Photos & videos – Mawlid 2019

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
و الصلاة و السلام على أشرف المرسلين
و على اله و اصحابه أجمعين

The true meaning of the mawlid

Although every day of the year should be a celebration of the birth of the Prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal is behind us and so are the celebrations organised within the Karkariya Sufi path. This allows us to step back and meditate on the deep meaning of this event which shook the whole universe. We shall also use this article to present the photos and videos of the various talks.

The birthday of the Messenger of Allah is not perceived identically according to whether one is on a spiritual path or not. For the disciple endowed with inner vision, this event directly echoes his pledge with the Shaykh, who gave birth in him to the Messenger of Allah, prayer and peace be upon him, and made him realise the verse: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; he is concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.” (Surat at-Tawba, verse 128). The disciple thus fully lives the celebration of the mawlid, as the receptacle of this appearance of the divine mercy.

In addition to the purely spiritual aspects, the traveller on the path finds his brothers again, lets himself be carried by the songs of praise of the Prophet and by the spiritual dances. It is a period of grace for every disciple of the path.

It is therefore fitting to return to the source of these blessings and to thank the Shaykh, Sidi Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari, may Allah preserve him and sanctify his secret. Without the vision of the divine Light transmitted through the Sufi master, no spiritual state would spring from the heart of the murid.

At the francophone evening, the Shaykh gave a talk heavy with truth. He reminded us that when the Shaykh offers something, in this case the divine Light, he does so truly without expecting anything in return, whereas for the disciple, whatever effort he makes in the service of the path, the benefit always returns to him. It is inevitable: the spiritual master being a perfect mirror reflecting everything that presents itself before him, one cannot blame the disciple for working for himself.

“Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah.” the Messenger of Allah, prayer and peace be upon him, tells us. This authentic hadith can apply to all Muslims, but what is to be said of one who gives a benefit that is useful in this world, in the grave before the questioning angel and before the Lord, on the day of the great gathering? If every surah has a heart verse, the heart of the “people” mentioned in this hadith is the waliy of Allah. It is then as if the Messenger of Allah, prayer and peace be upon him, were telling us: seek the one towards whom your gratitude will raise you among those who truly praise Allah.

The mawlid is not only the birth of the best of creatures, prayer and peace be upon him, but also of his descendants, among whom is his succession that revives the faith of men.

The true meaning of the mawlid is not to proclaim a love, often unfelt, but rather to renew one’s attachment to the prophetic heir, the waliy of one’s time.

Mawlid zapping

Official celebration of the mawlid

Find at the bottom of the page an album with all the photos.

Every year it is the same scenario. The celebrations open with the welcome of the disciples of Oujda, Bergam and the neighbouring towns.

The settling into the tent is done in motion, through a hadra (spiritual dance).

The festivities begin after the maghrib prayer.

The traditional hadra of the mawlid, which forms an exceptionally large circle and lasts more than an hour, with the invocation of the Name “Allah” and the invocations of Sidi Shaykh’s father.

The opening of the talks.

The surprise of this mawlid was the conversion to Islam of Albéric. A conversion blessed by the celebration of the birth of the Prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, and quite naturally Albéric henceforth adopts this Muslim first name.

It is no longer a secret to anyone: in the Karkariya, art and spirituality are one.

Musical atmosphere while waiting for the meal.

The renewal of the pledge with the Shaykh and the closing invocations.

Photo album

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Francophone evening of the mawlid

Find at the bottom of the page an album with all the photos.

One or two days after the official celebration of the mawlid comes the evening organised by the francophone disciples of Europe. The projects that came to life this year, the new books and testimonies are presented.

The whole event was enlivened by a humorous quiz prepared by Karim and Mahdi.

The initiatory tale and dialogue between the date and the date palm, written and performed by the disciple Marouane, accompanied by Mohamed Pierre.

What is the Blessed Tree, mentioned several times in the Holy Qur’an? By the disciple Nouredine.

Mohamed A. takes this blessed occasion to look back on the many wanderings that flourished during this year 2019, particularly the one he was able to make from Avignon to Sète.

“A science that does not lead to the knowledge of God is at best useless, at worst harmful.” By Mohamed M.

We had a very attentive audience that evening… or not.

Presentations of some books published this year by the disciples of the Karkariya, notably The Fruits of Following, Foreword to the Lights, Light According to the Sufi Masters and also the recent English translation of the book In the Service of Destiny: At the service of destiny.

Testimony of Nicolas, recently converted to Islam in the zawiya itself.

The Secrets Behind the Veil, is a book gathering the commentary on certain verses of the Bible and the Qur’an dealing with the divine Light. Written from the point of view of a disciple who was a fervent practising Christian (Catholic and Orthodox).

Mohamed O. seized the occasion of a small pilgrimage (‘umrah) in the company of the Shaykh to compile in a book, as meticulously as possible, the Shaykh’s journey. The Pilgrimage: a Sufi Initiation – An ‘Umrah in the Footsteps of the Waliy will very soon be available from the publishing house Les 7 Lectures.

Other interesting talks:

The witnesses of History, by Sébastien.

The true meaning of the mawlid, by Ismail.

Testimony of a mawlid in emotion.

Photo album

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