Sammaniyya in Sudan

       The Sammaniyya tariqa arrived in Sudan in the second half of the

18th century. This tariqa was named after its founder, master Sheikh

Mohammad Ibn Abdul Karim As-Samman{1133-1189A.H-1739-1775

A.C}.The lineage of Sheikh As-Samman shows he was a descendant of

Sayyidi Abu-Baker al-Sidiq, the first man on earth to believe in the

message of Islam. In the Sufi path Sheikh As-amman was a student of 

master Sheikh Mustafa - Ibn Kamal Din al-Bakri, the founder of the

Khalwatiyya tariqa. Moreover, he was initiated into the Gadiriya tariqa at

the hand of Sheikh Mohammad Tahir al-Kurdi.

        The Sammaniyya tariqa was brought to Sudan by the renowned –

mugadid- master Sheikh Ahmed Ateyyib Wad al.Bashir {1155-1742/3 -

1239-1824 AH} who had been initiated by As-Samman himself while on

pilgrimage to Median, the home of the prophet Mohammed (Pbuh). He

had been initiated into five tariqas, among these the most famous one was

the Qadiriyya. It was stated that he was very concerned with spreading

the Qadiriyya teachings after spending seven years with his sheikh, the

gnostic –alarif- As-Samman. During his time there Sheikh Ahmed

Ateyyib had studied different types of Islamic and Arabic sciences. Upon

his arrival from the Hejaz, master Sheikh Ahmed Ateyyib settled in Um-

marih-40km north of Omdurman-a place from which he started to teach

and to initiate people into the Sufi path, according to the tenets and

principles of the Sheikh As-amman. His tariqa gained wide popularity

especially in the Gezira area, where the new teachings of Sammaniyya

attracted many of the Gadiriyya sheikhs to the new style of the tariqa.

Also, the personality of master Sheikh Ahmed Ateyyib had really

impressed many previous Qadiri sheikhs, drawing them to the fold of

Sammaniyya. Among the famous Qadiri sheikhs who came to be initiated

into Sammaniyya were Sheikh Ahmed al.Basir (d.1829), Sheikh

Mohammad Tom wad Bannaqa (d.1851) and master Sheikh al.Gurashi

wad Azain (d.1878). The latter was a student of master Sheikh al. Basir

and later came to be the teacher of the Imam al.Mahdi. Through the

coming of the Sammaniyya tariqa (which was identified by some

historians as a reform) a new spirit was infused into Sudanese Sufism.

The pioneering leadership of Sheikh Ahmed Ateyyib, better known in

Sudan as al.Ghauz, led to renewal not only of the practical aspects of God

remembrance- ziker and songs of praise (madih)- but also to the

philosophy of Sufism. For the first time Sudanese Sufi literature came to

be identified comprehensively with some new Sufi concepts such as

alnur  al Muhammad, wuhdat alwegud  (unity of existence),  fana

(passing away) etc. and practically, may Allah pleased him, the Sheikh

expressed these views in his masterpiece al hikam-the book of wisdom.

Master Sheikh Ahmed Ateyyib wad al.Bashir is a descendant of Abasi on

his father's side, and through his grandmother descended from al.sayyida

Fatima, the daughter of the prophet (pbuh). Finally, and because of his

pioneering and significant role in the tariqa, the tariqa came to be known

as tariqa al .Tayyibia  al.Sammaniyya and in Sudan it is the largest tariqa

with adherents numbering in the millions.

Copyright- Sammanyia Omaidan.