THE THIRD OF THE TWO ALI(S)
Composed by: Shaykh Ahmad Shaban
ثالث العليين; علي سيسي شأن الله
ALI THE THIRD; ‘ALI CISSE, THE AFFAIR OF ALLAH
غدوت مع رجال الله ** أروح مع رجال الله
Ghadautu ma’a Rijāli-llah ** Arūhu ma’a Rijāli-llah
I rose early with the men of Allah ** And returned with the men of Allah
أسير مع رجال الله ** إلى الخيرات فى الله
Asīru ma’a Rijāli-llah ** ilā-l khayrāti fī-llahi
I advanced with the men of Allah ** To good fortune in Allah
علي سيسي ممدوحى ** خليفة الشيخ فى الله
‘Aliyyu Sīsi mamdūhī ** Khalīfatu-sh Shaykh fī-llahi
Ali Cisse my praised one ** The Successor of the Shaykh in (the path of) Allah
فهاكم سيسي ترحيبى ** برجل من رجال الله
Fa-hākum Sīsi tar’hībī ** Rajulu min Rijāli-llah
Look at Cisse, I welcome ** a man among the men of Allah
فقوموا أيها الإخوا ** ن فى تعظيمه لله
Qūmū ayuhā-l ikhwān ** fī ta’azīmihi lillah
Stand up, O brethren ** To honour him for Allah
ولي الله حبيب الله ** عظيم الشأن فى الله
Waliyyu-llah Habību-llah ** ‘Azīmu-sh sha’ni fī-llahi
A friend of Allah, a beloved of Allah ** A man of high status with Allah
صبور عارف بالله ** شكور دائما لله
Sabūrun ‘Ārifun billah ** Shakūrun dā’imān lillah
He is perseverant and a knower of Allah ** Grateful always to Allah
كثير الصمت والتفكير ** ر فى أقواله لله
Kathīru-s samti wa-t tafkīr ** ..ru fī aqwālihi lillahi
He is often silent in sober reflection ** And his speech is for Allah
فصيح القول فى الوعظ ** و ينصح دائما لله
Fasīhu-l qawli fī-l wa’azi ** wa yansahu dā’imān lillah
He is eloquent when admonishing ** And he gives good counsel for the sake of Allah
يقول لنا عباد الله ** تقوى الله تقوى الله
Yaqūlu lanā ‘ibāda-llah ** taqwā-llahi taqwā-llah
He tells us: “O slaves of Allah, ** Be conscious of Allah! Be conscious of Allah!”
كريم الخُلق والتقوى ** جواد الكفّ فى الله
Karīmu-l khulqi wa taqwā ** Jawādu-l kaffi fī-llahi
He has noble character and piety ** He is spendthrift for Allah
تراه دائما يتلوا ** كتاب الله لله
Tarāhu dā’imān yatlū ** kitāba-llahi lillahi
You see him always reciting ** The book of Allah, seeking the face of Allah
يحجّ البيت تكرارا ** يزور نبينا لله
Yahūjju-l bayti takrārān ** yazūru nabiyyanā lillah
He performs pilgrimage repeatedly ** Visiting our prophet (saw) for the love of Allah
و قائل هذه الأبيات ** أسير الحب فى الله
Wa qā’ilu ādhihi-l abyāt ** asīru-l hubbi fī-llahi
The author of this poetry lines ** Is a slave of love in Allah
أحمد نجل شعبان ** خديم زراكم لله
Ahmadu najlu Sha‘abān ** khadīmu zurākumu lillah
Ahmad the son of Sha’ban ** The unworthy servant of yours in Allah
صلاة مع سلام الله ** على المختار عبد الله
Salātu ma’a salāmi-llah ** alā-l Mukhtāri ‘Abdi-llah
The blessings and salutations of Allah ** Upon al-Mukhtar the slave of Allah
مع الآل مع الأصحاب ** كذا أحبابه فى الله
Ma’a-l āli ma’a-l as’hābi ** kadhā ahbābihi fī-llah
His household and companions ** And his lovers in Allah
كذلك أوليا كلا ** مع الأقطاب فى الله
Kadhālika awliyā kullān ** ma’a-l aqtābi fī-llah
And also upon all the saints ** And the poles of Allah
فثالث من عليَّيْن ** علي لرسول الله
Fa-thālithu min ‘Aliyyīn ** ‘Aliyyu li-Rasuli-llah
He is the third of the two Ali(s) ** The Ali of the messenger of Allah “1st”
علي حرازم الشيخ ** خليفة الشيخ فى الله
‘Aliyyu Harāzimi-sh Shaykhi ** Khalīfatu-sh Shaykhi fī-llahi
Ali Harazim of the Shaykh (Tijani) “2nd”** The successor of the Shaykh in (the path of) Allah
علي الشيخ برهام ** و ذا فضل من الله
‘Aliyyu-sh Shaykhi Bar’hāmu ** wa dhā fadlun mina-llahi
(And this is) Ali of Shaykh Ibrahim “3rd” ** And this bounty is from Allah
و تخصيص من الله ** و تدبير من الله
Takhsīsu mina-llahi ** wa tad’bīrun mina-llahi
A unique one from Allah ** And a finished business of Allah
Composed by: Shaikh Ahmad Shaban
Arabic text inscribed by son of the author, Ibrahim Jobe ibn Shaban
Recitation of the poem by the son of the author, Tahir Shaban (VIDEO)
SAYDĪ ʿALĪ CISSE: THE GREATEST KHADIM, MUQADDAM & MURID
Excerpts from the book; “Living Knowledge in West African Islam”
Author: Prof. Zachary Wright
Saydī ʿAlī Cisse, based on his family’s previous ties of scholarship and discipleship with al-Hajj ‘Abd-Allāh Niasse, had privileged access to Shaykh Ibrāhīm from an early age. Since the age of sixteen, Saydī ʿAlī was the inseparable companion of Shaykh Ibrāhīm. They lived in the same room and ate out of the same plate. They studied and worked the fields together. After the public announcement of the fayḍa and the establishment of Medina, Saydī ʿAlī joined the community as the Shaykh’s most trusted companion. Despite his own growing scholarly reputation, Saydī ʿAlī continued to work in the fields for the Shaykh, and to perform whatever task the Shaykh required of him. According to Shaykh Hassan Cisse: It is said, “The service (khidma) of the disiciple (murīd) is his ladder to attain his aspirations.”
Saydī Ali did not attain his position with Shaykh Ibrāhīm only because the Shaykh loved him, that’s not the only reason Shaykh Ibrāhīm gave him everything. Saydī Ali worked the hardest of anybody, sometimes in the fields until he fainted from exhaustion. He did most of the writing, often without food.
Most of the shaykh’s writings were penned by Saydī Ali: the Kashif al-Ilbas, and probably eighty percent of the letters in the Jawahir al-Rasa’il. Sometimes the Shaykh gave him permission to write on his behalf directly, without telling him [exactly] what to write.
Saydī ʿAlī’s exemplary work ethic has become a favorite theme in discussions of disciple conduct in Medina-Baye. The emphasis on service was duly emphasized to his own children. Here is how Shaykh Hassan Cisse (1945-2008) remembered his father’s advice:
I remember several times going to the farm with the Shaykh [Ibrahim]. I asked my father one day, “Do you think all our efforts on the farm, that one day we will get paid for them?” He said, “Who told you that we are going to the farm to get money? We are going to the farm to worship God. Work is worship.” My father used to say, “If you are in a place and you do nothing, you are spoiling that place. I don’t know where a man can stay and get all what he needs without doing anything. If you know that type of house, let me know. I’ll be the first one to close my house and move down there.”
The image of the descendants of West Africa’s most eminent scholarly lineage toiling in the fields was certainly not lost on other disciples of Shaykh Ibrahim who may have hailed from less illustrious backgrounds. Significantly, Shaykh Hassan remembered Shaykh Ibrahim’s own presence among the workers in the field. Shaykh Hassan similarly related that Shaykh Ibrahim once challenged him to a cooking competition when visiting him in Cairo in the 1960s.
Needless to say, the first piece in reconstructing Saydi ‘Ali’s relationship to Shaykh Ibrahim was undoubtedly his humility in service, a humility which Shaykh Ibrahim demonstrated by example.
Besides writing and working in the fields, Saydī ʿAlī served as one of the nascent community’s primary teachers. Along with Ahmad Thiam, and of course Shaykh Ibrāhīm himself, Saydī ʿAlī taught students most of the classical texts in the Islamic sciences. He became known as “the school of jurisprudence (fiqh),” though his expertise was not limited to this field.
As mentioned previously, he was the first to lead the tarāwīḥ prayer in Medina during the month of Ramadan, meaning he was renowned for the perfection of his memorization and recitation of the Qur’ān. He also served as the community’s regular Imam, or leader of the congregational prayer. He was thus the sole person to lead the ritual prayer in front of Shaykh Ibrāhīm, except the Friday prayer which Shaykh Ibrahim led himself. ‘Uthmān b. ʿAlī Cisse remembered that Shaykh Ibrāhīm used to arrive in the mosque for the dawn prayer (fajr) before Saydī ʿAlī. He would wait patiently for Saydī ʿAlī to come and lead the prayer, refusing to send anyone to hurry him.
Through such efforts Saydī ʿAlī emerged as the undisputed deputy of Shaykh Ibrāhīm early on in the community’s development. At least by 1937, Shaykh Ibrāhīm had written Saydī ʿAlī to tell him that, after God, he was his spiritual successor (khalīfa).
Several private letters of Shaykh Ibrāhīm to Saydī ʿAlī attest to the disciple’s complete inheritance from the Shaykh: “You are the holder of the station (maqām) in everything, and God is with you with His victory, His help and His assistance and His protection.” In another letter, he referred to Saydī ʿAlī as: “My successor (khalīfa), al-Hajj ʿAlī Cisse, and there is no successor with him except him, for he is the greatest in this [affair] ....
Excerpts from the book; “Living Knowledge in West African Islam”
Author: Prof. Zachary Wright
