Sokhna Maryam Bousso commonly known as Mame Diarra was born in 1250H
(corresponding to 1833) in the village of Mbusôbé, Jolof, Sénégal. Actually, her forefathers had left
their homeland called Golleré located in the Fouta province (northern part of Senegal) to settle in
the Jolof province (central part).

Mame Diarra was the daughter of the pious Serigne Mouhamadou Bousso and the virtuous
Sokhna Asta Wâlo Mbacke. Serigne Mouhamadou Bousso was a descendant of Sayyidina Hassan,
grandson of the Prophet (PBUH), hence the Cherif status of the Mbusôbé. As for Sokhna Asta
Wâlo, she was the daughter of Serigne Ahmadou Sokhna Bousso, son of the man of God Mame
Maharam Mbacke; the latter was the father of Serigne Mame Balla, father of Serigne Mame Mor
Anta Sally ; Serigne Mame Mor Anta Sally was the father of the most honorable Cheikh Ahmadou
Bamba. What a noble ascendance !

Mame Diarra learnt by rote the holy Koran – which she handwrote several times by memory
– from her mother Sokhna Asta Wâlo ; the latter was a consummate Koranic and religious sciences
teacher (theology, jurisprudence, sufism, exegesis of Koran). Sokhna Asta gave a good religious
training to her daughter to whom she imparted commendable social and moral values; on seeing
that great pedagogue in her class, one might think she was a man, on account of her dedication to
her vocation; she was used to wearing clothes that resembled jellabas. Mame Asta Wâlo would
recite the whole Koran every night during her supererogatory Prayers.

Sokhna Diarra had four outstanding children : Serigne Mame Mor Diarra alias Boroom
Saam, the eldest son who prayed 100 rakkas each night, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, universal figure
and timeless divine Miracle, Serigne Habîboullah and Sokhna Fâty Mbacke who both passed away
at an untimely age.

The advent of Serigne Touba i.e the Cheikh of Touba was undoubtedly an evidence of and a
consecration for the spiritual dimension of Mame Diarra ; as a poet praising Sokhna Mame Diarra
Bousso's qualities aptly said: “her works have produced Mame Mor Diarra, but the underlying
intention favored her with [Cheikh Ahmadou] Bamba”.Following a talk by her saint mother about
the deceased men of God who would spend their nights engaging in praying, Cheikh Ahmadou
Bamba – who did not then start school yet – immediately followed suit! In that, the future Servant
of the Prophet resembled Sayyidina Mouhammad (PBUH) about whom the great poet Bousayri
said: “at a very age, he used to get involved in devotional practices, which is indeed the appanage
of God-elect people!”

All things considered, Serigne Touba was an answered prayer as it were for Sokhna Diarra ;
moreover, it is stated in the holy Koran “as for those who believe and do righteous deeds, He
[Allah] will give them fully their rewards, and more out of His Grace”. (S 4, V 172). This verse
which is in the Surat dedicated to women is indeed informative of the divine reward which does
not make any difference whatsoever between men and women; as a matter of fact, fair treatment in
terms of good actions is encapsulated in this verse : “Surely, Muslim men and Muslim women, the
believing men and the believing women , the devout men and the devout women, and the truthful
men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, men and women who
humble themselves, the alms-giving men and the alms-giving women, and the fasting men and the
fasting women, and the men and women who guard their chastity, the men and women who engage
much in remembering Allah, for all of them has Allah prepared Forgiveness and great Reward.”
(S33 V35)

Boroom Porokhane i.e the owner of Porokhane, as she was nicknamed , performed her daily
canonical Prayers on time and would always renew her ablutions prior to each Prayer; since her
early childhood, she would embark upon long surerogatory Prayers and would spend days and days
each month fasting voluntarily ; she would very often recite the famous collection of Prayers on the
Prophet (PBUH) titled Dalâ-ilul Qayrât, especially when she was involved in house chores;
furthermore, that generous soul was known for her frequent alms and for her helpfulness to the
needy people; her piety, her sainthood, her generosity, her caring support to the elderly and the
young people, her graciousness... were so uncommon that people referred to her as Jâratul Lâhi;
this exalting name stands for “the Neighbor of God”. Her granddaughter Sokhna Amy extolled her
spiritual and moral qualities in her panegyric poem composed in wolof as follows : “o the Saint,
the tireless worshiper of God according to the Tradition of the Prophet (PBUH); thanks to God's
Grace, you are favored with His Recognition that is praised all over the country, o Neighbor of
God ! Pretty creature endowed with beautiful qualities, the epitome of the dignified personality,
ocean of generosity that showers her grace upon people without discrimination, o Neighbor of
God”!

It is worth pointing out that worshiping God for a woman does not only boil down to
devotional practices ; in fact, fulfilling one's conjugal duties do partake of devotional practices in
Islam; in his “advising message to Penda Diop ”, Cheikhoul Khadîm warns the Muslim woman
against disobedience to her husband: “ Do not worship God while showing disobedience towards
your spouse who fears the Almighty. […] do know that women's holy war unquestionably consists
in abiding by their spouses' orders”.The famous anecdote about the Saint of Porokhane and the
picket fence is a relevant testimony to the right attitude of an obedient woman towards her
husband.

Mame Diarra is, in all respects, the spiritual heir of saint ladies such as Sayyidatuna Amina
(saint mother of the Prophet[PBUH]), of Sayyidatuna Asiya (spouse of the Pharaoh), of
Sayyidatuna Fatima (daughter of the Prophet [PBUH]) and of Sayyidatuna Maryam or Mary (the
saint mother of Jesus and the namesake of Mame Diarra); furthermore, the spiritual resemblance
between those two Maryam is striking indeed : their elevated sainthood and sublime piety, their
exceptional spiritual and moral qualities, their wonderful son…

In the Koran, Sayyidatuna Maryam is praised as follows: “And when the Angels said: O
Maryam! Surely Allah hath chosen thee, and purified thee and chosen thee above the women of the
world”.(S3 V 42). In his beautiful poem dedicated to Sayyidatuna Maryam ( Saint Mary), Cheikh
Ahmadou Bamba, writes : “truly, you are favored with immense graces, o Queen of virtuous
women ; Maryam, you have actually spiritually outranked pious women .[…] I hope through this
poem a [divine]Recognition that makes eternal your Proximity with God”. 

Anyway, this lyric poem would fit Sokhna Diarra, the-Neighbor-of-God like gloves. For the sake of argument, her proximity with the Almighty allowed her to achieve some miracles the most famous of which was that wonderful feat that was recounted by the 3rd caliph of Muridism, honorable Serigne Abdou Ahad Mbacke: when Serigne Touba was put into a deep well by the French colonizers, the angels called “Mala-ul al’s” along with those named “Muqarrabûn” came to him so as to drag him out; the
Cheikh asked them if they had come upon God's Order; their answer being “no”, the Cheikh
sheerly turned down their offer; at this juncture, someone grabbed him by his shoulders and freed
him from the abyss, telling him:“go and carry on your Mission”!On turning around, Cheikh
Ahmadou Bamba realized that person was her own mother – who had passed away decades and
decades before! Sokhna Amy, the renowned poet of Boroom Porokhane, rightly composed these
lyric verses in wolof : “you [Mame Diarra]did what nobody else did; you acquired what nobody
else could ; you achieved what nobody else was capable of, O Neighbor of God !”

The life of Mame Diarra, short though it was – it lasted only 33 years, should be a good
example for the Muslim woman in general and Murid in particular to muse on ; as the 5th Caliph of
muridism honorable Serigne Saliou once said, being unable to accomplish a thing should not be an
excuse to give up; instead, we should contrive a means to imitate men of God as much as we can.
As a matter of fact, our endeavors, according to Serigne Saliou, will place us above our generation.
Women are pillars of society. As wives and mothers, they play a significant part in the
progress of nations; accordingly, they should be aware that their offspring will be what they make
out of them through their behavior; they should realize that upon the conscious or unconscious way
they fulfill their educative, social, moral, and spiritual duties will depend the status, good or bad ,
of their children – the future and hope of the world.

Dear sisters, do not be misled by those people who are constantly invoking misused terms
such as equality, parity while at the same time shamelessly using you in derogatory fashion shows ,
downgrading commercials, infamous shows of models that stain your image and warp your
personality. Stay away from such practices and all others that do not give you a good image!
Whoever visits the religious town of Porokhane will assuredly realize that Sokhna Mame
Diarra, the epitome of female sainthood, was undoubtedly a perfect role model for women ; she
was the only woman in the history of humanity to have these things at the same time: her own
town, a big mosque, an outstanding mausoleum (annually visited by hundreds of thousands of
people), an annual Magal or religious celebration (attended by about one to two million people), a
religious and vocational complex where hundreds of girls – all of them are named after her! – are
given a religious, social and professional free training.

At the end of her life full of blessings, the saint mother of the founder of muridism passed
away in the town of Porokhane in 1283 H (1865). It is worth noting that Sokhna Diarra emigrated
to Porokhane along with Mame Mor Anta Sally in order to preserve and promote the Islamic
religion which was then aggressed by the French colonizers and local aristocrats: “And whoever
emigrates for the sake of Allah will definitely find in the earth many a haven and abundant
resources; and whoever forsakes his home in the cause of Allah and His Messenger and death
overtakes him, his reward is indeed with Allah, and Allah is Oft-forgiving, Merciful” (Koran, S
4[Women] V99 ).May God acknowledge all the works of Sokhna Mame Diarra Bousso and favor
us with her benediction for the sake of her outstanding son, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, the eternal
Servant of the Prophet(PBUH).

Cheikh Amadou Bamba Seye, teacher of English and Fulbrighter, USA, April 2011

the wird

wird

MIFTAH AL-WIRD*The Key to the Source(The Wird of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib)[Note. The comments in red on the wird were done by Dr. Yasin Dutton]

comes from a root meaning "to go down to the watering-place, to drink.][*The word

This is our noble Wird for whoever wishes it and seeks it. Its recital guarantees every good and repels every evil.If the slave perseveres in it with idhn* of the Shaykh, or from a muqaddam who has idhn of the Shaykh, Allah will unite the Shari'a and Haqiqa for him.

means "permission", usually in the special sense of "permission of the shaykh".[*The Shari'a or "road" is the outward, path, i.e. the outward legal requirements of the deen.The Haqiqa is the "reality", or inward truth of things.]

MIFTAH AL-WIRDO Allah bless our master Muhammad, Your slave and Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, and his family and Companions and grant them peace, as great as the number of Your creations and Your pleasure and the weight of Your Throne and the ink of Your words.

"Allah and His angels call down blessings on the Prophet. O you who believe! Call down blessings on him and ask for complete peace and safety for him."] (33:56) [The prayer on the Prophet is commanded by

I take refuge with Allah, the Hearer, the Wise, from the accursed shaytan. In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful. There is no power and no strength but through Allah, the High, the Great.

"If an evil impulse from Shaytan provokes you, seek refuge in Allah. He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing." (7:200)"Whenever you recite the Qur'an, seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaytan." (16:98) and also, [Allah says,

I ask forgiveness of Allah. (3)

"And seek forgiveness from Allah. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (73:20)][Allah says:

O Allah, bless our master Muhammad, Your slave and Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, and his family and Companions and grant them peace. (3)There is no god except Allah alone, without association. The kingdom and the praise belong to Him, and He has power over all things. (3)

.'" (Muwatta.)[The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best hing that I and the Prophets before me have said is (64:1)]occurs inThe last part of this

Glory be to Allah and praise belongs to Allah. There is no god except Allah. Allah is greater. There is no power and no strength but through Allah, the High, the Great. (3)Glory be to Allah, by His praise, Glory be to Allah, the Great. (3)

.]and [The last hadith in Imam al-Bukhari's collection is the following: "There are two phrases which are loved by the Rahman, light on the tongue and heavy in the balance:

Praise is due to Allah and thanks be to Allah. (3)A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is distressing to him; he is deeply concerned for you; he is gentle and merciful to the muminun. (1)

[Surat at-Tawba (9:128)]

But if they turn away, say, 'Allah is enough for me. There is no god but Him. I have put my trust in Him. He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.' (3)

[Surat at-Tawba (9:129)]

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful. Say: 'He is Allah, Absolute Oneness, Allah, the Everlasting Sustainer of all. He has not given birth and was not born. And no one is comparable to Him.' (3)

)] (112) It is stated in the hadith that this sura is worth a third of the Qur'an (see [

Blessed is Allah. (3)

(23:14) and Surat Ghafir (40:64)]Also (7:54): [Cf.

In the name of Allah, All-Merciful, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship. You alone we ask for help. Guide us on the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have blessed, not of those with anger on them, nor of the misguided. Amin. (3)

[Cf. Surat al-Fatiha (1)]

Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above all that they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (1)

(37:180-182).] of s is in fact the last three [This common ending for

O Allah, bless our master Muhammad, Your slave, Prophet and Messenger, the unlettered Prophet and his family and Companions and grant them peace by the measure of the sublimity of Your Essence at every time and in every age. Amin. Amin. Amin. (3)Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above all that they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (1)O Allah! We ask You for sound Islam accompanied by submission to Your orders and prohibitions and for pure Iman, firmly established, enduring, protected from all the ambiguities and dangers, and for Ihsan that will drive us into the presence of the Unseen. May we be purified by it from every kind of negligence and defect. We ask for the certainty which will reveal to us the presences of the Names and Attributes by which we will be carried into the witnessing of the lights of the tajalliyati adh-dhat, and for useful knowledge through which we may understand how to conduct ourselves in Your presence and how to confide in You in prayer. Fill our hearts with the lights of Your maírifa so that we may witness Your All-Sustaining Gatheredness flowing in all created things. Let us be among the circle of Your bounty, beloved in Your presence and among the firmly grounded and enduring in tawakkul and sidq of dependence on You. Realise our hope with the answer to all that we ask, O Generous, O Giving! O Master do not let us rely on any other than You in stillness or in action. You have accustomed us to Your Ihsan before we even asked for it while we were in our mothers' wombs. You have raised us with the Latif of Your lordship over existence in a manner far beyond the perception of illuminated intellects.We ask You, O Allah, by Your Prophet, whom You have preferred above all other Prophets and Messengers, and by Your Messenger whose message You made universal and a mercy to all creation, to bless him and his family and grant them a peace by which we may attain his love and follow him in words, deeds, in muraqaba, mushahada, adab, akhlaq and ahwal.We ask You, O Master, by his rank, to grant us that useful knowledge through which every listener may profit and every heart may be made humble, and at which the skin may thrill and the tears flow. You are the All-Powerful, the Transformer, the Knowing, the Living, the Vast.Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above all that they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.Then you pray the prayer called the Treasury of Truths in the prayer on the most noble of creatures from whom I received it, the Chosen One, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.O Allah, bless and grant peace to our lord and master Muhammad, the first of the lights emanating from the oceans of the sublimity of the Essence, with every one of Your perfections in all Your self-manifestations. In the two worlds - the hidden and the seen - he realised the meanings of the Names and Attributes. He is the first to give praise and worship with every kind of adoration and good action. He is the helper of all created beings in the world of forms and the world of spirits. And blessings be upon his family and Companions with a blessing that will lift the veil from his noble face for us in visions and in the waking state and will acquaint us with You and with him in all ranks and presences.Be gracious to us, O Mawlana, by his rank, in movement and in stillness, in looks and in thoughts. (3)Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above all that they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan: Those to whom people said, 'The people have gathered against you, so fear them. But that merely increased their Iman and they said:Allah is enough for us and the Best of Guardians. (10)So they returned with blessings and bounty from Allah, and no evil touched them. (3)They pursued the pleasure of Allah. Allah's favour is indeed immense. (3)

) to cast fear into the hearts of the Muslims by telling them of the great numbers of Makkans ranged against them. In fact, it was the Makkans who were afraid and failed to present themselves at Badr, while the Muslims, putting their trust in Allah, went out and returned without suffering either harm or loss, and with the added gain that theymade considerable profit from trading at the market of Badr.]). Abu Sufyan, however, tried to weaken the resolve of the Muslims by sending some of the tribe of 'Abd Qays (or, according to other reports, a man called Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud al-Ashja'i) (the first 'people' in the (3:173-174) These ayats came down about the second expedition to Badr, in the year 4 AH, when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in accordance with the promise he had given Abu Sufyan after the Battle of Uhud, set out to meet him and the Makkans (the second 'people' in the [

And if they intend to deceive you, Allah is enough for you. It is He Who supported you with His help, and with the muminun, and unified their hearts. Even if you had spent everything on the earth, you could not have unified their hearts. But Allah has unified them. He is the Almighty, All-Wise. O Prophet! Allah is enough for you, and for the muminun who follow you. (3)

(8:62-64) The last phrase is normally taken to mean "Allah and those believers who follow you are enough for you" (Ibn Juzayy, Jalalayn), but according to some it means "Allah is enough for you and for those believers who follow you" (e.g. az-Zamakhshari in Ibn Juzayy)[

Ya Latifu, ya Latifu, the lutf is Yours! You are the Latif, and from You the lutf engulfs us.Ya Latifu, ya Latifu, I beg You by Your lutf - be the lutf to me - and the lutf has descended!Ya Latifu, we have hidden in Your lutf - we have gone into the centre of lutf - and the lutf has descended.We have been freed by the lutf of Allah, the Possessor of lutf, Latifu, Latifu, His lutf is always that.Ya Hafidhu, ya Hafidhu, the hifdh is Yours! You are the Hafidh, and from You the hifdh engulfs us.Ya Hafidhu, ya Hafidhu, I beg you by Your hifdh - be the hifdh to me - and the hifdh has descended.Ya Hafidhu, we have hidden in Your hifdh - we have gone into the centre of hifdh - and the hifdh has descended.We have been freed by the hifdh of Allah, the Possessor of hifdh. Hafidhu, Hafidhu, His hifdh is always that.By the rank of the Imam of the Messengers, Muhammad, were he not the source of the hifdh, then it would not have descended.Blessings be upon him as long as there is one who chants: 'Ya Hafidhu, ya Hafidhu, the hifdh is Yours!'LA ILAHA ILA'LLAH (10)No god - except Allah; our Master Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace. O Lord, make us firm by its recital, O Mawlana, give us results from its invocation. Let us enter into the fortress of its protection - let us be among its people - and let us say it and know it at the time of death. Gather us into the company of our lord and master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, and his Companions and all the believing slaves of Allah. Amin. Amin. Amin.

(I, 599]is My fortress, and whoever enters My fortress will be safe from My torment." (Ibn an-Najjar from Anas In to the effect that [There is a

And peace be upon the Prophets and the Messengers, (3)- And on all the Saliheen.The last of our prayer is: Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. There is no power and no strength but through Allah, the Mighty, the Great.

"The end of their call is: 'Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!'"][Cf Surat Yunus (10:10):

My help is only with Allah. In Him I have put my trust – and to Him I turn in renewal. Praise belongs to Allah for the blessing of Islam, and it is blessing enough.

(11:88)][These words form part of Shu'ayb's words his people (the people of Madyan) in

O First! O Last! O Manifest! O Hidden!Hear my cry as you heard the cry of Your slave, our master Zakariah, peace be upon him. Give me victory through You - for You.Support me through You - for You. Join me to You - separate me from other-than-You.

(57:3):[Cf.

For the story of Zakariyya who, despite his old age, asked for a child and was granted the Prophet Yahya as a son, see Surat Ali 'Imran (3:38-41)]

ALLAH (10)Here ends the Greater Wird.THE LESSER WIRDIn the name of Allah, All-Merciful, Most MercifulO Allah, we ask You by the secret of the Essence and by the Essence of the secret. He is You and You are He. I have veiled myself with the light of Allah and the light of the Throne of Allah and all the Names of Allah from my enemies and the enemies of Allah. With one thousand 'no power, no strength but through Allah'. I have set a seal upon my self and my Deen and upon everything given to me by Allah with the seal of Allah with which He has sealed the Heavens and the earth. Allah is enough for us** and He is the best guardian, the best protector, the best helper.*** The blessings of Allah be upon our lord and master Muhammad, and upon all his family and Companions and great peace. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.***

[*Surat Ali 'Imran (3:173)**Surat a;-Afal (8:40) and Surat al-Hajj (22:78).***Surat as-Saffar (37:182).]

O Lover! (3)O Possessor of the glorious Throne! (3)O You who Originate, O You who bring back to life. (3)O He Who does whatever He wills! (3)

] (85:13:16):[This and the preceding three du'a's reflect

I ask You by the light of Your face that fills every corner of Your Throne - (3)And I ask You by the power You exercise over Your creation (3)And by Your mercy that encompasses all things - (3)

[Cf. Surat al-A'raf (7:156): "wa rahmati wasi'at kulla shay'".]

No god but You - O Rescuer - rescue us. (3)Allah is Latif with His slaves. He gives wealth to whom He chooses, and He is the Strong, the Inestimably Precious. (10)

[Cf. Surat ash-Shura (42:19)]

Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above all that they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (1)

[Cf. Surat al-Hadid (57:3)]

THE WIRD OF FAJRThere is no divinity except Allah and Allah is greater. Glory be to Allah and by His praise: and I seek forgiveness from Allah: and there is no strength nor power except by Allah. He is the First and the Last and the Outwardly Manifest and the Inwardly Hidden. Good is in His hand, He makes to live and makes to die, and He has power over everything. (10)

](57:2):and in [Cf. Sura Ali 'Imran (3:26):

And blessings of Allah upon our lord and master, Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions, let there be perfect peace, as great as the number of Your creations and Your pleasure and the weight of Your Throne and the ink of Your words. (1)Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.Glory be to Allah and praise be to Allah and there is no divinity except Allah and Allah is greater. There is no strength nor power except by Allah, the High, the Great, in quantity as great as what He knows and the weight of what He knows and the quantity of what He knows. (3)Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.THE SEAL OF THE WIRDO Allah, open our inner eyes to Your watching and contemplation through Your generosity and overflowing, and illuminate our secrets to the tajalliyat of Your Names and Attributes through Your gentleness and nobility, and annihilate us to our metaphorical existence in Your real existence through Your forbearance and favour. And make us have baqa' by You, not by us, preserving Your Shari'a and the Sunna of Your Prophet. You have power over everything and answering becomes You.By a secret and a blessing -In the name of Allah, All-Merciful, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful, the King of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship. You alone we ask for help. Guide us on the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have blessed, not of those with anger on them, nor of the misguided.Then pray for yourselves and your parents and all the Muslims and for the Shaykh of your age in particular. Then say:O Allah, bless our master Muhammad and the family of Muhammad with a blessing by which You will save us from every fear and harm. Supply us with all our needs by it, and purify us from all evils by it, and raise us to the highest degrees by it. Through it let us attain the furthest goal of the good in life and after death. O Allah, in this hour send down some of Your good and Your baraka on us as You sent it down on Your perfect ones - send us what is kept for Your lovers. Let us taste the coolness of Your pardon and the sweetness of Your forgiveness. Spread over us Your compassion which encompasses all things. Sustain us with Your love, Your acceptance, our renewal in You, Your counsel, Your response to our asking, forgiveness, and well-being, taking in the present and the absent, the living and the dead in Your mercy.O Most Merciful of the merciful, Lord of the worlds. (3)O Allah, do not disappoint us in what we ask of You, nor deny us what we hope for from You. Protect us. Protect us. Protect us - in life and in death. You are the Answerer of prayers.Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.O Allah, I ask You for the blessing of knowing You, and I ask for strength through Your power. I ask You for some of Your great and sublime fullness. You have power and I do not. You know and I do not. You are the Knower of the Unseen.O Allah, if You know that my situation – my movement and stillness, apparent and hidden, in speech, deeds, character and state, in spiritual work and daily life, as regards myself and others, in this day or night and those after it, and all the rest of my life – is good for me in my Deen, and my worldly existence, in this life and my next life, and my final end, be it sooner or later, then decree it for me and make it easy for me and bless me in it.But if You know that my situation - all my movement and stillness, apparent and hidden, in speech, deeds, character and state, in spiritual work and daily life, as regards myself and others in this day or night and those after it, and all the rest of my life - is evil for me in my Deen, and my worldly existence, in this life and my next life, and my final end, be it sooner or later, then divert it from me and divert me from it, and destine the good for me wherever it may be and accept it from me. You have power over all things.O Allah, provision us with fear of You that may come between us and acts of disobedience against You, and grant us obedience to You that will bring us to Your Garden and grant us certainty that will make the misfortunes of this world easy for us.O Allah, let us enjoy our hearing and vision and strength for as long as You grant us life and make it our legacy. Avenge us on those who have wronged us and give us victory over those who have attacked us, and do not give us misfortune in our Deen. Do not let this world be the greatest of our cares, nor the scope of our knowledge, nor the object of our desire, and do not let our homecoming be the Fire. Do not place over us because of our wrong actions those who have no fear of You and will not show mercy to us.O Most Merciful of the merciful. (3)O Allah! O Lord, by the rank of Your chosen Prophet and approved Messenger, purify our hearts of every attribute that might separate us from Your contemplation and love. Let us die in the Sunna and the community and in yearning for Your encounter.O Lord of majesty and generosity.So glory be to Allah both in your evening hour and in your morning hour. Praise belongs to Him in the heavens and the earth, alike at the setting of the sun and in your noontide hour. He brings forth the living from the dead, even so you shall be brought forth.O Allah, we ask You for Your pleasure and the Garden and what brings one near to them from speech and action: and we take refuge with You from Your wrath and the Fire and what brings one near to them from speech and action.O Allah, O Abundant in blessing, O Repeller of adversities, O One Who frees us from troubles and Who lifts up the darkness, and O Most Just of those who judge, O Reckoner of those who are unjust, and O Protector of those who are wronged!On You Who have a name without a kunya, free us and all the muslims from the state they are in -By the secret of Your Name - the Guarded, the Hidden, the Blessed, the Pure, the Purified, the Wholly Pure. You are Powerful over all things and fitted to answer our prayers.Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe, and peace be upon the Messengers and praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Hajj

BismiAllah.The ultimate destination You are the luckiest person in the world. Allah has invited you personally to His House. What is Hajj? Hajj in the Arabic language means aim, destination or purpose (qasd). The reason is clear: Hajj is the ultimate journey of loving submission (‘ubudiyah) and conscious surrender (rip) to Allah. 

Its ultimate destination is your encounter with the House of Allah (Bayt al-Allah) – the Ka`bah – with both your physical body and, more importantly, your heart (qalb). Ibn al-Jawzi (rahimahullah) relates a story of an old, blind woman who was journeying to Hajj years ago with a caravan. Throughout the journey, she keeps asking: “Are we at the house of my Lord?” Time and again, she is told, “No, mother, we are not there yet.” As the caravan nears Makkah, she is informed that they are almost there. Finally, they enter Masjid al-haram. She is led to the Ka’bah. Touching the Ka’bah, she cries, “Baytu rabbi!” (“The House of my Lord!”). Weeping, she clings to the cloth of the Ka’bah – and dies. The woman realized with her heart (qalb) the true significance of visiting the House of her Lord. Allah has invited you to His House, which He has called the al-Bayt al-‘Atiq – the ancient, liberated and liberating house. 

Your journey is one of freedom and liberation. For as your body leaves its material house to journey to Allah’s House, your heart is meant to disengage from the lower self (nafs), the shaytan, and the world (dunya) and journey to Allah. The ultimate reward for a Hajj mabrur is to return home with the purity of a newborn child. What could be a greater incentive? But beware, for Hajj is a selective process. Only a few will attain a Hajj mabrur, which is a Hajj performed correctly, without any disobedience to Allah and without indulging in any argumentation. Be prepared. Be vigilant. Be focused. This will be one of the greatest – and sweetest – struggles of your life. And though you will long and dream for the rest of your life to come back, you may never return again. May Allah allow our bodies to journey to His House; may He permit our hearts to find Him, the Lord of the House. Ameen. 

The most sacred space You will be journeying from your earthly house to Makkah, your spiritual home, the most beloved place to Allah in all of space and time. Allah himself has decreed it to be so since the beginning of creation. There is no place more blessed, more beautiful, more virtuous, more exalted than Makkah. Every inch and every corner of Makkah is a haram, a sanctuary made sacred by Allah. The more you revere Makkah, the more you will be ennobled by Allah. We must take the greatest of care to never think casually of our sojourn in Makkah or live within its precincts in disobedience or negligence. Some reports teach that it was in Makkah that our father Adam (‘alayhi al-salam) longed to go back to paradise and be in the presence of Allah. To console his loneliness, Allah commanded him to do tawaf around the space of the current Ka‘bah. And Adam did, and felt whole again. Other texts teach that Nuh (’alayhi al-salam), Ibrahim (’alayhi al-salam), and many Prophets before them (’alayhim al-salam), all did tawaf around Allah’s sacred House. Their spiritual energy and legacy fills the air. You will be walking in the footsteps and the heart-steps of Rasulullah (sallalahu ’alayhi wasallam) and his noble companions. 

Shelter, solace and sight Hajj and its rites are described in various and powerful ways by Allah and his Rasul (sallalahu ’alayhi wasallam). Through these descriptions, we gain insight into the deeper meanings of Hajj. The rites of hajj are described, for example, as manasik, masha‘ir and mashahid. Mansak (plural manasik), usually translated as ritual, connotes shelter (maskan) and tranquility (sukun). The rites of Hajj are residences of shelter and tranquility for the heart. Mash‘ar (plural masha‘ir) connotes feeling and experience. The rites of Hajj cause the heart to feel and experience the sweetness of nearness to Allah. Mashad (plural mashahid) is to witness with the heart the blessings of Allah at every station – to see, with one’s inner sight, Allah’s will as the Decreer of decrees and the Causer of causes. Each word connotes a different inner dimension of Hajj, as the movement, not only of your body or limbs, but of your heart. For as your body journeys from one place to another, so too must your heart travel through various stations (maqamat), each of which will provide it with shelter, solace and inner sight. 

Become angelic Hajj is your chance to become an angel and to live with the delight of an angel. In tawaf, you will be mirroring the worship of the angels, the mala’ikah, those heavenly creatures created of pure light and enveloped in the worship of Allah. Texts teach that the Ka‘bah is connected in an imperceptible way to the Bayt al-Ma‘mur, the heavenly Ka‘bah of the angels, around which they are constantly in tawaf. Seventy thousand angels perform tawaf around this house and are replaced with others, never to return. Around the Ka‘bah, we are in a heavenly dimension. Near the Ka‘bah are the Hajar Aswad, or black stone (a stone set into one of its corners), and the Maqam Ibrahim , both gems from Jannah. We are taught that the hajar was darkened by the sins and transgressions of man. Its heavenly light is now folded from us. The hajar will be rendered into a person in the afterlife by Allah and will witness on behalf of those who approached it with truth and sincerity. The hajar can be said to take a picture recording of your heart as you stand before it. Kissing the ajar is the most profound renewal of your covenant with Allah and a pledge of love, dedicated obedience and soulful allegiance to Him. 

THE JOURNEY BEGINS Entering into ihram As you near the miqat, your heart will tremble and tremor. Is this really happening? Is my heart getting closer and closer to His House? Soon you will enter Allah’s haram. It is only fitting that you enter into a state, both externally and internally, that justly corresponds to this honour. Beyond the miqat, there is only talbiyah. The essence of Hajj is the journey of our hearts away from the house of our lower selves (nufus) with its passions (shahawat), inclinations (ahwa’) and attachment to the created world (khalq) to the haram and, ultimately, the House of Allah. We must leave our attachments to receive the greatest connection. We must leave to arrive. ihram is from haram. Both meanings, to be sacred and to be forbidden, are carried in it. Through the ihram, the heart is meant to leave the temporary and the finite – to make it, in a sense, “forbidden” – and to prepare for the sacred audience of Allah’s presence. The muhrim has disengaged from everything and anything that distracts him or her from Allah and, consequently, focuses on remembrance, peace and stillness. The muhrim has left his or her home taking taqwa or Allah-consciousness, the best sustenance, as a provision. Beginning talbiyah One enters into hiram with talbiyah. talbiyah is the heart’s most profound surrender to the invitation and call of Allah: Here I come to You, my Lord, here I come – fully and forever. 

With the talbiyah, we proclaim that no associate (sharik) or attachment will distract us from seeking Allah. Our hearts will not see, hear, obey, or be lured to another, besides Him. The recitation of this talbiyah is to be said with constancy and conviction, and not intermittently and infrequently.talbiyah is essential to focusing our hearts. It will remind us of the purpose of our journey; it will facilitate us in foregoing our rights, demands and expectations while yet rendering fully the major and minor rights of others; it will dispel distractions; and it will make all obstacles easy, even pleasurable. There is no praise (hamd) and no dominion and power (mulk) except that Allah owns it. Everything, whether tangible or intangible, belongs to Him. In fact, we are in praise of Him by Him. Mina Mina, or Muna, means desire, hope, longing. Some texts teach that it was in Muna that Adam ( ‘alayhi al-salam) longed and desired to journey back home to paradise and to be, once again, in Allah’s presence. It is in Muna that the journey begins. The day spent in Muna, termed the day of tarwiyah (meaning, in part, to quench, to drink to one’s fill), is meant for our heart to focus on the aim of their journey, to gather in resolution and focus, and to begin our inner momentum towards the House of Allah. ‘Arafat ‘Arafat means to know, to understand. Another verb scale conveys the meaning of perfuming, making fragrant, scenting. ‘Arafat is the essential pillar (ruin), of Hajj; without ‘Arafat there is no Hajj. 

‘Arafat is the cleansing station outside the haram where we stand and seek forgiveness for all that we’ve committed in our lives. We beg and implore Allah to make us worthy of entering into His haram, visiting His House and being in His presence. Here, on ‘Arafat, we learn two things. As we acknowledge our disobedience, our sins, our rebelliousness and our forgetfulness, we know our unworthiness as true servants. We reveal everything to Allah, minor or major, Who knows already but simply wants us to admit with true transparency and sincerity what we are inside of our selves. Moreover, we begin to know the all-enveloping knowledge, the inestimable mercy, the boundless generosity and the limitless grace of Alah in forgiving and effacing our sins. Who is it, beside Him, that can forgive and that does forgive? There is no refuge or flight from Allah except to Him. Allah celebrates, in the presence of the angels, the hujjaj (pilgrims) on ‘Arafat asking for forgiveness. And He affirms to the angels that, yes, He has forgiven them. Now, as the sun begins to set, you continue, perfumed and scented with the purity of Allah’s grace and forgiveness, ever closer to His haram. Muzdalifa Muzdalifa, from the Arabic root izdilaf, means to approach, to get closer. Muzdalifa is a second station of cleansing and purification. The pilgrim is now closer to the Ka‘bah. We remain in supplication (du‘a’) after Fajr, imploring Allah again for pardon and guidance. Some scholars have said that in Muzdalifa, Allah also forgives our violations against the rights of others. 

Such violations are not usually forgiven unless, in addition to seeking forgiveness, we remedy what has been violated. Muna and the casting of the pebbles During the Hajj of Ibrahim (‘alayhi al-salam), he was commanded to sacrifice his son. Allah, of course, never intended that the slaughter take place. Allah wanted, instead, to purify and free Ibrahim (‘alayhi al-salam) from every love and every attachment besides Him. It was in Muna that the shaytan attempted to waylay Ibrahim (‘alayhi al-salam) from sacrificing his son. Ibrahim (’alayhi al-salam) casted pebbles at the shaytan to reject his designs and prompting. In casting the pebbles, the pilgrim affirms Allah’s greatness over everything and covenants with Allah that he or she will never regress to anything which displeases Him. Casting the pebbles is the casting away of shaytan, the lower self (nafs) with its desires, inclinations and evil, and, ultimately, casting away everything besides Allah. The pebble is meant, not to hit the pillar, but to fall inside the container, or majmar, where it will remain. The fire of the nafs, its impetus to evil, must be cast out, contained and confined. Our nafs must be jailed for us to become free. After the nafs is jailed by the casting of the pebbles, it is slaughtered. The sacrifice of the animal signifies the slaughter of the nafs by Ibrahim (‘alayhi al-salam). Ibrahim’s (‘alayhi al-salam) sacrifice was momentous: he sacrificed his very will. Ibrahim was named the Khalil (cherished friend) of Allah because his love for Allah pierced and consumed his entire heart. The hair – signifying status, station, and pride – is now shaved. Whatever remaining trace and residue of the disobedient nafs is now completely cleansed. Now, the pilgrim is welcomed by Allah to visit His haram and His House. He or she is now freed from ihram, but not completely. Washing and the use of perfume are now permitted; intimate relations are not. 

Approaching one’s spouse is unbefitting considering that now the pilgrim is going to visit the Host. Tawaf al-Ifadah Ifadah means to flood, to rush, to move. The movement from ‘Arafat to the haram is called ifadah. The rite of tawaf that takes place after the casting of the pebbles, the sacrifice and the shaving of the head is likewise termed Tawaaf al-Ifadah. The heart (qalb), cleansed and purified from its attachments, inundated with love, desire and longing, floods to the haram, to the House, and to its Lord. There, it circumambulates the House and renews its pledge of complete and loving submission. Sa‘i between Safa and Marwa Sa‘i means to work, to strive, to act. We remember in Sa‘i the actions of Hajar (‘alayha al-salam) as she climbed, walked and ran up both Safa and Marwa looking for sustenance for her starving child. The miracle of Zam-zam was gifted to Hajar for her efforts and sincere reliance. Rasulullah (sallalahu ‘alayhi wasallam) teaches that if we drink Zam-zam with firm faith and certainty, Allah will most definitely answer our supplication. As servants of Allah, we are embedded in time and space. We must act, all the while cognizant that it is Allah who creates both cause and effect. To see waves upon waves of pilgrims walking and running between Safa and Marwa is to recognize that the reality of our life is constant Sa‘i between struggle and reward, struggle and reward. 

On the hills of Safa and Marwa, where the pilgrim alights in reflection and supplication, the heart exalts, seeing Allah’s power in all matters, yours and others, large or small. The days and nights of Muna During our stay in Muna, we re-affirm and re-declare our desire and hope for spiritual freedom by casting pebbles for three days. Each casting of the pebbles cements our resolution to contain and confine both the lower self (nafs) and shaytan. You remain in Muna as Allah’s guest. Here, we must eat and drink with the consciousness of a guest in front of a Most-Magnanimous Host. The greatest nourishment during these days, as Allah himself indicates, is His dhikr, or remembrance. We are destined to leave but Allah intends we leave gradually, in gratitude to Him, remembrance of Him and gathering a firm resolution for permanent change when we depart. Then the last pebble is cast. Our final farewell is imminent. The farewell Most have waited their entire lives for the encounter with the House of Allah. Many will never return. In truth, there is no certainty that any of us will ever gaze on the Ka‘bah again. Whether we return or not, we will never forget. It is said – and it is true – that the Kabah beckons you from afar, then leaves you yearning forever. 

It is related that Ibn ‘Abbas prayed this as his final farewell, clinging with his entire being to the multazam, the wall of the Ka‘bah between the hajar and the door: “O Allah This House is Your House And this servant is Your servant, and the son of Your servants You have carried me here on what You have made accessible to me of Your creation Until You have made me reach, by Your grace, Your House And You have helped me fulfill my rites of Hajj (O Allah) If You have been pleased with me, then be more pleased with me And if You are not pleased with me, then I implore you to be generous to me now – Before my house becomes distant from Your house For now it is time for my departure, if You permit me – Never to exchange You for anything else, nor Your House for any other house Not being desirous of others instead of You, nor of any other house besides Your House O Allah, Grant me safety and good health in my body, protection in my religion and allow me a beautiful return And provide me with deeds and acts of Your obedience for as long as You grant me life And gather for me the best of this world and the next For truly You have power over all things.” A mother once told her son that the Ka‘bah says: “The one who does not see me will never rest; and the one who sees me will never rest.” May our hearts find their ultimate rest by journeying to Allah long after our bodies have returned from Hajj. May we always be in Hajj.