Ibrahim Niasse | इब्राहिम नियासे | ابراہیم نیاس کی سوانح عمری اور ان کے مزار کی تاریخ

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Biography of Ibrahim Niasse and the history of his shrine

Dekhti Aankhooon aur sountay kaanoon ko Asslamoalaikum, sisters, brothers friends and elders, in informative series videos of Islamic ascolars, sufisaints, cultural heritages, islamic philosophys, islamic mysticisms and historical figures. today we are describing biography of Ibrahim Niasse and the history of his shrine.

Ibrahim Niasse was a Senegalese major leader (wolof) of the Tijani Sufi order of Islam in West Africa. His followers in the Senegambia region affectionately refer to him in Wolof as Baay, or "father."

Niasse was the first West African to have led al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, after which he was styled "Sheikh al-Islam". He became close to many freedom fighters in West Africa due to his contribution for Independence in African States. He was friends with and an adviser to Ghana's first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and friends with Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh served as the Vice President of the Muslim World League with Faisal as president.

Born in 1900 in the village of Tayba Ñaseen (spelled Taïba Niassène in French), between the Senegalese city of Kaolack and the border of Gambia, he was the son of Al-Hadj Abdullah Niass (1840–1922), the main representative of the Tijani Sufi Order, often referred to asTareeqat al-Tijjaniyyaa, in the Saalum region at the beginning of the twentieth century. During his youth, Sheykh Ibrahim relocated with his father to the city of Kaolack, where they established the zawiya (religious center) of Lewna Naseen. After his father's death in Lewna Ñaseen in 1922, Shaykh Ibrahim's elder brother, Muhammad al-Khalifa, became his father's successor or Khalifa. The 22-year-old Shaykh Ibrahim spent most of his time farming in the family's fields and teaching a growing number of disciples in the nearby village of Kóosi Mbittéyeen.

Although Shaykh Ibrahim never claimed to be his father's successor, due to his charisma and precocious knowledge, he gained a large number of disciples, and tensions arose between his disciples and those of his elder brother, Muhammad al-Khalifa. In 1929, while on the farm in Kóosi Mbittéyeen, the youthful Shaykh Ibrahim announced that he had been given the Key to Secrets of Divine Knowledge, and thus became the Khalifa of Sheykh Tijani in the Tijaniyya Order, a position yet to be attained by anyone as of that time. Sheikh Ibrahim then declared that whoever wishes to attain ma'arifa, a level of Divine Certainty in the Sufi Order, must follow him.

In 1930, after the prayer of EId al-Fitr (the end of the month of Ramadan), a fight broke out between Shaykh Ibrahim's disciples and those of Muhammad al-Khalifa The incident made Shaykh Ibrahim immediately decide to relocate with his disciples to a new place. That evening, he set out with a small group of his closest disciples to find a new place to live, and the next day they established a new z?wiya in Medina Baay, a village that was later incorporated into the growing city of Kaolack. In the following years, the shaykh divided his time between teaching during the dry season in Madina Baay and farming during the rainy season in Kóosi Mbittéyeen. During the summer of 1945 he reestablished himself in his father's house in his natal village of Tayba Ñaseen, rebuilding and reorganizing the village after a fire outbreak had destroyed much of it.

Shaykh Ibrahim's fame quickly spread throughout the countryside, and most of his father's disciples ultimately became his disciples in spite of his junior status in the family. Although his disciples remain a minority within Senegal, they form the largest branch of the Tijaniyyah worldwide. In an unlikely role reversal during the 1930s, several leaders of the Arab 'Idaw ?Ali tribe in Mauritania—the same tribe that introduced the Tijani order to West Africa—declared themselves disciples of Shaykh Ibrahim. Notable among them were Shaykhani, Mu?ammad Wuld an-Na?wi and Muhammad al-Mishri. Tareeqa al-Tijaniyya al-Ibrahimiyya, as the shaykh's disciples came to be known, flourished and gained large numbers of followers during the 1930s and 1940s throughout North and West Africa. In 1937 upon meeting Shaykh Ibrahim during a pilgrimage to Makkah, the Emir of Kano, Nigeria, Alhaji 'Abdullahi Bayero gave his oath of allegiance to the shaykh and declared himself a disciple of shaykh Ibrahim. That incident made Shaykh Ibrahim gain the allegiance of many of the prominent Tij?n? leaders of Northern Nigeria and also many others who were not Tijani prior to this time.

Alhaji Abdulmalik Atta - a prince from Okene and the first High Commissioner of Nigeria to the United Kingdom - was one of shaykh Ibrahim's closest disciples as well as the shaykh's father-in-law through his daughter Sayyida Bilkisu. Shaykh Ibrahim became a renowned Shaykh al-Tareeqa (Master of the Sufi Order) throughout the Hausa areas of West Africa. In the end, he had far disciples outside of Senegal than within it. At the time of his death in 1975 in London, England, Shaykh Ibrahim Niass had millions of followers throughout West Africa.

His branch of the Tij?niyya, Tareeqa al-Tijaniyya al-Ibrahimiyya has become the largest branch in the world. After his death the community was led by his closest disciple, Shaykh Aliyy Cisse and Niass' eldest son, Alhaji Abdulahi Ibrahim Niass. The current Khal?fa in Medina Baye is his eldest surviving son, Sheikh Ahmad Tijani Niass who became the khalifa in 2010 after the death of his brother khalifa Ahmadu Niass, known as “Daam”, on Tuesday 18 May 2010. Shaykh Ibrahim's role as principal Imam of the Medina Baye mosque has been carried out by the Cisse family. While serving as Medina Baay's Imam, Shaykh Hassan Cisse, Shaykh Aliyy Cisse's son and Shaykh Ibrahim's maternal grandson, carried Shaykh Ibrahim's teachings to the United States, United Kingdom and many other western countries. Shaykh Hassan Cisse was generally regarded as the leader of Tareeqa al-Tijaniyya al-Ibrahimiyya worldwide until his sudden death in August, 2008. Since then, Shaykh Hassan's younger brother Shaykh Tijani Cisse has been given the position of Medina Baye's Imam.

With this, we seek your permission until tomorrow, tomorrow we will describe the biography of Ibrahim ibn Adham and the history of his shrine. Allah Hafiz.
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