THE FUTURE OF THE TARIQA TIJANIYYA IN
AMERICA
{Address at the Forum for the Followers
of the Tijaniyya Order at Fes, Morocco, June 28, 2007}
By: Hajja Ashaki Taha-Cisse
(After reciting the
Fatihat al-Kitab and Salat al-Fatih)
After thanking Allah
and praising the Prophet (SAW) I wish to express the sincere appreciation of
the entire American delegation to His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, for his
unparalleled generosity and to His Excellency, the Minister of Endowment and
Religious Affairs for the opportunity to address this honorable body.
It is with a deep
sense of humility and sincere apology for not being able to speak to this
distinguished assembly in the Arabic language that I make my intention to
address the topic of 'The Future of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in America'.
To speak of the
Tariqa Tijaniyya in America, it is essential to speak of Shaykh Hassan Ali
Cisse* of Medina-Baye Kaolack, Senegal. Through his book entitled, Shaykh
Ibrahim Niass: Revivalist of the Sunnah, Shaykh Hassan Cisse introduced
American Muslims to the eminent Islamic personality of his grandfather, Shaykh
of Islam Alhajj Ibrahim Niass (RA). On numerous occasions, Shaykh Hassan has
told of his grandfather’s advice to him upon completion of his degree and receipt
of an offer of a lucrative position in the Senegalese government. That advice
was to learn English. There is no doubt that Shaykh Ibrahim Niass (RA) saw the
Tariqa Tijaniyya being brought to America by Shaykh Hassan Cisse.
In order to fully
comprehend and appreciate the significance of the Tariqa Tijaniyya presence in
the United States of America, it is essential to first look at the state of the
indigenous Muslim community in the mid 1970's.
When our beloved
Shaykh Hassan Cisse brought the Tariqa Tijaniyya to America in 1976, the
indigenous American Muslim community was virtually African American by
definition. It was not until some twenty years later, that a small European
American Muslim presence in America appeared and another ten years until European
American Muslims began entering the Tariqa at the hand of Shaykh Hassan Cisse.
Therefore, it is accurate to say that African American Muslims are the bedrock
of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in America.
In 1976, the
indigenous American Muslim community was still reeling from the assassination
of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X), and suffering from both the
devastating effects of violent conflict between Sunni Muslims and the Nation of
Islam and the escalating hostilities between indigenous American imams and
their respective followers.
In the midst of these
negative phenomena, many indigenous American Muslims felt deceived and betrayed
and were struggling to both learn and practice their Deen. Most had vowed never
to attach themselves to another leader and eschewed the notion of following
anyone ever again.
Added to this was the
indigenous American Muslim experience with immigrant Muslims living in America,
which was generally fraught with disrespect and racism. These factors, combined
with one of the most destructive symptoms of “post traumatic slave syndrome,”
namely, a lack of respect for and devaluation of anything associated with
Africa, produced a hostile climate of fierce resistance to any notion of
accepting a Tariqa and following a Shaykh, most especially one from Africa.
Into this milieu of
distrust and hostility came Shaykh Hassan Cisse, whose spiritual light and
Islamic scholarship was undeniable, whose character reflected the character of
the Prophet (SAW) so completely that he inspired trust, respect, admiration and
loyalty and whose reliance upon the words of Allah and the Hadith of the
Prophet (SAW) whenever he spoke pierced even the most calloused of hearts.
Shaykh Hassan Cisse courageously and steadfastly worked night and day to heal the
hearts of indigenous American Muslims, showing us the way to obtain Allah’s
forgiveness and redirecting us from a path of destruction to the path of the
Prophet (SAW). Alhamdulillah.
In 1986, 16 years
after having taken Shahada, my beloved husband and I were blessed to take the
Tariqa from Shaykh Hassan Cisse, but we were far from the first Americans to do
so. Some 20 years earlier, American Muslims in Chicago, New York and Detroit
were blessed with the ability to trust Shaykh Hassan Cisse with their lives, fi
dunya wa Akhira. Several of those American Tijani pioneers are here today.
What greater proof
can there be of the level of trust that was placed in Shaykh Hassan Cisse than
the unprecedented phenomena of American Muslim parents sending their children
thousands of miles away to Africa to learn Qur’an under their Shaykh’s guidance
and protection? Imagine the level of their faith in Allah and respect and trust
for Shaykh Hassan to send their children to a far away land they themselves had
never seen. Alhamdulillah, one sister who is here today was so committed to
Shaykh Hassan and the opportunity for American Muslim children to become Hafiz
ul Qur’an, she moved to Medina-Baye with her daughter and spent six years
serving as surrogate mother, nurse, teacher and counselor to the American
Muslim children. She was the first American Tijani sister to leave the relative
comfort of her life in America in support of Shaykh Hassan Cisse’ commitment to
American Muslim children and her daughter is the first American female hafiz to
emerge from Shaykh Hassan’s Qur’anic school.
It is important to
note that Shaykh Hassan Cisse not only brought American Muslims the Tariqa, he
taught us our religion based on Qur’an and Hadith, unencumbered by cultural
nuances that had previously been imposed and which were often inconsistent with
Islamic principles. First and foremost, he taught us to fear Allah and love
Prophet Muhammad(SAW), to do what Allah says do and stop where Allah says stop.
Our beloved Shaykh
Hassan taught us how to be with Allah and how to be with the people, how to
worship Allah by serving His Creation, and he did this through his own example,
not merely through words. Shaykh Hassan Cisse established the African American
Islamic Institute, an international humanitarian non- governmental organization
that is working toward universal education, access to health care, empowerment
of women, protection of children, alleviation of hunger and poverty and the
promotion of peace.
Our Shaykh taught us
the value of learning the Holy Qur’an and teaching it and has afforded our
children the opportunity to attend the African American Islamic institute
Qur’anic school in Medina Baye Kaolack, Senegal. Many of those grown children,
who are also here today, are now teaching Qur’an in America.
Shaykh Hassan Cisse
has taught us that the complete human being is balanced between Shari’a and
Haqiqa and provided us with the knowledge to attain that balance. Many American
Muslims had a notion of Sufism as one of asceticism, i.e., requiring withdrawal
from the world. Shaykh Hassan Cisse taught us that we must be in the world,
remembering Allah as much in the market place as in the masjid and that we have
a responsibility to help the children of Adam through individual compassion and
generosity as well as through hands on involvement in organized humanitarian
efforts.
Shaykh Hassan has
provided American Muslims the opportunity to reconnect with the homeland from
which millions of our ancestors were stolen and forced through the many doors
of no return throughout Africa. By the Mercy of Allah, through Shaykh Hassan
Cisse, we have returned.
Shaykh Hassan has
brought peace to the warring factions in the American Muslim community,
strengthened the bonds between continental African and African American
Muslims, encouraged the creation of an environment in which European Americans
could be welcomed into Islam and into the Tariqa and has had a positive impact
on the interaction between native born and immigrant Muslims in the United
States. Even today, by including American Muslims in his delegation to this international
Tariqa Tijaniyya conference, Shaykh Hassan is forging bonds of Islamic kinship
that will reverberate across the globe.
It is also important
to acknowledge that for many American Muslims, taking Shahada meant losing our
families of origin because our Christian families could not accept our
acceptance of Islam. Alhamdulillah, when we accepted the Tariqa Tijaniyya from
Shaykh Hassan Cisse, he not only became our spiritual father, he embraced us in
the circle of his own family.
As American Muslims,
there is no way to express what becoming Tijanis through Shaykh Hassan Cisse
has meant to us as individuals and as a people; no way to qualify the blessing
of being his student by virtue of his Golden Silsilah, through which we entered
the Tariqa Tijaniyya. All we can say is ‘Alhamdulillah’ and ask Allah to bless
him with long, long life and to bless us in accordance with his elevated
position.
This brings us to the
future of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in America, which is predicated upon the firm
foundation that has been laid by Shaykh Hassan Cisse and by the work that is
being carried out across the United States by his students. One need only look
at the configuration of the American delegation to this conference to see how
the Tariqa Tijaniyya has spread since Shaykh Hassan Cisse introduced it in
1976. Delegates from New York, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, South Carolina,
Ohio, Florida, Texas and Washington, D.C. are here today representing Shaykh
Hassan Cisse’s students in America.
Insh’Allah, the
future of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in America is assured because it is being
introduced to American Muslims through a continuously increasing number of
Shaykh Hassan Cisse’s Muqaddams, who are creating a Tijani presence throughout
the United States. And, as more and more Muslims enter the Tariqa, more and
more zawiyas are being established, with the goal of having at least one zawiya
in every major city in every state in America.
Through Islamic
conferences in the United States in which Shaykh Hassan Cisse presents the Sufi
perspective of Islam, Sufism will be more widely understood as the antidote to
the poisonous distortions of Islam being promoted and acted upon by some
Muslims and widely exploited by the American media. As more and more American
Muslims become exposed to a Sufi perspective of Islam, they will have an
opportunity to explore the philosophy and practice of the Tariqa Tijaniyya on
websites, created by two members of Shaykh Hassan Cisse’s American delegation
who are present today, as well as many others on the internet.
The future of the
Tariqa in America is further assured by the adult children and grandchildren of
the Tijani pioneers of the 1970's who are Tijanis themselves and who are
sending their children to Shaykh Hassan Cisse to become Hafiz- ul-Qur’an in
Medina- Baye Kaolack, Senegal, where they live and learn as part of that
historic Tijani community. Insh’Allah, this multigenerational expansion of the
Tariqa within the United States that has been nurtured and inspired by Shaykh
Hassan Cisse will continue to flourish throughout future generations.
One of the most
significant contributions to the future of the Tariqa Tijaniyya in America has
been the training, under the guidance of Shaykh Hassan Cisse, of American
Tijani scholars. The process has already begun to make the great written works
of the Tariqa available in English. Examples of this vital work are two recent
books that were written or translated and edited by American Tijanis, both of
whom are in attendance today. The first is entitled, On the Path of the
Prophet: Shaykh Ahmed Tijani and the Tariqa Muhamidiyya, by Brother Zakariya
Wright and the second, entitled, Pearls From the Divine Flood: Selected
Discourses from Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niass, with an introduction by Shaykh
Hassan Cisse was translated by Brother Zakariya Wright and co-edited by him
with Brother Yahya Weldon.
Clearly, all of these
significant elements point to a bright and dynamic future for the Tariqa
Tijaniyya in America, Insh’Allah.
In closing, I wish
only to say, “Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, and Alhamdulillah” for all of His
Favors, one of which is Shaykh Hassan Ali Cisse, who brought the Tariqa
Tijaniyya to America more than 30 years ago and for whom we American Tijanis
are deeply and eternally grateful.”
| By: Hajja Ashaki Taha-Cisse |
 |
 |
| Shaykh Hassan Cisse |
 |
| Shaykh Abdullahi Ibrahim Niasse, Shaykh Hassan Cisse & Shaykh Barhama Jobe |
 |
| Shaykh Hassan Cisse |
 |
| Shaykh Mahi Cisse & Shaykh Hassan Cisse |
 |
| Shaykh Tijani Cisse |
 |
| Sidi Osman Dimson |
 |
| Sidi Ibrahim Dimson |
 |
| Sidi Fakhruddin Owaisi & Sidi Talut Dawood |
 |
| Sidi Luqman Williams |
 |
| Sidi Kafani Ibrahim Hassan Cisse |
 |
| Sidi Muhammad Abdus-Salam |
 |
| Sidi Faheem Shahid Talibudeen |
 |
| Sidi Malik Cisse |
 |
| Sidi Muhammad Abdullahi |
 |
| Sidi Mahi Cisse & Al-Hajji Ahmad Abdus-Salam |
 |
| Sidi Hussein Babalwaiz
SUFI LITERATURE
AND PRAYER BOOKS COLLECTION
AVAILABLE @ PRISTINE SUFISM PRODUCTION/SMILEBAK GLOBAL
EMPORIUM
*SUFI BOOKS AND TASBIH COLLECTION*
For order: Call: +2348074393996 WhatsApp: https://wa.me/2349078376281 1. Majmū’at ad-Dawāwīn (Collection of Eulogy Works) of Shaikh Ibrahim Niasse’ (English translation) - Translated by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq 2.Vessel of Spiritual Flood, Translation of Goran Faydah by Shaykh Balarabe Haroon Jega (Translated by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq) 3.Shariah and Haqeeqah: In the Light of the Qur'an and the Prophetic Traditions(Translated by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq) 4.The Icon of Mystics: Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse Al-Kawlakhy (Translated by Dr. Awwal Baba Taofiq) 5. Tahniat (Congratulatory Ode) of Shaikh Ibrahim Niass - (Translation & Transliteration of Majmuu' Qasaid al-Mawlid of Baye) - (Translated by Sayyid AbdulQadri Okeneye) 6. Handbook for every Tijaniyyat (by Shaikh As-Sufi) 8. Risalat at-Tawbah (Epistle of Repentance) of Shaykh Ibrahim Niyass al-Kawlakhi" - (Translation & Commentary by Dr. Razaq Solagberu) 9. Katsina and Kaduna Conferences (Jadhbul ahbab ila hadrat Rabbil arbab) and Mecca Conference - (Translated by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo) 10. Softcopy of Numerous Sufi Literature (Arabic & English) - (To be sent via CD & email/googledrive) 12. Sayyida Fatimat Zahara (The Rose): The Beloved Daughter of the Holy Prophet (SAW) - (by Sayyid Ahmad Bello As-Suufi Harazimi) 13. Sheikh Ahmad Tijani and his Spiritual Path (Tariqat) - (by Sayyid Ahmad Bello As-Suufi Harazimi) 14.Special Prayers from Kanzul Masun- (Translated by Sayyid AbdulQadri Okeneye) 15.Facts about Sufism by Ismaheel Abdulrauf 16. Who is Shaykh Jamiu Bulala (by Ustaz Olanipekun Shittu Tunde) 17. Mawlud lectures of Shaikh Ibrahim Niass - (Translated by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo) 18. Practical Guide on the Wird(Litany) of the Tariqah Faydah Tijaniyyah (The Adherent Handbook) - (Translated by Sayyidah Bilqis Grillo) 19. Hizbu Sayfi & Hizbul Mughni (Arabic text, Translation, Transliteration by Imam Marooph Raji) 20. Hizbul Bahri (Arabic text, Translation, Transliteration by Imam Marooph Raji) 21. Sufi Tasbih/Prayer Beads/Rosary 📿 To place orders; Call: +2348074393996 WhatsApp Link: https://wa.me/2349078376281 #smilebakglobalemporium #sufibooks #tijanibooks #faydabooks #pristinesufism #pristinesufismbooks #sufitasbih #sufiliterature 
    Salat books available (over 13books by Sheikh Gibrima, Sheikh Aliyyu Harazim(Kano), Sheikh Atiqu, Nabahani and so on). Call; +2348074393996 WhatsApp Link: https://wa.me/2349078376281                 SmileBak Global Emporium/Pristine Sufism Books{Online Shop for Footwears, Clothing, Automobiles, Sufi Novels & Rosaries/Prayer beads📿}
Call; +2348074393996
WhatsApp Link: https://wa.me/2349078376281 |
