Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Ali Cisse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1955 |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Occupation | Spiritual leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order |
| Years active | August 15, 2008 to present |
Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Ali Cisse (born 1955) is the spiritual leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. The Tijaniyya is the largest Sufi order in Western Africa and its leader is responsible for nearly 300 million Sufi adherents. [1]
Cisse is the second son of Shaykh Ali Cisse and Fatima Zahra Niasse, daughter of Shaykh Ibrahim Niass, major leader of the Tijānī Sufi order. [2] He studied under his father Ali and grandfather Ibrahim in Senegal focusing mostly on Arabic literature and poetry. [2] Thereafter, he went to Egypt where he lived with his elder brother, Sufi scholar Shaykh Hassan Cisse who was in his last year of advanced study. In 1974, he graduated first in his class at the Al-Azhar preparatory school receiving a diploma in Arabic language. [2] In 1977, he received a B.A. in Arabic Language from Al-Azhar University [2] and in 1981, he earned a M.A. in Theology later serving on the faculty of Al-Azhar University in the department of Hadith (or religious edicts) [2]
After completing his education in Egypt, he went on a religious mission to Africa, the Middle East and the Americas to seek converts to Islam (or Dawah) through religious debates and public speaking. [2] At the same time, he published several books including a complete edit of Shaykh Ibrahim’s Kashif al-Ilbas, published a collection of Shaykh Ibrahim’s writings (which he named Sa’adat al-Anam), and assisted in the publication of a comprehensive collection of Shaykh Ibrahim’s supplications, Kanz al-Masun. [2]
On August 15, 2008, Cisse was unanimously elected to the Imamnate by the leading members of the Tijaniyya Sufi order [2] Cisse is based in Senegal and serves as the Imam of the Grand Mosque in the village of Medina Baye, now part of the city of Kaolack, one of Western Africa's key positions of Islamic leadership. [1] The Tijaniyya Sufi order was founded by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tijani al-Hasani in the late 18th century. [1] As the spiritual leader of the Tijaniyya, Cisse is considered have direct spiritual inspiration (or Fayda Tijaniyya) which gives him supreme authority to advise and direct the order's followers. [1]
In 2001, he was appointed Senegal’s General Commissioner for the Hajj. [2] In 2006, he was appointed by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade as a “Special Missions Ambassador.” In 1993, he received Senegal’s distinguished award, the Ordre de Merite. [2] He has been named among the world's 500 most influential Muslims, placing at #23 as of 2012. [3]
Sufism, also known as Tasawwuf, variously defined as "Islamic mysticism", "the inward dimension of Islam" or "the phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", is mysticism in Islam, "characterized ... [by particular] values, ritual practices, doctrines and institutions" which began very early in Islamic history and represents "the main manifestation and the most important and central crystallization of" mystical practice in Islam. Practitioners of Sufism have been referred to as "Sufis".
A marabout is a Muslim religious leader and teacher in West Africa, and (historically) in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities.
Sheikh —also transliterated sheik, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, sheikh, shekh, shaik and shaikh—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a tribe or a royal family member. It is also commonly used to refer to a Muslim religious scholar. The term can be literally translated into "Elder".
Al-Azhar University is a university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is renowned as the most prestigious university for Sunni Islamic learning. In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a national network of schools with approximately two million students. As of 1996, over 4,000 teaching institutes in Egypt were affiliated with the University.
The Tijāniyyah is a Sufi tariqa, originating in the Maghreb but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Chad, Ghana, Northern and South-western Nigeria and some part of Sudan. The Tijāniyyah order is also present in the state of Kerala in India. Its adherents are called Tijānī. Tijānī place great importance on culture and education, and emphasize the individual adhesion of the disciple (murid). To become a member of the order, one must receive the Tijānī wird, or a sequence of holy phrases to be repeated twice daily, from a muqaddam, or representative of the order.
The Naqshbandi or Naqshbandiyah, is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their lineage to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Sunni Islam.
The Shadhili Tariqa is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by Abul Hasan Ali ash-Shadhili of Morocco in the 13th century. Followers of the Shadhiliya are known as Shadhilis.
Omar Saidou Tall, , born in Futa Tooro, Senegambia, was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, Tijani Sufi and Toucouleur military commander who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what is now Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.
The Qadiriyya are members of the Qadiri tariqa. The tariqa got its name from Abdul Qadir Gilani, who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Islam.
Abū al-ʻAbbās Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tijāniyy or Ahmed Tijani, was an Algerian Berber who founded the Tijaniyyah tariqa.
Ibrāhīm Niasse (1900–1975)—or French: Ibrahima Niasse, Wolof: Ibrayima Ñas, Arabic: شيخ الإسلام الحاج إبراهيم إبن الحاج عبد الله التجاني الكولخي Shaykh al-'Islām al-Ḥājj Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ḥājj ʿAbd Allāh at-Tijānī al-Kawlakhī —was a senegalese major leader (wolof) of the Tijānī Sufi order of Islam in West Africa. His followers in the Senegambia region affectionately refer to him in Wolof as Baay, or "father."
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Ahmad Zarruq also known as Imam az-Zarrūq ash Shadhili was a Sunni, Ashari Muslim scholar and Sufi sheikh from Fes, Morocco. He is considered one of the most prominent and accomplished legal, theoretical, and spiritual scholars in Islamic history, and is thought by some to have been the renewer of his time (mujaddid). He was also the first to be given the honorific title "Regulator of the Scholars and Saints". His shrine is located in Tripoli, Libya, however unknown militants exhumed the grave and burnt half the mosque.
El-Hadji Malick Sy was a Senegalese religious leader and teacher in the Tijaniyya Sufi Malikite and Ash'arite brotherhood.
Hassan Cisse (1945–2008), also written Cheikh Assane Cissé or Hasan Cisse, was an Islamic scholar, Sufi shaykh and humanitarian activist who served as Imam of an international Muslim community in Medina Baye in Kaolack, Senegal, West Africa.
Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb is Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appointed by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, following the death of Mohamed Sayed Tantawy in 2010. He is from Kurna, Luxor Governorate in Upper Egypt, and he belongs to a Sufi family.
Mehmet Nazım Adil, commonly known as Sheikh Nazim and Wrote Book "The Path of Spiritual Excellence", was a Turkish Cypriot Sufi Muslim sheikh and spiritual leader of the Naqshbandi tariqa, a Sufi order.
Ahmed Tijani is a male Muslim given name formed from the elements Ahmed and Tijani. It may refer to:
The 500 Most Influential Muslims is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world.
Ibrahim Ibn Saleh al-Hussaini also known as Shaykh Sharif Saleh is a Nigerian islamic scholar, teacher and mufassir. He is a follower of the Sunni sufism sect and currently he is the head of the Supreme Council for Fatwa and Islamic Affairs in Nigeria (NSCIA).
| Main topics | |
|---|---|
| Mouride | |
| Tijaniyyah | |
| Qadiriyya (Xaadir) | |
| Layene | |
| Shia | |
| Mosques | |
| Other topics | |
