Chapter 1 BY CARAVAN NORTH TO THE SEA
In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. The blessing and peace of God be upon our Lord Muhammad, on his family, his companions, his wives and the people of his household.
Blessed be the beginning and well favoured the ending.
This is the journey of 'that which is desired and the boon granted' by him who has compiled and composed it, the scholar Ahmad al-Mustafa b. Tuwayr al-Janna. God was a close companion of his and a Helper through His bestowal of abundant spiritual desire and grace. Amen - so be it, 0 Most Merciful of the merciful.
Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds. The blessing and peace of God be upon the lord among God's messengers, upon his family and his offspring and his companions, and those who came after them. Bounty and favour be theirs until the day of judgement. We praise God for the obligation of the pilgrimage. It is enjoined on true believers so that they may go around His holy house on the chief day of the pilgrimage, and so that He may pardon the sins of those who turn in repentance to Him and who seek His pardon and forgiveness. He, it is, who has fixed for them on Its earth, in both the east and the west, mountainous ways and level tracks, so that they may journey to His house through every land and sea.
God has perfected that duty, by the pilgrimage to the tomb of (Muhammad), the lord of men, who was sent as His Messenger to humanity, both black and red. The blessing and peace of God be upon him, upon his family and his companions, who fled or came to aid him from every district and who called for his blessing - the supreme blessing of God. The bounteous blessing and peace of God Almighty be upon them and those who came after them until the day of judgement.
I testify that there is no God but God. He is One without a partner and He rules supreme. I testify that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger, who will mediate supreme among those who are favoured on the day of wrath.
To proceed. He who is in need of his Lord, the captive of his sin and his fancy and who is in need of Him and none other, the scholar Ahmad al-Mustafa b. Tuwayr al-Janna says - God was a companion of his and of his parents. He was a helper, by His bestowal of abundant spiritual desire and grace. May God appoint Paradise to be the haven of all, and to be their refuge, and may He bestow success and favour upon all.
{2}
I left Tishit(1) - may God gather together its dispersed and magnify its gathering place for pilgrims, the meeting place of our whole land - on a Thursday - may God guard me and every Muslim from all misfortune - the 7th day of Jumada I in the year 1245 AH (Nov. 4th 1829). It was on that day the Prophet departed for his farewell pilgrimage. - It was the day when the Prophet - the blessing and peace of God be upon him - left Medina, the bright, in order to perform the farewell pilgrimage.
I, and my companions, set out to reach God's house, and that of his Prophet, lord of men, most noble of God's prophets. The blessing and peace of God be upon him upon the prophets, and upon his family, all of them mighty, and upon his pure and noble offspring and his companions, stars in the darkness, and those who came after them. Favour them with bounty until judgement day.
We stopped between Tishit and Walata(2) for twelve nights, then we stayed in it for twelve nights. We left Walata with the Tajakant making for the Wadi Dar'a,(3) and we passed along the route of Ligsayba. Between the two we lived for fourteen days without (well) water. All we had was in goat skins on the camels. Each man had four goat skins. Between Walata and the Wadi Dar'a we spent some sixty days. We met no companion, nor human being nor house nor dwelling. It was barren desert.
We found their Tajakant relations in the Wadi Dar'a. We, however, were eager to press on our way with the caravan of Tafilalt pilgrims. We discovered that they had departed before us. So we spent the months of Sha'ban, Ramadan and Shawwal with the Tajakant. We had reached them at the beginning of Sha'ban. While we stayed with them these months we began to ponder the way to Fez, Marrakech and the mountain between it and us. Our hearts were uneasy since we knew of the habits of the robbers of the Huwwara and others besides them, known and unknown. But I had a secret revelation, more than once, that these places would be safely entered.
As for unexpected happenings on our pilgrimage they were many. The first of them occurred when I was staying with the Kunta in a place near Dargal, a little distance from Jukbas. A battle took place there between them and the Ahl Sidi Mahmud. A voice within me said, 'You will indeed enter the Haram in Mecca." Another occasion was while we were with our folk on the upland of Tishit. A voice said, "You will indeed draw nigh, though the distance be far."
Then we journeyed, the same year of our pilgrimage, from among the Idaw 'Ish, some of whom Were in Argayba and others in Taghtafit. We passed by the Aghlal on our way to Tishit. That night I and my son, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir, the chosen novice (tilmidh) of mine, were staying with the Aghlal. I was discussing the blessed project. My son chided me for not having travelled with the camels for the pilgrimage from among the Idaw 'Ish. He said to me, 'Where are the camels for the pilgrimage?' 'You have left {3} behind the tithes which were given you among the Idaw 'Ish. Camels were given to you, but you declined them!' I was silent and ashamed on this account.
A little while after he had finished speaking I was called supernaturally, 'We have brought him out of every trial and anxiety.' I realized that God would ease the means to make the pilgrimage to God's house and that of the Prophet, the lord of men. Upon him be the most superior blessing and peace through the baraka(4) of the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him. When we reached Tishit, God favoured us by supplying many precious garments. So I sent my son with them to the Idaw 'Ish, and with them he bought for me more camels than I needed. It was through the baraka of the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him, his family and companions. When we spent the night near Walata - the haven of the arriver on the morrow - a voice secretly called me, 'Greetings be to them.' I was also told, 'Awake, God is the bestower of favour and bliss.' That night I was also told, 'Let all anxiety be banished.'
While we were on the way between Ligsayba and the Wadi Dar'a there were unforeseen happenings and revelations. I heard the word of Almighty God say, 'If God so wills it you will come in safety.' Then again later, 'If God so wills it you will come in safety with your heads shaven.' I also heard His word, 'Verily we have for him a nearness in rank, and a pleasant haven.' Time and time again I heard these words. Also among them were these phrases, 'Were you to hear Muhammad, God's Messenger, the blessing and peace of God be upon him and (the Caliphs) Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may God be pleased with them, they would say to you, "A blessed pilgrimage."' 'And He will aid you;' and 'With You alone is the aid sufficient against them;' and among them, 'Grant him a welcome and a restful abode of ease.' I heard all these sayings many times.
Then we left the Tajakant after the second night of the month of Dhu'l-Qada We followed the Aqa route to Tizgi and passed from village to village in those mountains, from one band to another. We beheld none but Shluh Berbers(5)2 who knew not our language nor we theirs. Despite that, God be praised, we saw nought but their hospitality. I think the journey was about ten days. Every one of those Shaykhs - I mean those of the mountain tribes between Marrakech and the Wadi Dar'a - rode with us on his mule, either in person, or he sent a messenger with us, or he wrote a letter for us to his friend in the village adjacent to his own. He it was who wrote it, and it was as though he came in person when his letter reached his friend. It was because of the close ties and friendship between them. All of them acted thus with us without charge until one Shaykh from amongst them, when we had brought a letter from his friend, said to us, 'No aid unless it be for hire.' We said, 'Those we asked before you sought no charge from us, but you, if you say such is needful, then to hear is to obey.'
{4}When he wished to lodge us in a house in which was some ass dung, I said, 'I need to pray and I have books. I will not stay in a spot where there is dung.' They reported what I had said to him so he gave us accommodation in an attic, a room in the roof of his house. When we had spent that night at his house, I was secretly called at the end of the night. The voice said, 'You are the one asked for payment. He has behaved disgracefully towards the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him.'
When I and my company awoke the next morn in his house, he brought food to my company and placed it before us. Then he came down and went up and took me by the hand to another attic at some distance from our company. He sat down, and I sat down with him. We were alone there. There was a thin loaf of bread and sauce. With his own hand he started to cut up the food for me, dipping it in the sauce. All I had to do was to eat as he cut the loaf in slices for me, dipping each in the sauce until my need was satisfied. He departed, and we followed. He rode on his mule, and we rode our camels. He went before us, and we journeyed behind him. He had said no word to me while we ate nor did he speak to the company during the journey until the next town. He mounted a friend of his on his own mule, while he remained in that town. By God,' he spoke not a word about any sum for hiring, not after the first time he spoke, when we had arrived at his abode. All this was due to the baraka of the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him.
We reached Tayyut. It is a small town, fortified and walled. It is a day's journey from Tarudant. Then we travelled from Tayyut to Tarudant. It is a very large town with a large population. In it are to be found scholars and saints. I recall that we were told that it was the 'Eastern Gate of the Sus'. We came to it in the excellent manner as before, passing from one hand to another. Its Qa'id and its Wazir(6) gave us less than our due. As for the Qa'id he was cast into prison a month or two after our departure. We accomplished our pilgrimage, and we spent four years, and we returned to Morocco, and we reached Mogador on our way back. He was in prison there. As for the Wazir , when we journeyed from Tarudant his slaves killed him while he was asleep. They said, 'Sidi wa Sidi told us to kill him.' Now Sidi wa Sidi is a saint, a supreme Qutb,(7) over whose tomb there is a great dome. It is famous for visitors and for baraka in Tarudant.
When we left the town, on our way we paid a visit to the Qutb, both my son Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir and myself. We found our company and the people of the inn in hot dispute. I said to them, 'What is this dispute about?' Our company said to me, 'They are asking us to pay to stay in the inn.' I said, 'We shall not dispute over worldly matters. Oh, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir, I will pay the cost of the inn for them.' I did so out of regard for them. This is what took place - may God Almighty have mercy upon him (the Qutb) and may God Almighty be pleased with him. We benefited through him and by his sanctity and by his knowledge of spiritual matters. So be it, 0 Most Merciful of the merciful, in this world and the next. All of this was solely due to the fact that we {5} were frail and in need of God, abased, strangers, wayfarers, guests of the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him, on his family and his companions.
The people of those mountains say that before we came none could pass through them without being killed and robbed, because of the numbers of robbers and highwaymen there., God be praised, we encountered none save men who honoured us and gave us hospitality. Praise be to God who rewards sinners with charity. In this wise they behaved with us, though we, by God, were not worthy to be given such.
When we reached Tarudant, I heard of the lordly scholar, saint of God, Sidi al-Tiliarni al-Abayri al-Himyari through one of his pupils there, and from others who were not his pupils, because of his fame among the common people and the select. I was secretly called while in Tarudant, 'Be free and content.' I was very glad, to God be praise. Such it is, by God, 0 creation. Our affair from its beginning was one of increasing favours and all kinds of charity and bounty until we returned to Wadan.
The journeyed from Tarudant, and we passed through the Huwwara and the forest where they waylaid Muslim travellers. They are robbers, but God delivered us from them and from others besides. We ascended the mountain called Jarfa. We were occupied in climbing it before the rising of the sun, and we did not attain its summit until siesta time, though the day was a summer's day. That was due to its length and height and the difficulty of its ascent. It is the mightiest mountain in that land. We were making for Sidi al-Tihami as pious visitors. When we came to him in the middle of the month of Dhu al-Qa'da spoke to him about the haste of our journey to Marrakech. He said to me, 'No, not until you celebrate the feast(8) with me.' He only spoke thus because of his great love for us in God and in hope of gaining baraka from such strangers and wayfarers.
But he was a mighty scholar who knew all branches of learning and actively participated in them. People from every quarter visit him. He has a Zawiya(9) which he inherited from his father. In it he spends, for the sake of God, wealth on everyone who comes, to him to acquire knowledge. Sometimes he has more than one hundred visitors, at other times seventy or so, on another occasion about eighty or less than that, depending on the circumstances and the seasons. One of the strangest features of his excessive bounty towards those who come to him is his indifference to whom it may be or from whence he has come. It is his intention to spend generously, desiring devotedly God's pleasure.
I will mention his love for us, in God. I was told by a Sharif(10) from among his neighbours in the district, that when he sought to make us travel with him, to give us hospitality and honour us in the hope of baraka, Sidi al-Tihami said to him, 'Why should that baraka be nullified thus? Through them I wish for baraka, for recompense and favour,' That was only so that he could gain the award of these who are mutual lovers in God. They will be in God's shade on the day when there is none but Its. When {6} I met the Sultan Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman in Marrakech, and I mentioned Sidi al-Tihami to him, he said to me, 'None in our country is purer than Sidi al-Tihami.'
Sometimes a discourse took place between me and Sidi al-Tihami concerning stories of pious and holy men, and I said to him one day that a saint of our land had told me that the Qutb of this age was a negro. Sidi al-Tahami said the same. He divulged that this saint, who was in our country, was named Malik. Both their views were confirmed by the jurist, Sidi Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Salam al-Nasiri. His son, Sidi al-Makki, told me about this negro Qutb when we were in Mogador. His father, the jurist Sidi Muhammad performed the pilgrimage in the eleventh year of this century, 1213 [1798]. Mawlay Sulayman, the son of the Sultan Sidi Muhammad, counselled the pilgrim to pray for him in the holy places. Now, the jurist Sidi Muhammad while absorbed in prayer for the Sultan, following his counsel, was confronted by a black person who appeared before him, and who said to him, 'The prayer you ask is answered.' He beseeched him [further] , but the negro vanished from his sight, and he neither found him nor did he know who he was. He did not appear again to him until he returned to Mecca, which God Almighty has exalted.
Sidi Muhammad prayed as he had done on the first occasion and the negro appeared to him and vanished in the same manner. When he reached Egypt a saint there said to him, 'The black person who said to you what he said is the Qutb of this age. He is a Sudani.' Thereby he confirmed what the saint in our land had ;aid to me. The saint in I our country had added that his name was Malik and that those who followed the Sunna(11) in the Sudan were far greater than those in non-Sudanic lands. By this I mean the land of the 'whites', the Bidan white-skinned folk in Hassaniya - the colloquial Arabic of our country. Whenever a person seeking the Fatiha - by this is meant prayer among the people of the Maghrib and the Orient, a prayer based on the opening chapter of God's holy book - came to Sidi al-Tihami he would grant it to him. When the Fatiha was finished, he would say to me, 'It is granted to you likewise.'
So he continued with us in this manner, up to the day of the greater feast - 'Id al-Adha. He sacrificed for us, that is he gave all of us an animal to sacrifice. When a lad of his died, a valuable slave of his, on the day of the feast, he recited for him the Sura of Yasin.(12) He prayed for him, and he told me to pray for him also. When we wished to leave he clothed us in his own raiment. In that matter he addressed my son, the elect of my pupils, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir and said to him, 'This garment is for 'so and so',' - indicating myself, al-Talib Ahmad, - and he furnished the company, with honey and much bread.
The day we left he walked with me and took me from one room to another as far as the wall behind which lived his family. I could hear their voices there. In doing this two motives crossed my mind; one of them was the hope of baraka due to the {7}high esteem in which he held us; the other was a secret which joined us together.
His Zawiya is situated between Marrakech and Mogador on the slopes towards the sea. Only half a day's distance lies between them. The coldest spot in that country is where his Zawiya is located. How pious a saint he is, how fine a scholar, how excellent a spender in God's cause! He wrote a letter about us to the Sultan Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman, may God help and exalt him, telling him about us. He told him. such and such, worthy qualities which we hope to acquire. In that letter he said to him, 'I only wish to show my affection for you thereby.' The Sultan showed- concern for us through the baraka of the Messenger of God, the blessing and peace of God be upon him, his family and his companions. He greeted us because of that letter about us, and for other reasons, until the people of Marrakech said to us, 'God has given you that which he has given to none before you. You met him five days after your arrival, without your asking to meet him.' And they said to us, 'We ask and seek to meet him for a month or two, but we are not successful.' Thus they spoke to me.
Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman, may God aid and exalt him, sent for us to meet
him without any seeking of it on our part. Sidi al-Tihami at the time of
our departure had impressed upon us the need to pray. He had said, 'Do
not forget me in the holy places.' A voice within me called while we stayed
with him. This happened during a number of unexpected occurrences. It said,
'0 Lord, is there any succour to be hoped for against them save in You?'
'Is there any provider and sustainer save in You?' More than once it said,
'We will bring you back again to a place of refuge.'
| link to commentary on the sultan |
| "Audiences with the Sultan" |
There was another person with Him. When we stopped at the threshold of the room where the Sultan was, he said to me, pointing with his hand, 'That is our master, may God aid him; you will be alone with him.' That person departed. Lo, the Sultan was sitting on a stone. His feet were on the floor, and his back was supported by a wall. He looked the perfect picture of humility, true humility, in aspect and in posture, with nothing between him, the wall, the stone and the floor. There were no furnishings, and I was greeted by a beaming countenance, and a pleasure and a joy and honour and great awe.
Nothing was overlooked in the exchange of news of our land and country. He asked me about them all. 'Are the Banu Maghfar in your land?'(13) 'Yes,' I answered. He asked how they fared among the people of the land, meaning our land. I said to him, 'There are separate groups. There are nobles among them, men of honour and chivalry, generosity and courage. There are also wrongdoers and oppressors, those who rob the high-ways, but they do not kill a person on account of his money, rather they deceive him or enjoy his wealth, all of it or some of it. Amongst them are those who impose a maghram(14) on the Zwa'ya,(15) sometimes excessive, sometimes moderate. Those who are generous among them give abundant gifts, and most of them hold scholars in esteem and give them great gifts, be they those who are unjust doers or otherwise. However, they vary considerably among themselves as to the worth and amount of those gifts.'
He asked me, 'Are there date-palms in your land?' I said, 'There are palms which bear excellent dates. In it are wheat and barley, although little if compared with that to be found in Morocco and the Orient.' He asked me, 'Is there scholarship in your land?' I said, 'My lord, all the sciences are to be found there, both exegesis and tradition, the recitation of them, skilled workmanship and artistry, jurisprudence and principles of law, logic and rhetoric and the study of Arabic, its grammar and its rules and its syntax.' He said to me, 'It is the very opposite in our land. Here scholarship is meagre.' I said to him, 'My lord - may God aid you - my Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - told me that learning was in plenty in the time of your grandfather the Sultan Sidi Muhammad, because he exalted the scholars and gave them profuse gifts so the people had a passion to learn on account of that, and learning was prevalent due to it.' He said to me, 'The people are sons of this world.' I said to him, 'That is as it is.'
A sign of his humility is that whenever I said to him, 'My lord ' 'he would say, 'Say not, "My lord!" say my brother,' From him I beheld a humility I have not seen in any other. This accompanied his happy smile and joy and openness and frankness of expression. {9}
I said to him,,'My lord, my Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - informed me that a just Sultan had his prayers answered, so pray now for me.' He said, 'God forbid, I am not a just Sultan.' Despite that he prayed for me, and I said to him, 'My lord, my Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - told me that there is a prophetic tradition which says, "He who dies, and who has not sworn homage to a sultan, dies the death of an ignorant pagan." Now, stretch forth your hand to me, and I will swear my allegiance to you.' He stretched forth his hand, may God aid him.
I said to him, 'I swear homage to you according to the Sunna of God and his Messenger, the blessing and peace of God be upon him. Oh, my lord, before I met you I used to pray pious prayers for you. Now I will do so even more.' He said to me, 'Your prayer for me is a prayer for all Muslims.' I said to him, 'My lord, that is so.'
In him I beheld a humility I have never seen in another. I realized that he was a Sharif both in the flesh and in faith, in high eminence and in lineage. I only came to him to visit him and to acquire baraka by his noble and true lineage. I only confirmed the authenticity of his lineage and nobility of descent according to what is written down in their possession from ancient times and so forth, authenticated, handed down from predecessor to successor.
A young saint from the people of our land had exceptional psychic perception and saw the dead in their graves and spoke with them. By him they used to send me glad tidings. They used to give him signs and indications on the authenticity of those tidings and messages that they were true. I was aware of those signs during the life of one of them. He told me that he beheld one from whom we would find aid to meet what we were to encounter on our pilgrimage. He said, 'I beheld a Sharif on your way. From him you will see bounty and kindness.' Al-Khadir, 16 upon whom be peace, had told him he was a Sharif The young man said to him, 'Is he a true Sharif or is he not?' Al-Khadir(16) - upon whom be peace - replied, 'He is indeed a true Sharif.' And he added,. 'Tell him!
He meant that I should inform Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman that his heart should not be anxious due to a denial of vision of the Prophet, the blessing and peace of God be upon him, on his family and companions. The Prophet had only denied the Sultan a vision of himself - the blessing and peace of God be upon him, his fan-lily and companions - because his closeness to him was so great, like the eyebrow to the eye. As for that young saint he was not intended to convey the saying to Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman - may God aid him - since he would not receive him. No, the intention was that the conveyor of it to him should be none other than the author of this record.
{10}You will have realized that the Sharif to whom Al-Khadir, upon whom be peace, referred was Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman - may God aid and succour him. This was because of what I beheld of his intense love and the great assistance which God effected by his hand.
When we reached Larache to set sail the Sultan sent word to the Qa'id of Larache, 'Give to 'so and so' - the author of this travelogue, so blessed - 100 mithqals,(17) a gift from my son Sidi Mawlay Ahmad, so that he will be for ever in his heart and will not forget him in pious prayer.' He ordered him to visit us time after time, despite the fact that we were not worthy of that. Yet that was due to the high opinion he had of us. He said, 'There is a man in the land of Egypt from whom you will obtain favour.' So it came about. It will be mentioned in due course. He also said to me, 'My help will be available for you when you reach Egypt.'
Let me recall this saint who could see the dead and discourse with them. He met the Qutb of this age, and also al-Khadir - upon whom be peace. This saint said to me, 'I love nothing save obscurity,' and he urged me to pray for him so that he might enjoy obscurity and humility. He said to me that Qutb of this age said to him, 'You have two friends, one is an Oriental and the other is a Maghribi. You will know him by his dislike of magic fables and of those who employ them.' The saint said to me, 'When I began to seek out that Maghribi, and who he might be, and when I visited 'Abd al-Qadir al-Massumi, the saint - he being deceased - said to me, "Your Maghribi friend, disclosed to you by the Qutb of this age, is the scholar Ahmad b. Tuwayr al-Janna." At that time I began to seek you to visit you. Your face met mine at a distance. It is not my desire to manifest myself to you, because of obscurity. But when you prepared to undertake the pilgrimage I wanted to appear to you.' He disclosed to me that I would find favour from Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman. I found it to be so, nay even more than was expected.
I spent all that evening in discussion with the Sultan - may God aid him - and when the sun was about to set he called his Wazir to take us to our lodging at the place of the saint and Qutb Sidi Maymun al-Sahrawi - may God Almighty have mercy upon him. He sent one to accompany me to that abode, and so our meeting ended with him saying, 'Be welcome and welcome to your novices.' So I left him. When we had stayed some ten days as his guests I wrote a letter to him saying, 'I desire to travel before the parties of travellers.'
While we were in the mosque of the saint and Qutb Sidi Maymun al-Sahrawi - may God have mercy upon him - lo, the Sultan sent his Wazir to us a little after sunset. He said, 'Our lord, may God aid him, bade you farewell, and now he has sent this money to you.' Our son and the elect of our novices, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir said to him, 'Nay, rather allot to me that which is due to 'so and so' - meaning the author of this travelogue - and allot that which is due to others among the whole company of pilgrims.' The {11}Wazir said, 'No, it is for 'so and so', and that sum he gives to them from it will content them. His worthy thought is better for them than everything else.' On account of that there befell that which would be tedious to discuss. My company paid to me the third of that sum after I had left the money in their hands, and the mass of the pilgrims divided up the remainder of the money among themselves.
I left in order to pay a visit to the men of Aghmat. While I was on the road between it and Marrakech at siesta time a voice within me said, 'Enter it safely and in peace.' Now we, at that time, were anxious to travel towards Fez, and we knew that on that road nought but good would come our way. The affair came to pass in this wise. We did not meet a Qa'id but God honoured us at his hands with dirhams.(18)
God be praised, we visited the men of Aghmat. Now the people of Morocco frequently say - it is a tradition handed down from father to son - 'There are no men like the men of Aghmat.' The men of Aghmat have been highly thought of among the people of Morocco from olden times. By God, were they only of that calibre when we beheld them! When we came to Aghmat we found few people there and few habitations in proportion to its ruins. We made many enquiries regarding its first dwellers, perchance I might find one related to me in lineage, because our seventh forebear came from Aghmat when it was in its heyday. His name was Muhammadan. We obtained nothing of value and profit in that respect, since I found them to be people who had no knowledge of genealogies, and the origin of the first people of Aghmat. We only enquired about that because our eighth to fifteenth ancestors lie buried there. We know not the number beyond that.
My father - may God show His abundant and generous mercy to all - said about that seventh ancestor that one day when praying, as an Imam for a gathering, a man came carrying a piece of meat. He put it down and entered the prayer assembly. When he had ended, he took his meat, brought it to his house and cooked it in his customary fashion. But it was not cooked, after a little of this or that, and at length he despaired of it ever being cooked. So he came to the seventh ancestor Muhammadan and told him of what had befallen him, and that he knew not the reason for that - namely why it was incapable of being cooked. Our ancestor said in reply, 'I hoped that, by my words, all who prayed behind me would not be consumed in hell-fire.'
We found in his hand-writing numerous books, one of them was the Mu'rib alQur'an by Abu 'l-Baqa'al- 'Ukbari (d. 1219). He wrote it in Tizikht. The latter is a deserted town now, close to Walata. At that time it was inhabited and large. One day I and my Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - were speaking about how a word of the Qur'an should be inflected. I took that Mu'rib written by the hand of our ancestor aforementioned to him. I told my Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - that this writing was that of our seventh ancestor to whom had happened that miracle. He took the leaves of the Mu'rib and crushed it {12} against his face, to gain baraka from his handwriting. All the pupils who were present acted in the same manner.
We visited the tombs of seven famous men in Marrakech and, God be praised, we saw many blessings performed at their hands. In it we visited the tombs of the saint and Qutb Sidi Maymun al-Sahrawi and Sidi Qadi Haha (?) and Sidi Laghrib and others whose number cannot be counted.
This is how the visit of the seven men of the people of Marrakech takes place. It is a tradition handed down from father to son. One begins with Sidi Yusuf b. 'Ali, the Qadi 'Iyad, and Sidi Abu'l'Abbas al-Sabti. My Shaykh - may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - told me that they say, 'A dirham of Abu 'l'Abbas al-Sabti is worth ten; and he told me that it gave to him every day in Christian lands ten Qintars.(19) I tried that, and I found it to be true without a doubt. Then Sidi Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Gazuli is visited, then Sidi 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Tabba', then Mawlay 'Abdullah al-Ghazwani, the Imam al-Suhayli, may God be pleased with them all. May God benefit me through them all, by their sanctity and their learning. In Marrakech we visited others besides, both living and dead. The men of Aghmat were gracious to us and gave us pleasure during our visit because they were simple, unaffected and unmannered. A voice within me said to me during that siesta, aforementioned, between Marrakech and Aghmat, 'The paths of succour and assurance.' God helped me on that road between Marrakech and Fez with many dirhams and much money through the baraka of seven men and the men of Aghmat.
When we had determined to travel to Fez, the Sultan's Wazir called us and gave us the letter. He said to me, 'Our Lord - may God aid him - has written the letter for you to the Qa'id of Fez, so that he will furnish generous lodging and treat you well, and that he will securely pass you from one hand to another.'
Among the mightiest saints of Marrakech is Sidi Maymun al-Sahrawi. He has a huge celebration every Monday night and day. Both men and women pass that night and day with varied kinds of food and undreamt entertainments: The same is true in respect of the Zawiya of every one of those seven men. In every one of those Zawiyas the men and women gather together for various kinds of foods and entertainments. Oh, brother, I counsel you and myself, in fear of God, with the counsel of those of the first and latter days. Your obligation is to truly believe and beware lest you criticize. Offer peace and salutation, and so receive it. Believe, and do not be critical, and be not confident in any man.
While I and my son, the dearest and closest of my novices, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir, and others besides us from all the company, journeyed on one of the roads of Marrakech, lo, a person took my hand for a long time and refused to let it go. Whenever {13} one of the people of Marrakech passed us and began to gaze at his condition, again and again, this person would say, 'I want him to cure me.' This person would tell them that in order to hide his true identity and his sanctity, fearful lest they should believe him to be a saint.
By God, he was a mighty saint, among the mightiest of God's saints. He was renowned in Marrakech as Sidi Muhammad Farran. This saint looked at Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir and then said to me, 'Leave your protection to this novice.' He had not seen him nor me before that time. It was as though he knew him from a bygone age. The remark made by the saint of our country to me about this saint was true; that was, that when I had set my heart on the pilgrimage, saints, both living and dead, began to look forward to meeting me.
The remark of the saint of Marrakech about my son Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir was prompted by his clairvoyance, when God had disclosed to him how true and sincere was his companionship for me, unlike other novices. When he, the saint, wished to loose my hand he said to me, 'The two of us must meet together.' A few days after that I and one of our pilgrims met him. He grasped my hand, as on the first occasion, or somewhat lighter. One of the pilgrims sought a favour of him, but he said to him, 'You must refer to 'so and so',' meaning the author of this travelogue most blessed. He said. 'I desire to join you both together.' Whenever he was asked a favour he repeated his first reply. He refused to say more than that. He did this to conceal his sanctity. He stayed some time grasping my hand, then he let go. He said, 'We will meet together, you and I' He went off to the market for a short time, then he passed me by. He held in his hand bread and fruit which he had bought in the market. He took my hand and brought me to his house and he offered me milk, bread and sauce, I began to eat in the hope of acquiring baraka. We discoursed together, and I found him to be a great saint. There, in his house, he taught me some secret knowledge. I asked him about a religious matter of I great importance to me, and he said to me, 'Wait until you return again to your country.' I realized that my companion was like a sea without a shore in his sanctity, since his words accorded with some of the saints who told me the same. Some were people of our country, and some were people of the Orient.
The saints to whom I have just referred and who were of the people of the Orient were - a saint of the people of Qayrawan, a saint from the people of Bougie, and two saints from the people of Tunis 'the Verdant.' All these were of the company of saints.
While we were in the mosque of the saint and Qutb Sidi Maymun al-Sahrawi, may God Almighty be pleased with him and benefit us through him, lo, the Sultan's letter I have mentioned reached us unexpectedly. It was inspired by the pure virtue and nobility of soul and kindness of heart of the Sultan - may God aid him - and the baraka of his prophetic descent. The Sultan wrote a letter to his Qa'id in Larache. He sealed it with his stamp. The text read, 'The faqih Sidi Ahmad b. Tuwayr al-Janna and his eight novices. - Put them aboard a ship going to Alexandria. All that they need to pay for the cost of the boat should be paid by you, for them.'
We did not stay in Fez for more than five nights. There I met a scholarly Sharif . He told me that Shaykh Ahmad Baba(20) of Timbuctoo related about Muhammad Baghyu,(21) that he said that the text-book of jurisprudence (Mukhtasar) of Khalil was one of the miracles of the Messenger of God - the blessing and peace of God be upon him. I do not know where he learnt of that! There was with this Sharif another who was a descendant of Mawlay Idris - may God Almighty be pleased with him and strengthen his sanctity and cause him to live for ever and ever. They both came to us in the house where we were staying in Fez, out of godly love and affection.
God be praised, we visited all the saints of Fez. The first of them is Mawlay Idris the Younger. A Sharif , one of his off-spring, told me that all the saints of Morocco do not act save with his permission - may God benefit us by him and his sanctity and sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb. While we were going along one of the roads of Fez - lo - we came across one of God's saints called Sidi Muhammad of Tuwat. He was entirely cut off from the world and its folk. Some of those who were there said to him, 'These pilgrims wish to go by sea; what should they do?' He said to them, 'Leave them alone for they will fly by land and sea.' He meant that they would only see or find favour - whether on land or sea.
One day we visited the Qarawiyin university Mosque. There we found a jurist teaching the Mukhtasar of Khalil - may God Almighty be pleased with him and may we profit by him, and by his sanctity and his learning. I greeted the jurist. We had with us our pilgrim band. We engaged in discussion until we reached the disclosure or the identity of my Shaykh may God sanctify his spirit and illuminate his tomb - after they had asked me about him. I told the jurist that my Shaykh had studied in Fez. His Shaykh at that time was Sidi Muhammad al- Tawidi b. Sawda, may God Almighty be pleased with them both. That jurist-teacher said to me, 'You are a part of our blood. Your beginning is part of us and so is your ending. You have become part of us.'
In Fez we visited numerous saints both alive and dead. Among the dead were the men of Bab al-Hamra. The first of them was Sidi 'Ali b. Hirzahim also called Sidi 'Ali b. Ibrazim, and Sidi 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'the tanner', and Ibn 'Abbad who has a recognized day, namely Friday, when crowds of people in Fez gather at his tomb and play and entertain there, out of respect for that saint and Qutb, may God be pleased wit h him. As for his cloister, it was in the private chapel (Maqsura) where we were lodged by the Sultan - may God aid him. We visited the cloister of the supreme Qutb of all saints Sidna 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani - may God Almighty be pleased with him and sanctify his {15} spirit and illuminate his tomb - and may God purify us by his sainthood and his knowledge.
The day they honour his cloister is Friday. The people go to it after the Friday prayer, the men inside the cloister and the women outside it, and there is no dancing nor clapping. They only occupy themselves by reciting the Qur'an and in the rythmic chanting of the names of God and His attributes together with praise of His Prophet. We also visited Sidi Muhammad al-Bannani, Sidi Bu Ghalib and those who cannot be numbered, may God be pleased with all, 0 Most Merciful of the merciful - may God Almighty benefit us by them, their knowledge and their sanctity.
When the day came for our departure for Larache, perchance we might board a ship sailing to Alexandria, my party left before me while I and my son Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir stayed behind. We awaited a companion to pay a visit to the men of Bab al-Hamra. While I was riding a mule a voice within said to me, 'A servant has been sent to protect you.' I realized two things then. One of them was that I was in the safe keeping of the saints until we returned to them. We were safe and sure and would be successful in those things we desired. The second was the truth of what I had heard in Fez, namely that the final appointment a pilgrim had to keep in Fez was a visit to the men of Bab al-Hamra and Mawlay Idris the Younger - may God be pleased with them all, and may we benefit by them and by their learning.
The pilgrim says, 'Oh, men of Bab al-Hamra, bring us to the men of Bab al-Ma'lah' the tombs of Mecca - may god give them an increase in honour, majesty, awe and esteem. It is the custom of travellers that the last person they visit is Mawlay Idris the Younger and the men of Bab al-Hamra - may God be pleased with them all. No traveller will then see in his journey and during his pilgrimage that which he hates. We found that to be so, without doubt.
When I was on my way to Larache, one of the sea ports, to board the boat there, I heard that the boat which was there, and I had wished to board, had sailed before us. I was very anxious and did not know what to do. Then an inward voice called me, saying, 'One whose trust is in God-will never be confounded.' I rejoiced twice over that. Once, because my foundation was upon God, and He was sufficient in bringing joy thereby. Secondly, because the aim and goal of our pilgrimage was two successful pilgrimages. So it transpired, God be praised by Whose grace pious acts are accomplished. Word came tome also, saying, 'Success and relief have already reached you.'
So I continued on my way until I came to Larache. I delivered the letter of Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman - may God aid him - to its Qa'id. Word came to me in Larache in a number of revelations, such as,'Enter it in peace, safe 'and 'The kindness of God {16} is made good. From whence I have no knowledge.' After these revelations there came a gift from Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman - may God aid him - and he sent word to his Qa'id in Larache, saying, 'Give 100 mithqals to the scholar, Ahmad b. Tuwayr al-Janna. It is the gift of my son, Sidi Mawlay Ahmad, so that he will be in his thoughts and not forget him in his pious prayer.'
I also heard the words, 'The Benefactor has given relief,' more than once, and 'This is our gift, bestow or take without taking count,' - more than once. 'We have for him a nearness in rank and a happy haven,' 'God who sent down the book is close at hand, and He it is who is entrusted with care of the righteous.' 'The Sufficer is sufficient for us,' - meaning either, 'Sufficer, Thee do we worship,' or 'Sufficer, Thou art the one whose aid we seek,' or, 'Sufficer, suffice.' '0, Lord, is there hope for help against them save in You?' and, 'Is there a sustainer and succourer but Thou?' 'Your need is fulfilled.' Then I was called after this, 'Your goal is sure.' A little before I sailed word came to me saying, 'How will a man attain the seat of bounty and favour?, and after this I was again called, saying, 'Your ever-watchfulness is quicker than the twinkling of an eye.'
When we wanted to sail, and I was awaiting my son and my dearest novice Muhammad al-Sabir, who had gone to Fez to fulfil a need and undertaking there, I asked the ship's master to tarry until my son came to me from Fez. But he refused. He would not wait until he came, so I sailed away leaving him behind. I was deeply sorrowful, like that of any father for his son. He remained behind in Morocco, in sorrow, like that of any son for his father, until word came to me, after putting to sea, giving glad tidings of a re-union, saying, 'With the Prophet is his dear son Ya'qub (Jacob)'. This hemistiche is at the end of the first of three verses:
0 company, after sorrow and separation,
With the Prophet is his dear son Ya'qub,
By Yusha' (Joshua) the Prophet, the gathered and the stray,
And Kashkay'il and the companions, a motley band,
And Asaf and the Sijilmasi, both of them.
Whenever we are invoked, then all desires are granted.(22)
These three verses are a trial response. They are employed in order to restore a stray, to bring it back when it has strayed. By these persons intercession is sought, and God Almighty brings it back. Folk are safe and prosperous, after these words are pronounced, and you may be the same thereby. I also heard the words, 'Until God gathers them together without trial and tribulation,' and also, 'God will perchance gather together two scattered ones after they doubt that they will ever meet again.'
Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir at the time of sailing had been sent by me to our Lord Mawlay 'Abd al-Rahman - may God aid him - bearing a letter about a matter private to {17} us both. When that letter reached him he received him with wonderful kindness. To the Qa'id of Tangier he sent a letter similar to that sent to the Qaid of Larache, 'Pay to Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir 100 mithqals to take to him (the author) in the Orient.' He told him, 'provision them and put them on board with every convenience.' So it came about just as the Sultan - may God aid him - had commanded. Nay, better, the Christians who served on board the boat were commanded to carry my son Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir. They looked after him, privately, and showed him much affection. They bore him aloft because of what they saw of the great love of Mawlay 'Abd al- Rahman - may. God aid him. All that done for me and for my son, Sidi Muhammad al-Sabir, was only due to the baraka of Muhammad, the Messenger of God - the blessing and peace of God be upon m. This was during our whole pilgrimage, both going, when we journeyed from our country, and on our way back to the town of Wadan. All that was due to the clairvoyance of the saints and by true and successive revelations.
My final prayer is that God be praised, the Lord of the worlds. Praise
be to God by whose grace pious acts are accomplished. Oh, reader of this
travelogue, most blessed, if you are weary by my lengthy discourse, then
it was a voice within which spoke, Be not weary and annoyed, oh, brother.
My only wish thereby, and by the blessed journey, is to manifest grace
- grace bestowed by God upon us all in this way, going and coming, in accordance
with the Almighty's word, 'As for the grace of your Lord, then speak of
it;' and because of the saying, 'To speak of grace and favour is true gratitude.'
If you be ignorant of it, then it is your obligation to read my treatise
entitled Fayd al- Mannan fi '1-radd 'ala mubtada'at hadha 'l-zaman.
At the end of it you will find all you need to quench your thirst if you
be just to the truth and to the right, but not if you be unjust, false,
obstinate and contentious, and what you have to say be evil nonsense.
1. Tishit is a semi-ruined caravan town in eastern Mauritania. For a translation of its Arabic Chronicles, see V. Monteil, Bulletin IFAN, i, 1939, pp. 282-312.
2. Walata is one of the most famous caravan towns of the Western Sahara. It lies close to the Mauritania/Mali border. The painted décor of its houses is unique. It was once a commercial rival to Timbuctoo, and to it scholars of the, latter city fled during times of persecution. For a translation of its Arabic Chronicle, see, P. Marty, Revue des Etudes Islamiques, 1927, cal. 3-4, pp. 355-575.
3. The Wadi Dar'a forms the natural southern boundary of Morocco.
4. Baraka in North Africa not only indicates 'blessing' and 'holiness' but a mysterious wonderworking force possessed by God's saints.
5. Shluh Berbers. The Shluh or Chleuh, who speak a Berber dialect of that name, inhabit the region of Agadir and the Sus in south-west Morocco.
6. In Morocco, Qa'id indicated a tribal chief or a native government officer in town or country. A Wazir is a minister of the Sultan.
7. Qutb. The world, according to Sufi mystics, is believed to endure, thanks to the intercession of a Hierarchy of 'averting' saints fixed in number. Among them is their Qutb, the pole and axis of the world.
8. 'The feast', here, indicates 'the great feast' or 'Id al-Adha celebrated on the 18th of Dhu 'l-Hijja, the day on which the pilgrims sacrifice in the valley of Mina.
9. A Zawiya is a retreat for Sufis and religious scholastics.
10. A Sharif is a descendant of the Prophet in the male line of his daughter Fatima. Every Sharif in Morocco is styled Sidi or Sid.
11. Sunna. The practices endorsed by the Prophet and the precedents he set.
12. Sura Yasin, Qur'an Chapter 36, revealed in Mecca.
13. Banu Maghfar denotes the Arab warrior aristocracy of the Western Sahara. They are ruled by princely families of A mirs
14. A maghram or gharama in the Western Sahara is a form of collective tribute which ensures the protection of a vassal tribe by its overlord.
15. Zwaya, the Zawaya, 'people of the Zaiya', is the title given to the class in Mauritanian society whose duties include teaching, study, religious duties, commerce and well-digging. Many tribes are Zwaya.
16. al-Khadir, 'the green man' is a popular figure, a servant of God, who has been identified with the Companions of Alexander the Great in his search for the 'Water of life', Old Testament prophets, St. George, and vegetation deities. To Sufi mystics he is a saint who is human, angelic, mundane and celestial.
17. A legal mithqal is the equivalent of 4.25 grammes of gold. It also denotes the legal equivalent of a dinar.
18. A dirham is both a silver coinage, the equivalent of 2.97 grammes, and a weight of approximately 3.48 grammes.
19. Qintar is a varying weight of 100 ratls. Sometimes it simply indicates a colossal sum of gold coins.
20. Shaykh Ahmad Baba of Timbuctoo (1556-1627) was the most noted scholar of that city and the author of numerous works of scholarship. See 'A new source for the biography of
Ahmad Baba al-Timbukti (1556-1627)'by J. 0. Hunwick, Bulletin of the School of
0riental and African Studies, Vol. XXVII, part 3, 1964, pp. 568-593.
21. Muhammad Baghyu, (var. Baghyu'u), Muhammad b. Mahmud b. Abu Bakr al-Wangari was the principal teacher of Shaykh Ahmad Baba.
22. This obscure, possibly southern Moroccan, invocation is not referred to any source by the
author. It has a semi-Berber, semi-Jewish, stamp, so perhaps he heard it in the Sus or the Wadi
Dar'a area where Jewish communities existed and still exist. On the other hand it may be an
ancient Saharan invocation since al-Idrisi reports that Azgar Tuareg who were then in Sijilmasa district were experts in tracing strays according to magical formulae. Kashkiya'il is not identifiable, neither is the saint from Sijilmasa. Asaf could be Asaf b. Barakhya, the Prime Minister of Solomon, see Qur'an Sura 27, verse 40. Kashkiya'il could be an error for the guardian angel Kalka'il or one of many lesser known angels whose names are legion. See T. P. Hughes Dictionary of Islam under the heading da'wa.