Tidjaniyyah

Doctrines		Tidjanniyah is less strictly ascetic than many other Sufi orders. Members of the order are not required to perform penances or to retreat for periods of isolation. The ritual is much simpler than other Sufi orders. Tidjanniyah lays particular stress on the need for an intercessor between God and humanity. Like Wahabiyyah, Tidjaniyyah is opposed to cults of both living and dead saints. The order stresses quiet dhikr, even when members are congregated together, and condemn holy fairs, which are particularly popular in the Maghrib. Their dhikr consists of the repetition of certain formulas at particular times of the day.
History		Tidjaniiyah was founded in Fez in the 1780s by Ahmad al-Tidjani (d.1815), who previously belonged to the Khalwatiyyah order. He claimed to have had a vision of the Prophet Muhammad, who informed him that he was the "seal of the saints" and taught him litanies for the new order. On the death of the founder in 1815 the order was placed under the nominal authority of his two sons, Muhammad al Kabir and Muhammad al-Saghir. Tidjaniyyah cooperated with the French who were colonising North Africa at that time. In spite of attempts by rival orders to destroy them and the emergence of a secessionist movement called Tadjadjina, Tidjaniyah continued to strengthen, spreading from Morocco into Algeria, French West Africa, French Guinea and the Sudan. Today the order remains widespread throughout North and West Africa. Ahmad al-Tidjani's tomb is treated as a place of visitation.
Symbols		The order does not have a distinctive symbol system.
Adherents		There are no figures indicating the size of the order.
Headquarters/ Main Centre		The order has no headquarters or main centre.