Conditions of the Ahmediya Mohammediya Tijaniya Path

The great opening of Sidna Shaykh Abil Abbas Sidi Ahmed Tijani (may Allah be pleased with him) given to him by Allah , thanks to the intervention of his grandfather the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him), started at Tlemcen, and was crowned, at Chellala, and at Abi Samghroune in the Eastern Sahara. That is where the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) allowed Sidna Shaykh Tijani to inculcate in his Mohammedian Wird to those who require it, without any pre-conditions, apart from submission to the precepts and concepts of Islam, the approval to recite the WIRD, and the WADIFA could be given to any to any believer of both sexes, provided to be pubescent, and to agree upon the terms. It was in 1196/1781. 

One of the most important steps taken by Sidna Shaykh Tijani was that he did not consider Sufism limited to a certain group of people. The Shaykh usually repeated, “Impeller of rapture (saiq as-sa'ada) drives communities to this Presence, the divine clout (sarif al-ilahi), meanwhile, strays others from (arriving into) it.” Sidna Shaykh left his door open to all seekers, instructing in the way of love all those in longing for the Mohammedian Presence (peace and blessing be upon him). As for the conditions of his Order, Sidna Shaykh, simply speaking, based it on three pillars,

(1) Praying in the mosque with the congregation whenever possible, meeting all the prerequisites for lawfully offering prayer, 
(2) Praying upon the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) and 
(3) Not to visit living saints or the tombs of dead ones. 

The Allama Sidi Ibrahim Niass al-Kulkhi (d. 1390/1975) illuminates in his Ruh al-adab (Spirit of Good Morals),

The first and most important of the conditions is that one must commit himself to its wird until death. Allah says in the Quran: {And serve the Lord until there come unto you the Hour that is Certain}[15:99]. The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) says in a Hadith: "And indeed, a little that is continuous is better than a lot that is intermittent." In another hadith the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said: "The best of worship is the constant one even if it is little."

The second of the conditions is that one must not combine this order with another. There are about 313 orders in Islam, each of which is linked through the Companions of the Battle of Badr. While any of these orders will guide one to the Prophet's (peace and blessing be upon him) path, the principles of all of them are combined in the Tijaniya order, in the same way that all principles of the past religions (of the Book) are combined in Islam. Allah is One. The final and overall Prophethood is one, and the guiding Shaykh of the last order must certainly be one.

The third of the conditions is that a person who has taken the (Tijani) order should not pay homage (seek spiritual guidance) to any other saint that is not a Tijani for the purpose of any spiritual gain. He must however, respect all the saints of Allah. The reason for this is that Tijaniya, being the fountain-head of all the orders, is their summation and therefore nothing is in any other order that is not found within the Tijaniya. Why then will one go out to beg for what he has in excess in his house?

The fourth of the conditions is that one must at all times establish the five daily prayers in congregation, except for excusable reasons. It has been related from the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) that prayers offered in congregation are twenty seven times better than those said singularly. In another narration, twenty five times better. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be satisfied with him) also narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) that: "There are no prayers for the neighbours of the mosque, except they offer the prayers in the mosque." When the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) was asked who is considered neighbours of the mosque, he replied "forty neighbours away from the mosque."

1. The fifth and the final condition is that a disciple must respect his parents to the utmost possible. Allah always brings together the command to worship with dutifulness to parents. Allah says in the Quran: "Don't worship other than Allah, and with parents be nice" [2:83]; "And worship Allah without joining Him with anything. And with parents be nice” [4:36]; "Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah love not the arrogant, the vainglorious” [31:14]; “And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother (during pregnancy) bear him, and in years twain/toil was his weaning: (hear the command), "Show gratitude to Me and to the parents.