Serigne Massamba Mbacke was born in 1883 in Patar, a few months after the passing away of his father Mame Mor Anta Sally Mbacke. As a result, he was “baptized” by his older brother and guide, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, who was at that time in the company of several great Murid disciples among whom were Serigne Ndame Abdourahmane LO and Mame Thierno Birahim Mbacke (sometimes called Mame Thierno or Ibra Faty).
It is reported that Serigne Touba suggested the name “Massamba” to his newborn younger brother on a day when he was going to gather with some of his disciples in front of the his father’s grave. He thought of their grandfather Serigne Massamba Thiebo Anta and how great he was, thus named his newborn younger brother after him.   Read More...

All praise be to Allah who has granted us to see one more year of the Hijri calendar. From the time Prophet Muhammad migrated to al-Madinah it has been 1429 years. Alhamdulillah He sent him rahmatan lil-`alamaeen – Mercy to all the worlds. When we say rahmah, it means mercy. If your health is good that is a mercy; if your business is good that is a mercy; if your life is good that is a mercy; if your children are raised well and good that is a mercy. If your neighbors are good with you and friendly that is a mercy from Allah swt. If Allah swt sent rain to you that is a mercy. Whatever is good is a mercy. And Allah described the Prophet as mercy to all the worlds, rahmatan lil-`alameen. That means "Ya Muhammad! I made you to be a mercy for all My servants. Your presence in their lives is a mercy for them. You are My servant and they are My servants too. But you are my perfect servant. Innaka la`ala khuluqin `adheem- ‘Indeed you are on a tremendous character.’ [68:4] So I made them, and if they follow you, you will be a mercy for them." If we follow the way of Sayyidina Muhammad as our Sheikh Khadimou Rassoul did, we will never see difficulties, we will never see problems. If we are going to follow our bad desires, we are going to find problems in our lives. Let us try to save ourselves by following what the Prophet has brought to mankind. This is the month in which Allah ordered the Prophet to move to Madinah to establish the infrastructure of Islam, to establish the state, and the khilafah of Islam. It was in this month that Allah gave a place to the Prophet from which Islam spread everywhere.   Read More...

The feeling that is mostly shared among the Senegalese Islamic Community about the caliphate of Sheikh Abdoul Khadre Mbacke is its short lasting. He lived for only eleven months as the fourth caliph of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba. To date, it is still hard for the Murid community to get over the fact that they were weaned from this “prodigal feeder” of benefits and profits of many kinds much earlier than one could ever imagine. First of all, Sheikh Abdoul Khadre was born on a Friday night in 1914 in Daroul Alim (Alimoun Khabir) where the Al Azhar Touba (Ndam) University is symbolically built today. As soon as Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba was informed of this good news, he immediately called his brother and right-hand man, Serigne Thierno Ibra Faty Mbacke (often referred to as Mame Thierno), and entrusted him with the mission of going to Daroul Alim (Ndam) and do the necessary as required by the circumstance. Right before Mame Thierno’s departure, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba prayed for him and said, “In the name and by the Baraka of this new-born that you are about to visit, be sure that while on your journey (to and fro) all those you will meet or see will be saved from the infernal flames of hell.”   Read More...

Historically as one observes and explores the many diverse cultures and beliefs of humans in the world’s societies and/ or religions, there are certain practices (unethical or illegal) that are “inappropriate” and are sometimes considered as taboos. With ours being no exception, there are practices to be avoided on certain days of each month. However, these practices are not prohibited as “illegal acts,” but are strongly discouraged by our beloved Professor Serigne Chouhaibou Mbacke, (a great Islamic scholar, researcher, a genius, and a son of Khadimou Rassoul), and therefore one should avoid them to the best of his/her abilities. Those days are as follow:   Read More...

We were very sad to learn of the loss of Serigne Saliou, as friends in Senegal told us via email very soon after it was announced. He was a truly deep and important man of God and a gift to all humanity, and we wish to convey our condolences to our Mouride friends in Senegal and around the world. We know that Serigne Saliou has joined his father and mother in Paradise, whence his wisdom will continue to guide us all. Someone as loving and giving as Serigne Saliou is not "lost" in death, of course, for he lives on in the memories we all have of him and what he has meant and means to us. My family (a term I would extend to our dear friends Ousmane Gueye and Cheikou Camara, who have participated in our research on Mouride visual culture for over a dozen years now) and I have been blessed by a number of visits with Serigne Saliou, as we have by audiences with Serigne Mourtada and Sokhna Maimouna as well.   Read More...