The Great Mosque in the holy city of Touba, home of the Sufi Mouride brotherhood, is one of the largest Mosques in Africa where 7000 people can gather and where millions of people pilgrimage annually during the Grand Magal. The Mouride (Arabic = “One Who Desires”) Brotherhood was founded by Sufi saint Cheikh “Serene” Amadou Bamba in 1883. Touba was founded by him as a place for pilgrimage after receiving the vision when sitting under a tree; he founded the Grand Mosque in 1887 which was completed in 1963, just three years after Senegal became independent from French colonial rule. The attraction to his brand of Islam became a resistance movement against the French empire which unsuccessfully tried to extinguish his influence through imprisonment and exile. His followers and legendary status only increased and the French kept him in exile away from his family and the city he founded until his death while he wrote devotional poetry, literally seven tons of it housed near the Mosque, and refused the eventual French Medal of Honor. “O you the Just, the Good by excellence, the Preserver! O You who heal and who hold man’s destiny in Your hands! Let Your blessings descend where harm exists And let there be good where evil prevails. And let there be generosity where avarice prevails. Let wealth be showered in poor places and let there be gratitude where ingratitude prevails.” “There are four types of guides in life. The first type guides you on how to be materially successful. The second type guides you in the worship of Allah. The third type guides you in the acquisition of knowledge. The fourth type guides you to Allah. The first will only guide you to temptation. The second will guide you to fatigue. The third will give you direction. The fourth will help you to achieve eternal peace.” – Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacke Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn-Habiboullah al Bekki More scenes from The Grand Mosque and Touba, which reached 111F the day we left, in my Senegal Highlights. #Senegal #Mouride #HolyCity #MourideBrotherhood #Mosque #GrandMosque #Islam #Sufi #LampFall #BayeFall #AmadouBamba #DevotionalPoetry #Touba #GrandMagal #Africa #Sunni #IslamicArt #HolyCity (at Grande Mosquée de Touba) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPD7bILgveg/?utm_medium=tumblr
