Houliya 2018 Slogan

A study of the Slogan of Houliya 2018

“Allah raises in degree the bewildered lover”

By: Abdelhamid Babakir
Translated by: Khaled Farid, Montreal

In order to fully understand the choice of the slogan of the Houliya 2018, we must go beyond the

simple interpretation of the Bayt from which it is inspired. We have to decipher the message.

In previous years, the slogan of the houliya has traditionally been a bayt from Sharab al wasl.

This year however, it is the first half of Bayt No.14 of qasida No. 43 of Sharab al wasl. This

qasida begins as follows:

كرام†إنا†الخبي†نفشي†كيف

"We are noble, we would never reveal what must be kept secret".

Qasida No.43 answers several questions raised by qasida No.42, especially Bayt No.1, which

says: "Today I reveal the meaning of my words". The community then believed that the sheikh

would finally reveal the identity of the evildoers to whom he had alluded in qasida No.41, bayt

No.1: "Lovers never find it unworthy to follow my advice.” As far as the message of qasida

No.43 is concerned, it is a complete description of the organization of the Tariqa:

• Mawlada Sidi Fakhreddin

• His successors

• His family members

• Children of Tariqa

• Sharab al wasl: The Tariqa’s charter.

In order to fully understand the relationship between the slogan of the houliya and all that

precedes, one must first become aware of the sublimity of Sharab al wasl. Sharab al wasl's

mission is to clearly define the rights and obligations of each person. The mourids, to whom the

qasaids are addressed, will avoid misguidance and will know what is expected of them if

salvation is their ultimate goal. The use of the plural in the qasaids "we are.. we do," means that

mawlana speaks to us in his own name, as well as in the name of all his successors.

This Qasida thus reinforces the importance of a strict adherence to the Qasaids' message and a

warning against the misleading of others by attributing to the qasaids a wrong meanings. This

sabotage of the meaning of qasaids is what makes the mourids deviate from the will of the

sheikh.

Not for a moment did I forsake my disciple

And my disciple is he whose wants are my wants

The Qasida is clear proof of the honor that Allah has bestowed upon Sidi Fakhreddin by

granting him Sharab al wasl, which has become the primary source of knowledge for all the

great, including prophets. Bayt No.13 tells us:

From Allah I receive a knowledge

And a drink sought by the prophets

Note the use of the singular "I". For the distinction and the honor, have been granted exclusively

to him. And if the gift is divine, then it is sublime and if the gift is sublime, then the one who

received it must be sublime as well; hence bayt No.14 which says: "Allah raises in degree the

bewildered lover" . Mawlana had no need to say Allah "raises me" because we know now that it

is all about him.

So the bewildered lover is Sidi Fakhreddin. He is madly in love with Allah, the owner of the gift

that he was given.

The bewildering love metaphor often describes Mawlana’s relationship with the Prophet SAWS

as well:

The one without whom the bewildered lover

                                        could not have come or gone

Come and go: Accompany the mourids in the march towards Allah and bring them back safely.

Desperate love is the highest degree of love, which in literature is called “love madness". But

among the people of the Truth (haqiqa), the mad lover is the one who emerges from the fusion

with the beloved one seeing only his beloved and seeing himsewlf in him.

I see my beloved coming

And me! Oh my God, who am I?

The Heir is the one who inherits the Divine and Muhammadan Truths, so he is in the eyes of

Allah the lost lover raised in degree.

Back to the slogan, we find that the bayt speaks of the complete mohammadian heritage. The

degree is the rank and prestige that has been granted to Sidi Fakhreddin in all exclusivity

through the gift of Sharab al Wasl. The qasaids are also an extremely precious gift, in which it is

not appropriate to delve without the explicit permission of the sheikh, or her successor. It is

strictly forbidden to study the qasaids for any other purpose than to uncover the mysteries

contained therein. The purpose of understanding these mysteries is to be a better mourid, while

becoming aware of their perfection and therefore, the perfection of their owner and that's

Mawlana. Any pernicious talk about the Qasaids is therefore a direct attack on that which is

perfect: Mawlana and his masterpiece, Sharab al wasl.