[2] He was the son of Mohammed Fadil Mamin (founder of the Fadiliyya, a Qadiriyya Sufi brotherhood), and the elder brother of shaykh Saad Bouh, a prominent marabout (religious leader) in Mauritania.

Ma al-'Aynayn was a nickname he received as a child, meaning "water of the two eyes" in Arabic, in reference to the Qadiriya Sheikh Sidi Ahmed El Bekkay who immigrated to Oualata a few centuries earlier.

Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco did not have control over Ma al-'Aynayn's forces but this display of effective cooperation helped assemble a large coalition of tribes to fight the colonizers.

Ma al-'Aynayn set about acquiring firearms and other materials both through channels in Morocco and through direct negotiations with rival European powers such as Germany[citation needed], and quickly built up a sizable fighting force.

[4] The newspaper called the qaid and spiritual leader’s patriotism and religious devotion into question, describing him as an unscrupulous mendicant and arms smuggler,[5] even peddling rumors that his followers were Shii'a.

"and:"لم يكن إشفاق المولى عبد العزيز على هذا الشيخ ولا أكرمه سخاء على حاشيته وأتباعه فمازلنا نتذكر الأنعام العديدة التي حباه بها في العام الماضي والذنوب الكبيرة التي تحمل المخون مسؤوليتها يوم مروره بالدار البيضاء وكيف كانت العمال تقاد إلى طاعة الشيخ صاغرة كالنعاج لدى الراعي والأمناء تتسابق للتبريك …حاملة الهدايا والدراهم، والشيخ يهزأ بالمخزن ويضحك عليه"[4] "Abdelaziz had no compassion for the sheikh, nor did he honor him for the sake of his entourage and supporters.

Ma al-'Aynayn, concerned that Morocco would fall into European hands, decided to extend Jihad north of Tiznit at the head of an army of 6,000 men to overthrow the new Sultan Abdelhafid.