Skiredj Library of Tijani Studies
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. May Allah send blessings, peace, and abundant grace upon our master Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Among the notable works of the great Tijani scholar and knower of Allah, Sidi Ahmed ibn al-Hajj al-Ayyashi Skiredj al-Khazraji al-Ansari, is a remarkable book entitled Dafʿ al-Wasan bi-Ijazat al-Sultan Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz ibn al-Hasan. This text is not only an ijaza in the formal sense. It is also a document of spiritual transmission, scholarly lineage, and deep affection between a master and one of his most distinguished disciples.
For readers interested in Sidi Ahmed Skiredj books, Tijani ijazas, Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz and the Tijaniyya, or classical Tijani spiritual chains, this work is an important title to know.
A Book Centered on a Special Tijani Ijaza
This book revolves around the ijaza granted by Sidi Ahmed Skiredj to the former sultan Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz ibn Mawlay al-Hasan. Because of its breadth and richness, Skiredj gave it the title Dafʿ al-Wasan, a name that suggests a work capable of dispelling heaviness and awakening spiritual attention.
It is not a short certificate. It is a substantial text in which the author records transmission, blessings, spiritual authorizations, and select devotional benefits.
Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz and His Love for Sidi Ahmed Skiredj
The source presents Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz as having had great love for Sidi Ahmed Skiredj. Before taking the Tijani wird, he had spent a considerable period searching for the right master among the كبار رجال الطريقة, the great men of the Tijani path. In the end, his spiritual search came to rest with Sidi Ahmed Skiredj, in whom he found generosity, guidance, and certainty.
He fixed his attention on him, entrusted himself to him, and eventually received the Tijani path at his hands.
A Vision Before Initiation
One of the most striking elements connected with this story is the dream that preceded Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz’s entry into the Tijani path.
According to the source, he saw in a dream a man of beautiful appearance: fair in complexion, of short stature, with a blond beard. This figure came to him in Paris, where Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz was residing, greeted him warmly, and handed him a rosary made of jujube wood. Then the dream ended.
About a month later, Sidi Ahmed Skiredj traveled to France on a private visit, and by divine arrangement he met Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz in Paris. As soon as the former sultan saw him, he was overwhelmed with joy, because he recognized in him the very man he had seen in the dream.
The source describes the meeting as taking place in the gathering of some beloved companions in Paris. Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz rose, greeted Skiredj with great warmth, embraced him, and said words meaning: “It is as though he is the very one.” Skiredj answered with a phrase meaning: “Can there be any doubt concerning Allah?”
This encounter became the turning point. After presenting the conditions of the Tijani path and receiving Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz’s commitment to them, Sidi Ahmed Skiredj initiated him into the Tijaniyya.
More Than Initiation: A Later Formal Authorization
Years after this initiation, Sidi Ahmed Skiredj did not stop at the original talqin. He later granted Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz a fuller and more elaborate ijaza, which became the subject of this book.
That is why Dafʿ al-Wasan is so valuable. It preserves not only the fact of transmission, but also the mature form of authorization given by a major Tijani scholar to a former ruler who had entered the path through sincere seeking.
What the Book Contains
The book is important because it goes beyond biography or ceremony. It includes several layers of spiritual and scholarly material.
1. Skiredj’s Chains of Transmission
One of the major features of this ijaza is that Sidi Ahmed Skiredj records his chains of transmission. Among them is his celebrated high chain known as the Golden Chain, which runs:
from Sidi Ahmed Skiredj
to the blessed jurist Mawlay Ahmad al-Abdalawi
to the great pole Sidi al-Hajj Ali al-Tamassini
to our master Abu al-Abbas Sīdī Aḥmad al-Tijānī
This alone gives the book exceptional value for students of Tijani sanad, spiritual genealogy, and traditional transmission.
2. Devotional Benefits, Prayers, and Remembrances
The source also notes that this ijaza contains a collection of benefits, invocations, prayers upon the Prophet, and remembrances. This means the book is not merely archival. It is also practical and devotional.
3. A Special Authorization Related to the Greatest Name
Among the most distinguished elements of the ijaza is the inclusion of the great special Name connected to the مقام of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Skiredj authorized Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz to recite it according to a specific number, and this appears at the end of the ijaza.
This detail makes the work especially significant within the world of Tijani esoteric transmission and authorized litanies.
The Date of the Ijaza
The source states that this ijaza is dated to Rajab 1346 AH / 1927 CE. That date places it in a mature period of Sidi Ahmed Skiredj’s scholarly and spiritual life, which adds to its weight and authority.
It also situates the document in a historically meaningful moment, linking a major Moroccan Tijani scholar with a former sultan in exile, united through the bond of the path.
Why This Book Matters
This book matters for several reasons.
First, it offers a rare and intimate look at the relationship between Sidi Ahmed Skiredj and Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz.
Second, it preserves a valuable example of a Tijani ijaza that combines spiritual transmission, scholarly sanad, and devotional guidance.
Third, it helps readers understand how the Tijani path was received not only by scholars and common disciples, but also by figures of high political rank who approached it through sincere seeking.
Fourth, it sheds light on one of the living channels of transmission in the Moroccan Tijani tradition, especially through the Golden Chain.
Finally, it serves as an important reference for anyone studying Tijani initiatic documents, Skiredj manuscripts, or the history of Tijani scholarship in Morocco.
A Published and Edited Work for the Benefit of the Ahmadis
The source concludes by noting that the text of this ijaza was edited, printed, and published, with the hope that all Ahmadis may benefit from it.
That is a fitting end for a work of this kind. Dafʿ al-Wasan bi-Ijazat al-Sultan Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz ibn al-Hasan is not simply a historical piece. It is a document of living transmission, a witness to spiritual intimacy, and a treasure for those who wish to understand the depth of the Tijani heritage through the writings of Sidi Ahmed Skiredj.
For anyone exploring the written legacy of Skiredj, the role of Mawlay Abd al-Hafiz in the Tijani path, or the meaning of ijaza in the traditional Islamic sciences and spiritual orders, this book deserves careful attention.
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