Heritage of Memory, Call of Generations
In the heart of the quiet forests of Majmoula (Khamis Beni Arous), stands the sanctuary of Sidi Salam—a sacred site carrying centuries of spiritual and cultural legacy. Despite suffering from systemic neglect, damaged access roads, and a lack of digital documentation, this sanctuary remains a vital beacon of identity for the region.
Our Declarations:
- Preserving Sacred Heritage: We reject the marginalization of our spiritual landmarks. The memory of Sidi Salam belongs to the living history of the region and must be protected.
- Honoring Local Stewardship: We extend our gratitude to the devoted community members and benefactors who spend their own resources to maintain and safeguard this sanctuary when official support falls short.
- Reclaiming Accessibility: We call for the urgent infrastructure repair of the roads and pathways leading to Majmoula, restoring dignity to the pilgrims, visitors, and locals who travel here.
- Digital Restoration: By leveraging technology and digital archiving, we ensure this sacred space is documented, recognized, and accessible to future generations across the globe.
Peace, Reflection, Preservation.
The House of the Comprehensive Master, Mawlana 'Abd al-Salam
Mawlana 'Abd al-Salam ibn Mashish left four sons and one daughter named Fatimah:
- Sayyidi Muhammad: His eldest son, buried behind his father's grave inside the blessed enclosure (al-Rawdah) alongside his father's servant, Ibn Khaddamah.
- Sayyidi Ahmad ibn Mawlana 'Abd al-Salam: He passed away during his father's lifetime as a man with children, and was buried near his father's residence at a place called Adyaz al-Fawqani (or Diyar al-Fawqani), where there was formerly a ruined village of which only ruins remain.
They mentioned that they had no knowledge, nor did their children who used to inform them about the families of the noble lineage, nor about those residing and departing among them, and where they were. Just as they used to inform them about the famous figures of the shur (or consultations/matters)—to whom do they belong? All their people were famous and known among them, and none of them ever mentioned having any knowledge through hearing or acquaintance about anyone from the sons of al-'Afiyah who existed in this village whose lineage was cut off or who moved from it to another village. It is well-known to both the special and the general public of the people of genealogy, as they also know, that the people of Tjazart are from the descendants of three men: al-Ha'imi, al-Tahir, and al-Hadr, and that they prefer their lineage to be preserved until now due to their strict preservation against intruders. Al-Allamah Ibn Rahmun erred when it was not proven in transmission, and there was no more than 272 years between us and him. A duration like this cannot make the oral tradition of a famous family vanish, even if its individuals vanished within it. Therefore, the existence of the narration of al-'Afiyah among the descendants of Sidi Muhammad bin Abd al-Salam is among the imaginary visits akin to alien sectarian fabrications foreign to Islam.
As for Sidi Abd al-Wahhab bin Abd al-Karim mentioned, he is buried in the cemetery next to his father, while his brother, the Sayyid Abd al-Wahid, is buried at the upper part of the village of Dashr al-Ithnayn from the tribe of Bani Yidar, faction of Bani Ahmad.
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...at the slope of Mount al-Alam from the direction of the Qibla, with an enclosure made of stones without mortar, amidst a few Dalm trees.
(3) His son, Sayyid "Ali" bin Abi Bakr, buried in the village of Mibzan, and his shrine is located near the mentioned village in a retreat of wild trees, with an enclosure of stones without mortar surrounded by a cemetery for his descendants, cousins, and others from the inhabitants of the village.
(4) His son, Sayyid "Ahmed" bin Abi Bakr, buried in the forest of al-Dakk near his father inside the wall in the direction of the Qibla to the right of the one ascending to the village, with an enclosure of stones without mortar.
(5) His son, Sayyid "Muhammad" bin Abi Bakr, nicknamed al-Malha, and he is also buried next to his father's grave in the forest of al-Dakk, no more than fifty paces away from him, with an enclosure of stones without mortar, plastered with lime, well-known to the people of the village and others from the neighboring villages. These five mentioned are the successors of the children of Sayyid Abu Bakr bin Ali, may God have mercy on them, and they are the origin of everyone whose lineage is authentically traced back to Mount al-Alam, excluding other cousins of the Idrisids, even if they resided in their houses within the scientific sanctuary. The progeny of each of these five mentioned individuals will remain until now within the circle of many families scattered in the tribe of Bani Arus and others. We shall bring you details regarding those noble families in their origins and branches, linking them to the famous fathers and ancestors, until you see them connected by a lineage preserved in chests through knowledge and eyewitness observation back to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, according to what I found established and detailed in the official genealogical registers of several official nuqaba' (syndics) who were delegated for this purpose by the states they lived with. Starting with the first son of Sayyid Abu Bakr, the owner of the aforementioned first number, up to the end of the fifth number, from Sayyid Mashish to Sayyid Muhammad al-Malha. It began with Mashish due to the abundance of his progeny, and because they represent the majority of the Sharifian scholars, and with God is success and upon Him is reliance, so I say:
The Al-Mashishi House
The righteous wali (saint) (Sulayman), nicknamed "Mashish," left behind three men, and no others are known of him.
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(1) The comprehensive shaykh and brilliant qutb (pole), holder of sublime indications, jurisprudential, religious, and arshic sciences, the one who attained perfections in divine bounties: "That is the bounty of Allah; He grants it to whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty," "Abu Muhammad" Mawlana Abd al-Salam bin Mashish, buried at the peak of Mount al-Alam where his shrine stands until now.
(2) His elder brother, the righteous wali Sayyid "Al-Hajj Musa al-Rida," buried at the top of the village of Dar Bajaw near the scholarly village of Tazrut, and it is only about three miles away from it, with an enclosure orderly built from stones without mortar amidst a few wild trees, and near it is his mosque for prayer, and its building remains preserved for anyone who wishes to pray and remember God in seclusion. He passed away twenty years before his aforementioned brother the Shaykh, and it is narrated that the aforementioned Shaykh used to visit his brother's grave every Friday until his death, and he would meet his father's grave on his way to it.
(3) Their brother Sayyid "Yamlah" bin Mashish, buried behind his father's grave by a few meters, between them is an enclosure of stones about a cubit high, plastered with lime. All of them are full brothers from the protected mother, our lady Zahra, sister of Sayyid Ibrahim bin Arif, buried in the middle of the mountain. Everyone knows him because he is a famous visited sanctuary, sought for blessing in life and death. Her lineage traces back to Sidi Hunayn, so she is an Idrisi Sharifian noblewoman, buried at a place known as Khandaq Ibran where a village used to be that was ruined in ancient times, and it has an enclosure of stones without mortar, plastered with lime, visible to the eye from the peak of al-Manazir.
The House of the Comprehensive Shaykh Mawlana Abd al-Salam
The aforementioned Shaykh Mawlana Abd al-Salam bin Mashish left behind four men and a single daughter named Fatima. They are his sons:
(1) Sayyid "Muhammad," who is his eldest son, buried behind his father's back inside the blessed rawdah (shrine), and before his father is his servant, the son of Khadama. Thus, the noble rawdah comprises three graves for the mentioned persons, as mentioned by the Shaykh Mawlay Abd al-Allah al-Ghazwani, transmitted from the handwriting of his shaykh, the scholar Sidi Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Masnawi, may God have mercy on him. Then his son:
(2) Sayyid "Ahmed" bin Mawlana Abd al-Salam, who died during his father's lifetime as a man with children and was buried near his father's dwelling place, at a place called (Diyar al-Fawqani) where there used to be a village that was ruined in ancient times, and nothing remained of it except ruins, and it was...
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This village is located at a distance of two miles from the Qutb's shrine, and from it the masters used to ascend to his mosque known at the peak of the mountain called today the Mosque of the Angels. The people of the ruined village moved to another place close to the first one, below it at a place called Fidali, because the first village was surrounded by a thicket of trees from every side. There remain in it the traces of the Shaykh's house, may God have mercy on him, and his ruined mosque, and behind the mosque are several graves, most of them for children, whose teachings (inscriptions) have been erased except for a few. Among them is the grave of the Shaykh's wife, Mawlana Abd al-Salam, our lady Khديجة (Khadija) the daughter of his paternal uncle, and her place remains visible. Near it is a water spring that remains in its original state and has not changed over the passage of time. The introduction to the Shaykh's wife will come shortly, may God have mercy on them both. At the lower part of the Shaykh's house stands the shrine of his aforementioned son, السيد أحمد (Seyed Ahmed), with an enclosure of unmortared stones plastered with lime, and near it a mosque was built for him for those who wanted to worship and seclude themselves in it. It was established in recent times by the children of the aforementioned Seyed Ahmed: the children of al-Tariq and the children of Afilal. From this village, the Shaykh, may God have mercy on him, used to emerge during the days of al-Difa' in the last third of the night, ascending to his private mosque. He had another mosque near the spring of al-Birka whose structure remained established before the Spanish occupation of northern Morocco, then it was ruined and left as a mound of stones in its place. Next to it, the clear prayer place (al-Musalla) remains standing. The Shaykh, may God have mercy on him, used to perform ablution at the spring of al-Birka and ascend to his mosque at the peak of the mountain known today as al-Manazir. Near the door of the mosque, there is the Shaykh's cave at a distance of about four meters, which is suitable only for sitting; he used to frequent it during hot weather facing the Qibla. To the right of the mosque at a distance of about 70 meters, there is another cave, inhabited in recent times by a worshipper named al-Hajj al-Wadrasi, who has built a water reservoir over the first cave today. However, the rock of the cave has not changed, and from the aforementioned reservoir, water flows to the ablution areas at the shrine, the village, and the market. The aforementioned reservoir draws its water from springs at the bottom of the mountain at a distance of about a mile and a half from the shrine, on the western side. The repair of this water was part of the new restoration carried out at the Shaykh's shrine in the year 1392 AH / 1972 AD through a motorized engine prepared for that purpose in a solid building. The Shaykh's mosque beside the cave is built of arranged stones without mortar, furnished with mats (al-Farshi), and its building remains in its original state, unchanged except for a window in its mihrab through which the Shaykh used to watch for the dawn prayer, and perhaps it was ruined and rebuilt, so it was left
End of the Section, to be continued
Author
Taher Ben Abdessalam El Lhioui Al-Wahhabi Al-Alami Al-Hassani
Foreword
Abdallah Guennoun
Digital Edition, Translation and Presentation
Jaafar El Lhioui
Northern Morocco ArchiveConclusion
The archival lineage records preserved by historian Taher El Lhioui offer critical insights into the structural dynamics of the early prophetic households. By documenting these primary transmissions and clarifying descendant pathways, his work serves as an essential bridge connecting foundational Islamic history with the genealogical heritage of Northern Morocco.
Stay tuned for the upcoming chapters of this digital series as we continue to unlock rare documents from the Northern Morocco Archive
Researcher, Editor, and Digital Activist
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