Not long after, Ibn al-Sanusi established his first zawiya in the Hijaz, at al-Qubays in Mecca al-Mukarramah. Historians differ on whether the zawiya was established during the lifetime of Ibn Idris or after his death. Shukri states that he built it around the year 49 AH (approximately 1833 AD) after the death of his teacher. According to Ahmad al-Sharif, Ahmad ibn Idris was ill in that year. Therefore, we lean towards the view that he built it during his teacher's illness, which is also what al-Mustani says. It is clear from his words that Ibn al-Sanusi was inspired by the call of Ahmad ibn Idris, whom Ahmad al-Sharif mentioned in his biography.

During that period, Ibn al-Sanusi began giving lessons in Mecca and learned from the gathering of disciples and students of knowledge around him. We cannot say that the system of zawiyas that Ibn al-Sanusi later implemented was clear in his mind when he began his call, and that the details of his goals and methods were clear to him. However, it is certain that the path of his method was clear, and the commencement of building the first zawiya is a result of this clarity. Historians consider the zawiya at al-Qubays to be the first zawiya established by Ibn al-Sanusi, and we support this view, even though Ibn al-Sanusi built a zawiya before it, as King Idris mentioned, at Awlad Nail in southeastern Constantine. This is because the zawiya at Awlad Nail was not for the propagation of the Sanusi call, as the call had not yet solidified in his mind. The establishment of the zawiya at al-Qubays came after his intention to undertake the call.

After Ibn al-Sanusi spent years with his teacher Ibn Idris, something happened that forced Idris to leave the Hijaz. The reason for the departure was the persecution of Ibn Idris by the government authorities and the opposition of the scholars of Mecca, who began to criticize him, considering him to be deviating from the established jurisprudence and teachings that the scholars had been accustomed to for a long time, to the point where they considered him an innovator. Their criticism then turned into persecution.