MEETING WITH HIS SHEIKH

He had adorned himself on his journey with the garb of complete trust in Allah. He had abandoned all assistance from others, until he relied only on Him. When the time of his fulfillment (Wissal) came, he visited his uncle, the Knower by Allah, Sheikh Sidi al Hassan Al-Karkari, may Allah be pleased with him, on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr. Sidi Mohamed Faouzi says “The course that night was about the Attributes of Allah and His beautiful Names. I listened with attention to the discussion that was held between Moulay al Hassan and some listeners. His words made a deep impression on me and I asked him, once the people had left, “Uncle, I want to repent. Does Allah accept my repentance? Shaykh al-Hasan, may Allah sanctify his secret, was moved by my state of fear and despair and by what he knew about the sincerity of my intention and the truth of my approach and my quest. He asked me to return to the city of Al-Aroui and wait for him to come and give me the Wird. The order is powerful and must happen. Moulay Sidi Mohamed Faouzi could not extinguish the fire of repentance that burned within him. How could he when Allah had allowed his sun to shine and had called him from his height “O Muhammad, arise to Us”. He looked through his belongings and found nothing suitable as Ihram clothing for his journey to his Lord except his brother’s clothing. It was as if he wanted to put a barrier between his life before and his life to come. He showed his sincerity with his clothes by deciding to burn them. He shaved his head and beard and stripped himself completely and went to his Lord. He arrived at Tamsamane, walking barefoot, weeping all the tears of his body, bowing his head. At that moment, he saw the Light of the Beloved, may the peace of Allah and His blessings be upon him, without even knowing its meaning. And this was until he reached the zawiya of his uncle, Allah be pleased with him. He said to his Shaykh and uncle, “Allow me to do the Wird and let me enter the Khalwa. The Sheikh replied, “Get away from me. Who told you that I take care of madmen? He repeated his request and the Sheikh refused, testing his sincerity. Sidi Mohamed Faouzi then got up to leave and his uncle asked him where he wanted to go. Was he going to return to his house? He replied, “No! I will not go back to my house. I have gone out to seek closeness to Allah. I will travel to the kingdom of Allah among the stones and trees. Allah is in every place. Then, Sidi Hassan Al-Karkari, may Allah have mercy on him, ordered his daughter to prepare the Khalwa so that Sidi Mohamed Faouzi could enter it. The latter said: “My intention was repentance. But Allah fulfilled his plan and honored me with his blessing. I saw the height of the extraordinary in my blessed Khalwa, on this night of Thursday 4 Shawal of the year 1425 of Hegira (November 18, 2004). I had the great opening and consistent help on Friday when Al-Wahhab, (The Giver; the Most Generous), called me and He taught me His supreme hidden Name. The True One honored him with a great benefit. He offered him the stations of the noble saints. And all this is because of the sincerity of his intention, seeking repentance to Allah. And he who seeks repentance has sought the satisfaction of Allah. And he who seeks His satisfaction has found it. And he who finds him gets the degree of the great Love, until he is his hearing, his sight and all his strength. Our Sheikh stayed in the company of his Sheikh and uncle, may Allah sanctify their secret, for about two years. This companionship was done in good behavior, consideration, seriousness, effort, dhikr and recall until the death of Moulay al Hassan, may Allah be pleased with him.