Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ibn al-Mukhtar ash-Shinqithi (q.s.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is a biography of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ibn al-Mukhtar ash-Shinqithi (q.s.), by Ustadz Zakariya Zachary Wright. 

Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) is credited with first introducing the Thariqa’ Tijaniyyah in Mauritania, whereby it was introduced into sub-Saharan West Africa.  He became the pre-eminent muqaddam of the Tijaniyyah in Mauritania after spending years in the company of Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad at-Tijani (q.s.) in Fas.  Besides his mastery of Sufism, he was a jurist and hadits scholar of great renown. 

Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) hailed from the noble Idaw ‘Ali people in Mauritania, who trace descent from Shaykh Muhammad ibn Hanafiyyah (r.a.), a son of Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib (k.w.).  His father, Shaykh Mukhtar ibn Habib (r.a.) was also a Islamic scholar, and particularly distinguished for his mastery of the art of calligraphy.  His grandfather on his mother’s side, Qadhi Muhammad al-‘Alawi (r.a.), was the chief qadhi among the important Trarza region of Mauritania in the mid-1700s.  Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) was not the only scholar among his siblings, and two brothers, Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id (r.a.) and Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin (r.a.) were also famous scholars.  The same was true of his brother-in-law, Shaykh Muhamdi ibn ‘Abdullah al-‘Alawi (r.a.), known as “Baddi,” who authored the most complete biography of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.), Nuzhat al-Mustam’ wa al-Lafiz fi Manaqib ash-Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh. 

Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) began his Islamic education with the Qur’an, and memorised the entire Book by the age of seven.  Following the death of his grandfather, he continued his studies in fiqh, jurisprudence, with his grandmother – herself a learned scholar who taught him al-Khulaswat al-Alfiyyah of Shaykh Jamal ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Malik ath-Tha’i al-Jayyani (r.a.), ar-Risalah al-Fiqhiyyah of Shaykh Abu Muhammad ‘Abdullah ibn Abu Zayd ‘Abd ar-Rahman an-Nafzawi (r.a.), and Mukhtaswar al-Khalil of Shaykh Khalil ibn Ishaq al-Jundi (r.a.).  After the death of his grandmother, he travelled to study nahw, grammar, among other sciences with the learned faqih, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmaddan (r.a.).  Shaykh Ahmaddan (r.a.) was also a shaykh of the Shadziliyyah Naswiriyyah, but there is no evidence that Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) took the Shadzili wird at this time.  He next studied the Qur’anic sciences; manthiq, logic; and ‘aqidah, theology, with Shaykh Hurma ibn ‘Abd al-Jalil (r.a.), and then completed his study of fiqh, jurisprudence, with Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Mahham (r.a.).  Continuing in the tradition of a travelling student in search of sacred knowledge, he next went to study with Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ibrahim (r.a.), a celebrated scholar in Mauritania who had studied in Fas, and who had become a friend of the Moroccan Sultan, Mawlay Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah (r.a.).  Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) spent six years with Shaykh ‘Abdullah (r.a.), studying ahadits, Prophetic traditions; uswul al-fiqh, legal principles; and ‘ilm al-bayan, rhetoric.  He also married his teacher’s daughter.  The companions of Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) in Fas remarked that even after his submission to Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.), Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) maintained the utmost respect for his previous teachers; and for Shaykh ‘Abdullah (r.a.) in particular. 

Indeed, it was following Shaykh ‘Abdullah’s (r.a.) example that Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) embarked on his journey seeking knowledge in Fas.  But there was also a more immediate reason for his journey to Fas.  Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) had made persistent supplication while performing haj to be united with a perfected spiritual master.  As he was circumambulating the Holy House in Makkah, an unknown man approached him to tell him that Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) was to be his spiritual master.  After learning the identity of this mysterious shaykh from a group of Moroccan pilgrims, Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) travelled to Fas to meet him.  He spent four years with Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) in Fas, from 1800-1804/5.  The ijazah he received, still preserved among his descendents in Mauritania, was dictated by Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) and written in the hand of Shaykh Muhammad al-Mishry ibn ‘Abdullah al-‘Alawi at-Tijani (r.a.), the close companion of Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.), and author of Kitab al-Jami’. 

Before leaving to return home, Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) advised him, “Do not seek to appear until Allah Makes you appear.”  For the first year after his return, Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) thus practiced the thariqa’ with great discretion as he taught the Islamic sciences, neither informing others of the thariqa’ nor of his appointment as muqaddam.  Then, he received a surprise visit from an ascetic famous for his visionary encounters with Khidhr (a.s.), the mystical instructor of Moses (a.s.) as Mentioned in the Qur’an.  The ascetic told him to give him the wird he was hiding.  With this sign, Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) began to speak openly of the Thariqa’ Tijaniyyah even as he continued teaching the classical Islamic sciences.  His teachings attracted a great many students and, besides his credentials as a Sufi shaykh, he particularly renowned as a distinguished scholar of ahadits, possessing a highly desirable isnad, chain, of transmission through Imam Swalih ibn Muhammad al-Fulani (r.a.) in Madina.  He wrote a commentary on the Alfiyyah, discussing the rules of ahadits transmission.  He was also known for his teaching of jurisprudence and grammar.  His instruction in taswawwuf emphasised the al-Hikam of Shaykh Taj ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari (r.a.), in addition to Tijani sources.  Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) discouraged conflict between Sufi orders and advised his disciples not to disrespect the followers of other Sufi paths, saying “Do not ask him who follows another Sufi order to abandon his litany and do not seek to dampen his enthusiasm for it.  Tell him instead that all the litanies are paths that lead to Allah.”  Following the advice of Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.), Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi’s (q.s.) own Sufi instruction differed from existing Sufi practice in Mauritania by its absence of khalwah and a deemphasis of talismanic sciences. 

Through Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.), the Idaw ‘Ali quickly became the principal propagators of the Tijaniyyah in West Africa.  The Hafizhiyyah tradition was marked by many great scholars after the passing of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.).  The book of Imam ‘Ubaydah ibn Muhammad as-Saghir at-Tashit (r.a.), Mizab ar-Rahmah ar-Rabbaniyyah fi at-Tarbiyyah bi ath-Thariqa’ at-Tijaniyyah, is considered a masterful synthesis of the Tijani legacy left by Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.).  It described the essence of the thariqa’ as shukr, gratitude, to Allah (s.w.t.), and details a methodology of tarbiyyah, spiritual training, through the three stages of Islam; iman, and ihsan. 

The most famous disciple of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.) was Shaykh Muhammad Mawlud ibn Ahmad Fal al-Musawi al-Ya’qubi (r.a.), who is credited with the expansion of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi’s (q.s.) teachings outside the Idaw ‘Ali.  Shaykh Mawlud Fal (r.a.) was from the ‘Id-Ayqub, a people of Mauritania famous for their expertise in jurisprudence.  He became a close disciple of Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.), and eventually married his sister.  He left for Fas in 1815, hoping to meet Shaykh Ahmad at-Tijani (q.s.) in person, but arrived just after his passing.  The Tijani notables of Fas nonetheless renewed his ijazah originally given him by Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.).  He studied closely with the son of Shaykh Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Isma’il al-Harazim (r.a.), who instructed him in the practice of khalwah and other supererogatory litanies not transmitted to him by Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafizh ash-Shinqithi (q.s.).  After his study in Fas, Shaykh Mawlud Fal (r.a.) traveled widely throughout West Africa.  During his travels, he appointed many teachers, who themselves helped spread the thariqa’ all over Africa.  Thus, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Ahmad an-Naqil (r.a.), the first shaykh of Shaykh ‘Umar ibn Sa’id al-Futi Thal (r.a.) became one of his important muqaddamat in Futa Jallun; Mudibu Ahmad Raji (r.a.) received an ijazah from Shaykh Mawlud Fal (r.a.) to spread the thariqa’ in Northern Nigeria; and Shaykh Wad Dulayb (r.a.) spread the thariqa’ in the Sudan under the silsilah of Shaykh Mawlud Fal (r.a.). 

The Hafizhiyyah branch of the Tijaniyyah also played an important role in securing support for the jihad of Shaykh ‘Umar al-Futi Thal (r.a.) among the Moroccan Tijani scholars.  Shaykh ‘Umar al-Futi Thal (r.a.) kept in close contact with the Hafizhiyyah zawiyah in Mauritania, even after his training with Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abu Thalib al-Ghali ash-Sharif (r.a.).  Once, when the Sokoto Sultan Muhammad Billu, requested permission from him for the prayer, hizb al-bahr and the book, Jawahir al-Khamsa, Shaykh ‘Umar al-Futi Thal (r.a.) responded that he himself could not give such permission, but that he would request it from the Hafizhiyyah zawiyah in Mauritania.  To this end, Shaykh ‘Umar al-Futi Thal (r.a.) sent his elder brother, Alfa Ahmad, who had his own ijazah renewed by the Hafizhiyyah zawiyah. 

Even in the twentieth century, the Hafizhiyyah tradition played a large role in shaping the careers of Tijani scholars.  One of Imam Malik Sy’s (r.a.) most important initiations into the thariqa’ was through the son of Shaykh Mawlud Fal (r.a.), known as al-Shaykh.  Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi (q.s.), a renowned representative of the Hafizhiyyah tradition, who had been seeking the spiritual flood, faydhah, of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (q.s.) for many years before recognising it in the person of Shaykh Ibrahim Niyas (q.s.).