Khalifa El Hadji Mouhamad Niass the Mirror of Purity

In the Name of God, the All Gracious, the Ever Merciful.

May God’s blessings be upon our Master Muḥammad the opening of what had been closed, the seal of what had gone before, the helper of the truth by the Truth, and the guide to The Straight Path, and upon his family. May this prayer be equal to his immense position and grandeur.

This is now already 114 years since the creation of the city of Leona Niassene, 92 years since the passing away of his funder El hadji Abdoulaye Niass and 137 yearssince the birth of our master, Al Imam al A’dham, the perfect Pole and Excellent relief, the real holder of the elixir of happiness, the Sun of the guided-ones which has irradiated with his brightness the horizons and dispelled the opaque darkness of the night, Abu Omar Seyyidina Al Khalifatoul Hadj Mouhamad Niass al Kawlakhiyu. A great man endowed with unfathomable dimensions both during his life and after his death.

El Hadji Mouhamad or Mouhamad Aminata or Mame Khalifa Niass, his most familiar name, was born in 1881 the Second Day of the blessed month of Ramadan 1298 Hegira corresponding with 29th July. Son of the virtuous woman of religion, knowledge, chastity and forbearance Sayyida Aminata Thiam herself the daughter of the renowned scholar Sheikh Ibrahima Thiam Serigne Kellele, and the father of our master who is the noble figure and owner of abundant blessings and lights, the Great Khalifa of the Tariqa Tidjani in West Africa, the Pole, Seyyidi El Hadji Abdoulaye Niass al Kawlakhiyu himself son of the righteous friend of Allah Seyyidi Mouhamad Niass. Mame Khalifa Niass appears therefore as a pure product of spiritual values and holiness.

At a very early age, some say 7 years old, Mouhamad Niass started learning the Quran with his father El Hadji Abdoulaye Niass. It’s then under his direction that he has been taught all the disciplines lavished in the Senegambia space : Qur’an, exegesis, the Science of Hadith, orthoepy, theology, mysticism, jurisprudence, logic, rhetoric, philology, prosody, arithmetic, geometry, medicine, Pharmacopoeia etc. He grew up under the shadow of his father, distinguishing himself with his great intelligence, his ability to understand the hided meanings of his lessons. At 18 years old, the young Mouhamad Niass fully mastered all those disciplines. He took the wird Tidjani from the hand of his father and started teaching with him, following him after the destruction of Taiba Niassene by the French Administration in Keur Samba Yacine, Sahm and Bathurst in Gambian territories.

In 1910, the father and the son, both went to Fez to visit the Zawiya of Cheikh Sidi Ahmad Tidjani (may Allah be well pleased with him), where also they meet with several dignitaries of the Tariqa Tidjani : Sidi Muhamad al Bachir Tidjani, Sidi Ahmad Skiredj, Seydi Arabi al Muhib, Sidi Taib Sefiani etc. Mouhamad left his father in Fez for the Holy places of Islam in embarking on a boat for the city of Marseille in France, then he took the train Orient Express until Istanbul in Turkey where he passes through another train the Hejaz Railways that will lead him to the city of Medina al munawarra where he started his Hadj (pilgrimage). El Hadji Abdoulaye has been conferred in Fez the Ijaza Itlaq, the title of Grand Khalife of the Tariqa in West Africa, the original manuscript of the Jawahir al Ma’ani, the Secret of the Supreme Name and some personal belongings of the founder of the Tariqa Tidjani. They returned in Senegal in 1911 ; during that year, El Hadji Abdoulaye Niass was authorized by the French to settle in Kaolack through the mediation of El Hadji Malick Sy with whom they sojourned at his home and Zawiya in Tivaouane during January and March 1911.
El Hadji Abdoulaye gave the name of “Lewna-Niasséne (the licit)” to their new land. They settled there and the whole family joined him from Gambia, the Zawiya and the University are implanted and his influence continued increasing, people came from all over the country to receive an Ijaza or take the Wird Tidjani from his hands. El Hadji Mouhamad was leading the studies of his brothers and that of the students and disciples along with his father. Known as a Bibliophile, he had bought several books and contributed thereby to develop the rich library of El Hadji Abdoulaye, he had even solicited the services of a Moorish scribe who took care of copying the books in regard with the conventional knowledge in Islamic sciences. 
He wrote one among his first book after Naylul Maram fi Madhi Hayril Aname and none the lesser, the long poem al Mira’atu Sifa fi Sirati Nabil Mustafa (the Mirror of Purity in the Hagiography of the Chosen one), a Hagiography of the Prophet Mouhamad (peace be upon him) in 1922, that same year that witnessed the passing away of his father El Hadji Abdoulaye Niass. El Hadji Mouhamad then became the first Caliph of the Niassene branch of Tidjaniyya, a community highly regarded intellectually and economically prosperous. His Caliphate was organized as to implicate all his brothers and sisters and they all recognized him as the successor of his father as well as the Khalifa of Cheikh Sidi Ahmad Tidjani. 
In 1924 He went back for the second time to Fez where he received an Ijaza Itlaq from the Great Khalifa, Seyyidi Mahmud grandson of the founder of the Tariqa Tidjani. He is among the very few people who have had an Ijaza from this personage.

Mame Khalifa is portrayed as a person very simple, modest and discreet, devoid of interest for this world ; his life, he has built it with principles, guided by an exacerbated taste for the quest of knowledge. But his most characteristic trait remains his pronounced Love towards Seydina Mouhamad (peace be upon him) and for Seydi Cheikh Ahmad Tidjani (may Allah be well pleased with him). A Penchant he has experienced at an early age, attested by his friend Ahmed ibn Dahah in the preface of one of the Diwan of El Hadji Mouhamad in which he relates the encounter between Mame Khalifa and the Prophet (pbuh) : " Khalifa Mouhamad son of Abdallah son of Mouhamad told me : "I was seized by a deep affection for the Prophet Mouhamad when I was still in my cradle. « My mother is also called Aminata as that of the apostle. When I was seven days old, my father had seen the Prophet in a daylight vision, my father said, pointing to me : He is my son I gave him your name, the apostle of Allah answered him : bring him to me and he handed me to the Prophet who took me, put me on his knees, put my chest against his and put his blessed tongue into my mouth for a good time and gave me back to my father. ». 
It’s during that moment that Khalifa Mouhamad’s chest has become sane from impurities, from any kind of sicknesses of hearts and he then realized that all the sciences have become clear to him as well as the different rouages of the Arabic language.

This is also surely one of the reasons why, he was and still remains one of the greatest Hagiographers of the Prophet (pbuh), one of the most wonderful panegyrists of Seydi Ahmad Tidjani and among the very best writers of the Tariqa Tidjani and Islam of all time. Poetry was mainly his chosen field. Mame Khalifa has written more than 15 books (5095 verses) on the life of the Messenger (pbuh). “It remains indisputable that he has brought new elements in the hagiography of the Prophet notwithstanding his great predecessors in the same field such as Ka’ab ibn Zubair, Hassan ibn Thabit, and particularly Mouhamad El-Bussairy” according to the late Professor Dr. Amar Samb of IFAN. 
Mame Khalifa dedicated also in contribution to the rich literature of the Tidjaniyya brotherhood : a collection of more than 3246 verses titled : Al kibritil al-Akhmar fi madh al qutb al akbar “the Red Sulfur or Panegyric on the Greatest Pole”, dedicated to the founder of the Tariqa Tidjani which has been published for the first time in Cairoas one of the first books from black Africa to be edited in this prestigious sanctuary in 1955 by Abdallah ibn Abdel Karim al Qadiri, edited for the second time in 1996, 9th March by Sidy Lamine Niass who republishes it now for the third time in 2014, 14th of June in Dakar ; and also Al-juyush at Tulla ’bi al-murfahat qutta ila Ibn Mayab akhi al-tanattu "the vanguard armies of edged swords drawn against Ibn Mayaba the arrogant", the famous and one of the most brilliant defense of the Tidjaniyya against Muḥammad al-Khaḍir Ibn Māyabī al-Shingīṭī‘s 
Mushtahā al-khārif al-jānī (Craving of the Offending Dodder), in which the author allowed himself to criticize Shaykh Tidjani (r.a) in an unethical practice ; first published in 1930, then 1996 and the brand new edition of 2014 including “ Raddu Ibn Muwaqat”or “ the answer to Ibn Muwaqat” in which Mame Khalifa defends all the Turuq without exceptions. Thanks to Allah (swt) one of his lost book has been now found, the Zahiratul Hataya fil Wufudi wa Saraya in which El Hadji Mouhamad theorises the ways and means to establish a state of Islam in the manner it has been established by the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) during the golden age of the religion. This book has been now edited and is already available.

And here you have a non-exhaustive list of his books : 

  ► Tarihul Jinane fi Madhi Seydi Bani Adnan’
  ► Naylul Maram fi Madhi Hayril Aname 
  ► Mawahibul Ilahiya fi Ghazawati Nabawiya
  ► Al Nasihat al Ihwane hane Da’wa al Wilaya bi al Buhtane (Advise to the Brothers About the False Claim of Being a Saint)
  ► Miftah al Fath wa al Wussul ila Hadrati Shaykhina ibn Rassul (Keys of Opening and Arrival to the Presence of Our Master the Son of the Prophet)
  ► Zakhiratul Hataya fil Wufudi wa Saraya
  ► Mussamaratul fikri fi Ziyarat al Qutb al Akbar (Conversation of the Thought in Paying a Visit of Respect to the Supreme Pole)
  ► Chifa’u Sadri Fi mane Hadara Wahatil Badri
  ► Hala’ idul Mardiani fi Tibil Nabawi Rawhani
  ► Fawzu Suhada fi Tawassuli bi Chuhada‘i
  ► Bulughu Sulli fi madhi Rassuli
  ► Zahiratu’l Mihad fi Tadmini Banate Suhad
  ► Faydu rabani fi Tawassuli bi Asmahi Nabihil Adnani
  ► Wachidibadj fi Madhi Sahibil Mihr’ajj
  ► Halissu cha’ada fi Tadminil Burda
  ► Adilatul Muhnihati ila Tarqil Munfihati
  ► Murshid al-ikhwān nazm li waṣāyā al-Shaykh Abī al-ʿAbbās al-Tijānī (Ode : Guide of the Brothers : The Versification of the Councils of the Spiritual Master Abī al-ʿAbbās al-Tijānī—God be pleased with him)

His works of high importance testify the marks of a great writer whose fame has largely finished to cross the boundaries of his country, thus the entire Scholars of Senegal and the Islamic world have finished to recognize his talents, unlimited and absolutely wonderful, from Sidi Ahmad Skiridj to Sidi Ahmed ibn Mukhtar al Alawi passing by its pairs Sidi El Hadji Malick Sy and Sheikh Ahmad Bamba Mbacké up to his beloved brother Cheikh al Islam El Hadji Ibrahima Niass Baye.

Mame Khalifa Niass was mainly an accomplished educator both in the temporally way than the spiritual side. Under his tent at the popular University of Lewna-Niassene has been formed an incalculable number of Scholars who have reached the Summit of Islamic glory by the extent of the science they have learned there. And this process of teaching follows its progress until nowadays representing a strong contribution to the development of Islamic education in Senegal.

About the spiritual side, how many souls, his grace distributor of joy and happiness has attracted up to Allah (swt) ? How many people doomed to go astray and to damnation has he guided without deviating up until the truth ? They are uncountable.

The Spiritual training of Mame Khalifa Niass is the journey in the Tidjaniyya Path in the most Orthodox manner in accordance with the ways of the teachings of its founder Sheikh Sidi Ahmad Tidjani (may Allah be pleased with him), without breaches without additions. So Mame Khalifa prepares the human being in teaching him and inspiring him the basics of good character, to take the right path, the path of rightness, this path that we constantly ask Allah (glorified and exalted) in our prayers in Surat Fatiha : "Guide us on the right path", to worship Allah for his noble face ; all of his teachings are rooted in the Quran and the pure Tradition of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). 
However Khalifa El Hadji Mouhamad remains convinced that it is through the deep lovethat the disciple engaged in the way must devote to the Prophet (pbuh) and Sheikh Tidjani (r.a) that occurs the spiritual Alchemy, the process that changes gold and bright silver, hearts which was like stone before. It is through this deep love in addition of complying with the requirements of the servitude that one can travel to the high stations of the divine knowledge. It is that way of living he has impregnated his family and his disciples and everybody know the legendary reverential fear in Allah the most high of the people of Lewna-Niassene. It’s enough to remain in Islam, Iman, Ihsan.

Khalifa El Hadji Mouhamad had excellent relations with his contemporaries of the other religious families of Senegal but also with other personalities of the world proved by the visits and many connections between them like with : Sheikh Muhammad Val ibn Baba al Alaoui, Muhammad El Bachir ibn Rachid, Abd Rahman ibn Zaydan, Sidi Ahmad Skiridj, Muhammad Said al-Maliki at Tidjani etc.

Many authorities also relayed in turns at his home to obtain prayers for they have heard of his reputation of a man of God with always answered prayers, we can mention among others, Blaise Diagne, Mamadou Dia, Sekou Toure, also Modibo Keita, Horma Ould Babana, deputy of Mauritania, Félix Houphouët Boigny, Me Lamine Guèye, Djim Momar Gueye, Abass Gueye, as well as the former Mayor of Kaolack and founder of the BDS, Ibrahima Seydou Ndao, without forgetting Léopold Sédar Senghor first President of the Republic of Senegal.

The Most essential of his miracles was certainly :  Righteousness, his life during clinging on to faithfully to the Quran and the Sunna without innovation or breach is not something given to everyone. Proving his testimony about Khalifa El Hadji Mouhamad Niass, the great knower of Allah, al arif bilahi Serigne Aliou Sakho said : "Ma Missluho fil Arifin / Never Have I seen such a man among the Knowers of Allah" ; and this is perceptible through his writings and his spiritual/temporal education method that has finished laying the groundwork for the development of humankind particularly by these darkest hours. Because of his personality and his teachings are emerging solutions that will quickly have to put our country on the rails of emergence, among other research and preservation of science all kinds of sciences, promote morality and good behavior and especially Work that must facilitate for a man to habituate himself to patience, endurance and perseverance.

Now 55 years since his passing away tantamount to the name of Allah : al Mujib in Muslim mysticism. Does it mean the illustration of the fulfillment of his prayers ? Has it come yet the time where the flag that will guide the community should come to his hands ? In any of these cases all this time was not enough to remove him from the heart of millions of people who venerate him even more strongly today more than yesterday.

Mouhamad ibn Abdallah Niass left this world for the residence of light in Kaolack, March 1st, 1959, at the age of 80, he was buried near his father, with Abubakr al Awal and Omar in the Blessed Zawiya of Lewna Niassene, his grave never ceases to be irrigated with mercy and the lights he inherited from Seydi Cheikh Ahmad Tidjani (r.a) continue to spread, at every moment visitors come nearby to profit from the Baraka of this place.

Allah (glorified and exalted) in its indulgence, be pleased with him, reward him widely whenever, in a Grove, sings a Green Turtle Dove or the breeze steals the perfume to the lush flower garden... Amin.

“O Allah, send benediction upon Our Lord Mohammad, the Opening of what had been
closed, the Seal of what had gone before, the Helper of the Truth by the
Truth, and the Guide to Your Straight Path, and upon his Family. May (this
prayer be) equal to his immense position and grandeur.”

Al Faqir Filah, Hadimul Hadra,  

El Hadji Idrissa DIOUM