“We only became Shaykhs by having read two books”

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
May prayer and peace be upon the noblest of the Messengers, upon his family and upon all his companions.

Gathering of 3 February 2016, in the presence of Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari

As the sun was setting and the glow of twilight filled the sky, Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari was asked for permission to read the Hikam of Sidi Ibn ‘Ata Allah Iskandari, to which Our Shaykh answered:

“Know that the scholars said that if there were no Qur’an, the reading of the Hikam would suffice for Prayer.

After coming out of the khalwa, our shaykh, may Allah take him into His mercy, advised us to read only two books: the Hikam of Imam Ibn ‘Ata Allah Iskandari and the collection of poems of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi. We gave such importance to the words of our shaykh that for our journey we had only three books… the Book of Allah, the collection of poems and the Hikam.

Having no place to withdraw to, we went to our brother’s place of work. At the back of his shop there was a room that could be locked. It was there that for several months, after performing our ablutions and sitting facing the Qibla, we read the Hikam. Not only did we read them, but we noted down the understandings that came to us as we read the wisdoms… And we did not move on to another Hikma until we had applied the wisdom to our own ego. When we read a new wisdom, we did everything to conform to it; sometimes it took several weeks, sometimes a few days… the main thing was to apply them. We remained in this state for weeks on end… to the point that we considered the book of the Hikam as our own Friend, and what a Friend! When we had the fire of love in us, we then read the poems of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi.

So several weeks went by until the day we came upon a Hikma that overwhelmed us and that we would never forget. It was a wisdom explaining the true meaning of putting one’s trust in Allah (tawakkul). And the example given was that of Sayyiduna Ibrahim, when he was catapulted after refusing the help of an angel and entrusting himself entirely to his Lord. A spiritual state then seized us, and at that very moment we emptied our pockets of everything they contained… and went out into the street with the firm intention of knowing and living Tawakkul.

We fasted by day and spent our nights in the cemeteries invoking our Lord… During our first siyaha, which lasted 10 years, if we happened not to find anything to eat we went begging in the streets, but during this second siyaha we asked Allah to feed us and we swore that only what came from Him would enter our mouths. If after the Maghrib prayer we found no food, then to break the fast we licked our fingers and mixed our saliva with the earth beneath our feet before swallowing it. For several days we suffered from hunger and cold. Do not imagine that in our nafs we had no doubts; quite the contrary, we asked ourselves: ‘what could we possibly eat, where could we possibly sleep’… but each time it was towards Our Lord that we turned… We asked Him to provide for our needs. This lasted several months, until the day Allah allowed us to be in such a state that if we happened to desire a dirham, we would find that dirham in front of us on the ground. If we desired bread, we would find the bread right on the ground… Overwhelmed, we implored Allah to explain to us how this was possible… Perhaps the stone was changing into money? Perhaps it was falling from the sky? Allah granted our request. On leaving the ‘asr prayer, opposite the mosque, we saw a merchant counting his banknotes… then, as if by miracle, a banknote came out of the bundle, flew up into the sky and ended up landing right in front of us. We took the banknote to give it back to the merchant. After counting his bundle, he swore to us that not a penny was missing… We swore to him that we had seen this banknote come out of his bundle, to which he replied that it was not so.

After almost a year in this state, we went back to our brother’s shop to reread the Hikam. How naive we were. We thought that when Imam Ibn ‘Ata Allah Iskandari spoke of the mirror of the heart, he was speaking of a real mirror. We told ourselves that if the word mirror had been used, a secret was hidden behind it. So we placed ourselves in front of the mirror and began the dhikr of the Ism al-A‘dham, with the firm intention of disappearing from the Mirror… for hours and days we invoked Allah in front of this mirror until the day we completely disappeared. We no longer had a reflection, and when we looked at our body it was as if it had become invisible. We saw the Wall behind our back, as if we had become an eye without a body. So we told ourselves: if we no longer have a body, then why not enter the mirror? On entering the mirror, we reached understandings that it is impossible for us to express… It started from a misunderstanding, but Allah judged our intention good and granted our request. Understand when I tell you that Allah is good and that His goodness has no Limit. That He is beautiful and that His beauty cannot be contained… How could one not love Him?

After the departure of our Shaykh towards his last abode, we became Shaykh after receiving the permission of our Shaykh, then that of the Prophet in the waking state, then that coming directly from Allah. The first lessons we gave were the exegesis of the poems of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi, then the exegesis of the Hikam of Imam Ibn ‘Ata Allah Iskandari. For nearly two years we explained to the fuqara the meanings of the Hikam. We who understood no book became among those who teach books… We gave such importance to these two books that after finishing the exegesis of the two books, Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi and Imam Ibn ‘Ata Allah Iskandari came in person in the malakut to thank us. Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi then made us visit his zawiya in Mostaganem and showed us how he slaughtered a ram to inaugurate his Zawiya, and that is why we also slaughtered a ram for the inauguration of this Zawiya.

Karamat and unveilings are pleasant to hear, but know that everything we tell you has no other aim than that you realise the importance of taste. Reading a book as one reads the newspaper makes no sense. How many have libraries on Tasawwuf but are incapable of explaining a single sentence of the books they claim to read? Read with your ego and you will draw nothing from the books; read them with your heart and the realities will begin to appear; read them with your soul and you will taste the spiritual meanings; read them with the secrets and you will draw infinite understandings from them. It is through this taste and this love that we stay with you, that we married, that we had children… We became Shaykh only by having read two books.”