Ibn ‘Arabī’s intellectual legacy in the Tījāniyya-Ibrāhīmiyya order : a case study of Tījānī followers in Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

Ibn 'Arabī's philosophical Sufism fundamentally shaped the doctrines and practices of numerous Muslim intellectuals and Sufi orders throughout Islamic history. Among the Sufi orders that incorporated Akbarian metaphysics into their foundational frameworks is the Fayḍa Tijāniyya (or Tijāniyya-Ibrāhīmiyya) order of West Africa, initiated by Ibrāhīm Niass. This movement emerged as a consolidating branch of the mainstream Tijāniyya order. Consequently, this study investigates how the Akbarian metaphysical teachings transmitted by the Fayḍa Tijāniyya are engaged with by Yoruba Sufis in Southwest Nigeria. Specifically, it explores how these local practitioners navigate the cosmological concept of spiritual isthmuses (barāzikh), how they experience the structured process of experiential gnosis (tarbiya), and how they conceptualise the hierarchies of saintly authority (wilāya) from the Akbarian metaphysics brought to them by the Tijaniyya Sufi order. The data for this study were obtained through library research utilising a documentary technique. The collected data were analysed using the descriptive analysis method. The study finds that certain factions within the Fayḍa Tijāniyya, namely the Ja'fariyya, severely misinterpreted the foundational Tijānī and Niassene primary texts introduced to them. By interpreting Ibrāhīm Niass's esoteric expositions regarding the wayfarer's navigation of the Divine Presence (al-Ḥaḍra al-Ilāhiyya) in a literal fashion, the Ja'fariyya precipitated a radical doctrinal shift that culminated in doctrinal departure of self-apotheosis (al-wuṣūl ilā al-ḥaqīqa). Furthermore, their literal interpretation of Aḥmad al-Tijānī's concepts of universal divine love catalysed an uninformed, syncretic integration of Christian elements and Traditional Religion into their framework of spiritual training. Crucially, Ibrāhīm Niasse inherited the Tijānī framework and claimed the absolute seal of the Aḥmadī-Tijānī lineage, thereby consolidating his rank as the supreme Ghawth (Succor) of his era. While the attainment of the saintly authorities traditionally requires rigorous ascetic devotion—characterised by the wayfarer's rigorous ascent through successive spiritual stations and ontological realities to realize the ranks of Watad, Quṭb, or Ghawth—certain contemporary followers of the Ja'fariyyah-Tijāniyya have instrumentalized these spiritual titles for social and political leverage. Driven by material interests, they engage in the exchange of favours, unilaterally depose current leaders, and reinstate themselves to secure elevated positions of saintly authority. Conceptually anchored in the metaphysical legacy of 'Ibn 'Arabī, this study addresses the complex, localised interactions between West African Sufi practices and classical Islamic esotericism, offering critical advancements to the fields of global Sufi studies, comparative religion, and African Islamic history.