Regular Muslims consider fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and offering Namaz (prayer) five times a day to be fundamental aspects of their faith. Any practicing Muslim who does not adhere to these two of the "five pillars" of islam is not regarded as a Muslim.
 
But, like other faiths across the world, islam has hundreds of sects. One of them is distinct in that it does not practice the required ceremonial prayers (Namaz) or the fasts during the month of Ramadan. Known as the Baye Fall community, this "Muslim" sect is a Senegalese branch of Sufi Islam.

Interestingly, the Baye Fall group still considers itself a Muslim and believes that the greatest way to serve Allah is via hard labor and actions, even if they do not practice fasting or ceremonial prayers.
 
Who are the Baye Fall Muslims?
The teachings of Ahmadu Bamba Mbacke, a Senegalese religious leader and Sufi saint who founded the Muridiyya organization (the Mouride Brotherhood) and resided in what was then French senegal from 1853 to 1927, are the foundation of the Baye Fall community.
 
Along with spearheading a nonviolent fight against the French colonial empire, Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba also wrote poetry and pamphlets about meditation, rituals, work, and studying the Quran. One of his followers, Sheikh Ibrahima Fall (1855–1930), transformed the Mouride Brotherhood into the powerful Baye Fall movement and established the fundamental principles of the sect that its adherents still adhere to today.
 
The Fall of Baye Muslims see themselves as followers of Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, and they believe that conventional required Islamic traditions like fasting or Namaz are equivalent to hard work, service, good actions, and devotion to one's Sufi teacher (Shaykh).
 
One of Sheikh Bamba's most well-known disciples, Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, believed that labor was a way to worship Allah. He also introduced the idea of how a disciple should interact with his Shaykh, drawing on the Sahabas (the Prophet Muhammad's companions) as examples. To support his views, he cited ideas from the Quran's Surah Al-Hujurat.
 
The Baye Fall community, which was progressively formed by Sheikh Fall's movement, is composed of people who feel that namaz and other mandatory Islamic rituals may be replaced with diligence and hard work.



 
 

 
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SIBY JEYYA

24/01/2025 09:50 AM