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Siyaha Lille–Avignon & 9 conversions
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
و الصلاة و السلام على أشرف المرسلين
و على اله و اصحابه أجمعين
Lille–Avignon siyaha &
9 conversions.
During their last stay at the zawiya in Morocco, Sidi Mohamed, Sidi Mourad and Sidi ‘Ali Issa formed the plan of making, the three of them, like the triangle of the basmala, a siyaha in France. The choice of route fell, because of its very strong symbolic charge, on the Rhône Valley, and more precisely the Valence–Avignon route, following the bed of the river Rhône along the north–south axis. In his famous work “The Niche of Lights”, Imam al-Ghazali describes the heart as the valley of knowledge in the middle of which flows the water of esoteric knowledge, symbolised by the river Rhône, which vertically separates the heart in two in the shape of the Alif, at the centre of which our Shaykh, Sidi Mohamed Faouzi Al-Karkari, places the Light when taking the bay‘a (the pledge).
This siyaha properly speaking symbolises the murid’s journey towards his Lord, exalted be He, the material stripping and the progressive agony of the nafs (ego), necessary to attain its ultimate goal: its realisation and total extinction (fana) in Allah. Many signs will light the way throughout this journey.
THE ROUTE
Sidi ‘Ali Issa wrote a summary for each day of the wandering.
DAY D: 22 May 2016
We (Sidi Mohamed and Sidi Ali Issa) arrived in Valence at 1 p.m. After a quick stroll through town, Sidi Mourad joined us at 2:30 p.m. We headed for the Parc Jouvet, where we took a few photographs of the place, then crossed the Pont Frédéric Mistral under violent gusts of Mistral and reached the right bank of the Rhône. Our Siyaha could finally begin. We followed the tracks bordering the Rhône between the massif of the Ardèche plateaus and the foothills of the Alps. There we came across the carcass of a snake (a grass snake, perhaps a sign of the agony of our nafs) and reached the Charmes dam, a few hundred metres downstream of which we camped, in the rain.
DAY D + 1: 23 May 2016
Our first night under the tent was, to say the least, a wet one, and we continued our journey along the right bank of the Rhône. We stopped for lunch in the town of La Voulte-sur-Rhône and took the viaduct that spans the Rhône to follow the left bank, where we crossed the Printegarde nature reserve. On our right we could make out the imposing and ominous Vercors massif, dressed in dark tints. The sun was out all day, with a few cloudy spells nonetheless, in a magnificent green setting. We stopped at the commune of Le Pouzin on the left bank of the Rhône, beside the side canal below the flood-protection dykes. The site is particularly pleasant, in the midst of nature, far from any trace of civilisation, from any noise, smell or visual pollution. The completely clear sky offered us the spectacle of an immense celestial vault studded with stars each brighter than the last, under which we rendered our obligations to our Lord Allah, exalted be He.
Finally, we allowed ourselves a campfire and a hot meal, the reward for the day’s efforts but also ammunition for the days to come.
DAY D + 2: 24 May 2016
We resumed our way after coffee in the direction of Montélimar. We left the banks of the Rhône at the level of the Baix/Le-Logis-Neuf hydroelectric plant to follow the mythical Route Nationale 7 (ancestor of the A7 motorway), the “Route du Soleil”. Before entering Montélimar, a motorist told us that our “fourth” companion was following us… For the record, there are only three of us taking part in this Siyaha; understand who can. But Allah alone knows best. We finally reached Montélimar, capital of nougat, at the end of the afternoon, and after restocking we crossed the Old Town and decided to pitch our camp in a wood near the banks of the river, not without having seen before nightfall the mark of Sayyiduna Ali in the sky in the form of a cloud drawing very distinctly his name in Arabic letters.
DAY D + 3: 25 May 2016
The next morning, we left Montélimar for Viviers by taking the Via Rhôna, a pedestrian and cycle track specially laid out, to reach our first stage of the day, Viviers, capital of the Vivarais in the southern part of the Ardèche, taking the magnificent viaduct overlooking the Rhône. Then after a restorative break we reached Bourg-Saint-Andéol.
DAY D + 4: 26 May 2016
Our journey of the day was bound for the town of Pont-Saint-Esprit, which we reached this time partly by the Via Rhôna and partly by the departmental road, up to the old bridge built in 1265 that spans the Rhône to reach this charming little medieval town on the right bank of the river. Still in a symbolic approach, we performed the prayer on the Bridge in the middle of the bed of the Rhône. For those fond of symbolism, a visit to the religious monuments of this town reveals many esoteric Christian symbols for those who know how to observe.
DAY D + 5: 27 May 2016
After a restorative night spent on the right bank of the Rhône, and thanks to the hospitality of the local residents, who were extremely kind in supplying us with water, we took the direction of Avignon, the last stage of our route, which we reached in the afternoon. As soon as we arrived, we felt the effects of the fatigue of the previous days of walking and hurried to find a camp for the evening. This last stage would prove rich in encounters and events…
DAY D + 6: 28 May 2016
Our siyaha was now over with our arrival in Avignon the day before. Before taking the road back to our respective homes in the evening, we decided to devote our day to da‘wa as we visited this very pretty historic and spiritual city, former capital of the Popes installed here in the palace built by Philip the Fair, King of France, whose gardens overlook the Rhône valley and the Avignon countryside. A group of tourists in particular congratulated us for the Light we bring to the Place du Palais des Papes. Finally, we met a young humanitarian volunteer who expressed the wish to pronounce the shahada and chose the first name Badr. Several others followed until our departure.
In conclusion, we hope our adventure has also given you the wish to try this wonderful means of journeying and of drawing near to our Lord that is the siyaha.
If we had to give you some advice: do not burden yourselves with the superfluous, choose a good pair of walking shoes and, if possible, a pair of khuffayn (an excellent way to avoid blisters) and a good walking stick (Alif). And above all, entrust yourselves to your Lord, Allah, exalted be He. For our part, we will not fail to tell you the rest of our adventure, which should resume where it stopped, towards other destinations still further south, insha Allah…
THE LORD’S SIGNS
The siyaha is a particular, unique act of worship, in which the disciple progressively entrusts himself completely to his Lord, to the point of doing without any cause, accepting only the help of Allah, exalted be He, in the image of Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) when he was thrown into the fire. As in a permanent dialogue with his Creator, the disciple takes everything he sees and hears (words, actions…) as a sign from Allah, exalted be He.
From the very first day the fuqara came across a dead snake on the road, a manifestation of the agony of the nafs, the very aim of this wandering. In the following days the fuqara would observe other dead animals on the way (a polecat, a cat), each manifesting a degree of the nafs.
Our Shaykh, Sidi Mohamed Faouzi Al-Karkari (may Allah sanctify his secret), often tells us that the Saints of the past always equated animals with a degree of the nafs (notably Sidi Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased with him). Thus a domestic animal evokes that the traveller’s nafs is in a process of education, and conversely, a wild animal indicates a nafs that rebels.
When the signs do not come from fauna, they come from nature and its flora, with the appearance of the name “Muhammad” ﷺ and “‘Ali” (may Allah be pleased with him) in Arabic, clearly in the sky, or the word “Lahu” appearing on the trees, on the greenery and on a stone they were able to pick up. “Lahu” from the verse “To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth” [57:2].
And finally there remains a major sign worth mentioning and sharing: while the fuqara were talking with police officers, a woman in a car stopped beside them to warn them that their 4th companion was further behind, dressed in the same garment (that is, a muraqqa‘a). The fuqara replied that there were only 3 of them and that it was possibly Sidi Mourad, who had fallen a little behind. The lady insisted and was certain that a 4th, dressed in the same garment, was behind them and that they should wait.
The group did not have the reflex to ask for a physical description, and went back on the road, surprised and astonished. Nevertheless we know that in the Qur’an, the 4th of the 3 is a dog, as mentioned in Surat al-Kahf (the Cave).
CONVERSION TO ISLAM
On their arrival in Avignon, while waiting for the transport back, the fuqara were approached by tourists and by people of Avignon who, intrigued by the patched garment, began to ask questions. Praise be to Allah, these conversations led 9 people to pronounce the shahada (profession of faith).
Among them, Loïc, 21, a humanitarian volunteer, greatly admired the patched garment, the explanations given about the Muhammadan Light, and this wandering. The disciples of the Tariqa offered him to embrace our beautiful religion, which Loïc accepted, and he pronounced the shahada 3 times. At his request, a first name was suggested to him, that of “Muhammad”, which he declined out of embarrassment and fear of dishonouring this blessed name of our Prophet ﷺ. He nevertheless accepted the name “Badr” after hearing the meaning linked to it, namely the battle of Badr and of course the full moon, symbol of spiritual vision in the Karkariya path.
Moreover, Sidi Badr opened the door of Islam to 4 of his friends (also humanitarian volunteers), who in turn pronounced the shahada. One should also note the conversion of our now German brother, Fritz, who, after a few questions about existence, took the step towards Islam.
Not to stop so well along the way, the trio offered every non-Muslim they spoke with the chance to pronounce the shahada, which no one, glory to Allah the Most High, refused.
In the end, 9 people entered Islam on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 May 2016, the last days of the siyaha.