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Mawlid 2018 – Photos & videos
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
و الصلاة و السلام على أشرف المرسلين
و على اله و اصحابه أجمعين
Mawlid 2018 – Photos & videos
Monday 19 November
The birth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the most important day for all the universes. His birth was in the image of his haqiqa (reality), since when asked about his own person, he ﷺ answered: “I am the fulfilment of the prayer of my father Abraham and the glad tidings announced by Jesus. And my mother saw, when she carried me, a Light come forth from her by which the palaces of Sham were lit for her.” (Narrated by al-Bayhaqi). His noble mother, Sayyida Amina (may Allah be pleased with her), saw a Light come forth from her and not a body.
He is the divine beauty manifested, the mercy for the universes; he is the handful of Light that Allah took from the Light of His Essence and called “Muhammad”. He is that from which all creation was created; he is our beginning and our end, he is our immaculate origin. He is the one upon whom Allah prays with an absolute and transcendent prayer, outside any consideration of time and space.
The vision of Sayyida Amina (may Allah be pleased with her) is the vision that the Karkari disciples have of the Prophet ﷺ, namely the vision in the waking state of his sanctified Light. This day is therefore doubly important for the faqir of the Path. It is indeed in the night from 11 to 12 Rabi‘ al-Awwal (corresponding to 19 and 20 November 2018 on the solar calendar) that the renewal of the commitment to Allah ﷻ and His Prophet ﷺ takes place at the hand of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari (may Allah sanctify his secret). All the Karkari disciples in the world are invited to return to the zawiya in Morocco to take part in the celebration of his birth.
The festivities then extend over a week, from the day of birth to the day of ‘aqiqa (the sacrifice in honour of the newborn), 7 days later. In addition to the official evening organised by the Moroccan disciples, the French were able to set up a ceremony with various talks.
As is customary every year, we will publish in this article almost all of the photos and videos.
Note that at the end of the article, a large album with hundreds of photos can be consulted at this link or on our Facebook page.
To introduce this blessed month, a few brothers wished to publicly wish a happy mawlid, among them the disciples of Paris, Amin, Mohamed and Farouk.
Happy mawlid from the Château d’Écouen.
Happy mawlid from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
From Liège, Emmanuel ‘Issa wishes us a happy mawlid accompanied by a short teaching on the Prophet ﷺ.
Finally, a legal reminder on the permissibility of celebrating the mawlid.
The faqira also mobilise in Paris to go on outings, like this one to the Eiffel Tower. The multicoloured garment always draws people’s attention, including one person who in fact pronounced the declaration of faith (shahada).
The first joint action and formality at every mawlid is the welcome by the shaykh and the fuqara of the disciples (men and women) of Oujda and the neighbouring towns (Bergam, Taourirt, etc.). They arrive together in a coach and for this purpose a march is made to the mosque not far from the zawiya, to the rhythm of drums and songs.
Together everyone returns to the tent set up outside the zawiya to perform the ‘asr (afternoon) prayer. For two editions now, the ceremony has taken place in a tent, more spacious and able to welcome more visitors. This time a platform was set up for the shaykh, the singers and the speakers.
After the prayer and a rather late lunch, it is already time for the sunset prayer (maghrib), followed by the wird (daily dhikr) and the group recitation of the Qur’an. Finally the adhan (call to prayer) of ‘Isha (evening prayer) already sounds and the 5 obligatory prayers are thus completed.
The procession there and back on video.
The chanted poems (qasa’id) during the mawlid always preface a hadra (spiritual dance) that will be memorable. The Sufi dance, a now-familiar spiritual exercise, nevertheless remains a moment of great interest and spectacle for all the visitors present. The swaying, the bowing and the breaths of the name “al-Hayy” drawn from the depths of the chests leave no one indifferent.
The chanted poems on video, and more here and there.
The hadra on video (and more).
The invocations of the shaykh’s father, Sidi Mawlay Tayeb.
Then came the various talks, mainly in Arabic but also in French, and a musical performance on the Hang accompanied by the Darbuka. And to warm up in the pre-winter cold of Morocco, a good glass of hot tea and some cakes. For those who swear only by coffee, a small stall selling coffee and books was set up within the tent.
A few talks by the francophone disciples.
Hang and Darbuka.
While waiting for the meal, the singers devote themselves to keeping the atmosphere convivial and joyful with traditional songs on the Prophet ﷺ.
It is getting late, the public leaves, only the disciples remain. They wait for only one thing: to hold the rosary (subha) of a thousand beads in order to renew the commitment with the one who, through the Name al-Waliy, brought them out of the darkness into the Light, Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari (may Allah sanctify his secret). The few hours before the dawn prayer end with invocations in the presence of the Shaykh.
The complete photo album of the official evening of Monday 19 November. Also available on our Facebook page.
Wednesday 21 November
Monday was devoted to rest and to the usual moudhakara (reminder talks) and answers to questions given by the shaykh. It was on Wednesday evening that the francophone disciples were given the floor to speak about the blessed person of the Prophet ﷺ.
Scientific talks, testimonies, recitation of a poem to a beautiful melody, video projection, quiz and so on: it was a celebration at once instructive, playful and meditative. But all that was nothing compared to the magnificent gift the disciples offered the shaykh, an oil lamp in 19th-century style. The gift delighted the shaykh enormously for its working and its form, which recall the examples of the divine Light mentioned by Allah ﷻ in His holy Book.
The complete photo album for the francophone evening of Wednesday 21 November. Also available on our Facebook page.
The various talks on video.
Introduction of the evening by the Algerian disciples and a chanted poem.
Recitation of a poem by Florian Eme (from his book “A Look at My Soul”) accompanied by a melody on the Hang.
The story of Salman the Persian (al-Farisi) and his quest for the truth, presented by Florian Eme.
A short quiz led by the disciple Karim Boukri with questions on the sunna and on Sufism.
Our brother ‘Issa (Pascal), a former Christian monk converted to Islam at the hand of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari (may Allah sanctify his secret), tells us of a vision in which the prophet Jesus reassured him and erased his fear of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon them).
Everything that takes place in creation is written in a register, even the leaf that falls from the tree or the drop of rain that falls from the sky. Explanation with the faqir Billel.
What is intimacy with the Prophet ﷺ truly? Explanation by the disciple Ismail.
Fathi of Lyon gives us, during this evening of celebration of the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ, a testimony of an unprecedented experience that took place before his entry into the Karkariya.
Allah has no need of causes: such is the conclusion and the lesson understood by Yanis, a disciple of the Karkariya, after living a spiritual experience during his wandering (siyaha) of 180 kilometres.
The vision in the waking state of the disciple Yanis and his commentary. How the behaviour of the child best defines what sainthood (wilaya) is.
‘Issa (Pascal), a former Christian monk converted to Islam who joined the Karkariya Sufi Order, tells us of his long and painful journey up to his meeting with the shaykh, after reading his book “The Foundations of the Tariqa”.
The event was used to present to the fuqara, by video projection, a few images and videos of the autumn wandering of 5 disciples. It was a spiritual walk from Paris to Orléans.
The evening reached its peak when the fuqara offered this famous lamp to the shaykh.
That is the essence of this extraordinary event for Muslims and particularly for the disciples of the Karkariya Sufi Order. In reality the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ is not limited in time, but remains perpetual in the hearts of the lovers.