Email Page to a Friend   Print This Page

Home > Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba >

A little we know about Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba

Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba is one of the most eminent Islamic figures of the nineteenth century. He was born in the year 1271 Hijra is in 1853 according to the Christian era. He is the son of Muhammad, son of Habiballah, son of Muhammad Al Khayr. His Father was a well-known jurisconsult and a very respected man.
With respect to his mother Mariam Bousso, she was called Diaratoullah (the one near God) because of her great piety, her chastity and her fidelity.

According to documented sources (oral as well as written), he has mastered a great number of Islamic works in Theology, Mysticism (meta-physical thought), Jurisprudence (Islamic law), Sira (history), Nahu (grammar), and prayers at an early age.

As such, it's been reported from his comments: "My Lord has shortened my spiritual path unwearyingly thereby protecting me without using the sword but in beauty" [Midadi or Service to Islam and Suna of the Prophet (SAW)].

In 1883, (1301 Hijra), he founded Muridiya or the way of imitation of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The word "Murid" is derived from the word "irada" which means, "will". It also expresses the constant will to detach oneself from earthly possession in order to be totally devoted to God.

He demarked himself from the temporal power of kings and princes by saying "How can I leave my belongings in the hands of those who are as incapable as the poor in handling their problems "(Nuniya or Gratefulness to Allah).

The passing of his father marked a decisive watershed in his life, his relationship with his disciples, society, and ruling families. He could finally devoted himself openly to what his Lord had ever inspired him, that is an ascetic, disinterested life based on principles of sharia in order to worship sincerely and exclusively the Master of the world and to serve the cause of Islam, the cause of his beloved: the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

After the birth of Muridiya, crowds started to flock around him therefore he left the city of Mbacke (land of his ancestors) and found in 1886 the village of Daru Salam (city of peace) in the north of Mbacke.

With a daily increase of followers, the Sheikh moved further north by founding the city of Touba (city of lights) in 1887.
The French colonizers proved to be very resentful towards the Sheikh because the citizens, who had chosen to be murids, no longer acknowledged their authority and dedicated themselves body and soul to the manifestly divine mission of the Sheikh whose ideal outshone their colonial appetite. The Sheikh was accused by those colonizers of setting an army and getting ready to go on war against them, but his answer was very straightforward: "If you accuse me of waging a holy war, I declare you right. I do it to please Allah. I do it by means of science and reverential fear: the Lord by excellence is my witness" (Oral tradition).

On September 5, 1895, the Sheikh was brought before the private council, animated by such courage that only a man of God could be capable of showing. In fact, he dared spread out his mat and prayed two rakas before the Governor and his near collaborators to exalt the Majesty and glory of the Master of the Worlds, only Holder of power, whose sole authority did he recognize. Those two rakas are today the object of an annual commemoration on the part of the Murid community in St. Louis. Following a mock trial, the council took the decision to exile him in Gabon, Central Africa, in the rainforest (where no one could survive a day due to the inhospitable conditions of the rainforest). Popular opinion tends to suggest that their intention was bent on isolating and eliminating eventually this noble man. In addition he was in the process of completing Muqadimat Al Khidma (Prelude to Service), a book bent on empowering his followers in service of Allah (though sending blessings upon the Prophet).

He left Senegal on September 20, 1895 and did not return until November 11, 1902 (a period of seven years) during which time the French colonizers did whatever they could to eliminate him, but they were not successful in their mission. The Sheikh was returned to Senegal and exiled again on June 3, 1903 to Mauritania (a country well known at the time for having great masters and scholars) with the goal of toning down the prestige of the Sheikh and consequently the fervor of the masses, which flocked around him.

The whole of Mauritania rejoiced at the presence of the Sheikh. His arrival in Mauritania drastically changed the set trend. Those whose popularity was supposed to eclipse that of the Sheikh threw themselves at his feet and offered him the best of hospitality, glorifying the Lord All Mighty for having sent the pole of their time and heir of Muhammad (SAW).

The Sheikh Sidiya Baba has said this about him: "Sheikh Ahmadu Bamba is a blessing that God, Master of all creatures, has bestowed on us" (Sheikh Sidiya in Diwany Shuara). The Sheikh returned to Senegal on April 4, 1907 and was sent to Thieyene (a village north of Louga far from his disciples). He was moved to Diourbel on January 16, 1012 under house arrest until his passing on July 19, 1927.

By Allah's grace and the intervention of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba lived thirty-three years in the hands of the French colonizers without forsaking for one sole moment his engagement towards God, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his fellow creatures.

Allah has elevated him to sublime heights that forcibly demanded respect and gratefulness even on the part of his enemies. Antoine J. Lasselit administrator of the circle of Diourbel (city where the Sheikh spent the last 15 years of his life), who was very arrogant with the Sheikh ended up by finally recording in one of his reports to the Governor of St Louis (former capital of Senegal) "This Sheikh holds certainly an innate power, the source of which can't be grasped by reason, nor can the later explain its capacity to extract sympathy. "(Bamba against the colonizers).

Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba inaugurated a new era in the history of Islam and of the black man. He is the first spiritual black guide massively followed by people from all over the world, thus showing that all men are issued from the same soul and excel each other only in terms of reverential fear manifested towards their Creator.

He led an existence conform to the Qu'ran and Sunna (prophetic tradition) to revivify Islam, reform the society, give back to man the tools for his salvation in the world and the hereafter.

He talked, wrote, put into practice some basic Islamic models of societal and individual development that had some profound effects on life in Senegal. In this effort to accomplish this noble task, his example for such an attainment was based upon the noble and exemplary model of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). His reform represented a transformation of his society in its most comprehensive modes, as such: he represents a model of leadership that is unique in the annals of West African Islamic leadership.

Cheikh Seye
Secretary General of Murid Islamic Community in America