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1.Sidi Ahmed Benyoucef The commemorative plaque
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2.Sidi Ahmed Benyoucef Sidi Ahmeds Mosque
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3.Sidi Ahmed Benyoucef The Ablution Fountain
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Sidi Ahmed Benyoucef the Writer beside the Mausoleum
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i Ahmed Benyoucef the Writer with Sheikh Hadj Mohamed Tahar
Kouadri ,
minent Imam & Historian of the city of Khemis -Miliana
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6.Sidi Ahmed Benyoucef the Writer with Sheikh Salem Ben Brahim
an
Eminent Alim from Adrar inside Sidi Ahmeds Courtyard
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62-10 IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL
Behold Verily on the Friends of Allah there is no fear norshall
they Grieve Holy-Quran 10-62.
*Subject:Muslim Saints of Algeria & the Maghrib*1.SIDI AHMED
BENYOUCEF AL MELYANI
He is one of the most popular Saint of North Africa according to
therare historical manual (in French Language) in my possession
that
ofEmile Dermengheim- Le Culte des Saints de LIslamMaghrbin he
was born in the XV century ( around 1446 CE) in
the area of Qalaa of Bani Rashed near the town of
Relizane(Western-Algeria) he travelled a lot in search of science
while in
Bijaya (Eastern-Algeria) he met an Erudite Saint Sidi
AhmedZerrouk Al Barnoussi he was very fond of him and it was him
who
initiated Sidi Ahmed to the Chadiliyya Tarika or Sufi path .It
was revealed that during this sojourn in Bijaya, Sidi AhmedsSheikh
or Master Sidi Zarrouk invited three of his disciples and
asked them to express their most cherished hope:
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I wish to perform the Hajj journey said oneI wish that my curses
against the oppressors will be fulfilled said the
other
I wish that Allah will make me similar to the earth upon which
theBeliever and the infidel, the righteous and the perverse, the
slave and
the free, man and woman trample under feet!!
This last wish emanating from Sidi Ahmed Ben Youssouf pleased a
lot
Sidi Zarrouk who instantaneously declared Sidi Ahmed as the
mostlearned and rightly-initiated Student while blessing him added:
OAhmed you will be very beneficial to Mankind.
Sidi Ahmed Ben Youcef had also a great political role , as the
BaniZiyan or Abdel Wad dynasty of Tlemcen were in falling decadence
,
moreover the great and warm welcome given to Sidi Ahmed by
theinhabitants of Oran attracted the Bani Ziyan s wrath towards
thisreception as it was seen as a challenge to their rule ,
consequently
Sidi Ahmed was harmed and in the aftermath of this row a quick
curseby this Wali was to be inflicted on the dynasty rulers as a
result of this
sad event Spanish forces captured Oran in 1509.
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When the Ottomans entered Algiers in 1516 in order to put an
endto the Spanish threat on Western Algerian coasts such as
Oran,
Tns and Mers Al Kabir, Sidi Ahmed had cordial and close
relationswith the famous Ottoman Brothers Kheirdinne Barbarousse
and
Arroudj and blessed their intervention.
Further to the south or Sahara, Sidi Ahmed made another
journeywhere he had as usual a great and careful audience to whom
he
made this sermon after a sandstorm: your sand has dried up
mymouth, your stones have worn out my feet and your water has
not
quenched my thirst Sidi Bousmaha (Sidi Ahmeds closeCompanion)
replicated: If you found the Sahara so ugly; it is
better for you to leave it? Sidi Ahmed replied back: No my
dearbrother, you will remain here and your descendents will
populate
this place.
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It is noteworthy to say that during this Sahara journey ,
anotherevent occurred in the form of a hard trial of the famous
Seven slainpeople or (Mdabih) in this historical anecdote it was
revealed that in
a bid to test his disciples faith and so as to choose a lasting
andreliable elite among the large mob , Sidi Ahmed announced to
thecrowd that he had received a (Divine call) to slay seven of his
bestfollowers , therefore the crowd was less than dense and only
seven
Men remained there and successively entered in the house
wherethere were supposed to be slain , blood was flowing under the
door ,it was that of sheep and it was the Sheikh huge and
appropriate
selection of the very best of his companions and disciples.
Sidi Ahmed Ben Youssouf died while on a journey in the town
of
Kherba (Ain Defla District) in 1526, and according to his will
as wellas to other fairy tales his corpse was attached to his mule
and beburied at the last stop of the animal, so at the entrance of
the city ofMiliana or Melyana, in a garbage dump there was the
final stop as it
was predicted by his Master Sidi Zarrouk.
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The site was also predestined, as a Saint or Wali Sidi
Hadlilived there and for years this Saint was making baskets for
noapparent use, but were later used for building and earth
clearing for the well renowned shrine of Sidi Ahmed BenYoucef,
that up to these days is still glittering in a magnificentlandscape
in the city of Miliana a 120 km distance west ofAlgiers.
[email protected]
MOHAMED BOKRETAFREELANCE WRITER &
CULTURAL TOURISM [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
