Prayer Timings according to Imam Malik [Muwatta]

Book 1, Number 1.1.4: Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Amra bint Abd ar-Rahman that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless her and grant her peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray subh and the women would leave wrapped in their garments and they could not yet be recognized in the darkness."

Book 1, Number 1.1.6: Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from the mawla of Abdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al−Khattab wrote to his governors, saying, "The most important of your affairs in my view is the prayer. Whoever protects it and observes it carefully is protecting his deen, while whoever is negligent about it will be even more negligent about other things." Then he added, "Pray zhuhr any time from when the afternoon shade is the length of your forearm until the length of your shadow matches your height. Pray asr when the sun is still pure white, so that a rider can travel two or three farsakhs before the sun sets. Pray maghrib when the sun has set. Pray isha any time from when the redness in the western sky has disappeared until a third of the night has passed − and a person who sleeps, may he have no rest, And pray subh when all the stars are visible and like a haze in the sky."

Book 1, Number 1.1.7: Yahya related to me from Malik, from his uncle Abu Suhayl from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to Abu Musa saying that he should pray zhuhr when the sun had started to decline, asr when the sun was still pure white before any yellowness had entered it maghrib when the sun had set, and to delay isha as long as he did not sleep, and to pray subh when the stars were all visible and like a haze in the sky and to read in it two long suras from the mufassal.

The Three Stations

Shaykh Ibrahim writes in one of his letters to his dearest adherent Umar ibn Shaykh Malik in his broadly published work Ziyaadatu äl-Jawahir, that:

The three stages of religion are submission (Ïslam), creed (Ïmaan) and decorating (Ïhsaan).

Ïslaam is the swearing of the declaration of uniqueness of God.

Ïmaan is the knowledge of the declaration of uniqueness of God.

Ïhsaan is achievements and the accomplishment of involvements of declaration of uniqueness of God.

äl-Dawaween äl-Sitt

Shaykh Ibrahim said in his work, äl-Dawaween äl-Sitt

I protected my adherents in the Way against troubles
And all, by annihilation, achieved their wish
And poles, before me, accepted similar in
What accepted this attendant of fayd, shining with light
I thank God in the fact that my secret (sirr) is not sterile
My smallest adherent acquired annihilation
And this by my love of the Prophet and his secret
I earned the banner by my praises in its favour
The Love of the Prophet is the elixir of this attendant
My treasure consists in addressing him commendations
[113:4-8]

and elsewhere

My lines regarding living beings aren't congratulated
Whoever sees me - and my writings - cannot be damned
[108:12]

Shaykh Ibrahîm informs us in his lines that he is possessor of The Science of Gnostic and that he is the Originator. And most importantly, he assures that his secret will not die because it is not sterile (laysa sirrii saaqira'ñ). Till the end of time, his initiating will be originators and divine secrets, only one able of causing annihilation (äl-jazb or äl-fanà), will be transmitted, by means of his spiritual heirs, in any geographical place.

Jawhara Kamal (Jewel of Perfection)

O Allah, bestow blessing and peace upon the fountain of mercy and Lordliness, and the veritable sapphire that encircles the center of the faculties of comprehension and the meanings, and the light of all created entities, the human being, the owner of the Lordly truth, the brightest flash of lightning in the rain clouds of the winds that fill every channel from the oceans, and the water vessels, And your shining light, with which You have filled Your universe, which encompasses all the places of habitation.

O Allah, bestow blessing and peace upon the source of the truth, from which the thrones of the realities have been revealed, the source of mystical intuitions, the most righteous, Your perfect path.

O Allah, bestow blessing and peace upon the countenance of the truth with the truth, the most splendid treasure, Your showering of blessing from You to You, the embrace of the magical light, Allah bless him and his family, with a blessing by which You will make us well acquainted with him.

According to the author of al Kawkab al Wahhaj of Qadi Sidi Ahmad Sukrayj: "You should know that this noble invocation of blessing is equal in content to all the wells of esoteric knowledge and secrets."

Our master Shaykh Tijani received it by word of mouth from the venerable Prophet (S.A.W). He told him about some of its excellent merits, including that referred to previously by the author when he said: "If someone recites the Jewel (al Jawhara) twelve times, while fulfilling its preconditions, and he intends to visit the Messenger, he will be granted the special favor of obtaining the benefit of visiting all the saints....."

Salatal Fatihi (The Sources)

The major reference is the book Ash-shifaa by Qaadiy Iyyadh, where Aliyu (RTA) was reported to have taught a female Sahaba (companion) a salat that has the most significant portion of Salatal Fatihi (Q. Iyyaad.1985, Vol ii. Pp.70-71). This certain Salat ala Nabi has a simiar wording of Salatal Fatihi which says "the opener of what was closed and the seal of what had come before". In another book titled Al-Qaulul Badeeah fis Salaati alal Habeebi Shafee’u (Al-Sakhawiy, 1963, P: 44-45), the author too justifies this position. He quotes the same hadeeth reported by Salamatul Kindiyyi who was first taught the salat by Aliyu ibn Abi Talib (RTA). The author Muhammad bin Abdulrahman bin Muhammad bin Abubakar Al Sakhaawiy Al Shafi’iy (born in Sakhaa, Misra in present day Egypt, in 831 A.H and died in 902 A.H), has proved the source of Salatal Fatihi from the Holy Prophet (Ibid). Likewise, in a book titled Afdhalul Salawaat alaa Sayyidil Saadaat written by Yusufun Nabahaaniy, the different riwaayats (versions) of Salatal Fatihi were explicitly analyzed.

Ibn Kathir wrote, in his commentary of Quran, the following Hadith, through the narration of Saeed ibn Mansour and Zaid ibn El-habbab. The two of them narrated it through Nooh ibn Qais, who said that Salamah El-Kindi reported to me that Aliyu ibn Abi Talib (RTA) used to teach the people this supplication, "O Allah, the Leveler of the leveled (earths), the Creator of the elevated (heavens, skies), and the Disposer of hearts to their natural disposition: the blessed and the wretched, send Your divinely majestic prayers, Your augmenting blessings, and the virtues of Your bounties, upon your servant and Messenger, Muhammad: the opener of what had been closed and the seal of what had gone before; the manifestor of the truth by the truth; and the refuter and destroyer of the surges of falsehood. As he has sturdily undertaken your Commands for Your obedience, prepared for Your pleasure without recoiling or weakening in determination; retainful of Your revelation, preserving Your Covenant, resolved in fulfilling Your Commands, until the stroke light (knowledge) for a seeker. The bounties of Allah join the believers with His means. Through him, the hearts are guided after indulgence in seditions (allurements) and sins. He established the elucidating banners, the prominent tenets, and the evident ordinances of Islam. Verily, he is Your reliable trustworthy; the custodian of your Preserved Knowledge; Your witness in the day of judgment; Your Missionary of Grace; and Your Messenger of the Truth for mercy. O Allah, make him room generously in your Aden; and reward him with multitudes of Your good favors: wholesome not embittering, from the gains of Your untied rewards and graceful bestowal. O Allah, make his structures overcome the structures of others, and honor his abode with you and dwelling; and complete, to him, his light and reward him, from the time, You raise him, by making him of acceptable testimony, of approved word, of decisive plan, of fair reasoning, and of compelling argument and proof."

This is well known from the words of Aliyu ibn Abi Talib (RTA).

The Conditions of The Tariqah Tijaniyyah

1. To receieve initiation of the Tariqah from a Qualified Muqaddam with the intention of continuous practice until death.
2. The person taking the Tariqah cannot have any other Wird.
3. Be kind to your parents Muslim or non Muslim.
4. The person cannot visit alive or dead Awliya, other than Tijanis, for the purpose of driving spiritual benefit.

5. To perform the Salah in congregation as much as possible.

Life

“Life means action. Therefore, it is as if the inactive [life] is dead.”

— Shaykh Ibrāhim Niasse (may Allāh ﷻ be pleased with him), Jawāhir al-rasā'il, vol 2. p.18.