Born in
Madagh in 1922 Sidi Hamza BOUTCHICHI (R) showed signs of
spiritual stature very early in his life. He quickly
attracted the attention of the
Majdubs (One who
is Intoxicated in GOD) of market (Souk)
Ahfir, well known for their spiritual perception. They
embraced him and told Sidi al-Hajj Abbas (R) to take good care
of him. Sidi Boumadiane (R) had also told him that Sidi Hamza
(R) would be someone exceptional. He spent an ordinary
childhood for one born into a rural family. His time was
divided between activities on the land and religion. His
father would take him to the fields so that he might be
familiar with the earth. “In my childhood I received a
religious education. I grew up imbued with respect for people
and the principles of the Quran”.
He pursued
his studies along the lines of the traditional education of
the time in the Zawiya at Madagh and Quranic school. His early
disciplines entailed four main pursuits:
·
Learning the
Quran (from 3/4 years until 8/9 years)
·
The
religious sciences (Mutun)
grammar (Nahu),
jurisprudence (Fiqh)
for six years.
·
After the
death of his uncle and teacher, Sidi al-Makki in 1936, Sidi
Hamza (R) went to Oujda to continue his studies at the
university (1937-1940)
·
He returns
to the Zawiya in Madagh, where for a further four years he
deepened his knowledge in the company of two religious
scholars (‘Ulema)
from the city of Fes.
He learned
the traditional sciences of the hadith, expounding of the
Quran, Jurisprudence, theology, mathematics, rhetoric and
logic, in all of which he excelled and mastered.
Sidi Hamza
(R) is always quoting the words of his principle teachers many
of whom are also members of his family and of the Beni Snassen
such as Sidi Ali Qadiri the descendant of (see the
initiatory chain)
Sidi
Moulay Abd-al Qadiri al Jilani (470H/559H -1077/1166 AD) and
it is from here that Sidi Hamza has inherited the name of el
Qadiri.
After many
years devoted to the study of the religious sciences, Sidi
Hamza (R) then turned his attention to the esoteric sciences
at the hand of Sidi Abu Madyan (R), a distant uncle, who
became his spiritual master, but who was hitherto little known
to him. It was after the death of one of Sidi Hamza’s (R)
sisters that the two were destined to meet.
1942
Was an
important year. Within the space of one month both Sidi Hamza
(R) and his father both became disciples of Sidi Abu Madyan
(R). They would remain so for the next fourteen years. At the
time Sidi Al Hajj Abbas (R) was 40, traditionally the required
age. Sidi Hamza was only 19, and had hardly completed his
education. In the course of those fourteen years in the
company of their spiritual master they took note of everything
the master said and of every detail of his comportment and
actions. “During the fourteen years we spent near to our
master we assiduously followed our devotions which consisted
mainly of the reading of the Quran and to remembering GOD
(Dhikr).
“I loved him dearly and greatly admired the simple majesty of
his manners and of his words” notes Sidi Hamza.
1958
Before he
died, Sidi Abu Madyan (R) appointed Sidi Hajj Abbas (R) as his
successor and inheritor of his spiritual heritage (Sirr).
Sidi al-Hajj Abbas (R) rejected this for five years. He only
took up his destined direction in 1960 after he had three
times had the same premonitory dream. In the dream angels
exhorted him to take the appointment (Idhn)
seriously and that if he did not he would be erased from the
book of Saints (Awliya).
In fact Sidi
Hamza (R) also had received the appointment (Idhn)
from Sidi Abu Madyan (R) but after his death, he made
allegiance to his father and became his disciple for seven
years. “A black beard does not grow from a white beard”.
The son cannot precede his father. This is an essential part
of the respect of Sufi good manners (adab).
1972
When Sidi
el-Hajj Abbas (R) died he bequeathed all his spiritual
authority to Sidi Hamza (R) and exhorted his disciples (fuqara)
to follow him.
