Sidi Muhammad Sassi (May ALLAH be satisfied with him)

Sidi Mohamed Sassi (May Allah be pleased with him) was endowed with laudable qualities, a man of boundless goodness, and with immense blessing. This deserving man belonged to the elite from among the companions of Seidina Ahmed Tidjani (May Allah sanctify his precious secret). He was originally from Souf (in the Algerian south east). Seidina (May Allah sanctify his precious secret) appointed him Muqaddam, putting him in charge of the Tariqa's litanies in that region.

Here is an epistle written by the learned Sidi Mohamed ibn Mechri (May Allah be pleased with him), with the blessed permission of Seidina (May Allah sanctify his precious secret) to the attention of Sidi Mohamed Sassi and his fellows:

"Praise to Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted. We write this letter to our fellow brothers of the city of Guemar in the region of Souf. May Allah protect us from evil and fear.

To the attention of our beloved and noble Muqadem Sidi Mohamed Sassi and every single disciple of his that there is no need to name here, the men and women, old and young, we ask Allah to heap His Clemency, His Blessings, His Agreement, His Wholeheartedness, His Beneficence, His Grace, His Excellence and His Mercy.

This is from our Master and Sheikh, the Peak of peaks Abi-l-'Abbas Mawlana Ahmed ibn Mohamed Tidjani, may Allah cover us with the spiritual shedding of his ocean by means of the biggest receptacles. Amin. We also ask Allah – May His Immensity be Exalted and Might Glorified, to stare at you with an eye of agreement and love, and may He sustain you with His assistance, heap you with His candidness, inscribe your name among the ones He loves in this world and the Hereafter. Amin. Verily, He is capable and willing to accept prayers.

We have been informed of your doing and your degree of loving, your compassion and level of perfection in upholding the covenant. We ask Allah to complete what you have started out with kindness in this world and in the Hereafter. And may He shower you with His mercy.

What we should emphasize your need to be abiding by the conditions of your Tariqa, the one that you adhered to. Perform your Wird (Lazim) and your Wadhifa as indicated, and give up any prayers that pertains to other Shuyyukh. Also, we insist that you abstain from pay visit to the Awliya'a, within the bounds of the strict respect of their sacredness. Those who will endure in this path will attain their goals in terms of good and abounding reward in the multiplication of their gains both on Earth and in the Hereafter.

Stay away from those who denigrate our Guide. Beware! Be careful! Such is an irremediable
Evil; interacting with them is the way to the corruption of the heart, which you will not realize until it grows out of control. And yet, once it has control over you, it is impossible to get back to purity and return to the initial state of love. The reason for all this is the denigration and the opposition to the Sheikh, against which he warned ceaselessly. Any opposition push out from the Tariqa, and whoever does it must repent. We ask Allah to preserve us all from detractors, from now until the day we will dwell in the Illiyyine. Amin.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and may peace be with you, from he who loves you, Mohamed ibn Mechri. I penned this words with the blessings of Seidina (May Allah sanctify his precious secret). Should you ask about his condition, I must tell you that he is well."

Here is another letter that Seidina Ahmed Tidjani (May Allah sanctify his precious secret) sent to his brothers in this same region:

"Praise be to Allah. Glorified and Exalted be His name. Powerful is His Greatness; heightened is His Force; sanctified His Majesty and His Bountifulness. This letter is sent to the brethrens of the city of Guemar , and to each and every soul very much so. May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessing be upon you.

Then, we received the questions that you have asked concerning the Wird, the Widhifa, and the Dhikr on Friday ('Asru). The answer is that the practice of this Tariqa is easy for whom Allah wills, because it is Hanifiyya of the purest origin, smooth and lenient as for the efforts it requires during the Dhikr.

The time of completion of the Wird (Lazim) is wide. The one of the end of the day runs from the Asr prayer until 'Isha and all this time period is well-indicated to complete it. When you are unable to perform by reason of work, illness or any related matter, you may catch up whenever possible during the night.
The Wird of the daybreak is preferably completed right after the Soubh prayer up to the time before the Zenith (Duha el A'la). Whoever has a valid reason may complete it any time during the day.

As for the Wadhifa, it is completed once between day and night, in a period well-indicated for group practice. When perform alone, such can be done at any time. However, it ought to be underscored that performing in group is a condition of validity (this condition was abrogated and allayed, it is now an imperative). City-dwellers are bound to do it, and if they abandon the practice entirely without coming together, then they will have opposed to the Tariqa, thereby letting it down. He who unwillingly fails to respect the group performance is not out of step with it; he may do it alone. He who willingly fails to uphold the conditions will have done so at his own risks, thereby ruining his many boundless and fathomless benefits.

When foreign words abound into the Wird and the Wadhifa, they nullify them, and whoever happens to do so must start it up anew. As for the morning Wird, he who performs it before dawn will be greatly rewarded. But if Fajr comes (if Adhan of fajr comes, at the time of Fajr and Subh prayers), the Wird must imperatively be performed after the Soubh prayer. He who doesn't reach to learn the prayer called Djawharatu-l-Kamel may replace the latter with twenty Salat Fatihi. May Allah's Peace be upon you."

There seven villages where the Tariqa is rooted. They are Guemar, Taghzout, Kouinine, El Oued, Bahima, Azkoum and Sidi 'Aoun. The village named Sidi 'Aoun bears the name of one of the greatest Wali of its time. He was known for his numerous prodigies and his spiritual unveilings, and he lived in this village which ended up taking his name. He told his children and friends, by way of his spiritual unveiling, that a Wali of utmost greatness will come from the region of 'Ain Madhi, which happened before the time of Seidina Ahmed Tidjani (May Allah sanctify his precious secret). He advised his people to embrace that Wali's Tariqa and firm up their love for him. When the Tariqa come into being, it unmistakably the one Sidi 'Aoun (May Allah be pleased with him) had mentioned earlier on. Consequently, young and old embraced it. Seidina (May Allah sanctify his precious secret) used to love them very much.