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ABSTRACT
One of the aspects of Islamic life in which theology and religious practices reveal significant inconsistencies concerns the visiting of cemeteries and the spread of the cult of saints; these practices are quite prevalent and often interrelated. The main schools of thought regarding the status of saints have a clear position, while the ongoing debate regarding the practices and procedures of cemetery visits has not reconciled the conflicting views; all this creates considerable confusion in the Islamic community, with repercussions not only in religious behaviour and practices, but also in social relations and sometimes even in politics. This article depicts the evolution of the procedures and rites regarding Mauritanian society's practice of saints and a review, albeit brief, of the sanctification rituals for the dead, which will help provide insight into the ethnic specificities of Mauritanian society.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 In another narration, the Prophet tells of his visit to the tomb of his mother: ‘I sought permission from my Lord to beg forgiveness for her but it was not granted to me, and I sought permission to visit her grave and it was granted to me, so visit the graves, for that makes you mindful of death’ (Bin al-Ḥajjāj Citation2006, 434; Abī Šayba Citation2007, 500).
2 For more information see: Pazzanita (Citation2006).
3 ‘The Soninke State of Ghana (different from ex-Gold Coast Ghana, seventh to eleventh centuries AD), part of whose territory, as well as the ruins of its historic capital, are within the present limits of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’. (Bertrand Fessard de Foucault. Citation2017).
4 In the Arab world, it is common to hear a Muslim person say ‘[they] have gone to their final abode’; some consider blasphemy, kufr, because the tomb is not the last resting place for the human being. Interview in August 2014 with ‘Abd al-Raḥīm Ould Fatan, imam of the mosque of R's al-Imān (Nouadhibou), originally from the wīlāya of Trarza. Ould Fatan is a member of the sufī bīẓān community.
5 ‘Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you. Until you visit the graveyards. No! You are going to know. Then no! You are going to know. No! If you only knew with knowledge of certainty (…) You will surely see the Hellfire. Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty. Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure. Then you will surely be asked that Day about pleasure’.
6 Interview with imam Muḥammad Lamīn ‘Abdī Sālam, August 2014, 2016, 2017. Muḥammad Lamīn, a Mauritanian religious scholar, is native of the wīlāya of Néma; he has several publications in fiqh and serves as imam of Jāma‘ al‘atīq, the first mosque built in Nouadhibou.
7 Author's interview with Muḥammad Kāml Abū Bakr Barou (Ould Barou), the Sheikh of the tijāniyya Brotherhood (Fulani) in the city of Nouadhibou. During the first day of the visit to his house, he had received the news of the death of his grandmother in Mali; the author suspended the meetings with him for a few days. When the meeting resumed, the author observed that the visits of condolence and the giving of generous gifts continued, thus confirming the attachment of the followers to their sheikh (Interview, August 2014). The father of Muḥammad Kāml Abū Bakr Barou is the founder of the tijāniyya brotherhood (Fulani group) in Nouadhibou. He is imam of zāwiya and a Quran teacher in tijāniyya maḥḍara (Quran School).
8 Regarding Friday, the Prophet of Islam said: ‘Among the best of your days is Friday. On that day pray to Allah to exalt my mention frequently, for your such supplications are presented to me’. (Muḥyi al-Dīn al-Nawawī Citation1992, 425; www. Sunnah.com. Accessed September 25, 2018). Muslim also consider Monday as a favourable day because the Prophet was born on a Monday.
9 Khoudjeidu Iagana is a housewife, I was assisted by an interpreter from the Soninke group in this interview as she did not speak Arabic or French (Interview, August 2014, Nouadhibou).
10 Abu Hurayrah narrated, ‘Indeed the Messenger of Allah cursed the women who visit the graves’, Jāmi‘ at-Tirmidhī, 1056, Book 10, Ḥadīth 92, www.sunnah.com, accessed April 25, 2018.
11 For more information about the visit to cemeteries in Mauritania see: Lagdaf (Citation2017a).
12 Interview with Muḥammad Maḥmūd (May 2018). Muḥammad Maḥmoud is an elderly man of the biẓān community, from the Hodh region; the author met him for the first time during his visit to the Nouadhibou city.
13 The awliyā’ (s. walī) are considered ‘under the protection of God’ for the Sufis as mentioned in the sura 10, 62: ‘Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve’ (Martin Smith and Ernst Citation2011, 58-60). In Mauritanian culture this definition is so deeply rooted that the walī is seen to be so pious that those who believe in his walāya (miracle) can have access to God.
14 Some Islamic scholars use this weak narration in cases of bid‘a: the Prophet said ‘Allah refuses to accept the good deeds of one who follows innovation until he gives up that innovation’ (Sunan Ibn Māja Citation2015, 15; www.sunnah.com, accessed April 25, 2018).
15 ‘You are forbidden to eat carrion; blood; pig's meat; any animal over which any name other than God's has been invoked; any animal strangled, or victim of a violent blow or a fall, or gored or savaged by a beast of prey, unless you still slaughter it [in the correct manner]; or anything sacrificed on idolatrous altars. (…)’, (Khan Citation1975, 108).
16 Interview with Imām Muḥammad al-Mahdī Muḥammad al-Shaykh, (August 2014, August 2016). Muḥammad al-Mahdī is the imam of the al-Taqwaý mosque in Nouadhibou where he is a member of the Regional Office of the League of ‘Ulama’. He is also a researcher in the Principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-fiqh).
17 On the importance of the cult of the saints in the culture of the countries of the Maghreb, see, Martin Smith and Ernst Citation2011; Dermenghem Citation1982; Chodkiewicz Citation2012. For an example of funeral rites and saints in another African country, see: Becker Citation2009.
18 Interview with Mintou Boyba Mamadou, September 2015. An interpreter assisted the author in this interview. Mintou Boyba Mamadou is a trader and she is politically very influential in her community.
19 Sheikh Ibrāhīm Nayās al-Kūlkhī (Kaolach, Senegal, 1900 – London, UK, 1975), is one of the greatest sheikhs of Ṭariqa tījaniyya in Africa of the twentieth century. He had several students, including Muḥammad al-Naḥwī (Gueye Citation1983, 30–32).
20 On the status of humility that wraps the dead who is going to the afterlife, where only good deeds serve, ‘the deceased, from a president to a scientist, lose all these titles’, imam Muḥammad al-Mahdī says. The story the Sufi imam al-Junayd tells is a case in point: one of his disciples saw him in his dream and ‘asked him what Allah has preserved; alJunayd said: titles have fallen and symbols have disappeared and only a few prostrations (rak‘āt) that we did at night are useful for us’. The imam cites this narrative as a demonstration of the futility of titles and awards that a dead man got in his life, (imam Muḥammad al-Mahdī 2015).
21 Interview with imam Blāl Ould Muḥammad Lamīn, August 2014 and August 2015. Blāl belongs to the laḥrāṭin group and serves as imam of the al-Ṣamad mosque in Nouadhibou. He is originally from the Hodh El Gharbi region and is an expert on the subject of the dead and funeral practices.
22 For more information about Salafism Discourse see: Roel (Citation2009); Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem (Citation2011).
23 Aisha recounted that the Prophet said: ‘May Allah curse people who take the graves of their prophets as Masjids’. Reference: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2046. In-book reference: Book 21, Ḥadīth 23; www.sunnah.com, accessed April 25, 2018.
24 The meaning of Allāh aifknā min ada'wa wa ahlhā resides in the different terms used in this formula. In the first part, it means: ‘May God save us’; in the second one, it is intended to prevent the curse (ada'wa) by a walī or another person who has been treated unfairly (ahlhā).
25 Interview with Kumbabaron, May 2018. An interpreter assisted the author with this interview. Kumbabaron is a member of the Woolf community.
26 For more information on the family structure in the Hodh region, see: Boulay (Citation2005).
27 Among the miracles AmīnaYūsaf allegedly performed through the gift of seeing the thoughts of others, one example that is often cited is when she revealed to a person that they had been robbed and indicated where the robbers hid the stolen goods.
28 Interview with Muḥammad, May 2018. Muḥammad is an administrative assistant at the Nouadhibou municipality, originally from the Kiffa region.
29 Interview with Al-Nanna, May 2018. Al-Nanna is an elderly lady, originally from the Kiffa region. She practice the trade in a shop close her house. She is point of reference for many locals.
30 Interview with al-Khāl, May 2018. Al-Khāl is an elderly man, originally from Butilimit (Trarza region); he is a trader in Nouadhibou.
31 Interview with Maryam, May 2018. Maryam is a young woman from a village near Kiffa. She is interested in the questions of miracles and saints.