The Murid Way (Yoonu Murid)

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Title	The Murid Way (Yoonu Murid)
Author or Owner	Alhaaji Mbakke (author), Sam Niang (owner)
Subject	The Muridiyya, Education, Spiritual Training (Tarbiyya), Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba, Social Issues, Women in Islam, Ethics
Content	The document is a compilation of the writings of Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba (1853-1927) in Arabic with comments in Wolof Ajami by a Murid disciple for the purpose of illustrating the history of the Murids and explaining their religious practices and ways. It illustrates how the Murid teachings are directly inspired by the Quran: given to Bamba by Allah and Prophet Muhammad. According to the author, these teachings are based on orders Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba received from the Prophet Muhammad, telling him to disseminate Islam. The document illustrates the behaviors required to be a good Murid disciple, such as devotion to the marabouts (spiritual leader) and respect for their instructions. It argues that a good Murid disciple must be very devoted to Allah and be grounded in these three elements: hard work to train the body; love of and proximity to a Sufi spiritual leader or shaykh; and pious giving in support of one’s spiritual leader. It then outlines the five tools that help purify a Murid’s heart: fasting and experiencing hunger; reading and reciting the Quran; practicing humility; performing optional nightly prayers in addition to the obligatory daily ones; and remaining in the company of virtuous people while avoiding those who would lead the disciple astray, and secluding oneself in order to better serve Allah and the marabouts. It includes a pledge of allegiance that a disciple should make to their spiritual leader in reflection of the pledge that the early disciples made to the Prophet Muhammad, but notes that the path each disciple takes will be different from those that came before. The document concludes with a table of contents, and a short anonymous Wolof Ajami poem titled “I am a Female Murid” that highlights some of the special challenges and benefits that await women hoping to become disciples of Bamba.
Genre	Prose/poem
Language	Wolof and Arabic
Script	Wolof Ajami and Arabic
Manuscript condition	Printed manuscript, conservation condition is excellent
Type	Printed
Publisher	Sinkkimpression, Pikine Lamsar, Dakar, Senegal
Provenance	Touba, Senegal
Source Reference	Alhaaji Mbakke. Yoonu Murid. Dakar: Dāʾiratu Kanzu l-Muhtadīn/Sinkkimpression, 2021. Copy donated by Sam Niang.
Access condition and copyright	These materials are subject to copyright and are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For use, distribution or reproduction beyond these terms, contact Professor Fallou Ngom (fngom@bu.edu).
Contributors	Fallou Ngom, Gana Ndiaye, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Eric Schmidt, Martin Aucoin, Cheikh Mouhamadou S. Diop, Alison Parker, Shawn Provencal, and Mark Lewis.
Required citation information	Fallou Ngom (PI), Gana Ndiaye, Cheikh Mouhamadou S. Diop, Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Martin Aucoin, and other contributors. 2022. “The Murid Way.” https://sites.bu.edu/nehajami/the-four-languages/wolof/wolof-manuscripts/yoonu-murid/