Permission for the works of Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari
We often get questions asking for idhn or ijaza to recite various prayers, poems, or salawat of Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari. As a general rule, the material we share on our various platforms come with a general ijaza from Shaykh Salih himself.
As Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Ja’fari (grandson of Shaykh Salih and head of the tariqa) mentioned in a counsel to the murids:
The permission from the authorized Shaykh is important because otherwise a person will not take any blessing or benefit in what they are reciting, except in those things of which are written: ‘I do give ijaza in such-and-such to all people’, and Shaykh Salih used to embody this practice. I asked Shaykh Abd al-Ghani once, “Why did Shaykh Salih always give a general permission for all people to read his works, such as the Friday Lessons and the full works that he edited of Sidi Ahmad b. Idris (for which he specifically travelled, to collect for the umma), and to recite his poetry from his voluminous Diwan?” Shaykh Abd al-Ghani replied, “Sayyidina Rasulillah ﷺ ordered Mawlana Shaykh Salih to do this (give a general permission to all people), and that this ilm was given to Mawlana Shaykh Salih from Sayyidina Rasulillah ﷺ and from the Ahl al-Bayt, especially Sayyidina Imam Ali (may Allah ennoble his countenance) and Sayyidina al-Imam al-Hussayn (may Allah be pleased with them and please them)”.
That being said, we have received a good question:
As the Ja’fari path is a spiritual path, what are the things specific to the Ja’fari murid that requires permission?
The answer to this is primarily found in the daily hizb of Shaykh Salih that the murid reads.
Admittedly, this represents an exception to our rule, we’ve shared the ahzab not to encourage one to adopt them on their own, but to give a person interested in the path an idea of what is expected of them.
As Shaykh Salih has mentioned speaking on the necessary means to having spiritual progress,
“Having adab with the shaykh whom he received the awrad of the tariqa from. It is incumbent to be given the awrād, and that the shaykh and the ṭarīqa acknowledges one. Likewise, it is incumbent to love him and have proper manners with him for the sake of the shaykh of tariqa because the shaykh of tariqa has a door, and it is the shaykh from whom you received the awrad , and the Muhammadan presence has a door, and it is the original shaykh of the tariqa, and the Divine presence has a door and it is the Prophet ﷺ.”
And in one of his poems,
Indeed, the foundation of the Tariqa is permission * You become by it the son of the shaykh in reality
The soul connects to him with a connection * that he obtains by it perfections
Thus, much of Shaykh Salih’s works come as a gift to the generality of the Muslims. The Tariqa is founded upon the ahzab of the Shaykh for his ‘children’/murids. And by them one comes under his special care.
I am present when the oath is being taken * To witness the baya, for I am the guardian
My presence is a mercy, and my litany is light * And the light of Allah is our master the Prophet
