Cheikh Ibrahima Niass
Guide of the Tijaniyya Fayda (1900 – 1975)
Family : Place of birth : Taïba Niassène (Kaolack region) ; Date of birth : 8 November 1900 ; Mother : Sokhna Astou Diankha ; Father : El Hadji Abdoulaye Niass (1840–1922), a scholar, Qur’anic exegete and eminent Tijaniyya figure
Education : He was trained under his father, who wished to preserve the Islamic education of his children. He memorised the Qur’an in the Warsh reading and mastered Islamic law (fiqh), theology, Arabic, poetry, rhetoric and exegesis (tafsir). At 21 he composed Rûh al-Adab, a poem on Sufism and spiritual etiquette; in 1930 he published Kâshif al-Ilbâs, a major doctrinal treatise.
Action : He founded Médina Baye, near Kaolack, which became the centre of his teaching, and spread the Tijaniyya Fayda, a spiritual renewal. His path spread across West Africa, notably in Nigeria. In 1937 he made his first pilgrimage to Mecca and met the Emir of Kano; in 1962 he was elected vice-president of the World Islamic Congress, in Karachi. In 1929–1930 he declared himself the bearer of the Faydha, the spiritual flow announced by the founder of the Tijaniyya.
Spiritual legacy : He was called back to God in London on 26 July 1975; his remains rest at Médina Baye. Millions of followers around the world draw on his teaching today. In 1971 Al-Azhar University granted him the title “Cheikh al-Islam”. His descendants carry on his work, including his first caliph Serigne El Hadji Abdoulaye Ibrahim Niass, and his daughters Sayda Maryama Niass, known for her Qur’anic schools, and Saida Oumoul Khairy Niass.
Sources
- « Shaikh al-Islam Al-Hajj Ibrahim Niasse » (chap. 12 de Le temps des marabouts, Karthala) — Cairn.info
- Thèse (HAL) — Cheikh Ibrahim Niasse (1900-1975) : précurseur de la Tijâniyya au Niger
- Cairn — « Mobilités et soufisme confrérique en Afrique de l’Ouest : la Fayda Tidjaniyya » (Migrations société, 2021)
- Cairn — « La Tidjaniya, une confrérie musulmane transnationale » (Politique étrangère, 2010)
- Wikipédia — Cheikh Ibrahima Niass
- Texte fourni par l’équipe Taariix (source à préciser)