Centering Muslim political theology through an experiential epistemology, this paper discuss the combined legacies of Hajj 'Umar Fūti Tāl (d. 1864) and Shaykh Ibrahim Niāsse (d.1975), the most influential Tijani scholarly figures in modern Muslim West Africa. Combined, their teachings and authority—centering gnosis (ma'rifa) and a direct, living connection with the Prophet Muhammad—proliferated the Tijani path among millions of wayfarers and transformed the landscape of Islam in West Africa. Both scholars left a legacy of distinctive political acumen and influential anti-colonial projects. Tāl was deeply critical of authority figures he deemed unjust and even fought—by the pen and the sword—local "pagan" forces, garnering him a mixed, controversial legacy. His unapologetic disposition towards justice and his commitment to reform by way of spreading knowledge eventually thrust him into the throws of armed resistance against local and French forces in the last decade of his life. His so-called 'Umarian caliphate, though short lived, is often seen as the pre-cursor to the "Flood" brought by Shaykh Ibrahim Niāsse, whose legacy of being the prophesized "Flood Bearer" due to the massive expansion of the Tijani path in the 20th century. Hailing from a household that was active in the resistance to French colonization, Shaykh Ibrahīm gained global renown and enjoyed a vast international and Islamic network with leaders and politicians, leaving behind a vast corpus of speeches, letters and writings on Ummatic consciousness, Pan-Africanism, and anti-colonialism. Together, both scholars represent a Muhammadan modernity: a Tijani Sufi approach to active, principled engagement to political challenges, one that centers soulcraft—the process of actualizing one's soul (tahqīq) through experiential knowledge of God—at the heart of its resistance.