ANSWER

Wa Alaykum as-Salam dear brother,

Firstly, the White Cloth is put to honor the Place of Zikr, as it might be dirty. As Sidi Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Tijani of Egypt said about it:

هي رمز للطهارة

“It is a Symbol of Purity”

It is also put to honor the Angels that are present in the Place of Zikr, as confirmed in Hadith. However, the Wazifah is valid without it as well.

The late 19th Century Moroccan Scholar of the Tariqah, Sidi Muhammad bin Abdus-Salam Gannoun (RA) mentioned in his amazing work Hall al-Aqfal li-Qurra Jawharat al-Kamal (which is a detailed explanation of the Jawharah) that Sayyidna Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq (RA) and Sayyidna Uthman bin Affan (RA) used to spread sheets in certain places especially for the Angels that might be present.

Then Sidi Gannoun (RA) – who was also the Imam of the Fez Zawiyah - writes:

إذا كان هذا في حضور الملائكة فكيف مع حضوره صلى الله عليه وسلم بل لو فرش الإنسان حينئذ جبينه أو قلبه أو مقلته لحق له ذلك

 “If this was the case with the Presence of the Angels, then what about the Presence of the Prophet (SAW)! Indeed, if a person spreads his forehead or eyes or heart (for the Prophet SAW), it would only be due (respect for him)”

So understand the Way of the People of Adab!

Secondly, There is no “invocation to the dead”.

Please ponder on your words.

Invocation means, “Praying” or ‘Summoning”. We do not pray to the Prophet (SAW) and the Khulafa or Summon them.

Their presence in the Wazifah is by their choice and is a spiritual matter. There are times when the entire Wazifah is recited but the Prophet (SAW) may not be present himself because of the dirtiness of the place or the dirtiness of the hearts.

Also ponder on your words, “Dead”. This is a secular materialistic way of speaking.

In Islam it is Haram to call the Prophets and Saints “Dead”. You may say that they ‘died’, but you cannot say they are ‘Dead’.

This is because Allah (SAW) clearly states in an Ayah of the Holy Qur’an:

وَلَا تَقُوۡلُوۡا لِمَنْ یُّقْتَلُ فِیۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللہِ اَمْوَاتٌ  بَلْ اَحْیَآءٌ

“And do not call those who are killed in the way of Allah as DEAD. Nay, they are ALIVE”.

Surah al-Baqarah (2): 154

And in another blessed Ayah:

وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِیۡنَ قُتِلُوۡا فِیۡ سَبِیۡلِ اللہِ اَمْوَاتًا بَلْ اَحْیَآءٌ

“And do not think that those who are killed in the way of Allah as DEAD. Nay, they are ALIVE”.

Surah Aal Imran (3):169

However, in the times we live in, people have become so worldly and materialistic that they openly disobey and deny these Verses of the Qur’an.

You see a bearded man standing next to the Blessed Tomb of the Prophet (SAW) telling the Visitors: ‘Why do you visit this dead man’. Astaghfir-Allah!

Indeed such people are the real dead ones.

As for the Prophets and Saints, they are perfectly Alive in the Spiritual World, in which the possibilities are endless.

So be careful of your words my dear brother. Do not get influenced by those who don’t really believe in the Qur’an, although they think they do.

As for reciting the 100 Salat al-Fatih then consulting with the Ruh of Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (RA) for an answer to your problems.

I ask you: Isn’t doing that permissible when the Shaykh was physically ‘alive’?

Of course yes. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in doing it after he dies as well, because he is still alive.

Also remember that it was always his Ruh (Spirit) that we spoke to, even when the Shaykh was physically alive. So the body and its death don’t matter to Spiritual people.

Of course, such a spiritual consultation only works for those people who are spiritually alive and have a strong spiritual connection to our Shaykh (RA).  One cannot advise an ordinary Muslim or non-Tijani to do it, as it is a special practice for special people only.

And of course, whether we consult the Shaykh or anyone else, we are still only worshipping Allah and seeing His Help, as long as we know that nothing can happen without the Power and Permission of Allah.

In the same Surat al-Fatihah, Allah has asked us to follow the Path of those whom He has blessed i.e. the Anbiya and Awliya. So, there is nothing wrong in consulting them.

Was-Salam

Servant of the Tijani Door,

Fakhruddin bin Ahmad al-Tijani