Cheikh Ibrahima Fall
Mame Cheikh Ibra, founder of the Baye Fall (1858 – 1930)
Family : Place of birth : Ndiaby Fall (Cayor) ; Date of birth : 1858 (around 1855 according to other sources) ; Mother : Mame Seynabou Ndiaye ; Father : Modou Rokhaya Fall (Amadou Fall), a scholar of Islam
Education : He learned and memorised the Qur’an at his father’s school, then attended other masters of his time: theology (tawhid), jurisprudence (fiqh), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), grammar and rhetoric. His spiritual quest culminated in his meeting with Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, to whom he pledged his allegiance.
Action : A disciple of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, he placed himself at his service. He is the origin of the Baye Fall movement, founded on sincere attachment to work as an act of faith. He made productive work an act of worship (“Ligeey ci jaamu Yàlla”).
Spiritual legacy : He was called back to God in 1930. The Magal of Mame Cheikh Ibrahima Fall, long held in Thiès, now takes place in Touba, in the Baye Fall district. Several of his sons succeeded him as caliphs of the Baye Fall, starting with Serigne Modou Moustapha Fall; he is also the father of Serigne Fallou Fall.
Sources
- Persée — Vincent Monteil, « Une confrérie musulmane, les Mourides du Sénégal » (Archives de sociologie des religions, 1962)
- OpenEdition — « Histoire d’une stigmatisation paradoxale… Les Baay Faal du Sénégal » (Cahiers d’études africaines, 2008)
- OpenEdition — Ch. Pézeril, Islam, mysticisme et marginalité : les Baay Faal du Sénégal (compte rendu)
- Cairn — « Devenir baay-fall pour être soi » (Politique africaine, 2004)
- Wikipédia — Cheikh Ibrahima Fall
- Texte fourni par l’équipe Taariix (source à préciser)