Shaykh Ahmad Bamba: Bamba Files: Thursday September 5th 1895 A Date to Remember

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Government of Senegal and Dependences

Deliberation No. 16

Extract of the Private Council

Session of September 5th, 1895

Extract no.1

Under the approval of the Governor durning the private sessions of the private council the director of political affairs submits a report relevent to the activites of a religious chief by the name of Ahmad Bamba whose activites threatened the tranquility located between the Ferlo, the Baol, the Cayor, the Ndiambour and the Oalo regions.

After having introduced Ahmad Bamba before the private session and confronted him with the accusations directed toward him followed by an interrrogation, the Governor, upon unanimous decision of the council, adopts the conclusion report of the Director of the Political Affairs.

For the record,

The Secretary

Archivist

Mr. Superville

(French Archives, Section F.O.M. Senegal IV 127

Notes on Letter from Cheikh Moustapha Mbacké Gaïndé Fatma's extracted from "The Trilateral Conspiracy"

"In researching the Senegal Archives, I did not find any official document recording Shaykh Ahmad Bamba's responses during the court proceedings.This omission was another deliberate attempt for their deceitful tactics of cover up. It was not an omission on their part because during Mr. Superville, who was the Secretary Archivist was present at the Court proceedings and his job was to ensure that the proceedings were recorded..."

Shaykh Muhammad Lamine Diop, a close student of Shaykh Bamba described how the Private Council reached a unaimous decision following the pressure of Leclerc, then adminstrator of the circle of Saint Louis, Senegal and who was the son in law of the Governor of Dakar. The reason the Shaykh stayed so long in Saint Lous (from August 8 to September 5th and further on until September 21st) was because the Private Council didn't agree on a final decision concerning the Shaykh . According to Shaykh Diop some of the members of the Private Council proposed that the Shaykh be put under permanent house arrest in Saint Louis.Other members proposed that the Shaykh should be executed there in Saint Louis. Another group felt that the Shaykh's disciples should leave their homes and come to Saint Louis. In that regard the some members felt that the displacement of the talibes would lead the war because of the sheer number of disciples. Finally a group proposed to deport him to Gabon to which all members of the council agreed.

Serigne Doudou Seck bin Moukhtar was the interpreter during the trial. He explained how the Governor and the Shaykh exchanged harsh remarks to each other during the closing arguments of the trial.

Governor Mouttet: " You may know that I detain the ultimate authority."

To this remark reponded

Shaykh Ahmad Bamba: " You know that you have told a great lie, Verily Allah is the Possessor of the Ultimate Authority!!!!"

Much more can be said about the event's leading up to the Shaykh's exile but I will concluding by relating the following hadith:

At-Tariq ibn Shihab reported: A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as he put his foot in the stirrup, “What is the most virtuous struggle?” He said, “A word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.”

[Musnad Ahmad, Number 18449, Sahih]

عَنْ طَارِقِ بْنِ شِهَابٍ أَنَّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَدْ وَضَعَ رِجْلَهُ فِي الْغَرْزِ أَيُّ الْجِهَادِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِرٍ

18449 مسند أحمد بن حنبل مسند العشرة المبشرين بالجنة

المحدث النووي خلاصة حكم المحدث إسناده صحيح

A Prayer in times of Hardship:

Ya Latifan bi khalqihi ya `Aliman bi khalqihi ya Khabiran bi khalqihi ultuf bina ya Latifu ya `Alimu ya Khabiru

O One Who is gentle with His creation, O One who has complete knowledge of His creation, O One who has complete awareness of His creation! Treat us with gentleness O Gentle, O All-Knowing, O All-Aware!

يَالَطِيفًا بِخَلْقِهِ ، يَا عَلِيمًا بِخَلْقِهِ ، يَا خَبِيرًا بِخَلْقِهِ .. أُلْطُفْ بِنَا يَا لَطِيْفُ ، يَا عَلِيْمُ ، يَا خَبِيْرُ

ameen

BAL LEENMA AKH BALNALEEN.