Quoted from Imam Sidi Fakhrad Deen Uwaisi of Cape Town, South Africa

As-Salam Alaykum wa Rahmat-Ullah,
Firstly, we request everyone to fear Allah regarding His Chosen Friends. It is not a simple matter to show even the slightest disrespect to one of them. May Allah protect us. Amin.
Our honorable masters, Sayyidi Abd-al-Qadir al-Jilani, Sayyidina al-Shaykh al-Khatm Ahmad al-Tijani, Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio, al-Haj Umar Tal, Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba, Shaykh Ibrahim Niass, may Allah be pleased with them all, were all from the greatest Knowers of Allah, the Shadows of Rasul-Allah (s.a.w.) and the Supporters of the Deen al-Islam.
No fair-minded and informed person, Qadiri or Tijani, Sufi or Salafi, Muslim or non-Muslim, can deny the services these sages rendered for Islam, Sufism, and to the general good of humanity itself, especially in the blessed African continent.
One must always acknowledge that and be proud of all of them.
That is the Haqq and that’s why i appreciated Sidi Muhammad Shareef’s end note that:
“I say this without taking anything from the states, stations and saintliness of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and Shaykh Umar al-Futi, may Allah ennoble their secrets.”
That was very good adab from him. Barak Allah fih.
However, as an ardent follower of the Qadiri Tariqah, he was the wrong person to ask about the status of Khatm al-Awliya Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani and Sahib al-Faydah Shaykh al-Ghawth Ibrahim Niass, may Allah be pleased with him.
His expertise (and passionate interest) is in the history of Shehu (Shaykh) Uthman Dan Fodio (r.a.) of Nigeria and he shouldn’t have been pulled into this discussion on our Tijani Shaykhs. Therefore one sees that his message is unfortunately based on ignorance of certain facts, confusions, and misunderstandings.
First of all, he does not and cannot give one proof that Sayyidina Shaykh al-Tijani (r.a) is not the predicted Khatm, although he gives the wrong impression that to claim that he is the Khatm is something against the Shari’ah?!! How, we ask ???
It is authentically established without doubt that Sayyidina Shaykh claimed the position of Khatm al-Wilayah al-Muhammadiyyah after being informed of that by the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) himself in a wakeful state.
One cannot deny this except with solid evidence to the contrary, something which the deniers have not been able to provide till today.
As for the claim that this Khatm will be Imam al-Mahdi, then there is no proof of that, neither from the Sunnah nor from the sayings of any prominent Saint as far I know.
Ibn-Arabi (r.a.) certainly didn’t claim that, nor al-Sha’rani (r.a.) nor the Shadhilis.
However, as Sidi Ahmad al-Talib generously quoted from Mawlana Shaykh Ahmad Sukayrij (r.a.), the Mahdi will hold a position called Khatm al-Wirathah al-Nabawiyyah, i.e. the last saint to be a Ruler and Spiritual Guide at the same time, like the Prophet (s.a.w.) and first four Caliphs were.
This position of course, has nothing to do with the position of Khatm al-Wilayah al-Muhammadiyyah (Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood) that we are talking about.
So the claim of Shaykhuna al-Tijani (r.a.) still stands.
Then brother Shareef goes on to make some uncalled for and unreasonable comparisons between Sayyidina Shaykh al-Tijani (r.a.) and the famous Nigerian Qadiri warrior/saint Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio (r.a.).
This comparison, silly as it is, has nothing to do with the subject, as the Shehu never claimed the maqam of Khatmiyyah for himself or even for Shaykh Abd-al-Qadir al-Jilani (r.a.).
As for the question that if Sayyidina Shaykh was such a great Wali, then why didn’t the Shehu, who was his contemporary, recognize him or take the Tariqah from him?
We have already answered this question before. We mentioned firstly that it is not necessary that all the Awliya of the world submit to the Qutb in the Zahir (outward).
Each one must do the work designated for him by Allah, the Prophet and the Qutb, in his own vicinity and within his own Tariqah, while inwardly and secretly drinking from the Qutb.
Secondly, we also mentioned that while the identity of the Qutb is always a well kept secret, the identity of the Khatm al-Awliya is an even greater secret, which Allah protects by making a lot of people deny it.
Thus, the question of why so and so a Wali who was a contemporary of Sayyidina didn’t meet him, is pointless. Who would meet the Shaykh was based on Allah’s Eternal Will. Period.
However, it is a fact is that neither Shehu Uthman nor his successors ever doubted Sayyidina’s sainthood! Brother Shareef himself acknowledged that; and it is he who also confirmed that the Shehu’s son and Khalifah Amir Muhammadu Bello gave his own daughter in marriage to al-Haj Umar al-Futi, who by that time was the Khalifah of the Tijaniyyah in West Africa.
If one acknowledges their sainthood, then why fight their claim about the Khatmiyyah, especially without any solid proof to the contrary?
The excuse that Sayyidina (r.a) made those statements in a state of intoxication is unneeded, because that excuse is only applied if the Wali makes claims that are ‘unreal’ or ‘unjustifiable’, from a Shari’ah or Haqiqah point of view.
In Sayyidina’s case, there is nothing unjustifiable about his claim to the Khatmiyyah. It is a clear announcement of his divinely given status and it fits him well!!!
Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn-Arabi (r.a.) himself struggled to find the identity of the Khatm and was probably the one who got the closest to discovering and revealing it. All the hints he gave point towards Sayyidina (r.a.).
As for the claim that Shaykh Ibn-Arabi (r.a.) claimed the position for himself, it is known that he retracted that claim later on. Indeed, Shaykh Ibn-Arabi (r.a.) had visions of the all the Prophets, but I haven’t read of the claim that they appointed him as the Khatm. This unverifiable claim, apparently based on some unknown book of the Shaykh, cannot override what he himself wrote in his well-known work al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah.
There, he makes it clear that the ‘Seal of the Muhammadan Sainthood’ is not him but someone else and he searches for him, and even claims to have met him in Fez!
All the clues that he gave for the ‘Seal’ apply to our master Sayyidina Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Tijani (r.a.). Anyone can open his Futuhat al-Makkiyyah and check for the discussions on the subject of the Khatm. I personally read them in the Futuhat long before I was a Tijani, and that was one of the things that convinced me of the superiority of this path.
Among the clues that Ibn-Arabi (r.a.) gave was that this concealed Khatm, from Fez, will face much denial and enmity, as has indeed been the case with Sayyidina Ahmad al-Tijani (r.a.).
Therefore, Sayyidina (r.a.) is universally known as al-Qutb al-Maktum, the Hidden Qutb.
He was born in the year 1150 (1735), and the numeric value of that date corresponds with these words, “Mawlid al-Khatm”, i.e. “the Birth of the Seal”.
He passed way in the year 1230 (1815) and the numeric value of that date corresponds with the words, “Mat al-Imam al-Arif al-Rabbani”, i.e. “The Imam and Knower of Allah passed away.”
Sidi al-Arabi bin al-Sa’ih (r.a.) mentions that Sayyidina Shaykh had personally requested the Prophet (s.aw.) to guarantee him that he will live till the age of 85 years, and he got that guarantee from him. Allah knows better why he requested that age, but al-Bayhaqi narrates a hadith in which the Prophet (sa.w.) says that “Once a Muslim passes the age of 80, Allah accepts all his actions and forgives all his sins.” The Laylat al-Qadr was also valued as more than 83 years.
Nevertheless, despite the ‘hidden-ness’ of his position of Khatm, countless chosen Awliya in his time did recognize him and followed him. After having one follower initially, Sayyidina (r.a.) attracted hundreds of thousands of murids, among whom were learned scholars and saints.
Today, his Order is the strongest and fastest spreading Tariqah in the whole world. In fact, in a mere 100 years, it gained more followers than other Orders did in many centuries.
Sayyidina (r.a.) himself was a great master of the Islamic sciences and knew the Shari’ah in and out. With the holy Qur’an, he also knew Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and al-Muwatta by heart, as well as the important works of Maliki Fiqh. He was a Mufti by the age of 15.
Among the Successors of Sayyidina (r.a.) were eminent scholars of Islam such as Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Shinqiti (r.a.) who spread the Tariqah all over Mauritania and Shaykh-al-Islam Ibrahim al-Rayahi (r.a.) who was the rector of the Zaytuna University in Tunis.
Among them was also the great warrior/scholar/saint al-Haj Umar al-Futi Tal (r.a.), who created a Islamic empire in West Africa which was far greater in size and in political and spiritual influence than Shehu Uthman’s Islamic kingdom in northern Nigeria. This is a known historical fact. The ‘Umarian’ Tijanis remain scattered all over West Africa.
And among them was also the most successful Sufi Shaykh in the history of Africa, Mawlana al-Shaykh Ibrahima Niass (r.a.), the master of the Faydah (Flood of Spirituality) predicted by Sayyidina (r.a.).
One can write volumes about the greatness and achievements of Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niass (r.a.). Indeed, he was the only African Shaykh to lead the Jum’ah Salah at the esteemed Azhar University in Cairo, and it was the Arab Ulama of the Azhar who gave him the title, ‘Shaykh al- Islam’. Even the Wahhabi kings and ulama of Arabia used to honor him and be in awe of him.
Friend and foe know that no Islamic Scholar in Africa achieved the kind of success that Shaykh Ibrahim Niass (r.a.) did. Indeed, by the time he passed away in 1975, he had more than 50 Million disciples in the Tariqah Tijaniyyah (as verified by news reports)
All in just 50 years, (i.e. one million per year). Allahu Akbar!
Many of these were ex-Shaykhs and followers of the Qadiriyyah, other branches of the Tijaniyyah, and large numbers of non-Muslims who were guided to Islam at his blessed hand. As our Nigerian brother AbdulKadir pointed out, even many Nigerians whose forefathers were involved with Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio (r.a.) took the Tijaniyyah from Shaykh Ibrahim, as they recognized him as the Man of their Time.
I dont not think that any Sufi Shaykh in the history of Islam achieved the kind of success that was achieved by this Senegalese representative of Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (r.a.).
However, people like to ignore the achievements of their contemporaries and glorify past heroes. The greatness of our African Shaykhs must still be recognized.
If some people, like the misguided wahhabiyyah criticized Shaykh Ibrahim (r.a.), it makes no difference to his universally acknowledged status. It only displays their bad luck. Shaykh ul-Islam Niass (r.a.) wrote:
Bi-Fadli Ilah in-Nasi Jalla Jalaluhu
Wa Hubbi Rasul-Illahi Taha Nabi’iya
Halaftu Yaminan Innani La Yuhibbuni
Siwa As’adin w’al-Aksu fi Hali Bugdhiya

By the Grace of the Lord of People, Glorifed be He
And through the Love of the Messenger of Allah, Taha, my Prophet
I swear that none loves me but a very fortunate person
And the opposite is true for those who hate me

In fact, many of those who criticized him in the beginning came back and became his students. When some Sudanese Tijaniyyah wrote to the Muqaddam in the Grand Zawiyah in Fez asking the truth about Shaykh Ibrahim Niass (r.a.), the reply they got from there was that, “Shaykh Ibrahim Niass is a Knower of Allah and an accomplished Khalifah of our grandfather Shaykh Ahmad Tijani without doubt; respect him”.
If the lands of West Africa were to given a tongue to speak, we would hear of the most amazing Karamahs and extraordinary happenings with Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niass (r.a.). His greatest miracle however, like his Master Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (r.a.) was the amount of people he brought into the Divine presence.
And that should be the goal of anyone who wants to enter this blessed Tariqah, for that’s what it guarantees.
As for entering the Tariqah for getting a promise of Jannah for oneself and ones family. Well that guarantee is there in the Tariqah, but one can get it simply by saying the Shahadah also.
However, that is still a materialistic/egoistic/self-serving level of thinking. A human slf must not insist on anything. Only Allahs knows and decides who will enter Heaven and Heaven.
Thus, even the Prophets couldn’t get who they wanted from their dear ones into Islam One simply submit to His Will and leave all ones desires. Kill the self and be alive through Allah.
He said in the Qur’an that He has created many humans for Hell, and others for Heaven.
The chosen ones are those whom He created for Himself. To know Him, Recognize Him and Worship Him like you see Him.
This Divine knowledge of Ma’rifah is available in this Tariqah for those who want it. Let the seekers of Allah come and get it. Countless people got it from Sidi Ahmad al-Tijani, from Shaykh Ibrahim, from Shaykh Hassan today, and the Faydah continues to flow.
Once you get that, everything else will also come.
One of our most trustworthy Muqaddams here, while reciting a lot of Salat al-Fatih one night, saw our fair-colored Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) sitting on a chair, in the horizons. Then he saw the same person with same turban, clothes and chair, turn into Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (r.a.) with his brownish Face, and then after a while he saw the same person turning into Shaykh Ibrahim Niass (r.a.) with his dark features.
Allahu Akbar, Allahumma Salli ala Sayyidina Muhammad al-FATIH AL-KHATIM.
Shaykh Ibrahim wrote (r.a.):
Thaqafatu Ibrahima wa al-Ilmu Kulluhu
Madih al-Imam al-Hashimiyyi wa Fadluhu
The Education of Ibrahim and all knowledge in fact
is to praise the Hashemite Prophet and his Merits
Indeed, one must remember that it is the Prophet of Allah (s.a.w) that is manifest in all of them, and in all Awliya, each according to his level.
The other day, while making the Wazifah and reciting the Salat ul-Fatih, I reflected on the words “al-Fatih Lima Ughliq wa al-Khatim Lima Sabaq”, i.e. “The Opener of that which was closed and Seal of all that was before him”, and I was inspired that in actuality, all the Awliya are him and he is all of them. They are all the Prophet (s.a.w) in his different manifestations!
While, i was enjoying and engrossed in this thought, the brothers started reciting La Ilaha illa’llah, and then it appeared to me that even the Prophet (s.aw) himself was a manifestation, while the Only Reality is Allah, and all these Prophets and Saints are just HIM.
So I thought, how stupid and ignorant we really are when we compare between the Prophets and the Saints, while they are just One Being! One Being at so many levels!
One must spend time with our accomplished Tijani Shaykhs to realize this all-encompassing truth within their hearts.
The greatest proof of the Tijaniyyah for Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani (ra.) being the Khatm al-Wilayah al-Muhammadiyyah is not these logical polemical proofs that we mentioned. They can never do justice to a spiritual issue like this. It is actually real spiritual experience that convinces us of his Maqam. One will only get that experience if one if a Tijani.
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That’s all, Was Salam,