Inheritance of the Disciple
Shaykh Ibrāhīm [Niasse] was once explaining the Qur’ān to his followers. He recited the verse: “...and test the orphans (under your care) until they reach the age of adulthood, then if you find in them sound judgement, release to them their property...” (Qur’ān 4:6)
After giving the literal meaning in Wolof, the shaykh was interrupted by a disciple, “Seriñ-bi, we have heard this meaning of the verse, but please give us its other meaning.” The shaykh smiled, “The disciple is like the orphan, because he has left everything for his shaykh. The shaykh is the custodian of his spiritual inheritance, so he tests the disciple until he finds his heart clean, then he bestows on him the secrets of the shuyūkh.”
— Shaykh Ḥasan b. Sayyid ‘Alī Cissé on his grandfather, Ṣāḥib al-fayḍa Shaykh Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥājj ‘Abd Allāh Niasse; recorded in 2006 by Dr. Zachary Wright (”Living Knowledge in West African Islām: The Sufi Community of Ibrāhīm Niasse”)
