The Removal of Confusion Concerning the Flood of the Saintly Seal Ahmad al-Tijani A Translation of Kashif al-ilbas an fayda al-khatm abi' abbas by Shaykh al-Islam al-Hajj Ibrahim - b. 'Abd-Allah Niasse

by Holland, Muhtar; Wright, Zachary; Cisse, Sayyid Ali; Cisse, Shaykh Tijani; El-Okene, Abdullahi; Cisse, Shaykh Hasan; Niasse, Shaykh Ibrahim

• ISBN13: 9781891785474
• ISBN10: 1891785478
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-01
• Publisher: Fons Vitae

Summary

    Shaykh Ibrahim had unparalleled success in propagating the Tijaniyya, and those owing their initiation into the order to Shaykh Ibrahim currently number around one hundred million and make up more than half of all the Tijanis in the world. The distinguishing practice of Shaykh Ibrahim’s movement was tarbiya, or spiritual training. Through tarbiya, aspirants transcended the confines of their ego-selves and “tasted” the directly-experienced knowledge, or gnosis (ma’rifa), of God. The Kashif al-Ilbas, written early on in the Shaykh’s career in 1931-1932, is primarily a guide for the teaching and learning of the experiential knowledge (ma’rifa) of God on a widespread scale. Drawing on the concept of the spiritual “flood,” gnosis for all who desired it, Shaykh Ibrahim demonstrates in the Kashif that no believing man or woman should deprive him or herself of spiritual illumination. With an overview of the theory and practice of Sufism, this important reference provides insight into West African Islamic history.

Author Biography

 Muhtar Holland is a translator of numerous works, including The Path of the Worshipful Servants. He lives in Woodstown, New Jersey. Zachary Wright is a translator and the author of On the Path of the Prophet. He lives in Chicago. Sayyid Ali Cisse was the closest disciple and spiritual inheritor of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. Shaykh Tijani Cisse succeeded his elder brother as the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Medina-Baye and as President of the AAII. Abdullahi El-Okene is a translator, a professor of engineering at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria, and the Chairman of the International Organization of the Tijaniyyah Brotherhood. Shaykh Hasan Cisse is the founder of  the African American Islamic Institute, which promotes cultural exchange and fulfills the educational and healthcare needs of those in need. Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse became widely recognized as one the preeminent Muslim scholars and the leading authority of the Tijaniyya Sufi order.