The spiritual testament of Sidi Jamal

By Rédaction soufisme.org · August 15, 2025 · Updated on August 14, 2025 · 11 min read

Contents

Drawn up at the mother zawiya of Madagh on 5 December 2024, this testament of Sidi Jamal officially designates his son Sidi Mounir as heir to the spiritual deposit of the path. The full text follows.

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful

Qadiri Boutchichi Order, Testament and Will.

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful.

And may blessings, O Allah, be upon our Master Muhammad (Peace and Blessings upon him), the penetrating secret and the intrinsic light present in all the Names and Attributes; and grant peace, through the varieties of Thy Perfections in all Thy Manifestations, upon the First of Lights overflowing from the Ocean of the Grandeur of the Essence, realised in the domain of sensory perceptions and invisible dimensions; for he is (Peace and Blessings upon him) the First, the Praiser, the Worshipper through all forms of worship and acts of drawing near, and the one who dispenses sustenance and succour in the world of spirits to all existing entities; and upon his family and his companions: a blessing by which the veil of Thy Noble Face is lifted from us, and by which Thou makest Thyself known to us, and him, in every station. Grant us the subtleties of Thy gentle loving-kindness, O our Lord, by Thy Noble Rank, in all states and manifestations.

Praise be to Allah, who has honoured us generously with a chain of Shaykhs who bore the message of the Call to Allah and transmitted it to us with purity of hearts and clarity of souls.

Counsel to the disciples

My children and grandchildren, the Chorfa, men and women, the disciples of our blessed path:

Perhaps the finest opening of this testament is what sprang eloquently from the tongue of the Muhammadan Presence (peace and blessings upon him), issuing from the lights of the divine realities, and from his Companions, who were mirrors reflecting the purity of the lordly theophanies, those whom Allah chose for the company of the Elect (peace and blessings upon him), making them lamps of guidance in the night of heedlessness and anchors of certainty in the ocean of hesitation. And it is he who said: ‘I enjoin you to hold fast to my Companions, then to those who follow them, then to those who follow them. Cling to the united congregation and beware of division, for Satan is with the one who is alone and he is further from two. Whoever desires the vastness of Paradise, let him adhere to the community. He who rejoices in his good deed and is saddened by his bad deed: such a one is the believer.’ (Authentic, reported by al-Tirmidhi)

It is indeed with divine effusions and lights that we offer you this counsel, seeking thereby to draw blessing from the edifices of the Muhammadan expressions and their meanings, in the service of the station of the Light of the Elect (peace and blessings upon him), which illumines the hearts that journey through the stages of the spiritual path. We ask Allah, Powerful and Majestic, to pour its blessings upon us all, to count us among those who realise its meanings and stand upon His realities, and not to deprive us of His direct divine secrets and His sacred currents.

My children and grandchildren, the Chorfa (men and women), the disciples of our blessed path:

Reflect (may Allah be pleased with you) on the meanings of this counsel with the eye of spiritual clairvoyance, for these are not mere utterances to be recited, but breezes coming from the sacred Presence for those who possess a heart or lend an ear whilst bearing witness. It is a call to walk upon the original Muhammadan way and to cling to the rope of Divine Love; for it contains indications for the people of spiritual Taste who have scaled the degrees of Knowledge, and allusions for those who have travelled the way of annihilation in love until they themselves were transformed into secrets within their being, in fulfilment of His word, exalted be He: ‘And Abraham enjoined it upon his sons, and so did Jacob: O my sons, Allah has indeed chosen the Religion for you: die then only in full submission.’ (Surah al-Baqarah: 131) Act therefore (may Allah be pleased with you) according to its content, and taste its sweetness, for following it is a proof for seekers, a salvation for the perplexed, and a love that sets ablaze souls thirsting for the Truth. Whoever clings to it is well guided towards the celestial Gardens of Proximity, and whoever contemplates it with sincere and true understanding will find himself annihilated in the effusions of the Pure Light, drinking deep draughts from the inexhaustible seas of excellence and beneficence. This testament is from us to our honourable disciples, a testimony we write whilst bearing a great deposit issued from the Presence of the Truth, hoping in Almighty Allah that we may remain faithful to the pact of Allah and of His Messenger, and to the sincere love with which you have adorned us, fulfilling what is incumbent upon us as responsibility before Allah; and this epistle was only issued by a divine authorisation coming from the Radiant Presence, for Allah honoured us with the secret of the Singular Name, a secret among the mysteries of annihilation in God and of existence in His Presence, and He had us proclaim this matter, guiding you towards the way of Truth and Certainty, confident in His promise of victory and strengthening, and in the manifestation of the Truth to the east and west of the Earth.

An unbroken transmission

This testament is the echo of the testament established by the luxuriant tree beneath whose shade we rest (the tree of gathering around the remembrance of Allah), whose roots were firmly planted in the soil of the Qadiri Boutchichi Path by our venerable Shaykhs. For this testament was communicated by unbroken transmission from Sidi Abu Madyan Ibn al-Munawwar to Sidi al-Hajj al-Abbas, then to our master and father Sidi Hamza Ibn al-Abbas, may Allah sanctify all their secrets.

After our father departed to the Company of his Lord, I took upon myself to bear this deposit, which is the message of the call to Allah through state and speech, purity of soul, wisdom in direction and administration, walking in the footsteps and methodology of our predecessors, preserving this spiritual heritage founded upon the Book and the Sunna. Today, therefore, we strengthen this message: the message of loving-kindness towards people in order to bring them closer to Allah in a manner that fills hearts with serenity. And praise be to Allah, today we see our Qadiri Boutchichi zawiya, and its reputation spreading throughout the inhabited globe, its radiance extending, and its numbers as well as its spiritual influx increasing day after day. Thus it grows considerably in knowledge and in the spreading of its call, reaching hearts thirsting for guidance. The continuity of this blessed Path is the best proof of what its Shaykhs established from generation to generation: a golden chain, unbroken in its transmission to the Messenger of Allah.

The transmission to Sidi Mounir

This is the allegiance we renew today with the glad tidings given us by the people of Allah. My children and grandchildren, the Chorfa (men and women), the disciples of our blessed path: and in my turn, I announce to you today that this secret, which was granted me and which has been firmly established in my heart, is the same secret granted and established in the heart of my son, the good news announced by the knowers of Allah, Sidi Mounir.

It is a continuous, unbroken secret; and as my father told me before the passing of my grandfather, Sidi al-Hajj al-Abbas (may Allah sanctify their secrets), when he handed me his testament, telling me in Moroccan dialect: ‘What I have is with you.’ Today, before all those present, I say, I attest and counsel you, repeating the same sentence: ‘What I have is with my son Mounir.’ It is a great deposit that he bears after me, with sincerity and devotion. Allah, the Most High, says: ‘Allah knows best where He places His Message.’ (Surah al-An’am: 125)

O Allah, I take Thee to witness, together with Thy angels, Thy messengers, Thy prophets and Thy saints, that I have fulfilled the deposit, transmitted Thy order and entrusted this secret, after me, to my virtuous son, Moulay Mounir. For he is a shining moon in the sky of the Path, the good news of his forebears (the pious friends of Allah) and a lamp by which seekers are guided on the ways of light. He is a light of the Light of Truth, marked by perfect purity, absolute sincerity and complete truthfulness. He is a guide for hearts journeying on the path, one who gathers together the science of the Sharia and the reality of divine Knowledge, firm in his quest for Allah, heir to the secret entrusted to this Path. May Allah illumine his heart with guidance and firmness, protect him from all evil and all harm, and be for him a Helper and a Guardian, so that he may be a victorious champion of the Truth, a support for his brothers, a pillar for all relatives and Chorfa, a benevolent gaze upon those on the road towards Allah, and a key of goodness, benefit and transforming rectitude. So accept him and surround him, be for him and not against him, strengthen him and support him, and be his guardian and protector in this world and the next, O Lord of the worlds, O Most Merciful of the merciful.

By the permission and power of Allah, this divine secret, with its sound and robust chain, shall remain in this house until He inherits the earth and all that is upon it, by His will and His decree. Allah says in Surah al-Jumu’ah, verse 4: ‘Such is the Grace of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills. And Allah is the Possessor of an immense Grace.’ Allah the Most High has spoken true.

Final recommendations

My children and grandchildren, the Chorfa (men and women), the disciples of our blessed path: here is our testament for you all: hasten to renew allegiance to our sole heir and authorised guide, and strengthen the bond of ihsan (excellence) between your hearts and Moulay Mounir, in veneration of his firm bond, built upon the word of tawhid (unity), which raises you to the station of complete annihilation in God and continuous union with Him. This bond is the tie uniting creation to the Lord, and it helps one travel the ways of inner beauty, leading to the mystery of divine proximity.

Cleave to him, may Allah be pleased with you, and be a support, a help and a protector for him. Unite, revive the bonds of brotherhood and make Sidi Mounir the centre of your unified ranks. Be lamps of guidance and torches of divine knowledge, spreading the Light of truth and the wisdom of the Path into every corner of the earth and into people’s hearts, just as our predecessors were sources of light and beneficence. Be active in all that springs from your hearts, bearing the fruit of love and fortifying the bond of faith. You must observe the bonds of allegiance that bind you to the Commander of the Faithful, for obedience to the sovereign represents a fundamental pillar in the wayfaring towards God and is among the duties you must assume in truth and conscience. Venerating the pact with the Commander of the Faithful is a secret hidden in the hearts of the pious, contributing to the stability of the Nation and its firmness on the path of guidance and excellent works. We call upon you to be sincere in this pact until the day of judgement.

Whoever acts according to this testament, respects the pact and adheres to it has secured his safety whilst remaining faithful to the commitment; and the pact of lovers has neither end nor interruption. Whoever breaks it and opposes it, Allah is sufficient for him, and the Path is quit of him. He is the best Master and the best Protector. Allah says: ‘Whoever breaks his pledge breaks it only to his own detriment. And whoever remains faithful to what he has covenanted with Allah, He will give him an immense reward.’ (Surah al-Fath: 10)

Finally, I counsel you to obey what the Truth, the Exalted, commands: ‘And hold fast, all of you together, to the cord of Allah, and do not divide.’ (Surah Al ’Imran: 103). Allah the Most High has spoken true.

Drawn up at the mother zawiya of Madagh, on Thursday 3 Jumada al-Akhira 1446 of the Hijra, corresponding to 5 December 2024. Signed: Moulay Jamaleddin al-Qadiri al-Boutchichi, Shaykh of the Qadiri Boutchichi Path, may Allah grant him His grace.