[Desert-Sheikh]

Those who were enchanted by it (Mauritania) describe its inhabitants as people who live as close as possible to the time of the earliest generation of Muslims and consciously choose to do so. Even more entrancing is their description of Murabit al Hajj – a distinguished Mauritanian Aalim and stalwart of the traditional learning methodology, who is still active in disseminating knowledge despite his advanced age. Based on observations of his character, methodology and ways, some scholars have even said that if there were a companion of Muhammed Sallallahu Alieh Wassalam still alive today, it would have been him.



The village, known as Tuwamarat, where Sheikh Murabit al Hajj is based, lies in a mountain state which most Mauritanians themselves are unfamiliar with. There are no phones in the village, and when a car is in the vicinity, it is said that its sound is heard long before it arrives.

Such isolation may seem extreme – even punishing to people from the West who have grown accustomed to the luxuries of life. But Imam Afroz has no regrets: “Living itself is not easy, it is physically tough on yourself, but at the same time it is that toughness that actually makes you humble. It also makes you think twice about your life. When I came out of there, I transformed my ability to look and think about what is around me. Without that experience I would have a very theoretical and third-person experience of what living Islam is all about.”

The Ulama of Mauritania are famed for their expertise in the Fiqh of the Maliki Math-hab. Amongst the renowned students of Sheikh Murabit al Hajj and graduates of the Mauritanian traditional learning system is Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, orator and founder of the Zaytuna Institute, currently based in California. Continue reading the full article 'Unlocking the Secrets of Islam in Dusty Mauritania'.

[Desert-Sheikh]

A day in the life of Shaykh Murabit al Hajj (God Preserve Him )

This is narrated by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf:

During the blessed time that I was fortunate to have lived with him in his own tent, I observed his daily routine: He would usually awake at about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning and begin the Tahajjud or night prayers. He would often recite for a few hours, and I heard him repeat verses over and over again and weep. Just before dawn, he would sit outside his tent and recite Qur’an, and then when the first light of dawn was discernible, he would walk to the open-air mosque and call the adhan. He would then pray his nafilah and wait for a short period and then call the iqamah. During that time, I never saw anyone else lead the prayer, and he would almost always recite from the last 60th of the Qur’an as is the Sunnah for a congressional Imam to do so according to Imam Malik.



After the sun rose and reached the level of a spear above the horizon, he would pray the sunrise rak’ahs and then return to his tent where he would have some milk brought fresh from a cow. He would then teach until about 11:00 in the morning and nap for a short while. After that, students would start coming again, and he would continue to teach until about 1:00pm at which time he would measure his shadow for the time of the midday prayer. He would then call the adhan at the time his shadow reached an arm’s length past the post meridian time as is the Maliki position on the midday prayer, if performed in congregation, to allow for others to come from their work after the heat dissipates. He would always pray four rakahs before and after the midday prayer and then return to his tent where he would teach until afternoon. He would usually have a small amount of rice and yogurt drink that is common in West Africa. Then, he would measure his shadow for the afternoon prayer, and when he ascertained its time, he would proceed to the mosque and call the adhan.

After Asr, Murabit al-Hajj would return to his tent and usually resume teaching and sometimes listen to students recite their Qur’an lessons from memory and he would correct their mistakes. During any lulls in his teaching, anyone in his presence could hear him say with almost every breath, “La ilaha illa Allah,” or he would recite Qur’an. At sunset, he would go and call the adhan, pray Maghrib, and then sit in the mihrab and recite his wird until the time of the night prayer. He would call the adhan, lead the pray and return to his tent. He would usually have some milk and a little couscous and then listen to students recite Qur’an or read Qur’an by himself. At around 9:00 pm whe would admonish himself with lines of poetry form Imam Shafi’s Diwan and other well-known poets. He would often remember death with certain line that he repeated over and over again, especially the following that I heard him many times:

O my Lord, when that which there is repelling alights upon me,

And I find myself leaving this adobe

And become Your guest in a dark and lonely place,

Then make the host’s meal for his guest the removal of my wrongs.

A guest is always honored at the hands of a generous host,

And You are the Generous, the Creator, the Originiator.

Surely kings, as a way of displaying their magnanimity

Free their servants who have grown old in their service.

And I have grown old in Your service,

So free my soul from the Fire

Continue reading the full article 'A day in the life of Shaykh Murabit al Hajj (God Preserve Him )'

[Desert-Sheikh]

A rare footage of Shaykh Murabit al Hajj walking, supported by people. May Allah preserve him, Ameen

[Desert-Sheikh]

Shaykh Murabit al Hajj and Tarawih:

I heard this brief story a while back from Sh. Muhammad Mahdi al-Shinqiti. Although he has never met Sh. Murabit al-Hajj, he mentions that he knows of him due to the immense respect that he commands in scholarly circles in Mauritania, and also because of his fellow Mauritanian colleagues/friends who spent time studying with him. (One of his friends who is an Imam in Sharjah came to visit him, he spent 5 years in Sh. Murabits school, when I asked about Sh. Hamza he replied that Sh. Hamza had left the school by the time he got the opportunity to study there)

Yesterday when I went to see Sh. Muhammad Mahdi regarding the start of Ramadan our conversation turned to the Tarawih prayer. He mentioned again what he had heard from reliable sources, namely that Sh. Murabit finds it difficult to walk and recently in a previous Ramadan everyday he would be supported by people and taken to the masjid. He would be placed in the prayer niche (mihrab) to lead, Sh. Murabit would then ask about where they had reached in the Quran and then would start the Tarawih prayer whilst miraculously being able to stand and lead the prayer. Sh. Muhammad Mahdi mentioned that as soon as the Tarawih prayer finished he would not be able to walk again.

Posted by azizq, on another thread.

[sunniskeptic]

subhan Allah!
Truly he is a Man of Allah...reading about him has always reminded me of stories of the famous awliya of yore...

He is a true example to 99% of our celebrity pirs/ulema of what a real holy person is like...

[Khalid_the_Warrior]

I hope to meet him one day.

I was just discussing with my friend about Shukh Murabit and how he went to visit him, travelling for three days,across the desert, and being in his company.

May Allah preserve him.