Although our Shaykh’s master, Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, was an accomplished master of the Path, he was not known by everyone.

His sanctity was so concealed that even his own family did not know his spiritual stature. To this effect, Sīdī Abdel-Nasser, our Shaykh’s brother, said: “When I was young I told my mother, may God embrace her in His mercy, that I was going to travel to Egypt to visit Shaykh Kishk to seek the blessings flowing from his hands. She responded by saying, ‘You need not go all the way to Egypt for that. Go to your own uncle instead, he is a Shaykh and has inherited from your grandfather.’ Back then, while still a child, I did not know that I was going to visit him daily.

Mūlāy al-Ḥasan was known for his good humor and his smiling countenance. They all describe him as gentle, smiling, and generous. Thus, Sīdī Ḥājj Muḥammad Fadhil told me: “I have known Sayyidī Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkarī since he was a child. His father, Mūlāy Ṭayyib, had a dental office just next to my electrician shop. During his weekly trips to Nador, Mūlāy Ḥasan – may God be pleased with him – usually paid a visit to his brother, Sīdī Mūlāy Ṭayyib. Upon seeing me, he would spread his arms and hug me.

Mūlāy Ḥasan possessed an undeniable beauty (jamāl), and would always smile. I never saw the slightest trace of irritation in him. His stature was strong, and he always wore white. Likewise, he possessed great generosity. Whenever he invited people to his place, he welcomed them in the best manner, and never ate from what he served. He also ate very little. He would often say to his brother, ‘So and so should join us in Temsaman’, but alas, I was young and did not understand.”

Sayyidī Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkarī – may God sanctify his secret – said concerning Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, “He was sheer beauty (jamāl), and even in moments when he could become irritated, his face reflected joy and good humor so clearly that one could not help but laugh.”

Sīdī Abdel-Nasser al-Karkarī said: “He was sheer beauty... he was known for his great generosity, and he invited people daily. Both pious persons and sinners could be found at his place, as he never discriminated between them. All were equal to him. He would never leave without distributing all he had to the needy and the children.”

Some time after his return our Shaykh went with his father to visit his uncle, Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, for the occasion of the Eid al-Fiṭr, the feast of fast-breaking at the end of the month of Ramaḍān.

Concerning that occasion, Sayyidī Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi says, “Before joining the Path, I participated in an evening in the presence of the person who would become my spiritual master, Mūlāy al-Ḥasan – may God have mercy on him. We spent that evening at his place with our father and he started discussing with some of his family members on the divine attributes of God and His beautiful names.

Having been touched to the depth of my soul by his discussion I started recalling the sins I had committed, and this is how the fire of repentance seized me. At the end of the evening, once everybody had left, I went to meet Mūlāy al-Ḥasan and asked him, ‘O uncle, I want to repent. Does God accept my repentance?’ Noticing my state, Mūlāy al-Ḥasan began to weep and said to me, ‘If you wish to repent, it is because God has already pardoned you.’

I then asked him to initiate me and transmit to me the litany (wird), and he said, ‘When I return from Rabat I will give you the litany and will initiate you, but in the meantime go back home.’

I therefore returned home with my father, and while he and a family member were discussing in the car I could not stop thinking about turning to God in repentance.

When we reached our home, everyone went to their rooms. I could not sleep that night. Having been raised in the zāwiya of Mūlāy Ṭāhir, I knew that a novice had to invoke the divine name Allāh, and I did just this until the dawn prayers, after which I fell asleep. When I got up, I went to my father’s room and continued my invocation. It was as if the world became too narrow for me [once again]. I went out to offer the voluntary morning prayers (ḍuḥā) at the mosque and then returned in the presence of my father, but that state kept increasing to the extent that I felt I was going to implode from within.

I told my father, ‘Grant me permission to go to Mūlāy al-Ḥasan.’ My father replied, ‘We just returned from him and you want to go back already! What for?’

I told him, ‘Father, I want to make a spiritual retreat (khalwa)!’ That was indeed my intention. I thought that one could enter into the spiritual retreat whenever one wished. When he heard this, his eyes filled with tears, and he told me, ‘Let me give you some change for the taxi’. But I had one hundred dirhams which my aunt had given me – may God have mercy on her.

When he finally gave me permission to go to Mūlāy al-Ḥasan it was as if the gates of heaven opened for me. I remember going down the stairs of our house in all speed, and seeing my mother prepare the meal. She asked me to sit at the table but I refused, despite her insistence. As I was going downstairs, I asked myself, ‘What is this beard on my face? Perhaps I was not sincere in growing it... Hence, I went to the barber and asked him to shave both my head and my beard clean.

Then I returned home and burned all my clothes and all the papers I possessed ... everything! I could not find a shirt for my trip except a traditional Moroc- can garment ( jallāba) that belonged to my brother. I put it on and left, and I kept walking until I reached a river. There I took off my sandals and started walking barefoot with my eyes toward the sky, praying for God to accept my repentance. When I was passing nearby a souk the people there started making fun of me. Then I saw the Light fill the horizons, and I thought God was punishing me for my mistakes, and that He would take my sight away. That Light continued to shine and the night sky became as bright as day, but I nevertheless kept walking.”

He arrived in Temsaman crying his eyes out, bare- foot, his head uncovered. The villagers recognized the young man who had grown up in the zāwiya, and they informed Mūlāy al-Ḥasan of what transpired. When Mūlāy al-Ḥasan’s son entered in his father’s presence, he told him: “I just saw Faouzi walking barefoot with his sandals in his hands.” Mūlāy al-Ḥasan retorted, “What is the matter with him? Has he lost his mind?”

Sayyidī Ibn Siniy witnessed the following: “About fifteen minutes later, Sayyidī Shaykh entered and hugged Mūlāy al-Ḥasan’s feet, wept profusely, and asked to enter into the spiritual retreat (khalwa). That afternoon, when I was making my khalwa, I was with Mūlāy al-Ḥasan in the adjacent room. I heard him cry out the name Allāh, then sob, then cry out again. When he came out of the khalwa Mūlāy al-Ḥasan told us that he had been given a great opening (fatḥ).

[Recounting this event,] Sayyidī Shaykh said: “When I went in the presence of Mūlāy al-Ḥasan I found him in the company of the faqīr Ibn Siniy in his home, and upon seeing him I threw myself at his feet and hugged them. I told him, ‘O my uncle, allow me to enter into the spiritual retreat (khalwa), please.’ He kicked me with his feet and said, ‘Away from me! You think I let fools like you enter into the spiritual retreat?’ Only after having made the spiritual retreat I understood that it was a test. He continued to tell me to get away from him so much so that I decided to leave. On my way out, I heard him say to one of his sons, ‘Go accompany him to the taxi station so that he may return home.’ I told him, ‘No need to, I have been walking for ten years, and now that I want to return towards my Lord, you refuse me, and since God is everywhere I shall depart without return.’ Mūlāy al-Ḥasan – may God have mercy upon him – told me, ‘And where do you reckon you will go?’ I said, ‘I will cross the length of the sea until this is over for me.’ Witnessing my state, he finally said to me, ‘Stay! Go make your ritual ablutions and come.’

I made my ritual ablutions as told. While washing my feet I noticed that they had been soiled with mud and pricked by thorns. When I returned I saw that Mūlāy al-Ḥasan and his children were about to start dining. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan was invoking...

He would stop once in a while to inquire about my parents. Then he called my father and said to him, ‘I am jealous of the children that God has bestowed upon you.’ This was because Abdel-Nasser, my brother, had also made spiritual retreat (khalwa) under the orders of Ḥājj al-Ḥasan, but he had not succeeded in completing it.

When night set in, he came to see me and said, ‘Do you prefer to sleep together with my children or alone?’ I said, ‘I prefer alone.’ As I was preparing to go to my room, he told me, ‘Wait, wait.’ He gave me a small rosary, he held my hand, and then recited some words. Then he said, ‘Here, now you have the litany (wird).’ I asked him, ‘But what should I recite?’ He said, ‘Wait until tomorrow, I will tell you.’ I did not know that this was the oath of allegiance (bayʿa). All I desired was to turn to God in repentance (tawbah). I only wanted to be accepted by my Lord. Then I took the Qurʾān that was in the room, looked at the contents and found a sūrah, namely sūrat al-Tawbah (Chapter 9 of the Qurʾān)... I thought to myself that it was fitting for me who wanted to make tawbah.

While reading I noticed that it had no basmala, I expected to read verses such as ‘My servant, I forgive you,’ but no. This sūrah was revealed as a disavowal of the unbelievers, and such was my station (maqām).

And what a reading ... I didn’t even know how to recite the Qurʾān, my reading was arduous, and I would misread every other word... but I succeeded in completing the sūrah. I saw myself in every verse that spoke of the unbelievers, and I saw others in the verses regarding Muslims and believers. This is how we read the Qurʾān.

Then I saw the Light. It came from the right and then from the left. Initially I thought it was behind me, then when I kept my sight fixed at a point it would move. Thus I understood that it was a Light coming from within, not from without. I got up in the middle of the night to offer two cycles of prayers and I saw the whole prayer mat become Light.”

Sīdī Muḥammad b. Siniy Taibi told us: “We paid a visit to Mūlāy al-Ḥasan for the occasion of Eid al-Fiṭr, the feast of fast-breaking at the end of Ramaḍān. That evening Mūlāy al-Ḥasan gave a mudhākarah and was engaged in discussion with his children. We were all paying attention but Sīdī Mohamed Faouzi listened with his head down and started to cry. Sīdī Mūlāy al-Ḥasan asked me to perform a spiritual audi- tion (samāʿ), and I did just that. I remember reciting the poem of Sīdī Aḥmad al-ʿAlāwī – may God sanctify his secret – that begins with Ayā murīd Allāh nʿid lak qawlī asghāh (“O seeker of God listen to the words I repeat”). That evening it was Sīdī Shaykh who opened the Sufi dance. There were twelve of us present: Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, Sīdī Mohamed Faouzi, Sīdī Muḥammad b. Siniy, Sīdī Mūlāy Ṭayyib (the father), Sīdī Abdel-Nasser, Mounir b. Nourredine, Ṭāhir b. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, Nourredine b. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, ʿĀdil b. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, Saʿīd b. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, Mohamed Amine b. Mūlāy al-Ḥasan, and Ibrahim the young son of Mūlāy al-Ḥasan.

After the Sufi dance, when the session ended, he sought Mūlāy al-Ḥasan’s permission to enter the Path. He told him to wait until his return. I told him to stay with me at Mūlāy al-Ḥasan’s place until his return, but he refused. With a disturbed, distraught look he said: ‘I will return, I will return.’ And he went back with Mūlāy Ṭayyib to the town of al-Aroui.