Saikh Ahmad Tidjāni and Tidjāniyya Order

Subject Areas : Christianity

مرتضی khosro-shahi ¹ , محمدجواد Shams ²

1 - دانش‌آموختة دکتری عرفان و تصوف، دانشگاه ادیان و مذاهب، قم، ایران
2 - استادیار دانشگاه بین‌المللی امام خمینی(ره)، قزوین، ایران

Received: 2017-01-12 Accepted : 2017-01-12 Published : 2016-11-21

Keywords: Sufism, Order, Tidjāniyya, Saikh Aḥmad Tidjāni, Africa,

Abstract :

Tidjāniyya is a Sufi order which was founded by Saikh Aḥmad Tidjāni (1737-1814 C.E.). The order is one of the greatest Sufi orders of north Africa which has played an important role in the development of Islam in that region.  Shaikh Aḥmad joined Sufi path when he was young and after initiating into some important orders such as Qādiriyya, Nāṣiriyya and Khalvatiyya, gradually became a Sufi master. In 1781 C.E. he claimed that he had a mission from the prophet of Islam to establish a Sufi order and he called it Tidjāniyya or Ibrāhimiyya. Nowadays the order is active in African countries such as, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tunisia and Mali. The main practice of the order is invocations (Dhikr) of God and the prophet.