The zaouyas of Morocco

Zaouya and mausoleums in Morocco enjoy special royal patronage, as each year a royal committee supervises the distribution of donations to their sheikhs and those in charge of them on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of King Hassan II. This patronage is based on a historical relationship that linked the rulers of Morocco to the sheikhs of the zaouias, who played key roles in political stability and spiritual security in the city. During this article, we will get to know some of these Zaouyas in Morocco.

The Clean Tijaniya Zaouya 

The Tijaniya Zaouya is one of the most important Zaouyas representing the Tijaniya order in Marrakesh. Despite its relative modernity, it has been able to spread the Ahmadiyya order, and to attract devotees from all over Morocco, and sometimes from outside, in addition to the contribution of its sheikhs in enriching the Sufi and scientific scene with a group of Sufi, literary and jurisprudential writings. The foundation of this Zaouyas is credited to the scholar Abul-Fath Muhammad-Fatha-bin Abd al-Wahid bin al-Hassan bin Muhammad bin al-Hassan bin Ahmed bin Ali bin Ibrahim bin Masoud bin Muhammad al-Sousi al-Nathifi (relative to the If Ondif tribe adjacent to Taroudant from the southeast) Marrakech house and decision Maliki school of thought, Al-Tijani drink.

This Zaouya was founded by Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Abd al-Wajid al-Nathifi, in Darb al-Harkasa in the year 1318 AH – 1900 AD or 1901 AD. And when Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahed al-Nathifi found plenty of money, he built in the year 1338 AH / 1919 AD the Great Zaouya in Houmt al-Qusour at Bab al-Futuh.


Sheikh Al-Nathifi in the corner organized the recitation of the Wirds, the Tijani dhikr, the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, and the chanting of the Prophet’s praises from his systems and the systems of others, as well as holding seminars for scientific and religious lessons, and since its inception he remained in charge of leading the prayers until he became ill in the year 1362 AH / 1943 AD, so he entrusted his son with that task that he A Dahir text of Sultan Muhammad bin Yusuf to keep it in the heart of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahid Al-Nathifi.

In addition, the Tijani Zaouya was able to find a place for itself within society, as it emerged during the crisis phase during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a force that can be relied upon in framing confrontation and unifying visions about the position on revolutions, especially the revolution called Bouhamara. In this context, Sheikh Al-Nathifi pursued, to achieve this goal, propaganda work capable of influencing people and prompting them to abandon support for the enemy of the existing Makhzen, so he composed two Arjouz calling for support for the sultan against the rebel Bouhamara, and he made them in a booklet titled “Supporting the Sultan and Teasing the Devil” printed in a printing press The Moroccan south in Marrakech, in the year 1323 AH / 1905 or 1906 AD.

TIJANIYA ZAOUYA in the Mouassine neighborhood – Marrakech

The Tijaniya Zaouya in Al-Mawasin neighborhood is considered the first Tijaniya Zaouya established in southern Morocco, in the year 1262 AH / 1846 AD, by the famous scholar Sidi Muhammad Akansus, with the contribution of Sultan Sidi Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman.

The initial establishment of the Tijaniya Zaouya in Marrakech:


Sidi Muhammad Aknesus entered the city of Marrakech and settled in the Al-Mawasin neighborhood in the year 1248 AH / 1833 AD, and here we must point out that he is not the first Tijani to settle in the city, as there are some people of the city who took the Tijani way, but what distinguishes him from the rest of the Tijani in Marrakesh is that he is the first presenter to enter the city – that is He has the right to indoctrination.

The Tijani poor used to meet at first in the Ibn Youssef Mosque under the dome known as “Moulay Suleiman” to mention the job until the number of those attending it reached forty people, so it became necessary for the Tijani people to take a place of their own for their meeting. – Due to the good relationship that binds him with him – to help him provide a place to establish a Zaouya of Tijaniya, so it was only from the latter that he endowed him with an abandoned mosque, so it was the first nucleus on which the corner was founded, and after that one of the neighboring houses was bought to expand it, and thus the first was established A corner of Tijaniya in the Red City in the year 1262 AH / 1846 AD in the Mawasin neighborhood.

Tijaniya Zaouya in the Qusour district of Marrakech


The Hay al-Qusur Zaouya was established thanks to the efforts of Sheikh Muhammad al-Nathifi, as he and his poor gathered money in order to buy the lands and the floors surrounding his house.

Al- Zaouya is located in one of the old neighborhoods of the city of Marrakesh, which is the Qusour neighborhood. It was established thanks to the efforts of Sheikh Muhammad (Fattah) bin Abdul Wahid bin Al-Hassan bin Muhammad bin Al-Hassan bin Ahmed bin Ali bin Ibrahim bin Masoud bin Muhammad bin Bani Al-Thara Al-Nathifi , born in the year 1270 AH / 1853 AD 2 in the town of “Ait Kun” is from the “Izawnadif” tribe, one of the tribes bordering the city of Taroudant in the southeastern mountain.

In fact, since he took the Tijaniyya method, he was able to love his sheikh, Sidi Ahmed Amhmoud, and he was always longing for him, and he wanted to settle in Marrakesh so that he would be close to him, so he and his family took advantage of his visit to the shrine of the righteous saint, Moulay Ibrahim in the year 1317 AH / 1899 AD, to arrange with his brother Sidi Abd al-Rahman and his sheikh Sidi Ahmed Mahmoud, how he entered the city.

So he entered Marrakesh through the Gate of the Lord, where he was found in his reception by Sidi Ahmed Mahmoud, then they visited and those with them the tomb of the jurist Sidi Muhammad Ikansos to ask him for hospitality, and he stayed in the hospitality of Sidi Ahmed Mahmoud for three days in his house in the Bab Elan neighborhood, and he stood with him until he bought him a circle, which is the first What is yours in Marrakech?”

Then he stood in the Tijaniya Zaouya in the al-Mawasin neighborhood for a period of years, until he saw one day in which there was an embodied spirit quarreling with him. The lands and floors surrounding his house, and the task of buying these properties was entrusted to Al-Hassan Al-Hijam.”

And when the capabilities became available, Sidi Hajj Muhammad al-Nazifi established the Great Zaouya in Houmt al-Qusour in Bab al-Futuh in the year 1338 AH / 1919 AD , when it became considered the largest Tijaniya Zaouya in the city of Marrakesh in terms of area, and he organized in it, with the recitation of the Tijaniya wirds, the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, and the chanting of the Prophet’s praises from his systems and the systems of others as well, religious and scientific lessons circles, and since its inception, he remained in charge of leading the five daily prayers until he became ill.

Nasiriyah Zaouya



The Nasiriyah Zaouya in Mekrot, Zagora Province, is considered one of the oldest Sufism corners in Morocco. Historians call it the “Mother of Zaouyas” and it is also considered a paradise for manuscripts.

A large number of scholars graduated from Zaouya, most notably the Moroccan scholar Hassan al-Yusi.

There were more than 10,000 manuscripts in it, of which about 4,000 now remain, after many of them were transferred to the Hassani Treasury (the treasury of the royal palace) and the National (Governmental) Library in Rabat.

The Nasserite Zaouya at the hands of Sheikh Amr bin Ahmed Al-Ansari in the year 1575 AD, in the village of Tamkrut located 18 kilometers east of the city of Zagora, and the name of the Zaouya was associated with his name, then it was called the Husseiniya Zaouya in relation to Sheikh Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Raqi, who succeeded the founding sheikh, before it was called Again, in Nasiriyah, with the leadership of Muhammad bin Nasser.

The number of visitors to the shrine, seeking hospitalization, grows during the Ashura season (the tenth day of Muharram every year), as their number reaches more than 10,000 people. And rent (rent) buildings to house them during the period of the great annual influx.

In addition to the frequent visitors, the corner treasury has become a magnet for tourists and some researchers specializing in manuscripts, according to the governor of the treasury.

Catégories

Museum Hours

9:30–6:00, Monday Until 8:00

Museum Location

2270 S Real Camino Lake California

The Loquet Museum fuels a journey of discovery across time to enable
solutions for a brighter future rich in nature and culture.