As salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi ta'ala wa barakatuhu. We thank Zakariya Wright and Cheikh Diery Cisse for sharing our beloved Shaykh Hassan Cisse's (ra) last public address with us.

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Alhamdulillah, the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden, and to Him all things return. Peace and blessing on the Prophet Muhammad, the opener of what was closed, the secret of creation.

Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Islam, fellow servants on the way back to Allah, to all those who have heard the blessed name of the beloved of God, Shaykh Hassan Cisse. I am writing from Medina Baye where Allah has honored this poor servant to witness the last week of Shaykh Hassan Cisse's life before passing. His funeral was attended by over two million people from all around the world. Seven people died in the crowds, some of them from overwhelming emotion only from hearing that they were bringing the coffin of Shaykh Hassan.

I have gathered here the gist of Shaykh Hassan's last public address the day before he passed away. The occasion was a funeral in Kaolack. The following summary was conveyed to us by Cheikh Diery Cisse, the intimate traveling companion of Shaykh Hassan:

'A person in this life is like the traveler that stops under a tree to rest for a while before continuing on. The same Allah who took back to Himself the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Shaykh Ahmad Tijani and Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse will not leave anyone on the face of the earth. Allah's power is such that He can take whole communities at once, as in Indonesia with the Tsunami: entire towns and villages were wiped off the map. There was no one even to perform the janaza for them. For Allah to take only one person is a mercy. Whatever Allah takes, belongs to Him; whatever Allah leaves on the earth for a time, belongs to Him. I am leaving you with Allah. Shaykh Ibrahim once said to my father, Saydi Ali, I am leaving you in the pocket of the Prophet. And I say: I am leaving you in the pocket of Shaykh Ibrahim.'

Afterwards, we thanked Cheikh Diery for the all the years he spent in service to our Shaykh, traveling with him everywhere he went around the world. He said, really it was a privilege and an honor. Almost twenty years ago, Cheikh Diery continued, he was riding in the car with Shaykh Hassan, with Cheikh Tijan Cisse in the front seat. Shaykh Hassan said, "You should be thankful to be helping me. My grandfather once prayed for me, and then told me, 'Go tell your mother and father I have just prayed for you a prayer that no one can stop the mission that is for you to complete.' So be thankful to be helping me in this mission, because whether you help me or not, this mission will be completed. Your helping me is not for my benefit, it is only because Allah has chosen to shower you with blessing and credit for good deeds. For when Allah asks of my mission, your names will be recorded among those who helped." He also mentioned a time when Shaykh Hassan and he were eating out of the same dish with a noble Sharif. One of the Shaykh's beloveds, Mahi Thiam, entered to room and Shaykh Hassan invited him to eat. Out of respect he declined, until Shaykh Hassan insisted, "Don't you know there are some people who have ijaza directly from the Prophet Muhammad, that if you eat with them you will go to Paradise?"

May Allah strengthen us all to continue the work. May He grant us the promise of the Prophet, "A man is with (in the afterlife) whom he loves."

Among the signs he gave of his near departure was one related by Nazir Tal, a direct descendent of al-Hajj Umar who met Shaykh Hassan when he returned from traveling one week before passing. Shaykh Hassan told Nazir, "I don't mind if I never see an airplane again." Nazir said, "But Shaykh, all your work is travelling all around the world, how can you avoid planes?" He just replied, "The last time Shaykh Ibrahim traveled, he was in Paris, and the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) came to him in broad daylight. This last time, I traveled to Norway, Libya, Morocco, Ivory Coast and France. And when I was in Paris, I was alone in my room, and the Prophet also entered to see me in broad daylight."

May Allah receive him with great pleasure, and may He be pleased with us on his account.

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