Imamsofthevalley Diacritic Edition Final1

Imams
Valley
of the
AMIN BUXTON


First published in 2012
Second edition 2013
DTI Publishing House

Western Cape
South Africa
daralturath@ymail.com
www.daralturath.co.za
Copyright © Dar al-Turath al-Islami (DTI )
DTI reserves all rights to this work. No part of this work

may be used for profit or commercial gain. Reproduction
for non-profit use is permitted.
Cover photograph by Abbas Khan, project-bostan.com

Book and cover design by Folio Works
Printed by Logo Print

CONTENTS
Foreword 9
Introduction 11
The Prophet Hūd 8 17
Àbbād bin Bishr al-Anṣārī ? 21
Imām al-Muhājir 25
Imām Àlī bin Àlawī “Khāli` Qasam” 29
Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam 31
Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf 36
Shaykh Ùmar al-Miḥḍār 40
Imām al-Àydarūs al-Akbar 43
Imam al-Àdanī 47
Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim 51
Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās 57
Imām al-Ḥaddād 63
Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī 70
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān Balfaqīh 79
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ḥusayn bin Ṭāhir 85
Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī 91
Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās 96
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī 106
Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Shihāb 113
Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Sumayṭ 120
Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ 125
Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm bin Àqīl bin Yaḥyā 129
Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād 136
Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Haddār 143
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf 150
Ḥabīb “Sa`d” al-Àydarūs 157
References and Diagrams 162
Final Word 170


FOREWORD
All praise is due to Allah, Whose bounty is limitless, and peace and blessings
be upon His Beloved, Muḥammad, and upon his pure Family, noble Com-
panions and all those who follow their path until the Last Day. Love for the
family of the Messenger G and the pious members of his Ummah is one
of the foundations of this religion but attainment of this love requires knowl-
edge. The following pages are an attempt to acquaint the English speaker
with some of the greatest Imāms of the Bā Àlawī Way, who made the Valley
of Ḥaḍramawt their home. It is hoped that this acquaintance will lead to
love for them and attachment to them, and be of the utmost benefit in this
life and the next. The way of these Imāms was to prefer obscurity and they
are probably better known in the Heavenly realm than on this Earth. How-
ever, there is a need for us to come to know them.
Volumes could not do justice to any of the Imāms mentioned here and
words cannot express the stations which they reached. However, it is hoped
that such an introduction can be a door leading to greater things.
Some of the teachers and pupils of each Imām are mentioned to illus-
trate the importance of the concept of sanad, the unbroken chain which con-
nects one Imām to another and preserves the purity and authenticity of the
9
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
knowledge which they transmit. Dates are generally given in the Hijrī calen-
dar, although some corresponding dates are given.
Although the focus of this book is on the Imams of the Bā Àlawī Way,
this edition has been expanded to include a brief biography of the Prophet
Hūd 8, as well as a biography of the Companion, Àbbād bin Bishr ?.
Both are certainly “Imāms of the Valley.”
We thank Allah for the presence of those who embody the way of these
great Imāms in our times. At their forefront is sayyidī Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Ḥafīẓ
and Ḥabīb Abū Bakr bin Àlī al-Mashhūr, who represent the final link in this
amazing chain. We have recently lost the physical presence of Ḥabīb “Sa`d”
al-Àydarūs, but his memory lives on. May Allah reward Shaykh Munīr
Bā Zuhayr, who, along with the forementioned, was the inspiration for this
work. May Allah also reward Shaykh Yahya Rhodus, Shaykh Abdurragman
Khan, Shaykh Riyad Saloojee, Fyrad Ali and Fazeed Ali for their assistance.
May Allah preserve them and increase them.
10

INTRODUCTION
Yemen and the Valley of Ḥaḍramawt

This book centres around the Valley of Ḥaḍramawt, which is situated in
Yemen, at the Southern foot of the Arabian Peninsula. On several occasions,
the Messenger of Allah G praised Yemen and its people. When informed
that the whole Yemeni tribe Hamdān had peacefully accepted Islām in one
day, he prostrated out of gratitude, something he did not do upon hearing
about the Islām of any other people.1 He said about of the Ashàrī tribe:
“The people of Yemen have come to you. They have the softest souls and
the most gentle hearts. Faith is Yemeni and wisdom is Yemeni.”2 He also
said: “When tribulations arise you must go the land of Yemen, for it is
blessed.”3 The Prophet G prayed: “O Allah, bless us in our Yemen.”4 There
is no doubt that his prayer was answered and these blessings remain for all
time. He also honoured Yemen by attributing it to his blessed self.
The Valley of Ḥaḍramawt has a long history and was honoured in ancient
1. Narrated by al-Bayhaqī
2. Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim
3. Narrated by Muslim
4. Narrated by al- Bukhārī and Muslim
11
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
times by the presence of the Prophet Hūd 8 and several other Prophets
of Allah. There are different opinions as to why the Valley was named
Ḥaḍramawt. Some say it was named after an ancient figure by the name of
Ḥaḍramawt. Others mention that the Prophet Ṣāliḥ 8 travelled to the
Valley with his followers after the destruction of his people. When he
reached the Valley he died and it was said ‘Ḥaḍramawt’, or ‘death has come.’
Ḥaḍramawt has the honour of being mentioned on the tongue of the Mes-
senger of Allah G , who said: “Allah will complete this affair until a horse-
man may travel from San`ā’5 to Ḥaḍramawt fearing no-one but Allah or
wolves getting to his sheep.”6
Several of the tribes of Ḥaḍramawt sent delegations to the Messenger of
Allah G in al-Madinah to accept Islām and pledge allegiance to him, and
Islām thus spread in the region during his lifetime. The Messenger of Allah
G appointed the great Companion, Ziyād bin Labīd al-Anṣārī ?, gover-
nor of Ḥaḍramawt. Several prominent Companions came from Ḥaḍramawt
and people from the region played an important role in the spread of Islām
during the time of al-Khulafā’ al-Rāshidūn.
Tarīm
Tarīm is the religious and spiritual capital of Ḥaḍramawt. Its establishment
dates back to at least a century before the Common Era and it is named after
its founder, Tarīm. The city has several other names. One is al-Ghannā’, due
to the lush date orchards that surround it. Its people accepted Islām in the
time of the Prophet G and remained firm after the death of the Messenger
of Allah G, when some tribes in the region wavered. They pledged alle-
5. The ancient and current capital of Yemen, situated in the North West of the country.
6. Narrated by al- Bukhārī
12
introduction
giance to Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq ? as soon as he was instated as

the Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah G. He subsequently made three
supplications for the city and its people. He asked that the city remain in-
habited until the Day of Judgement, that it be blessed with abundant water
supplies and that it be blessed with abundant pious people. For this reason
the city is sometimes known as Madīnat al-Ṣiddīq, ‘the City of al- Ṣiddīq’.
The city subsequently developed as a centre of scholarship. In the early
stages, religious leadership was in the hands of two tribes: Āl Bā Faḍl and Āl
Khaṭīb, the descendants of the Companion, Àbbād bin Bishr ?. Scholar-
ship was not however restricted to these two tribes: every tribe had its
scholars and it was said that everyone in the front row in the Friday prayer
was a scholar. This was one of the reasons that attracted the Àlawī Sayyids
to settle there in 521 (1126). They had previously lived in other towns in
the Valley, but Tarīm then became their centre. A city already ennobled by
the presence of the Companions and the pious was then enlightened by the
pure progeny of the Best of Creation G. The city flourished and witnessed
great Imāms in every generation. There they built places of worship and
learning, from Masjid Bā Àlawī, Masjid al-Saqqāf and Masjid al-Miḥḍār to
the Ribāṭ and Dar al-Muṣṭafā in more recent times.
It is said that there are great blessings in three places in Tarīm: its
mosques, its graveyards and its mountains. Its mosques are numerous and
some have already been mentioned. Buried in its three graveyards, collec-
tively known as Bashār, are thousands of the people of Allah, not to mention
a number of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah G. The first of the
three graveyards, Zanbal, is mostly reserved for the Àlawī Sayyids. Al-
Furayṭ is where Āl Bā Faḍl and Āl Khaṭīb and some other tribes are buried,
and Akdar is the burial place of still other tribes. Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān
13
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
al-Saqqāf (d. 819) said that buried in Zanbal are more than ten thousand of
the awliyā’ of Allah and eighty from the descendants of the Prophet G
who have reached the station of the quṭb. He made this statement in the
eighth or ninth century of the Hijrah, and since that time there is no doubt
that those numbers have increased greatly. Even the valleys and mountains
that surround the city were not deprived of blessings: several of the great
Imāms worshipped Allah in caves in the valleys of Nuàyr and Àidīd among
others.
That said, even the streets of Tarīm are blessed, such that it was said that
the city’s streets are the shaykh for the one who has no shaykh. Imam al-
Àdanī (d. 914) said:
‫وار ُعها ُدبِ َغ ْت بِ َأ ْقدا ِم َسا َد ٍة‬

ِ ‫َش‬
‫دور اهلُدى َأن َْو ُار ك ُِّل ُد ُجن ٍَة‬
ُ ‫ُب‬
Its streets have been tanned by the feet of great masters,
Full moons of guidance, who light up all darkness.
Shaykh al-Shawwāf said:
ِ ‫نان‬
‫الف ْر َد ْوس‬ ِ ‫ب ْل ِمن ِج‬ ‫ما هي من الدُّ نيا ال ُبوس‬
ْ َ
‫الالت اهلل‬
ُ ِ
‫ف َيها َج‬ ‫َر ْو َض ٌة َج َع َلها ال ُقدُّ وس‬
It is not part of this wretched material world,

but rather it is one of the gardens of Firdaus
The Transcendent One made it a garden,
in which are the manifestations of Allah’s majesty
14
introduction
Due to its great merits, many of the pious prefer only Makkah and al-
Madīnah over Tarīm. Despite this, their desire to spread the teachings of
Islām led many of the Àlawī Sayyids to leave Tarīm. They spread out, firstly
in Ḥaḍramawt and its environs, and then further afield to India, East Africa
and South East Asia.
The Bā Àlawī Way

The foundations of the Path were laid by al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam (d. 653),
and its methodology was developed by the Imāms in the generations that
came after him. The foundations of the path are five: knowledge (ìlm), action
(àmal), fear of Allah (khawf), sincerity (ikhlāṣ) and scrupulousness (wara`).
Various Imāms have offered definitions and summaries of the Way through-
out the centuries.
Ḥabīb Ṭāhir bin Ḥusayn bin Ṭāhir (d. 1241) said that the path is based
upon mastering the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah w’al-Jamā’ah, knowing the rulings
which are personally obligatory, following the narrations that inform us of
the Prophet’s various states and holding fast to the etiquettes of the Sacred
Law. Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar bin Yaḥyā (d. 1265) lists some of the attrib-
utes that the follower of the Path must seek to attain: spending one’s time
in pious works, perfecting one’s following of the Prophet G in them and
ensuring they are performed with sincerity and free from deficiencies; re-
moving every blameworthy trait from the heart and adorning it with every
noble trait; showing mercy and compassion to Allah’s slaves by teaching and
directing them to the means of salvation; commanding people to do good
and forbidding them from evil; being scrupulous in avoiding that which is
forbidden and dubious; reducing one’s portion of things which are merely
permissible or things which the lower self desires; honouring the ties of
15
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
kinship and brotherhood; showing goodness to all people; assisting those

in distress; showing humility and gentleness; being constantly vigilant of
the Creator; honouring one’s covenant; relying upon Allah, being content
with and submitting to His decree; being frugal and preferring obscurity.
At the end he says that these are but a few of those great attributes. “If you
desire full detail then you will find it in the Ihyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn of Ḥujjat al-
Islām (Imām al-Ghazālī).”
Ḥabīb Àlī bin Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī (d. 1333) summarised all of this in
one verse of poetry:
ِ ‫أعامل َخ َل ْت َعن َش‬

‫وائب‬ ٌ ‫و ها هي‬
ْ
ِ ‫الق و َك ْثر ُة َأور‬
‫اد‬ ٌ ‫و ِع ْل ٌم و َأ ْخ‬
َْ َ
It is: actions free from deficiencies,

Knowledge, noble character and abundant acts of devotion
In all that they did, the people of the Bā Àlawī Way had the utmost concern
for following the example of their predecessors, the salaf. The word salaf is
used in this context both for the early generations of the Muslims and for
the Bā Àlawī Imāms who have gone before. For this reason the advice of
Imām al-Ḥaddād (d. 1132) is as follows:
ِ ِ
َ ‫ا ْل َز ْم ك‬
‫تاب اهلل و ا ْت َب ْع ُسنَّ ًة‬
ِ ‫اك اهلل بِاألَس‬
‫الف‬ َ َ‫و ا ْقتَدْ َهد‬
ْ
Hold fast to the Book of Allah, and follow the Sunnah

And emulate, may Allah guide you, your predecessors.
16

THE PROPHET HŪD 8
Historians say that there are around seven generations between the Prophet
Hūd 8 and his ancestor, the Prophet Nūḥ 8, and that Hūd was the
first prophet to be sent after Nūḥ. They say that he was the first person to
speak the Arabic language. His story and the story of his people, `Ād, con-
stantly recurs in the Qur’ān.
Allah says: Remember the brother of `Ād when he warned his people in
al-Aḥqāf.7 The meaning of al-Aḥqāf is “the sandy hills,” which a number of
the scholars of Tafsīr (amongst them Qatādah, Muqātil and al-Tha`labī)
say are to be found in or around the Ḥaḍramawt Valley, which was the ter-
ritory of the people of `Ād. Allah blessed them with great physical stature
and strength as well as great wealth. Instead of being grateful to Him, how-
ever, they were arrogant and used their size and wealth to oppress people.
They built great edifices, thinking that they would live forever. Instead of
worshipping Him alone they worshipped a number of idols, and they were
the first people to do so after the Flood had purged the earth of idol wor-
ship. Allah thus commanded His Prophet Hūd 8, who was one of the
7. Al-Aḥqāf, 46:21
17
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
noblest of them in lineage, to call them to Allah. He said to them: “O my

people, worship Allah – you have no god other than Him...” “I am a Mes-
senger from the Lord of the Worlds. I convey to you the message of my Lord
and I am sincere (in wanting good for you) and trustworthy.”8
He promised his people the best of this world and the next if they would
only repent and worship Allah alone. However, they violently rejected him
and his message and refused to leave their gods. At this point Hūd 8
said to them: “I call Allah to witness, and I call you to witness, that I am free
from your ascribing to Him other gods as partners.” He then challenged
them, expressing his absolute reliance upon Allah: “So scheme your worst
against me, all of you, and give me no respite. I put my trust in Allah, my
Lord and your Lord. There is not a moving creature, but that He has grasp
of its forelock. Truly the path of my Lord is straight. If you turn away, then
(know) that I have conveyed the message with which I was sent to you. My
Lord will make another people succeed you, and you will not harm Him in
the least. Truly my Lord has care over all things.”9 When `Ād stubbornly
refused to accept the truth, Allah deprived them of rainfall for three years.
This drove them eventually to send a delegation to the House of Allah in
Makkah to beseech Allah for rain. Allah sent to them what seemed to be a
rain cloud but in fact it contained a fierce wind which was the cause of their
destruction: As for `Ād they were destroyed by a furious wind, exceedingly
violent. He made it rage against them seven nights and eight days in suc-
cession such that you could see the people lying scattered as if they were
the felled trunks of palm trees.10
8. Al-A`rāf, 7:65,68
9. Hūd, 11:54-57
10. Al-Ḥāqqah, 69:6-7
18
THE PROPHET HŪD 8
Hūd 8 and his companions were saved from destruction and the
fierce wind was for them a gentle breeze: So when Our decree was issued,
We saved Hūd and those who believed with him through Our mercy. We
saved them from a severe punishment.11 Hūd then lived on between the
Ḥaḍramawt Valley and the town of al-Shiḥr until he died. It was in the far
East end of the Ḥadramawt Valley on the mountain side that he was buried
(according to the majority of scholars). The historian Sayyid Ṣāliḥ al-Ḥāmid
said there is no Prophet’s grave other than the grave of the Messenger of
Allah G whose whereabouts are better authenticated than the grave of
the Prophet Hūd 8.
Although the Prophet Hud 8 has been visited continuously since his
death, it was the Àlawī Sayyids who developed the visit and made it an
institution in Ḥaḍramawt. It is said that they went to great lengths to extol
the virtues of two things: the books of Imām al-Ghazālī, particularly Iḥyā’
Ùlūm al-Dīn, and the visit of the Prophet Hūd 8. Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
(d. 653) was the first to establish the annual group visit. It was he that estab-
lished the method of sending greetings of salām to the various Prophets
which is recited at the visit. Leadership of the visit then passed from father
to son amongst the Bā Àlawī Imāms until it reached Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn,
Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān (d. 946). He then saw the most worthy leader as
being his student, Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim (d. 992). He duly passed it to
him, and that leadership has remained in the descendants of Shaykh Abū
Bakr until this day.
It was Shaykh Abū Bakr who first established the great annual visit in
Sha`bān, it being previously arranged seasonally according to the date
11. Hūd, 11:58
19
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
harvest. The visit in his time was in the middle of the month and people
would spend the blessed 15th night in that place. Later, however, the final
day of the visit came to be the 10th of Sha`bān. The later Bā Àlawī scholars
continued the visit. Imām al-Ḥaddād (d.1132) and his student, Ḥabīb Aḥmad
bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī (d.1144), led separate visits in the days leading up to
the main visit led by the descendants of Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim on the
10th Sha`bān. Despite periods of unrest due to tribal conflict, and in spite
of the efforts of the socialist regime of South Yemen to obliterate any kind
of religious belief or expression, the Visit continues to this day and contin-
ues to grow.
20

ÀBBĀD BIN BISHR
AL-ANṢĀRĪ ?
Sayiddunā Abū al-Rabī` Àbbād bin Bishr al-Awsī ? was one of the
greatest of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah G. He was amongst
the Anṣār of al-Madīnah who accepted Islām prior to the Hijrah due to the
efforts of Sayyidunā Muṣàb bin Ùmayr ?. Sayyidah `Ā’ishah N said
that no-one is superior in merit to three men among the Anṣār: Sa`d bin
Mu`ādh, Usayd bin al-Ḥuḍayr and Àbbād bin Bishr.12 Àbbād was known
for the beauty of his recitation of the Book of Allah. One night when the
Messenger of Allah G was praying the night vigil prayer in the house
of Sayyidah `Ā’ishah, he heard the voice of a man reciting the Qur’an beau-
tifully. He asked `Ā’ishah if it was the voice of Àbbād and she replied that
it was. He then asked Allah to have mercy upon him.13
Àbbād was amongst the elite of the Companions who fought at the Battle
of Badr. He then fought at all the subsequent battles of the Messenger of
Allah G. When the Messenger of Allah G was returning with his Com-
panions from the Battle of Dhāt al-Riqā` he stopped to spend the night in a
small valley. He asked who would volunteer to guard the party that night.
12. Narrated by al-Ḥākim

13. Narrated by al-Bukhārī
21
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Both Àmmār bin Yāsir and Àbbād volunteered. When the Prophet G
first arrived in al-Madīnah he had established a pact of brotherhood between
Àmmār of the Muhājirūn and Àbbād of the Anṣār. They agreed that
Àbbād would guard the first half of the night and Àmmār the second, so
Àmmār slept and Àbbād stood reciting the Qur’ān in prayer. One of the
enemy came and spotted Àbbād standing in prayer. He fired an arrow
which struck Àbbād, but he merely removed the arrow and continued his
recitation, so engrossed in it was he. The man fired a second, but Àbbād
once again removed the arrow and continued his prayer. After being struck
by a third arrow, Àbbād finished his prayer and woke Àmmār. When the
man saw both Àbbād and Àmmār, he fled.
When he saw Àbbād’s three arrow wounds Àmmār asked him, “Why
did you not wake me after the first arrow?”
“I was reading a Sūrah (al-Kahf) and I did not wish to stop before finish-
ing it. By Allah, had I not feared failing to guard a post which the Messen-
ger of Allah G placed me in, I would have rather died than interrupt my
recitation.”14
One night Àbbād and his cousin, Usayd bin al-Ḥuḍayr, left the gathering
of the Prophet G. It was a very dark night but Allah placed a light in the
staff of one of the two men to illuminate their path. When it came time for
them to part company, Allah placed light in both of their staffs which
stayed with them until they reached their respective homes.15
After the death of the Messenger of Allah G some of the Arab tribes
refused to give allegiance to Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq ? and some
14. Narrated by al-Dhahabī

15. Narrated by Aḥmad and al-Ḥākim
22
ÀBBĀD BIN BISHR AL-ANṢĀRĪ ?
refused to pay the zakat. The Ḥaḍramawt Valley was one region where some
of these dissident tribes were to be found.
The governor of Ḥaḍramawt, Ziyād bin Labīd al-Anṣārī ?, who had
been appointed by the Messenger of Allah G, requested reinforcements
from Abū Bakr to assist in his struggle with the dissident tribes in the re-
gion. Abū Bakr duly sent three contingents, one of which was led by Ìkrimah
bin Abū Jahl ?. Àbbād bin Bishr was in one of these contingents and
this was how he came to Ḥaḍramawt. These forces met with the dissidents
at Nujayr near the city of Tarīm. After fierce fighting, the Companions se-
cured victory, but not without losses. Some of the wounded were taken to
Tarīm for treatment and those of them that later died of their injuries were
buried in the Zanbal Cemetery. Historians say up to seventy of the Com-
panions are buried there, many of whom fought at the Battle of Badr.
Àbbād was later sent by Ziyād bin Labīd to collect the zakat of the peo-
ple of the village of al-Lisk a few miles East of Tarīm. The people of al-Lisk,
however, refused and instead clubbed this great Companion to death. They
wanted to burn his body but Allah sent His angels to take the body and bury
it in a cave high on the mountain known as Jabal al-Ghurāb near the town.
His grave has been visited continuously and many scholars over the centu-
ries have attested to its whereabouts.
Àbbād’s son Aḥmad (considered to be amongst the Tābi`ūn, or the gener-
ation of Followers who came after the Companions) was still in his mother’s
womb when his father was killed. He later became one of the principal schol-
ars of Tarīm. The mosque which he established, which subsequently be-
came known as Masjid al-Wi`l, remains the oldest standing mosque in the
city. From his descendants came forth the al-Khaṭīb tribe, which produced
pious scholars in every generation up until the present day. When the Àlawī
23
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Sayyids came to settle in Tarīm, the Khaṭīb tribe welcomed them and sup-
ported them just as their grandfather, Àbbād bin Bishr, welcomed and
supported the Messenger of Allah G upon his arrival in al- Madīnah.
24

IMĀM AL-MUHĀJIR
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin `Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb,
bin Àlī al-Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn
al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’,
the daughter of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
His Life
He was born in al-Baṣrah, Iraq, around 273 (886). He grew up under the super-
vision of his parents in an environment surrounded by scholars and living
examples of prophetic character. He memorised the Qur’ān and then mas-
tered the sciences of the Sacred Law.
He had vast wealth and influence in Iraq but busied himself with the ac-
quisition of knowledge, with worship and with calling people to Allah. He
could easily have attained political power but he knew the danger this en-
tailed to his religion, and when his brother attained a position of leader-
ship, he continued to admonish him until he left it. His inner sight allowed
him to witness the calamities and tribulations that would take place in Iraq,
and he realised the greatness of the sacred trust that he was carrying in his
25
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
loins. Thus, he emigrated, following the commandment of his Lord: So flee

to Allah,16 and following his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah G, in
his command to leave places of tribulation. It was for this emigration that
he became known as al-Muhājir il-Allah, the one who emigrates to Allah.
He left al-Baṣrah in 317 with his wife, his son, Àbdullāh (who out of his
humility preferred to be known as Ùbaydullāh or “the small servant of
Allah”), and Ùbaydullāh’s sons, Jadīd, Baṣrī, and Àlawī. With them also was
Sharīf Muḥammad bin Sulaymān, the grandfather of the Ahdal family and
Sharīf Aḥmad al-Qudaymī, the grandfather of the Qudaymī family, and a
group of 70 people. His son Muḥammad remained in Iraq to take care of
their property and wealth. The Imām went firstly to al-Madīnah, where he
stayed with his relatives for an entire year. In the same year, members of
the Qarāmiṭah sect entered Makkah and slaughtered many of the pilgrims
who were preparing to go to Àrafāt and stole the Black Stone, which was
only returned 20 years later. Imām al-Muhājir performed ḥajj in 318 and
touched the place where the Stone once was. After this, he set out for Yemen
with his party. Sharīf Aḥmad al-Qudaymī settled in northern Yemen and
Sharīf Muḥammad bin Sulaymān in Tihāmah on the Red Sea coast, but
Imām al-Muhājir continued on until he reached the Valley of Ḥaḍramawt.
He first settled in the village of Jubayl, and then al-Hajrayn, where he built
a house, the remnants of which still exist. Next he travelled to the village
Qārat Banī Jushayr, and he finally settled in al-Ḥusayyisah near Say’ūn.
He relied completely upon Allah regarding his choice for the emigration
and only chose Ḥaḍramawt as the abode of his offspring by His command
and the permission of His Messenger G.
16. Al-Dhāriāt, 51:50
26
imām al-muhājir
Imām al-Muhājir arrived in Ḥaḍramawt at a time when an offshoot of

the Kharijite sect, called the Ibāḍiyyah, held political power and had
widespread influence throughout the Valley. His calm demeanour, Pro-
phetic character and powerful oration convinced many of the falsehood of
the Ibāḍī beliefs. He persevered in the spreading of truth until he almost
single-handedly removed the Ibāḍī sect from the Valley without, accord-
ing to most accounts, ever taking up arms against them. Many people re-
pented at his hands, returning to true adherence to the Prophetic way.
From his time onwards, the vast majority of the people of Ḥaḍramawt
adhered to his methodology: the Shāfi`ī School in jurisprudence and the
Ashàrī School in tenets of faith. Because of his emigration and efforts in
calling people to Allah, his offspring and followers became safe from inno-
vation and false beliefs, and this paved the way for the religion to flourish
in Ḥaḍramawt and then to be spread to the corners of the earth. It was
the progeny of Imām Aḥmad bin `Īsā who brought Islām to millions of
people in India, the islands of the Indian Ocean, South East Asia and East
Africa and credit for this must be attributed to the Imām and his hijrah
to Ḥaḍramawt.
It has been said that the migration of the Prophet G was from Makkah
to al-Madīnah, and the migration of his offspring was from al-Baṣrah to
Ḥaḍramawt. One of the knowers of Allah saw the Prophet G and asked
him: “Are you pleased with the migration of al-Muhājir Aḥmad bin `Īsā
to Ḥaḍramawt?” The Prophet said to him, “I am pleased with everything
Aḥmad bin `Īsā is pleased with.”
27
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
His Death
Imām al-Muhājir passed away in 345 (956), after rendering a great service
to the religion and was buried in al-Ḥusayyisah. His grandson Imām Àlawī,
the son of Ùbaydullāh, was the first to be given that name, and he is the
ancestor of all the Àlawī Sayyids who became known as the ‘Bā Àlawī’ or
‘Banī Àlawī’, the sons of Àlawī.
The greatest of the Bā Àlawī scholars would often visit the grave of Imām
al-Muhājir, among them Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf and Imām
Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs. Ḥabib Àbdullāh bin Ùmar bin Yaḥyā said: “I only
smelled the beautiful scents that I smelled in the presence of our Master
Muhammad G at the grave of our Master, al-Muhājir il-Allah, Aḥmad bin
`Īsā.” He also said about him that: “He is the best of those in the Valley, the
most knowledgeable, the greatest in righteous works, the strongest in in-
tellect, and the closest to the Prophet G.”
28

IMĀM ÀLĪ BIN ÀLAWĪ
“KHĀLI` QASAM”
His Lineage
He is Imām Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh,
bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin
`Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin
Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ, bin Àlī bin
Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter of our Master Muḥammad,
the Seal of the Prophets G.
His Life
He was born in Bayt Jubayr, not far from Tarīm. He studied at the hands
of his father and visited Tarīm regularly. He saw that the city was a place
of scholarship and piety and thus decided to settle there in 521 (1126),
along with his brother and other relatives. He was the first of the Àlawī
Sayyids to settle in Tarīm and the city subsequently became a centre for
his descendants.
Once settled in Tarīm, he ordered the construction of the great Masjid
Bā Àlawī. The Mosque was built with mud bricks which were transported
from his land in Bayt Jubayr, as he wanted to be certain that the building
29
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
materials were completely pure and lawful. All the great Imāms of the
Bā Àlawī down the centuries worshipped and taught in the Mosque, and it
remains to this day the most important mosque in Tarīm.
He also bought a plot of land East of Tarīm which he named “Qasam”
after some land which his ancestors owned in al-Baṣrah in Iraq. He built a
house there and planted numerous date palms, thus earning the name
“Khāli` Qasam” or the “Planter of Qasam.” Qasam later grew into a town and
the date palms he planted became a source of wealth for his descendants.
His connection with his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah G, was so
strong that whenever he would give greetings to him, in his prayer and
outside of it, by saying, “Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy and
blessings of Allah,” he, and those around him, would hear the response di-
rectly from the Prophet: “And peace be upon you, O Shaykh, and the mercy
and blessings of Allah.” People would come from far and wide to hear the
greetings of the Messenger of Allah G.
His Death
He died in Tarīm around 529 (1134) and was the first of the Àlawī Sayyids
to be buried in the Zanbal cemetery. He left behind a number of children,
the best known of which was Imām Muḥammad “Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ” who settled
in the town of Mirbāṭ in Oman, where he died and was buried in 556 (1160).
30

AL-FAQĪH AL-MUQADDAM
His Lineage
He is al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam, al-Ustādh al-Àẓam, Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin
Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad
Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir
il-Allah Aḥmad, bin ` Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-Ùrayḍī, bin
Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin
Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter
of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
His Life
Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam was born in Tarīm in 574 (1178) and grew up in an
environment of knowledge and righteousness, memorising the Qur’ān and
mastering the sciences of the Sacred Law in his youth. He studied at the
hands of Tarīm’s greatest scholars and very quickly surpassed his peers
until he reached the rank of mujtahid, and became known as “al-Faqīh,” or
“the Jurist.” One of the scholars once asked him about three hundred prob-
lematic issues in the various Islamic sciences in one sitting. He clarified
every single issue and his answers were put together in a separate book.
31
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
At the same time he took the path of spiritual struggle until Allah gave
him the greatest of openings. He would teach and fast during the day and
spend his nights in worship in one of the caves in the Nuàyr Valley outside
Tarīm. One night, his son Aḥmad followed him. When the Imām remem-
bered Allah, the whole valley responded by loudly proclaiming His tran-
scendence, at which point Aḥmad fell unconscious.
Although his predecessors embodied the way of iḥsān mentioned by the
Messenger of Allah G in the Hadith of Jibrīl, al-Faqīh was the first of the
Àlawī Sayyids to outwardly profess the way of Taṣawwuf. This he did after
the great Shaykh of the Maghrib, al-Ghawth Shuàyb Abū Madyan, sent his
envoy to Tarīm with instructions to invest him with his khirqah or mantle,
symbolising the transmission of spiritual authority. Shaykh Abū Madyan
also instructed his envoy to go to Shaykh Sa`īd bin`Īsā al-Àmūdī (died 671)
in Qaydūn in the Dawàn Valley to likewise invest him. Al-Faqīh did not,
however, fully embrace the way of Shaykh Abū Madyan. Rather he took a
path which was a combination between the way of Abū Madyan, the way
of Shaykh Àbd al-Qādir al-Jaylanī and the way of his forefathers. He was
assisted in this by Shaykh Sa`īd al-Àmūdī, who came to Tarīm to offer him
his allegiance.
The climate in which he lived was so unstable that al-Faqīh would sit in
the lesson of his teacher, Shaykh Àlī Bā Marwān, with his sword on his lap.
Different tribes vied for power in the Haḍramawt Valley and the Àlawi
Sayyids, because of their popularity, were seen by tribal leaders as a threat.
Al-Faqīh had no desire for political power and hated to see bloodshed and
dissension in the ranks of the believers. He thus symbolically broke his
sword, announcing that his way and the way of the Àlawī sayyids and
those that loved and followed them was one of non-violence.
32
al-faqīh al-muqaddam
The Messenger of Allah G had warned of the internal divisions that

would blight his nation in a hadith narrated by Imam Muslim, and informed
us that the one who sits at these times is better than the one who stands.
He then praised the one who takes his sword and breaks its blade with a
rock. The fact that al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam had embraced the way of Taṣawwuf
and pacifism did not signify, however, a withdrawal from society and non-
involvement in the affairs of the Muslims. To the contrary, his sword be-
came the sword of knowledge and Prophetic character which he wielded to
rectify and benefit society.
He and the Àlawī Sayyids after him would use the respect in which they
were held to resolve disputes. They brought harmony to society by their
concern for the rights of their fellow Muslims. This was manifested in at-
tending their funeral prayers, visiting the sick and establishing gatherings
of knowledge and remembrance. They spent their wealth on the poor and
needy, on their guests, on building mosques and places of learning and es-
tablishing endowments for them, on planting date palms and organising
irrigation and on providing drinking water for travellers on the roads and
for city dwellers. Al-Faqīh himself would set aside 360 barrels of dates at the
time of harvest, and then he would distribute one barrel a day to the poor
with the help of his wife, Sayyidah Zaynab, the daughter of his uncle Aḥmad.
Just as he was concerned with the general populace, he established a
zāwiyah and exerted his efforts giving spiritual instruction to his pupils un-
til they themselves became qualified to instruct others in the spiritual path.
Amongst his greatest students were his sons Àlawī, Àbdullāh, Àbd al-
Raḥmān, Aḥmad and Àlī, all imams in their own right, as well as Shaykh
Àbdullāh Bā Àbbād, his brother, Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān and Shaykh Àlī
bin Muhammad al-Khaṭīb.
33
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Shaykh Àbd al- Raḥmān al-Saqqāf said: “I have not heard speech more
powerful than the speech of al-Faqih, other than the speech of the Prophets,
upon them be peace. I do not give any of the awliyā’ precedence over him,
other than the Companions, or someone whose merit was mentioned by
the Prophet G , such as Uways al-Qaranī.”
Al-Faqīh was the first to establish the annual group visit to the Prophet
Hūd 8. On one occasion, he did not attend the visit, so the Prophet Hūd
came to him and said: “O Shaykh! If you do not visit me, I will visit you!”
Imām al-Ḥaddād said in praise of him: “Shaykh of shaykhs, Master of the
Giants”; “Shaykh of those on the path to Allah, one and all”; “a caller to Allah
with true words and praiseworthy deeds”; “his state at the beginning of his
path was like the state of his contemporaries at the end of their path.”
His Death
Towards the end of his life al-Faqīh shunned creation and became com-
pletely absorbed with the witnessing of his Lord. When he was asked who
would be the Shaykh after him, he replied: “Umm al-Fuqarā’.” He was re-
ferring to his wife Zaynab, named after Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, the wife
of the Messenger of Allah G, as “the Mother of the Poor” for her care of
the destitute. She had been his best supporter in his life and continued his
work after his death. His students came to her for guidance, assistance and
blessings. Al-Faqīh was finally united with his Lord in 653 (1255) and was
buried in Zanbal. His grave was the first that anyone would visit in the
graveyard, and for that reason he became known as “al-Muqaddam,” the
one whose grave is given precedence over all others. He was universally
recognised as the Shaykh of the Àlawī Ṭarīqah and all chains of connec-
tion in the spiritual path return to him. Great Imāms came forth from his
34
al-faqīh al-muqaddam
progeny in every generation who continue to spread the light of prophecy

until the present time. May Allah attach us to “the Greatest Master,” and
benefit us by him in this life and the next.
35

SHAYKH ÀBD AL-RAḤMĀN
AL-SAQQĀF
His Lineage
He is Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-
Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-
Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī
Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī,
bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin ` Īsā, bin
Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad
al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib
and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of
the Prophets G.
He was given the name “al-Saqqāf” because he concealed his true state
from the people of his time under a ceiling (saqf) of humility and hatred of
fame. Another opinion is that he rose above his contemporaries until he
became like a ceiling on top of them. Imam al-Saqqāf was also known as
“al-Muqaddam al-Thanī,” the “second Muqaddam,” in recognition of the
proximity in rank to his great, great grandfather al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam.
36
SHAYKH ÀBD AL-RAḤMĀN AL-SAQQĀF
His Life
Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf was born in Tarīm in 739 (1338). He mem-
orised the Qur’ān and learnt the sciences of the Sacred Law in his early
years. His thirst for knowledge of the Sacred Law led him to memorise most
of Imām al-Ghazālī’s Wajīz and Imām al-Shirāzī’s al-Muhadhab. He was also
endowed with knowledge of the heart which he received from the Imams
of his time, amongst them his father, Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah,
along with Shaykh Muḥammad “Ṣāḥib al-Àmā’im” and Shaykh Muḥammad
Bā Àbbād.
His acts of mujāhadah (spiritual striving) were immense. He reached the
level where he would recite the whole Qur’an four times during the day
and four times during the night. He spent 33 years without sleeping about
which he said: “How can someone sleep when if he lies on his right side
sees Paradise and if he lies on his left side sees the Fire?” He would spend a
month or more in isolation in the proximity of the grave of the Prophet
Hūd 8, taking with him his books and a small amount of provision. So
constant was he in his remembrance of Allah that when he removed his
clothes they continued to remember Allah. He was constantly seeking for-
giveness from Allah, and as he rose from station to station he sought
forgiveness for his shortcomings in the station that he had been in previ-
ously. He said: “We exerted all our efforts, but we were not given the great-
est opening until we returned to the knowledge of the nafs (the soul).”
After travelling to Ghayl Bā Wazīr, al-Shiḥr and Aden to deepen his inner
and outer knowledge, he returned to Tarīm, where he started teaching and
giving spiritual instruction. He was greatly concerned with the spiritual
progress of his students, who flocked from far and wide to learn from him.
In doing so, he strengthened and built upon the foundations of the Ṭarīqah,
37
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
which had been laid by al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam. His students would say that
when they took him as their shaykh, he quickly removed from their hearts
any love of the material world. He had the ability to transform their blame-
worthy traits into praiseworthy ones, just as the colour of cloth is changed
with dye. He is recorded as saying: “I am the shaykh of anyone who has no
shaykh until the Day of Judgement.”
He said: “The one who has no wird (litany or regular act of devotion) is a
monkey.” “The one who has no adab (etiquette) is a bear.” “The one who
does not study the Iḥyā’ (of Imām al-Ghazālī) has no shame.” “All knowledge
without action is meaningless; all knowledge and action without intention
is worthless; all knowledge, action and intention not in accordance with
the Sunnah is rejected; all knowledge, action and intention in accordance
with the Sunnah without scrupulousness is at risk of coming to nothing.”
He was, like his predecessors, concerned with benefiting society. He
planted numerous date palms and upon each planting he would recite
Sūrat Yā Sīn or the whole Qur’ān. Out of his scrupulousness upon handling
the dates that would be distributed as zakat, he would not lick his fingers
so as not to take anything from the property of the poor. He built ten
mosques in different parts of Ḥaḍramawt. He said: “My heart has no incli-
nation to other than Allah. I never built a house or mosque without first hav-
ing been ordered to do so.”
The most famous of his mosques was Masjid al-Saqqāf in Tarīm. He said of
this Mosque that “When I started building it, the four Imams (Abū Hanīfah,
Mālik, al-Shāfi`ī and Aḥmad) were in the four corners and the Prophet G
was in the miḥrāb (prayer niche).” He established a Ḥaḍrah of dhikr in the
Mosque on Wednesday and Sunday night, in which the poems of the great
Shaykhs of the Way are recited. The Ḥaḍrah continues to this day. His pious
38
SHAYKH ÀBD AL-RAḤMĀN AL-SAQQĀF
daughter, Sayyidah Maryam, said that whoever has a need should go to the
Mosque of her father on the night of the Ḥaḍrah and stand between the pil-
lar that her father would sit against and the pillar where the people reciting
sit and ask, and their need will be fulfilled by Allah’s permission.
He left behind thirteen sons and seven daughters. All his sons were great
Imāms, the most famous being Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān and Shaykh
Ùmar al-Miḥḍār. One of his greatest students was Shaykhah Sulṭānah al-
Zubaydiyyah, who reached the pinnacle of knowledge of Allah and estab-
lished a ribāṭ or hostel in her home town to accommodate seekers of this
knowledge. She died in 847 (1443) and was buried in her home town, close
to the grave of Imām al-Muhājir, which was known thereafter as the Ḥawṭah
(or “safe haven”) of Shaykhah Sulṭānah. Her poetry continues to be recited
in the Ḥaḍrah.
His Death
In his old age, the Shaykh was unable to maintain the acts of worship in
which he had been constant throughout his life. He thus had someone read
the Qur’ān to him while he listened. In spite of his weakness, he would
always be in the mosque in a state of purity when the time of the prayer
entered. He continued presiding over gatherings of knowledge and remem-
brance, gradually passing the responsibility on to his sons until he was
finally united with his Lord in Sha`bān 819 (1416). He was buried in Zanbal
alongside his father.
39

SHAYKH ÙMAR AL-MIḤḌĀR
His Lineage
He is Shaykh Ùmar al-Miḥḍār bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin
Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī
al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad
Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-
Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah
Aḥmad, bin ` Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-
Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ,
bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter of our Master
Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
The name “al-Miḥḍār” means “the one who comes swiftly when called.”
His Life
He was born in Tarīm and grew up under the watchful eye of his father, the
great Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf, who he came to imitate in all his
states and actions. Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān chose for his son the best of
teachers, amongst them Shaykh Abū Bakr Bilḥāj Bā Faḍl. He quickly mas-
tered jurisprudence and the other outward sciences, and practically knew
40
shaykh ùmar al-miḥḍār
Imām al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn by heart. He later travelled within

Yemen and to the Ḥijāz in search of knowledge. His father, wishing to direct
him towards the inner sciences, said to him: “The jurists only have a small
ray of light while the ṣūfīs have a blazing torch. An ounce of the actions of
the heart is equal to a ton of the actions of the body.”
Like his predecessors, he took the path of intense spiritual struggle, on
the principle of “Those who truly strive for Our sake, We will show them
Our Ways.”17 He crushed his lower self by denying it its pleasures, such that
he did not eat dates for thirty years because they were the food that he de-
sired most. The fruit of his labours was the outpouring of knowledge direct
from Allah, which astounded the scholars of his time. When asked about
this, he said that this was knowledge “from above.” “You enter the houses
through their doors whereas I scale the walls.” He said: “If I wished to com-
ment on Allah’s statement: We do not abrogate a verse or cause it be forgot-
ten except that We bring something better than it 18, I could have laden a
thousand camels.”
In spite of the divine gifts with which he had been blessed, Imam al-
Miḥḍār had intense fear of his Lord. He said: “I wish that I was a sheep that
would be slaughtered and eaten.” He would often say: “If I knew that one
good deed of mine was accepted by Allah, I would have fed the whole of
Tarīm on meat and grain, even the livestock.”
He spent his wealth feeding the poor and supporting students of knowl-
edge. He provided financial support to the majority of Àlawī families in
Tarim. He built a mosque in Tarim, the famous Masjid al-Miḥḍār, which he
generously endowed, and another near al-Shiḥr. He established a number
17. Al-Ànkabūt, 29:69

18. Al-Baqarah, 2:106
41
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
of safe havens (ḥuwaṭ) in the area of al-Shiḥr where people could seek ref-
uge from tribal conflict.19 His influence was such that he united the Àlawī
Sayyids under his leadership, putting in a place a niqābah or council headed
by the leading Àlawī scholars of the time. A covenant was made which
bound the Àlawī Sayyids to stand together to defend the truth and reject
falsehood and oppression, and to call to good and forbid evil. It dictated
how charity should be distributed and gave the final word on the affairs of
the community to Shaykh Ùmar al- Miḥḍār.
His Death
Shaykh Ùmar had no sons but left behind four daughters: `Ā’ishah, who he
married to his nephew and pupil, Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarus; Fāṭimah, who
he married to his other nephew, Shaykh Àlī bin Abū Bakr al-Sakrān; and
Maryam and Àlawiyyah.
He continued calling to Allah, preserving and promoting the way of his
predecessors until, in 833 (1429), he answered the call of his Lord while in
prostration in the Ẓuhr prayer. He was buried in the Zanbal cemetery in the
proximity of his family and relatives. His poetry is still read in gatherings,
particularly the Ḥaḍrah of Imām al-Saqqāf.
19. The “ḥawṭah” became a feature of Ḥaḍramawt – an area designated by someone of

authority to be a safe haven, in which killing and fighting were outlawed and people
were safe from tribal conflict and the oppression of the rulers.
42

IMĀM AL-ÀYDARŪS
AL-AKBAR
His Lineage
He is Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs bin Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān bin
Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah,
bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam,
bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh,
bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin `Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb,
Imām Muḥammad bin Ùmar Baḥraq said that it is probable that the
name “Àydarūs” is derived from the word “àytarūs,” one of the names given
to a lion in the Arabic language, and just as the lion is “the king of the jun-
gle,” likewise Imam al-Àydarūs rose above his peers to become the greatest
of the awliyā’ of his time.
His mother was Maryam, the daughter of al-Shaykh al-Walī Aḥmad bin
Muḥammad Bā Rushayd.
43
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
His Life
He was born in Tarīm in 811 (1408). When his grandfather Shaykh Àbd al-
Raḥmān al-Saqqāf was given the good news of his birth, he said: “He is the
Ṣūfī of his time.” He was blessed with the nurturing of his grandfather for the
first eight years of his life, as well as his father, Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān,
for the first ten. During these early years, he took the path of spiritual strug-
gle and study, memorising the Qur’ān and delving into the inward and out-
ward sciences. When his father died, his uncle, Shaykh Ùmar al-Miḥḍār,
took him under his wing and closely monitored his every step on the path to
Allah. He married him to his daughter, Sayyidah `Ā’ishah. Sayyidah `Ā’ishah
was known for her piety and closeness to Allah and was described as being
“the daughter of a Quṭb (Shaykh Ùmar al- Miḥḍār), the wife of a Quṭb (Imām
al-Àydarūs) and the mother of a Quṭb (Imam Abū Bakr al-Àdanī).”
Shaykh Ùmar al-Miḥḍār passed away when Imam al-Àydarūs was around
25 years old, and the Àlawī scholars of Tarīm unanimously recognised him,
in spite of his protests, as their leader. From this role he expended great
efforts in calling to Allah and rectifying society, often mediating with the
tribal rulers of the time to prevent bloodshed. The rulers of the time were
in awe of him. He generously received guests and helped the needy. It was
said that he would spend his wealth like a king while at the same time be-
ing as humble as a beggar. He built several mosques, the most famous of
which is Masjid al-Àydarūs, in the heart of the city of Tarīm. In it, his place
of khalwah can be found, where he would seclude himself underground to
be with his Creator.
He and his brother, Shaykh Àlī, played a fundamental role in laying
down the foundations of the Àlawī Ṭarīqah. They were amongst the first
of the Àlawī scholars to author works clarifying the methodology of the
44
imām al-àydarūs al-akbar
Bā Àlawī Way. Their predecessors had not done so, as their primary con-
cern was their students. Imām al-Àydarūs’s most famous work is al-Kibrīt
al-Aḥmar (The Red Sulphur), an explanation of the stations on the path to
direct knowledge of Allah. He had the utmost admiration for the works of
Imām al-Ghazālī, especially Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn, on the greatness of which he
wrote a treatise. He said of the Iḥyā’: “In it is the explanation of the Qur’an
and the Sunnah. The one who reads it and acts upon it is guaranteed the love
of Allah, His Messenger, the angels, the Prophets, Messengers and the Awliyā’.
Were Allah to bring the dead to life, they would only counsel the living to
act upon that which is in the Iḥyā’.” His daily wird was lā ilāha ill’Allah, Allah
Allah and Hū Hū (“He”) twelve thousand times each. This is the Dhikr al-
Àydarūs mentioned by his son, Imām al-Àdanī in his famous poem:
‫ب َأ ْجل‬ ِ ‫َو ِذك ُْر ا ْل َع ْيدَ ُر‬

ِ ‫وس ا ْل ُق ْط‬
َ ْ‫اد ِق ن‬
‫ي‬ ِ ‫ب الصدَ ى لِ ْلص‬
َ َّ ِ ‫َع ِن ا ْل َق ْل‬
The remembrance of al-Àydarūs, the Quṭb, polishes

Rust from the hearts of the truthful ones
Upon taking the path, the seeker is often given this remembrance to com-
plete. Lā ilāha ill’Allah is the remembrance of the heart, the seat of knowledge
of Allah (ma`rifah); Allah Allah is the remembrance of the spirit, the seat of
the love of Allah (maḥabbah); and Hū Hū is the remembrance of the sirr (the
inner secret), the seat of the witnessing of Allah (mushāhadah).
Imām al-Àydarūs said: “Whoever desires divine purity must be in a state
of brokenness in the depths of the night.” “Squeeze your body with spirit-
ual struggle until you extract from it the oil of purity.” “The foundation of
45
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
taqwā is avoiding shirk (associating partners with Allah); then avoiding acts
of disobedience; then denying the lower self the things it desires; then deny-
ing oneself that which is in excess of one’s needs.” “The true meaning of
freedom is for the soul to be free of love of the material world, status and
fame such that one’s thoughts are not attached to anything other than Allah.”
His Death
The Imām died while returning to Tarīm from the town of al-Shiḥr on 12th
Ramaḍān 865 (1460) and was carried back to Tarīm and buried in the Zan-
bal Cemetery. A dome was later erected over his grave. He left behind four
sons – Abū Bakr (al-Àdanī), Àlawī, Shaykh and Ḥusayn – and four daugh-
ters – Ruqayyah, Khadījah, Umm Kulthūm and Bahiyyah. From his progeny
came forth many great imams who carried the name of al-Àydarūs. He
thus became known as “al-Àydarūs al-Akbar,” as he was the first and the
greatest to be known as al-Àydarūs and to distinguish him from those who
came after him. May Allah give us the strongest of attachments to him, an
attachment which benefits us in this life and the next.
46

IMĀM AL-ÀDANĪ
His Lineage
He is Imām Abū Bakr al-Àdanī bin Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs bin Shaykh
Abū Bakr al-Sakrān bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh
Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr,
bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib
Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh,
His mother was al-Sayyidah al-Waliyyah `Ā’ishah bint Shaykh Ùmar al-
Miḥḍār.
His Life
He was born in Tarīm in 851 (1447). His father said before his birth: “I have
been given good tidings of a child who will be amongst the elect of Allah,
who will receive special care from Allah (ìnāyah) and who will be someone
47
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
of noble character.” His father took care of his upbringing and spiritual pro-
gress, along with his uncle, Shaykh Àlī bin Abū Bakr al-Sakrān and Shaykh
Sa`d bin Àlī Madḥaj. He memorised the Qur’ān and mastered the Islamic
sciences while still in his youth, leading his father to appoint him as a shaykh
of the inward and outward sciences at the age of 14. From then on his life
was spent teaching and calling to Allah.
In his youth he would worship by night in the valleys outside Tarīm, along
with his cousin, Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlī. They would both read a
third of the Qur’ān in prayer and then return to Tarīm before Fajr. Imām
al-Àdanī went for twenty years without sleeping.
On his return from his second ḥajj, the scholars of the city of Aden heard
that he was nearby and resolved to come to meet him. Instead he informed
them that he would come to visit them. Thousands of people came to greet
him as he entered Aden on 13th Rabī` al-Thānī 889. He said: “It is my inten-
tion to take all these people to Allah.” The people of Aden continue to cele-
brate the day of his arrival in the city to this day. He took up residence in
Aden, built a mosque and began to teach. Students from far and wide came
to learn from him and the religious life of Aden flourished. He had great
concern for the common people, especially those not on the straight path.
He said: “If I see a believer who Allah has given the ability to perform that
which is incumbent upon him and to avoid enormities then I am content.
What troubles me is when I see a believer who has fallen into disobedience
of Allah and into the traps of the Devil, so I expend my efforts to save him.”
Knowing that the night is the time when most acts of disobedience are com-
mitted, he would gather the people together every night to remember Allah.
The gathering would continue until Fajr, at which point he would lead the
people in prayer and then give them a day’s wages and tell them to go home
48
imām al-àdanī
and sleep. Their souls thus became accustomed to obeying Allah, and they
had no time to disobey Him.
He was famous for his noble character and immense generosity, which
led him to accumulate great debts in order to help the needy. One of his
companions rebuked him for accumulating these debts, to which he retort-
ed: “Do not come between me and my Lord, for I have only spent this mon-
ey seeking His pleasure, and He has promised me that He will pay back
these debts before I leave this life.” Every year he set aside money for
students of knowledge and visitors and contributed to many charitable
projects, such as the repair of the mosques of Tarīm and the construction
of drainage channels to prevent flooding in Aden and several areas of
Ḥaḍramawt.
He counselled people to have a good opinion of Allah, which he called
“the greatest treasure” and “Allah’s greatest name,” and to have a good opin-
ion of Allah’s slaves. He said: “The one who has a good opinion of someone
will not lose out even if his opinion proves to be wrong; the one who has a
bad opinion of someone will not benefit even if his opinion proves to be
correct.” He gave the following counsels: “Anyone who does not prevent
himself from following his caprice will experience abasement;” “two things
cause the foolish person the most trouble: greed and getting involved in
that which does not concern him.”
He said: “You must visit the awliyā’ and come to know them. Your inten-
tion must be correct and your belief must be firm, for the spiritual and physi-
cal realms are linked just like the spirit and the body are linked. No blessings
come from the spiritual realm except by means of movement in the physical
realm. The evidence for this is in Allah saying to Maryam: Shake towards
49
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
yourself the trunk of the palm tree20 and saying to Mūsā: Strike the sea with
your staff.21 Allah thus made the shaking and the movement of the staff
in the physical realm a cause for the receiving of blessings from the spirit-
ual realm.”
He would often make the following invocation in his gatherings:
‫ال َّل ُه َّم ْار ُز ْقنَا‬

، ‫اها‬َ ‫ان َأ ْص َف‬ ِ ‫ و ِمن األَ ْذ َه‬، ‫ول َأو َفر َها‬ ِ ‫ِم َن ال ُع ُق‬
َ َ َ ْ
ِ ‫األخ‬
، ‫الق َأ ْط َي َب َها‬ ْ ‫ َو ِم َن‬،‫َاها‬ ِ
َ ‫َوم َن األَ ْعماَ ِل َأ ْزك‬
، ‫ َو ِم َن ال َعافِ َي ِة َأك َْم َل َها‬، ‫َو ِم َن األَ ْر َز ِاق َأ ْج َزلهَ َا‬
ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ
‫يم َها‬ َ ‫ َوم ْن اآلخ َرة نَع‬،‫َوم َن الدُّ ْن َيا َخ رْ َي َها‬
“O Allah, bless us with the most expansive of intellects,

the purest of minds, the purest of actions, the best of character,
the most plentiful provision, complete well-being,
the best of this life and the blessings of the afterlife.”
His Death
He remained in Aden until his death in 914 (1508). He was buried next to the
mosque which he established. The sultan of the time erected a great dome
over his grave and built a school next to the mosque, Ribāṭ al-Àydarūs.
The Ribāṭ continues to flourish to this day, under the directorship of Ḥabīb
Abū Bakr al-Àdanī bin Àlī al-Mashhūr (may Allah preserve him), who has
also greatly revived the annual visit in Rabī` al-Thānī.
20. Maryam, 19:25

21. Al-Shuàrā', 26:63
50

SHAYKH ABŪ BAKR BIN SĀLIM
His Lineage
He is Fakhr al-Wujūd Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim bin Àbdullāh bin Àbd al-
Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh
Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr,
bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib
Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh,
His Life
Several of the Àlawī Imams were given good tidings of the coming of Shaykh
Abū Bakr, among them Imām al-Àdanī. Shaykh Àbdullāh, the youngest son
of Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf, was one day wondering how he could
ever reach the station and prominence of his two brothers, Ùmar al-Miḥḍār
and Abū Bakr al-Sakrān. His father read his thoughts and said to him: “That
51
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
prominence will be in your progeny.” Amongst this blessed progeny was

Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās (the ancestor of all the great Imāms
of the al-Àṭṭās clan) and Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim and all his blessed
progeny. Shaykh Abū Bakr was born in Tarīm in 919 (1513). His father took
him to the Imām of Tarīm at the time, Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn, Aḥmad bin
Àbd al-Raḥmān, complaining that his son was having difficulty in memo-
rising the Qur’ān. The Shaykh said to his father: “Leave him and do not bur-
den him. He will devote himself to it of his own accord and he will have a
great affair.” It was as the Shaykh said: Shaykh Abū Bakr devoted himself
to the Qur’ān and memorised it in around four months. Then he applied him-
self to learning the inner and outer sciences from, among others, Shaykh
Aḥmad bin Àlawī Bā Jaḥdab, Shaykh Ùmar bin Àbdullāh Bā Makhramah
and Shaykh Ma`rūf Bā Jammāl, from whom he received his opening.
In his youth, he lived in the village of al-Lisk, East of Tarīm, and he would
walk several miles by night to Tarīm to pray in its mosques and visit its
graves. He would fill up the tanks used for ablutions in the mosques and fill
up troughs for animals to drink before returning to pray the Fajr prayer in
al-Lisk. He later moved to Tarīm but decided while still in his mid-twenties
to move to the village of Àynāt in the search of territory where he could
spread the call to Allah and His Messenger G. He built a mosque and house
there and began teaching and giving spiritual instruction. His fame spread
and students started coming from different parts of Yemen and as far afield
as India and North Africa. As a result, a new town grew up distinct from the
old village of Àynāt. He would send his students out to different regions to
call people to Allah and educate them in the Sacred Law.
He had a great concern, like his predecessors, for the visit of the Prophet
Hūd 8. Leadership of the visit had passed from father to son since the
52
shaykh abū bakr bin sālim
time of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam until it reached Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn, who

saw Shaykh Abū Bakr as being the most worthy of leadership. He duly
passed it to him, and that leadership has remained in the descendants of
Shaykh Abū Bakr until this day. It was Shaykh Abū Bakr who first established
the great annual visit in Sha`bān, it being previously arranged according to
the date harvest. In his old age he would be carried to the visit and when he
was asked to compile a work on the merits of the visit, he said that the fact
that he was still making the effort to visit in his old age was sufficient proof
of its merit.
Shaykh Abū Bakr was immensely generous. He would supervise the af-
fairs of his famous kitchen and distribute food with his own hands. He would
bake a thousand loaves of bread for the poor every day – five hundred for
lunch and five hundred for dinner. This was not including food prepared for
his numerous guests. A poor dishevelled woman once came to give a small
amount of food to the Shaykh. His servant turned her away saying: “Cara-
vans are bringing goods to the Shaykh from far off places and he is not in
need of what you have brought.” The Shaykh, however, was listening and
he welcomed the woman, graciously accepted her offering and gave her a
big reward in exchange. He then chastised his servant, saying: “The one who
does not show gratitude for small things will not show gratitude for great
things. The one who does not show gratitude to people does not show grat-
itude to Allah.” Out of his humility in front of his Lord in the last fifteen years
of his life, he would sit constantly as one sits in the prayer (tawarruk) even
when with his family.
He would fast the three hottest months of the year and for fifteen years con-
sumed nothing but milk and coffee. He never left praying the eight rak`āt of
the Ḍuḥā prayer and the eleven rak`āt of the Witr prayer, even while travelling.
53
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
He was the author of several works, amongst them Miftāḥ al-Sarā’ir, a book
which every seeker of Allah is in need of on his path. Shaykh Abū Bakr au-
thored it at the age of 17. He expounded on some of his vast knowledge of
spiritual realities in Mi`rāj al-Arwāḥ and Fatḥ Bāb al-Mawāhib. He also com-
posed a number of litanies and prayers upon the Prophet G, the most fa-
mous of which is Ṣalāt al-Tāj (the Prayer of the Crown) which is widely read
in the Indian Subcontinent. One of his supplications was:
‫اب يا َغنِي‬ َّ ‫الص يِاف اهلَني‬

ُ ‫ياوه‬
ِ
َ ْ‫ال ّل ُه َّم يِّإن َأسأ ُلك الع ْل َم ال َّلدُ يِّن وا َمل ر‬
َّ ‫ش َب‬
“O Allah, I ask You for knowledge direct from Your presence and
a pure spring to drink from, O Bestower, O Free of all want!”
His Dīwān is also a treasure trove of divine knowledge and wisdom. He said:
“If you look upon your own self with the eye of discontentment, Allah looks
upon you with the eye of contentment; if you look upon your own self with
the eye of contentment, Allah looks upon you with the eye of discontent-
ment.” “The dunyā (this worldly life) is the daughter of the akhirah (the next
life). If someone marries the daughter, the mother becomes forbidden for
him.”
He had thirteen sons and four daughters. Àlī died before him and was
the first to be buried in the cemetery which Shaykh Abū Bakr established in
‘Aynāt. Imām Ḥusayn was Shaykh Abū Bakr’s spiritual heir. Other sons in-
cluded al-Ḥāmid and Ùmar al-Miḥḍār. Through them, Shaykh Abū Bakr’s
progeny spread far and wide and great imāms emerged in each generation.
Amongst his students was Imām Aḥmad bin Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī,
whose grave lies beneath the grave of Imām al-Muhājir, at al-Ḥusayyisah.
54
shaykh abū bakr bin sālim
Imām Aḥmad bin Muḥammad would come every day from al- Ḥusayyisah
to Àynāt to attend Shaykh Abū Bakr’s lesson. He is the ancestor of many
great imāms from the Ḥabashī tribe, amongst them Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn
and Ḥabīb Àlī bin Muḥammad. Shaykh Abū Bakr’s other students included
Sayyid Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Jifrī, Shaykh Ḥasan bin Aḥmad
Bā Shuàyb and Sayyid Yūsuf bin `Ābid al-Ḥasanī whose arrival from Fes in
the Maghrib was foretold by Shaykh Abū Bakr.
His Death
A year before his death, Shaykh Abū Bakr led the visit to the Prophet
Hūd 8 and thousands crowded around him, almost fighting to kiss and
touch him. When he saw this, he wept profusely and repeated Allah’s words:
He is but a slave upon whom We have bestowed Our blessings.22
Shaykh Abū Bakr finally breathed his last in Dhū’l-Ḥijjah 992 (1583). He
was buried in his cemetery in Àynāt and a dome was erected over him. He
said during his life that he would place secrets in the sand dune in which
he is buried, and its blessed sand has been used time and again for healing
purposes. Visitors on the way to the Prophet Hūd 8 traditionally stop to
pay their respects to Shaykh Abū Bakr, who contributed so much to the
visit. He said:
ِ
َ ‫َأ َو َما َعل ْم َت بِ َأ َّننَا َأ ْه ُل‬
‫الو َفا‬
‫وم ُّبنَا َما َز َال حَ ْت َت لِ َوانَا‬
ِ ُ‫ح‬
‫اصدَ ا‬ِ ‫الكرام َفمن َأتَانَا َق‬ ِ

ْ َ ُ َ ‫ن َْح ُن‬
‫الس َعا َد َة ِعنْدَ َما َي ْل َقانَا‬
َّ ‫ن ََال‬
22. Al-Zukhruf, 42:59
55
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Do you not know that we are people of honour,

and that the one who loves us will always be under our banner?
We are generous people so whoever comes to us seeking

will attain felicity when he meets us.
56

ḤABĪB ÙMAR BIN
ÀBD AL-RAḤMĀN AL-ÀṬṬĀS
His Lineage
He is Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àqīl al-Àṭṭās bin Sālim bin
Àbdullāh bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān
al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-
Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin
Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin
Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām
al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin `Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-
Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-
`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the
daughter of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
The name ‘Àṭṭās’, from the Arabic “àṭasa,” to sneeze, goes back to Imām Àqīl
bin Sālim, the twin brother of Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim. He used to sneeze
and then praise Allah while still in his mother’s womb and thus was nick-
named “al-Àṭṭās”. It is also mentioned that his grandson, Ḥabīb Ùmar, did
the same while also in the womb, and he and his progeny were known by
the name “al-Àṭṭās”.
57
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
His Life
Ḥabīb Ùmar was born in 992 (1583) in the village of al-Lisk, a few miles
East of Tarim. He was raised by his father who was a knower of Allah and
had spent much time in the company of his uncle, Shaykh Abū Bakr bin
Sālim, and was greatly loved by him. Ḥabīb Ùmar lost his sight at a young
age but one of the pious consoled his mother by giving her good tidings
that he would have a great station and have numerous progeny.
He mastered the Islamic sciences and took the spiritual path at the hands
of Imam al-Ḥusayn, the son of Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim, with whom he
spent more than fifteen years. He also received spiritual guidance from
Sayyid Ùmar Bā Rakwah al-Samarqandī.
In his youth he left his home and travelled through the Ḥaḍramawt Valley.
In many of the villages that he came to he was given the warmest of wel-
comes and the people of the village insisted that he settle there. On each
occasion, however, he politely refused and moved on, until he came to the
town of Ḥurayḍah South of Haḍramawt. The people of Ḥurayḍah initially
showed him no hospitality but rather refused to open their doors to him
and left him outside in the mid-day heat, while their children made fun of
him. Seeing the harshness of the people and their need for education, Ḥabīb
Ùmar decided to make Ḥurayḍah his base. He said: “Ḥurayḍah is my town
and the town of my children and progeny after me.” In a relatively short
time Ḥurayḍah was transformed from a backwater to a place of knowledge.
It had been the habit of one of the scholars of the region, Shaykh Muḥammad
bin Àbd al-Kabīr Bā Qays, to regularly visit the scholars of Tarīm. However,
when Ḥabīb Ùmar settled in Ḥurayḍah, he stopped doing this saying: “The
whole of Tarīm moved to our valley with the arrival of this Imām.”
Ḥabīb Ùmar did not remain only in Ḥurayḍah, however. His first concern
58
ḥabīb ùmar bin àbd al-raḥmān al-àṭṭās
was to bring peace to an area which had suffered for a long time from tribal
conflict. He brokered a number of treaties between conflicting tribes and
constantly moved from village to village, calling people to Allah and teach-
ing them their religious duties. It is said for this reason that the Friday prayer
was never compulsory for him. This was in spite of his blindness and the
fact that he would often travel alone riding on a donkey. One of the first
things he would do upon arriving in a village was to ensure that its mosque
was in a good state. If there was no mosque he would choose a suitable
place and, with the help of his students, he would lay the foundation stones
and then ask the people of the village to assist him in completing the build-
ing. He would not leave the village until the mosque was complete and he
had appointed someone to teach the people. He would then come back to
visit the village from time to time to check on its progress.
He never once set foot in the palace of a ruler, but if one of them came to
him he would advise him with complete sincerity and remind him of his
duties and responsibilities. One of the sultans once came to him when he
was outside Ḥurayḍah. It was customary for people to go to great lengths
to welcome such rulers, hoping for a portion of their wealth and status, but
Ḥabīb Ùmar received him in the shade of a tree. He listened to his requests
and offered him berries from the tree which he ate. When they had finished,
one of the local tribes prepared a feast for the Sultan but he refused to eat
anything, saying that he did not wish to put anything in his stomach in
which there were berries given to him by Ḥabīb Ùmar, berries which were
no doubt completely pure and lawful.
When the ruler of Ṣan`ā’ sent an army to Ḥaḍramawt in the year 1070,
Ḥabīb Ùmar strongly advised the Sultan not to fight, in spite of the fact
that many of the scholars were encouraging him to do so. Through his wis-
59
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
dom Ḥabīb Ùmar prevented blood from being spilled and helped insure a
peaceful solution.
He spent what wealth he had on the poor and was greatly concerned for
their welfare. He was of the opinion that it was permissible for the owners
of date palms to give their zakat in the form of fresh dates, instead of wait-
ing for the dates to dry. This gave poor people the opportunity to enjoy the
delicacy of fresh dates which they might not have been able to afford.
When he was criticised for not following the opinion of the majority of the
Shāfi`ī scholars in this regard, he said that he was capable of coming to a
legal judgement just as they were.
Regarding the spiritual rank of Ḥabīb Ùmar, it is enough to know that
the great Imām Àbdullāh bin Àlawī al-Ḥaddād was his student. Imām al-
Ḥaddād was once asked what works Ḥabīb Ùmar had authored. He replied:
“I am one of his works.” Imām al-Ḥaddād said of Ḥabīb Ùmar: “He was pure-
ly heart (qalb) and truth (ḥaqq), with no lower self (nafs) and no caprice (hawā).”
He listed the following as signs of Ḥabīb Ùmar having achieved perfection:
his patience in dealing with the common folk, mixing with them while re-
maining safe from being affected by them and his complete denial of his
own self, to the point where he only witnessed the rights that others had
over it, not its own right. He described him as being a sign (āyah) of Allah in
humility (tawāḍu`). He said: “His tree has been planted in the earth of hu-
mility (tawāḍu`) and gentleness (luṭf), and this is how is his branches grew.”
Ḥabīb Ùmar’s closest student was Shaykh Àlī bin Àbdullāh Bā Rās.
Shaykh Àlī complained to Ḥabīb Ùmar one day that in spite of the efforts of
Ḥabīb Ùmar in calling people to Allah only very few people had truly bene-
fited from him. Ḥabīb Ùmar replied: “If they looked at me in the way you
look at me I would have taken them to Allah in an instant.”
60
ḥabīb ùmar bin àbd al-raḥmān al-àṭṭās
He was once walking on his way to the Friday prayer in his best white
clothes. A woman who was cleaning her stove tipped a pile of ash from an
upstairs window into the street. The ashes landed on Ḥabīb Umar, soiling
his clothes. Instead of becoming angry he merely said: “A slave who de-
serves the Fire is content with being covered in ash.” He then returned to
his house to change his clothes.
At times he would spend the whole night discussing the Islamic sciences
with his students. At other times he would spend the whole night repeating
the du`ā’ of qunūt.23
He advised his students to think of the state in which they would like to
be in at the point of death and then to remain in that state constantly. He
said that the one who prays for a wrongdoer or a tyrant will be safe from
his harm. He said: “Allah gives everyone according to their intention and
the good that their heart contains.” He said that if you see someone that pos-
sesses one good trait then assume that he possesses all the good traits that
the religion contains.
His Rātib, a litany to be read daily, is the only piece of work attributed to
him. It contains great secrets and numerous benefits both worldly and spir-
itual. It is proven to deflect harm from the area in which it is read. Ḥabīb
Àlī bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās wrote al-Qirṭās, a lengthy commentary on the Rātib.
His Death
He was staying in the village of Nafḥūn in Rabī` al-Thānī 1072 (1661 CE) when
he sensed death approaching. He commanded those present to remember
Allah aloud and they heard a sound like the buzzing of bees emanating from
23. The supplication narrated on the authority of Sayyidunā Ḥasan bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib.
Imām al-Shāfi`ī was of the opinion that it is recommended to read it in the Fajr prayer.
61
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
him. Unable to speak, he indicated that he wished someone to make wuḍū’

for him. When one of his students duly did so, he neglected to run water
through the Imām’s beard, so Ḥabīb Ùmar reminded him not to leave this
sunnah in the last moments of his life. Soon after he died he was taken to
Ḥurayḍah, where he was buried. Shaykh Àlī Bā Rās later built a dome over
his grave.
62

IMĀM AL-ḤADDĀD
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Àlawī bin Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin
Àbdullāh bin Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Aḥmad “al-Ḥaddād” bin Abū Bakr
bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān
bin Àlawī Àmm al-Faqīh (uncle of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam), bin Muḥammad
Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-
The name “al-Ḥaddād” goes back to one of the ancestors of Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh, Sayyid Aḥmad bin Abū Bakr, who used to spend time with an
ironsmith (ḥaddād in Arabic) in his shop in Tarīm and thus became known
by that name to distinguish him from another Sayyid, whose name was
also Aḥmad.24
24. For the full story and for a more detailed biography of the Imām, see Sufi Sage of Arabia,
Mostafa al-Badawi.
63
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
“Ḥabīb” came to be the title of the Àlawī Sayyids from the 11th Century
onwards.
His Life
Imām al-Ḥaddād was born in Subayr near the city of Tarīm in 1044 (1634).
He went blind at the age of four but Allah blessed him with the light of inner
sight. His father directed him to the pursuit of knowledge and he memo-
rised the Qur’ān and the foundational texts of the Islamic sciences at an early
age. Among his teachers were Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad Balfaqīh and Ḥabīb
Ùmar ibn Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās. He corresponded by letter with Ḥabīb
Muḥammad bin Àlawī al-Saqqāf, who lived in Makkah, and it was through
him that the Imām received his opening. He continued in his studies until
he reached the rank of mujtahid.
His love of knowledge was accompanied with a love of worship. In his
childhood, when his morning lessons had finished, he would perform up to
200 rakats of prayer in Masjid Bā Àlawī or other mosques. His day was struc-
tured around acts of worship, which began long before dawn and ended
late at night, interspersed with lessons and time with his family. He com-
piled a number of litanies, the most famous being the Rātib and al-Wird al-
Laṭīf, which provide spiritual sustenance for the seeker. He had a great
attachment to Surāt Yā Sīn, which he read constantly and in which he was
given a special opening. The supplication which he would make after it con-
tinues to be read widely, as do many of his litanies.
After being given the order by his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah G,
the Imām began calling to Allah at every level, such that he became known
as the ‘Pole of Da`wah and Guidance.’ He had a small number of close disci-
ples who he trained in the spiritual path. He said of his technique: “We may
64
imām al-ḥaddād
train one of our students for a whole year in attaining one attribute.” He
called the scholars to act according to their knowledge and to become callers
themselves. He called the rulers and the common people alike. He established
a mawlid in the month of Rajab and would feed all those who attended, say-
ing: “If they do not benefit from our speech then we will place our blessings
in the food.”
He authored a number of books which continue to benefit people gener-
ation after generation. His works are clear and concise and thus suitable for
our times. Several have been translated into English and other languages.
He would dictate large sections of his books to his students without any
preparation. The Imam’s longest work, al-Nasā’iḥ al-Dīniyyah, contains the
essence of Imām al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn. In al-Da`wah al-Tāmmah (The
Complete Call) he classifies society into eight categories and outlines each
category’s rights and duties. Risālat al-Mu`āwanah (The Book of Assistance),
which he authored at the age of 26, is every Muslim’s manual of the path to
Allah. Other works include The Lives of Man, Knowledge and Wisdom and Good
Manners, all excellently translated by Dr Mostafa al-Badawi.
The Imām also placed his knowledge and his secrets in his collection of
poetry (Dīwān) and used it as a means of calling people to Allah. He said that
the one who has the Dīwān needs no other book. Several of the poems in it
contain a complete exposition of the spiritual path and were explained dur-
ing the lifetime of the Imam by his great student, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn
al-Ḥabashī. His poetry reached such a degree of acceptance that one of his
verses was inscribed on the wall of the enclosure in which lies the grave of
the Messenger of Allah G:
65
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
‫نَبِ ٌّي َعظِ ْي ٌم ُخ ْل ُق ُه اخلُ ُل ُق ا َّل ِذي‬

ِ ‫الرمح ُن يِ ْف َس ِّي ِد ال ُكت‬
‫ْب‬ َّ ‫َل ُه َع َّظ َم‬
An awesome Prophet, whose character the All-Compassionate
has venerated in the Master of all Books
Imam al-Ḥaddād’s poems continue to bring light and life to gatherings all
over the world. One of his masterpieces is his “Pre-dawn Breeze,” which begins:
ْ ‫إ َل ْي َك َو َّج ْه ُت‬ ‫ال ْال‬ ِ‫م‬

‫اآلمال‬ َ ْ‫َيا َر ِّب َيا َعال َ ح‬
‫أص ِل ِح ا ْل َب ْال‬
ْ ‫َو ُك ْن َلنَا َو‬ ‫َفا ْمنُ ْن َع َل ْينَا بِاإل ْق َب ْال‬
O Lord, O Knower of every state

To You I turn my hopes
So bless us by turning to us,
Support us and rectify us
He said of it: “This one of the greatest works which we have composed, for
every verse is an expression of Allah’s oneness (tawḥīd). Had it been our
way to take the means25 we would have bequeathed that the poem be buried
with us, but our way is to meet Allah in a state of absolute neediness (faqr).”
The Imām established a ḥaḍrah on Thursday night which continues to this
day in Masjid al-Fatḥ in al-Ḥāwī. He placed this poem at the end, at which
point he, and those attending would stand. One of the sultans of Haḍramawt
25. Meaning that the greatness of this poem in Allah’s sight would have been a means to
attaining His mercy and forgiveness. However, the Imām preferred to rely completely
on Allah’s generosity and meet Him with nothing.
66
imām al-ḥaddād
came to Tarīm and requested a meeting with the Imām, who refused, but
sent instead sent him this poem, saying: “It is sufficient for him.”
Imām al-Ḥaddād was involved in society at every level. He would write
to the sultans warning them of their contravention of the Sacred Law and
commanding them to repent and return to Allah. He also advised them in
the affairs of government and mediated between conflicting tribes. He ad-
vised farmers on agricultural techniques and castigated the wealthy for not
using their wealth to help the poor.
He established the village of al-Ḥāwī on the outskirts of Tarīm which was
self-sufficient and free from the meddling of the rulers of the time – close
enough to receive the good of Tarīm but far enough away to be safe from
the conflict and sedition that plagued the city. The mosque which he built
there, Masjid al-Fatḥ, and his house have now been greatly renovated and
receive many visitors. He would supervise and fund the raising of orphans
in his house and, in spite of his blindness, would take part in the work of
the house, feeding the animals and sealing the water vessels.
One of the sultans of India wished to honour him by sending a ship laden
with gold but the Imam knew that the arrival of this wealth would have
negative effects on Ḥaḍramawt and its people. He asked Allah to make the
ship sink and that everyone aboard would be saved, which duly happened.
His reliance on Allah was such that he said: “If the sky were to call out, ‘I
will not send forth a drop of rain,’ and the earth were to call out, ‘I will not
send forth a single shoot,’ and I was responsible for feeding all the people
of Tarīm I would not be in the least concerned after my Lord has said: There
is no creature on the earth but that Allah has guaranteed to provide for it.”26
26. Hūd, 11:6
67
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
He was in a state of constant presence with Allah, which led him to say
to his students at times: “Do not ask me too many questions for I have to ex-
pend great efforts to focus my attention on you.” Not wishing for anyone
to detract from his focus on his Lord, he instructed people not to approach
when he was going to out to the mosque for prayer. On one occasion he
said “Allah akbar” upon entering the prayer with such force that the wall of
the miḥrāb in front of him split. The crack remained in the wall until the re-
cent refurbishment of the mosque.
His constant supplication was to perfect his following of the Messenger
of Allah G. In his old age he grew his hair long, saying: “There is not a sunnah
that was prescribed by the Prophet G except that I hope I have acted
upon it.” He said that if he was in doubt over the authenticity of a hadith,
he would refer directly to the Prophet G .
Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī said of him:
‫يع َم ْن َس َل َك ال َّط ِري َق َة َب َعدَ ُه‬ ِ

ُ ‫َف َجم‬
ِ ‫ُور ِه الو َّق‬
‫اد‬ َ ِ ‫ون بِن‬ َ ‫ُم ْست َْصبِ ُح‬
‫َّبي حُم َ َّم ٍد‬

ِّ ‫ي الن‬ُ ْ‫َق َّر ْت بِ ِه َع ن‬
ِ ‫َفهو َله ِمن َأحس ِن األَو‬
‫الد‬ ْ َ ْ ْ ُ َُ
Everyone that takes the path after him
Is guided by his brilliant light
He was the cooling of the eye of the Prophet Muhammad

And he is one of the best of his children
68
imām al-ḥaddād
His Death
It is little surprise that the Imām came to be regarded as the “renewer”
(mujaddid) of the 12th Islamic Century. He died in al-Ḥāwī on 7th Dhū’l-
Qa`dah 1132 (1719) and was buried in the Zanbal Graveyard in Tarīm. He
(may Allah be pleased with him) left behind six sons – Ḥasan (who became
his spiritual heir), Ḥusayn, Àlawī, Sālim, Zayn, Muḥammad; and four daugh-
ters – `Ā’ishah, Salmā, Fāṭimah, and Bahiyyah.
His students were giants in their own right: amongst them Ḥabīb Aḥmad
bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī, Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh Balfaqīh, Ḥabīb
Ùmar bin Àbd al- Raḥmān al-Bārr and Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Zayn bin
Sumayṭ.
69

ḤABĪB AḤMAD BIN ZAYN
AL-ḤABASHĪ
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn bin Àlawī bin Aḥmad Ṣāḥib al-
Shi`b bin Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Abū Bakr al-Ḥabashī bin Àlī bin
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad “Asad Allah” bin Ḥasan al-Turābī bin Àlī bin al-
Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ,
bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin
Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin `Īsā, bin
al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib
the Prophets G.
His mother was the pious Sayyidah Fāṭimah bint Àlī bin Àqīl Bā Hārūn
Jamal al-Layl.
The name “al-Ḥabashī” was given to Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s ancestor, Sayyid
Abū Bakr bin Àlī, who spent around 20 years in Habashah or Ethiopia call-
ing to Allah and was thus named after the place in which he resided.
70
imām al-ḥaddād
His Life
Ḥabīb Aḥmad was born in the town of al-Ghurfah, between Say’ūn and
Shibām in 1069 (1658), and it was there that he grew up. From his early days,
his heart was attached to his Lord and he had no leaning towards material
things. He memorised the Qur’ān at a young age and began the pursuit of
knowledge, firstly at the hands of his father, who held him in great respect.
His thirst for knowledge next led him to seek out the scholars in the various
towns of Ḥaḍramawt. He would go on foot to Shibām, Say’ūn and Tarīm.
The only provisions that he would take would be dates, which he would eat
for lunch and dinner on his journeys. One of his greatest teachers was Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad Balfaqīh in Tarīm, who taught him numerous books
in the inward and outward sciences. He also benefited greatly from Ḥabīb
Aḥmad bin Ùmar al-Hindawān and Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Hāshim al-Ḥabashī.
He exchanged letters with the Ḥanafī scholar, al-Àllāmah Ḥasan bin Àlī
al-Ùjaymī, who gave him permission to narrate hadith through his chains
of connection.
Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s greatest teacher, however, was Imām Àbdullāh bin Àlawī
al-Ḥaddād. Ḥabīb Aḥmad first met Imām al-Ḥaddād while still a child on a
visit to Tarīm with his father. The Imām placed his hand on Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s
head and informed his father that he was a blessed child. From the age of
twenty four, Ḥabīb Aḥmad took the Imām as his shaykh and focused all his
efforts on receiving from him. He placed himself completely under the
Imām’s direction and guidance and exemplified the etiquettes of the seeker
with the shaykh. He was, as the saying goes: “like a dead person in the hands
of the one who is washing him.” Ḥabīb Aḥmad kept his company as much
as he could, and could hardly bear to part with him. He complained of this
once to Imām al-Ḥaddād, who told him that he also found difficulty in parting
71
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
with Ḥabīb Aḥmad. Imām al- Ḥaddād also told him that his being apart from
the Imām strengthened his longing for him and enabled him to receive more
from him. Ḥabīb Aḥmad often accompanied the Imām on his visits to the
Prophet Hūd 8. When they were on the road he would walk directly be-
hind the Imām “so that his heart would be in line with my heart. I knew
that Allah’s gaze was upon his heart so I hoped to receive Allah’s gaze at the
same time. I would imagine that my heart was an empty vessel placed under
a vessel that was full, ready to receive the spiritual assistance that flowed
forth from that vessel.” He had such veneration for his shaykh that he based
his words and actions on his example. He said: “We only give preference to
the speech of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger over his speech and
actions. As for other scholars, if one hundred scholars held one opinion and
he (Imām al- Ḥaddād) held another, I would only follow his opinion because
he is the Imām and Renewer (mujaddid) of this time.” He also said: “Were he
to bring the dead to life in front of me, this would not increase my belief in
him in any way because I see him constantly bringing to life those who have
died from ignorance and heedlessness through the light of knowledge and
wisdom.” Ḥabīb Aḥmad studied around seventy books in various sciences
at his hands and was studying al-Muwaṭṭa’ of Imām Mālik with him when
the Imām passed away. In spite of this, Imām al- Ḥaddād said of him that
Ḥabīb Aḥmad did not need to study all these books at his hands but that he
did it merely seeking blessings (tabarruk).
Imām al-Ḥaddād held him in the highest esteem, and said: “I hope that
you will be greater than Imam al-Shāfi`ī in outward knowledge, not to
mention in inward knowledge.” Imām al-Ḥaddād directed people to seek
knowledge and spiritual direction from Ḥabīb Aḥmad. He said to one of his
students: “You must go to Sayyid Aḥmad bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī, for he is a
72
ḥabīb aḥmad bin zayn al-ḥabashī
scholar, an ascetic (zāhid) and a ṣūfī.” This was indeed great praise from the
Imām, for all praiseworthy qualities can be found in these three attributes.
When the Imām died in 1132 (1719), many of his students took Ḥabīb Aḥmad
as their shaykh. It was as Imām al-Ḥaddād predicted: “You will see the people
of Tarīm coming to visit you in your town in droves seeking spiritual assis-
tance from you.” Ḥabīb Ḥusayn, the son of Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān
al-Àṭṭās, said of him that everything that Imām al-Ḥaddād possessed can
be seen in perfection in Sayyid Aḥmad bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī.
Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s whole time was spent in obtaining knowledge and spread-
ing it. His immense thirst for knowledge did not wane as we grew older,
but rather it increased. His great student, Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Zayn bin
Sumayṭ, said: “I once read one hundred pages to him in one sitting and he
did not become bored, but rather asked me to read more.” Ḥabīb Aḥmad said
of himself: “After I reached the age of seventy, no desire remained in me
other than the desire for knowledge.” He was once sitting with around one
hundred books around him. He said: “Were all these books to be destroyed,
I would have brought out all that is in them from my chest.” His knowledge
was not confined to the sciences of the Sacred Law. He was also a master of
medicine and people would come to him seeking remedies.
Like his predecessors, his utmost concern was acting upon his knowledge
and benefiting others by it. He said: “We do not mention any piece of knowl-
edge except that we have first acted upon it, and everything we say in the
way of admonition, we intend addressing ourselves first.”27 He would trav-
el through the villages and towns of Ḥaḍramawt calling people to Allah
and teaching them their religion. He preferred to call people away from
27. Many of the pious prefer to use the plural ‘we’ in their speech to avoid using the singular
‘me,’ thus praising the self and falling into the mistake of the Devil, who said: “I am better
than him.”
73
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
acts of disobedience in an indirect manner, knowing that this was more

likely to find acceptance in people’s hearts. On one occasion Imām al-
Ḥaddād wrote to him saying that he was extremely happy with his efforts in
calling people to Allah and teaching beneficial knowledge.
He authored a number of works. His twenty volume Safīnah covers a vast
array of inward and outward sciences. He authored several commentaries
on Imām al-Ḥaddād’s poems, which the Imām himself approved and named.
The most famous is his commentary on the Imām’s Àynīyyah, in which he
compiled biographies of many of the great Imāms who represent who rep-
resent Imām al-Ḥaddād’s spiritual chain of connection back to the Messenger
of Allah G. He composed a number of small treatises on aspects of the spir-
itual path. His al-Risālah al-Jāmìah28 covers individually compulsory knowl-
edge from tenets of faith and the five pillars of Islām to the foundations of
the spiritual path. No doubt due to the sincerity of its author, this small book
found acceptance and continues to be a foundational text in many parts of
the Muslim world, and several commentaries have been written on it. Ḥabīb
Aḥmad says in his introduction that he hopes that anyone that acts upon
what is in it will become one of the people of true knowledge inwardly and
outwardly. His prayers upon the Prophet G, poems and some of his letters
and speeches have also been collected.
He had a love for the remembrance of Allah and established gatherings
of remembrance which continue to this day. Among them are his ḥaḍrah in
Masjid al-Bahā’ every Thursday night and another ḥaḍrah on the last Sunday
of every month which is read next to his grave. He would read lā ilāha ill’Allah
seventy thousand times a day and loved to listen to the poetry of Imām al-
28. Literally “The Comprehensive Treatise.” Translated into English with notes by Shaykh
Abdul Aziz Ahmed under the title “The Essentials of Islam.”
74
Ḥaddād, Imām Abū Bakr al-Àdanī, Imām al-Sūdī, Shaykh Ùmar Ibn al-Fāriḍ
and Shaykh Ùmar Bā Makhramah.
He had a strong attachment to the pious and to their places of worship.
If he heard of pious people in any place, he would travel great distances to
visit them. He would regularly pray in the mosques of Tarīm and visit the
graves of his ancestors throughout the Ḥaḍramawt Valley and beyond,
especially Imām al-Muhājir and his great grandfather, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin
Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī, both buried in al-Ḥusayyisah.
Just as Ḥabīb Aḥmad had a great concern for the slaves of Allah, he had a
similar concern for the houses of Allah. He built seventeen mosques, most
of them in and around al-Ghurfah and Shibām, and restored several others.
This led Imām al-Ḥaddād to say to him: “You are the father of the mosques
(‘abū’l-masājid’).” Ḥabīb Aḥmad insisted on paying those building his mosques
the best wages and said that anyone that did not do so was lacking in spir-
itual ambition (himmah) or in sincerity. He also spent large amounts of money
on the upkeep of the mosques. All of these mosques are still in active use.
He would spend freely on the poor and needy, not caring whether he had
enough for the next day. He said that if he was blessed with a pious intention
he would act on it instantly, without looking at the consequences. A ṣūfī is
‘a man of the moment’ and this was his state. He advised seekers that if they
were blessed with presence of heart in a specific dhikr they should contin-
ue reading it, and not be confined to their regular adhkār, since this was an
opening from Allah which should be capitalised upon.
He had absolutely no attachment to worldly things, and Ḥabīb Muḥammad
bin Zayn bin Sumayṭ said that in all the years he spent with him he never
heard him talk about this ephemeral life and he had no regard for those who
were attached to it. He was severe in his condemnation of oppressive rulers
75
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
and those that served them. People came to him asking him to intercede for
them by writing to such rulers but more often than not he would refuse,
saying that he would “write to the heavens,” meaning he would pray for
them. He had the utmost faith in the power of prayer, and said that if some-
one fulfils the conditions and abides by the etiquettes required, then sup-
plicating alone is one of the best paths to Allah. He preferred supplication
over all types of worship, both acts of worship of the heart and body. When
he asked, Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s heart would be filled with hope, a good opinion of
Allah and the knowledge that nothing is too great to ask for in the sight of
Allah. He would always direct people to this path, saying: “If the one asking
is not worthy of asking then the One being asked is worthy of answering.”
He said: “All good is found in realising that you have no strength or power
of your own and in submitting you affairs to Allah.” He taught people that
the best means of facilitating their provision was through being content
with what they had been apportioned and relying upon Allah and not upon
people.
His state was brokenness in front of Allah. When he first became known
as a scholar in al-Ghurfah he and some of his students were attacked and
abused. After this, sadness could be seen on his face for some time. He said:
“Do not think that this is because of what happened to us. Rather we see it
as evidence of a lack of truthfulness and a sign that Allah gave these people
power over us because of our wrongdoings.” He would always forbid people
from asking Allah to take retribution on those that wronged them. Instead,
he would encourage them to pray for them.
He said that if someone is unable to find presence (ḥuḍūr) in their prayer,
they should witness their weakness and inability to do so while in the prayer.
He said: “Perhaps witnessing this weakness is more beneficial than actually
76
being present, and witnessing this weakness is in fact being present with
Allah.”
He was extremely scrupulous in his dealings. When he came to pay his
zakat he would pay out two or three times more than the compulsory
amount. He said of this: “All our wealth and everything we possess belongs
to Allah.”
His Death
After living most of his life in his home town, al-Ghurfah, he moved to
nearby Khala` Rāshid. Here he built a house and a mosque known as Masjid
al-Bahā’, established gatherings of knowledge and remembrance and re-
ceived his students and visitors. As a result of his settling there, the town
became a safe haven, and is known to this day as ‘al-Ḥawṭah’ or ‘Ḥawṭat
Aḥmad bin Zayn.’ In his old age he lost his eyesight and someone would have
to lead him from his house to the mosque. People would crowd to kiss his
hand on his way back to his house. One day the man leading him, out of
sympathy for him, led him a different way to avoid the crowd. Noticing
that he had arrived at his house quickly without meeting anyone, Ḥabīb
Aḥmad asked what had happened. When the man explained that he had led
him a different way to avoid the people, Ḥabīb Aḥmad rebuked him and
told him not to do it again. He said that he sought spiritual assistance from
every person that kissed his hand and he did not wish to be deprived of
that assistance.
He continued his life’s work until death came to him at Àṣr on Friday,
19th Sha`bān 1144 (1732), while his tongue was moist with the remembrance
of Allah. His son, Ḥabīb Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, later built a large dome over his grave
to accommodate visitors. Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Zayn bin Sumayṭ said that the
77
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
one who is unable to visit the Prophet Hūd should visit Tarīm, and the one
who is unable to visit Tarīm should visit Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī,
because everything that those buried in Tarīm possess can be found with
Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn.
Ḥabīb Ja`far, known as ‘al-Sulṭān’, continued his father’s work in the best
way, calling people to Allah, teaching them and gathering them to remem-
ber Him. Likewise Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s daughter, Ḥabābah Salmā, was famous for
her piety and efforts in teaching people and bringing them to Allah.
Among Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s greatest students was Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Zayn
bin Sumayṭ, to whom we are indebted for writing his biography and record-
ing his speech. His book, Qurrat al-Àyn is an example of how a student can
excel in serving his shaykh by recording his words and states in great de-
tail so that others can continue to benefit from him. Ḥabīb Muḥammad said
that he was not jealous of anyone of the earlier generations because he
had kept the company of Imām al-Ḥaddād and Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Zayn al-
Ḥabashī.
78

ḤABĪB ÀBD AL-RAḤMĀN
BALFAQĪH
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Àllāmah al-Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad
bin Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin al-Faqīh Muḥammad bin
Àbd al- Raḥmān al-Asqa` bin Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad bin Àlī bin Muḥammad
bin Aḥmad bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad
Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-
Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt,
His Life
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān was born in Tarīm in the year 1089 (1678). He memo-
rised the Qur’ān at a young age and set about mastering the Islamic sciences.
His genius soon became clear to his teachers. He spent ten years constantly
keeping the company of, and learning from, his father, the great scholar
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad, who commanded him to take his place teach-
79
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
ing and giving fatwā before the age of twenty. After the death of his father in
1110, he kept the company of his maternal grandfather, Ḥabīb Muḥammad
bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àydarūs and then his maternal uncle, Ḥabīb Àbd
al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Àydarūs. He also studied at the hands of his
brother, Ḥabīb Muḥammad, and Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ùmar al-Hindawān. He
spent a number of years receiving knowledge from Imām Àbdullāh bin
Àlawī al-Ḥaddād. He said of this: “I read numerous famous books to him, and
benefited from him greatly. He had special concern for me and pure love for
me.” Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān would carry an umbrella for Imām al-Ḥaddād
to shade him from the sun on his visits to the Prophet Hūd 8. Imām al-
Ḥaddād thought very highly of him. He once sent him some difficult legal
questions and when he saw Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān’s answers to them, he
named him àllāmat al-dunyā or ‘the greatest scholar on the earth.’ He also
said about him:
‫ما يف األكوان مثل عبد الرمحن‬

“There is no one in the universe like Àbd al-Raḥmān.”
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān did not only receive knowledge from the scholars of
Ḥaḍramawt. On his way to perform ḥajj, he stopped in the Yemeni city of
Zabīd, famous for its scholarship. Here he sat in the gathering of one of the
scholars, unknown to those present. The shaykh asked his students a partic-
ularly difficult question, and said: “I think no one but Sayyid Àbd al-Raḥmān
Balfaqīh would be able to answer this.” Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān duly answered
the question and revealed his identity, saying that the one travelling to
ḥajj comes to his Lord in dusty, dishevelled attire. The scholars of the city
insisted that he teach and he spent days expounding on the meanings of
bismillāh, astounding them with his knowledge. He took knowledge while
80
ḥabīb àbd al-raḥmān balfaqīh
in Zabīd from, amongst others, Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Nāshirī and Shaykh al-
Zayn Bāqī al-Mizjājī.
In al-Madīnah he learnt from Shaykh Ibrāhīm bin Ḥasan al-Kurdī and
Sayyid Muḥammad al-Barzanjī and in Makkah from Shaykh Ḥasan bin Àlī
al-Ùjaymī and Shaykh Aḥmad al-Nakhlī. Through these scholars and others
he obtained the strongest chains of connection in all the outward sciences,
including the four schools of jurisprudence. He also had chains of connec-
tion to over twenty of the spiritual paths, among them the Qādiriyyah, the
Rifāìyyah, the Shādhiliyyah, the Sahrawardiyyah, the Naqshabāndiyyah
and the Dusūqiyyah.
After describing in depth all his aforementioned teachers he says, in his
poem, Miftāḥ al-Asrār:
‫اجتِهادي ُث َّم َم َّن اهللُ بِال َفت ِْح ال َعظِي ِم و َف ْو َق ما يف بايل‬

ْ ‫هذا‬
He then says, in his own commentary on the poem, Rafa` al-Astār, after ex-
pending all his efforts seeking knowledge and seeking to draw near to Allah
that: “When Allah knew the sincerity of my efforts and my complete reli-
ance upon Him, He blessed me with the greatest opening in everything that
I sought and gave me more than I could possibly imagine.”
Although some of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān’s works have been lost over time,
we are blessed to have some treasures. Perhaps his most famous composi-
tion is his Rashafāt Ahl al-Kamāl. A number of the scholars of Makkah wrote
to Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān requesting his counsel in travelling the path to
Allah. He responded by writing this immense poem, which covers all aspects
of the spiritual path and is evidence of his spiritual station as well as poetic
gift. In it he says, describing the elect of Allah:
81
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
‫لهَ ُ ْم ِمن ال َّت ْق َوى َأ َج ُّل ِزينَة‬

‫الس ِكينَة‬ َّ ‫قاه ْم َتن َْز ُل‬
ِ ِ
ُ ‫عنْدَ ل‬
‫َو حَ ْت ُص ُل اجلَ ْم ِعي ُة ا ُملبِينَة‬
ِ ‫اب بِان ِْف‬
‫عال‬ ُ ‫َفت ُْج َذ ُب األَ ْل َب‬
They are clothed in the most splendid garments of taqwā,

When one meets them, tranquillity descends,
One’s heart becomes fully focused on Allah
And one’s mind is pulled towards Him
He says about Allah’s spiritual gifts:
‫اب‬ِ ‫َص بِ ِذي َأن َْس‬ ْ َ‫َف َل ْي َس خ‬

ُّ ‫يت‬
ِ ‫اجلدِّ و االكْتِ َس‬
‫اب‬ ِ ‫وال بِ َأ ْه ِل‬
‫اب‬ِ ‫َب ْل َف ْي ُض ُمن ِْع ٍم َو َّه‬
ِ ‫فِ ِيه النِّسا ُي ْقسم َن كَالر ِج‬
‫ال‬ ِّ ْ َ
They are not only for those of noble lineage
Or those who expend great efforts,
But rather it is the outpouring of the Bestower
Of which women receive their fair share like men
Shaykh Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad Bā Sawdān and Shaykh Ḥasan bin Àwaḍ
Makhdam both wrote commentaries on the Rashafāt, although it has been
said that only a knower of Allah of the station of Ibn Àrabī could write a
commentary on it that would do it justice. Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān wrote
several poems on which he himself wrote commentaries, and wrote some
82
ḥabīb àbd al-raḥmān balfaqīh
treatises on legal issues. His Fatḥ Baṣā’ir al-Ikhwān is a unique work which
covers the different spheres of the religion from Islām to Īmān to Iḥsān to
Ìrfān (knowledge of Allah). He was gifted with being able to put an immense
amount of meaning into a few short poetic phrases.
Once a group of scholars who were hostile to the methodology of the
scholars of Ḥaḍramawt approached Tarīm. They pitched their tents near the
city, intending to enter Tarīm the next day in order to debate with the schol-
ars on theological issues. Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān went out to meet them
wearing the attire of a farmer. He asked them what had brought them and
when they explained, he asked what the questions were that they wished
to put to the scholars of Tarīm. They replied that they were issues which
only the scholars could discuss. He said that he always attended the gather-
ings of the scholars and perhaps he could answer. They began by asking him
basic questions and he replied by saying: “If my masters were asked this,
they would respond by saying this.” They asked progressively more difficult
questions and he would respond in the same way until they had exhausted
all their questions. Then he said to them: “Were my masters to answer these
questions of yours, they would also wish to ask you some of their own ques-
tions. Would you be able to respond?” He began to ask them questions to
which they were unable to respond. They looked at one another and said:
“If this is the knowledge of a servant, how great must the knowledge of the
scholars be?” They promptly returned to where they had come from and did
not even enter Tarīm.
Ḥabīb Ḥāmid bin Ùmar Ḥāmid said: “We do not prefer Ibn Ḥajar over
Imām Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh Balfaqīh.”29 In spite of his greatness, it
29. Referring to Aḥmad Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, the great Shāfi`ī jurist (died 974/1567)
83
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
appears that some of the people of his time failed to benefit from him. His
student, Ḥabīb Saqqāf bin Muḥammad al-Saqqāf, would call out at the top
of his voice upon entering Tarīm: “Why have people neglected Àbd al-
Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh Balfaqīh? They should be standing at his door like
people stood at the door of Imām Mālik in al-Madīnah!”
His desire to benefit mankind did not stop at disseminating his vast knowl-
edge. He built seventeen mosques in different parts of Haḍramawt. He accu-
mulated large tracts of land, the cultivation of which he directly supervised.
He would spend a third of his income on his household, a third on his guests
and a third he would re-invest in agriculture. He had no fear of speaking out
against the oppressive rulers of the time, which led to his imprisonment. In
one of his poems he severely reprimands them for not ruling by the Sacred
Law and then proposes practical economic solutions to the problems of the
region.
His Death
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān died on 26th Jumādā al-Akhirah 1162 (1749). He said
previously that Allah had blessed him with the mastery of thirty sciences
but that the people of his time only studied fourteen of these sciences. He
said: “I will die and in my chest are sixteen sciences that no one has ever
asked me about” and this is what happened. He had reached such a high
level of knowledge that very few were able to fully benefit from him.
84

ḤABĪB ÀBDULLĀH BIN
ḤUSAYN BIN ṬĀHIR
His Lineage
He is al-Imam al-Ḥabīb Àbdullah bin Ḥusayn bin Ṭāhir bin Muḥammad
bin Hāshim bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullah bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin
Muḥammad Maghfūn bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Aḥmad bin Àlawī bin Aḥmad
bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlawī Àmm al-Faqīh (uncle of al-Faqīh al-
Muqaddam), bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī,
bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām
al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin ` Īsā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin Àlī al-
Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn,
bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter
of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
His Life
Ḥabīb Àbdullah was born in Tarīm in 1191 (1777). He received the up-
bringing that was customary in Tarīm founded upon learning the Noble
Qur’ān and gaining a strong foundation in the sciences of the Sacred Law.
His greatest teachers were his older brother, the great Imām, Ḥabīb Ṭāhir,
Imām Àbd al-Raḥmān Ṣāḥib al-Buṭayḥah, Ḥabīb Ḥāmid bin Ùmar Ḥāmid
85
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
and Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Abū Bakr Mawlā Àidīd. The shaykh from whom
he received his opening was Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Saqqāf al-Saqqāf. He also
spent a period of time in Makkah and al-Madīnah learning from the schol-
ars of the Two Sanctuaries.
Due to political strife in Tarīm, he moved with his father and brother
and their families to the nearby town of al-Masīlah in 1210. The tribal chief
who owned the land there saw in a dream the full moon falling and landing
in his land. He thus gave them the land for nothing. Upon it they built a
house and a mosque. With their arrival, al-Masīlah was transformed from a
backwater to a place of knowledge and spiritual nurturing.
Ḥabīb Àbdullah held immense respect for his older brother, Ḥabīb Ṭāhir.
In their childhood, he would never allow himself to defeat him in archery
contests. He would always walk behind him and, in their house he would
not go up to a higher storey if Ḥabīb Ṭāhir was below. Only after his brother’s
death in 1241, did he start teaching and calling to Allah openly.
He would not allow an instant to go by unused. Someone once gave him
a (recently invented) pocket watch and asked him some time later whether
he had benefited from it. He replied that he had used it for a time and then
it had stopped. The man told him that the watch had to be wound up every
day. Ḥabīb Àbdullāh asked him, “Did you give me the watch in order for me
to save time or waste time? Where can I find the time to wind it up?” Even
the time he spent eating was used to increase in knowledge: his brother
would eat and he would read to him and then he would eat and his brother
would read. Just before Ramaḍān he would gather his household together
and say to them: “All my time is full and I am unable to perform more acts of
worship than I am already performing. Who will sell me some of their time?”
His daily wird was “Lā ilāha ill’Allah” 25,000 times, “Yā Allah” 25,000 times
86
ḥabīb àbdullāh bin ḥusayn bin ṭāhir
and 25,000 prayers upon the Prophet G. He would recite 10 Juz’ of the
Qur’ān in his prayers at night and 8 Juz’ in the Ḍuḥā (midmorning) prayer.
He would make ghusl and use perfume for every compulsory prayer. He
spent as much of his time as possible in the mosque, about which he said:
‫س ما َج َل ْس ُت هِبا‬ ِ‫ِ ِ ر‬
ٌّ ‫َو يف املساجد‬
‫إِالّ َت َع َّج ْب ُت ممَِّ ْن َي ْس ُك ُن الدُّ ورا‬
In mosques there is such a secret that whenever I sit in them,

I marvel at those who spend their time in their houses.
He authored a number of treatises on different elements of the religion, one

of which is Sulam al-Tawfīq, a primary text covering all compulsory knowl-
edge. He also composed a Dīwān of poetry which is contained, along with all
the treatises, in his Majmū`. He used his poetry as a means to call people to
Allah and, for that reason, made it as easy as possible for the common peo-
ple to understand. His Hadīyat al-Ṣadīq comprehensively covers what every
person needs on their path to Allah.
He studied, taught and lived by Imām al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn to
such an extent that his nephew, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar bin Yaḥyā, said
of him: “He purified himself of all destructive traits and attained all praise-
worthy traits which save one from destruction. His attributes are those
that are contained in the Iḥyā’ and more.” Ḥabīb Àbdullāh said of the Iḥyā’:
“Whoever desires to be upright on the Straight Path, to perfect their fol-
lowing of the Noble Prophet, to come to Allah with a sound heart, to attain
noble character and to attain everlasting bliss then they must act according
to what is contained in Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn.”
87
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
He said of himself: “I never committed an act which is disliked (makrūh),

nor did I even consider doing such a thing.”
His student, Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī, said of him: “He was similar in appear-
ance to the Prophet G. If I were to read the Shamā’il of the Messenger
of Allah G in his presence, I would have witnessed those attributes in
him.” Ḥabīb Àlī also described him as having received complete and per-
fect inheritance from the Best of Creation G .
His love for worship did not prevent him from involving himself in the
affairs of the community. He took care of the poor and needy and supported
his brother Ḥabīb Ṭāhir in the struggle against the oppressive Yāfi` tribes-
men that controlled Tarīm. He also lent his support to the Kathīrī State,
which many of the scholars hoped would bring justice and rectification to
Hadramawt. His great poem Yā Arḥam al-Rāḥimīn is a plea to Allah to rectify
the Muslims and their leaders and reflects the turbulent time in which he
lived. It continues to be read in many gatherings and can be found in the
famous Ḥaḍrah compiled by Ḥabīb Àbdullāh’s student, Shaykh Àbdullāh
bin Aḥmad Bā Sawdān.
In spite of all his great works, he saw himself as merely a poor, sinful slave
in desperate need of the mercy of his Lord.
‫َو ِصـــدْ ُقنا َد َعـاوي‬ ‫إِ ْحســــانُنا َمســـاوي‬

Our so-called goodness is a catalogue of wrongdoings
And our truthfulness is a false claim
‫و ك َْس ُبنا ُك ُل ْه َز َل ْل‬ ‫يا َر ِّب ما َم ْعنا َع َم ْل‬

ِ ْ ِ‫َل ِك ْن َلنا ف‬
َّ ‫حُ ْت ِيي الع َظا َم‬
‫الرا َم ْة‬ ‫يك َأ َم ْل‬
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ḥabīb àbdullāh bin ḥusayn bin ṭāhir
My Lord we have no (good) actions and all that we have earned are wrongdoings
But in You we have hope which brings decayed bones to life.
His constant plea was for Allah to bless him with a good ending:
ِ‫ياهلل هِبا ياهلل هِبا ياهلل بِحس ِن الخْ م‬

‫اتَة‬ َ ْ ُ َ َ َ َ َ
Thus, it was no surprise that death came to him while he was in the best of
states on 17th Rabī` al-Thānī 1272 (1855).
His ḥawl, or annual commemoration of his passing, in al-Masīlah is at-
tended by many on the morning of 17th Rabī` al-Thānī. It was on this occa-
sion in 1400 that Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Shihāb delivered his
final speech. Upon finishing he said, “O Allah bless us with tawfīq30” and sat
down and breathed his last breath. He died, as he had lived, calling to Allah
and His Messenger G.
We end this brief biography with the final verses of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh’s
poem Hadīyat al-Ṣadīq, which are often sung at the end of the gatherings of
knowledge:
َ َ‫بِ َأ َّننَـا ا ْق ر‬
‫ت ْفنَـا‬ ‫ت ْفنَـا‬ َ َ‫َيا َر َّبنَــا ا ْع ر‬
‫َع ىَل َل َظـى َأ ْش َـر ْفنَا‬ ‫َو َأ َّننَـا َأ ْس َـر ْفنَـا‬
َّ ‫ـس ُل ك‬ ِ ‫َت ْغ‬ ‫ُـب َع َل ْينَـا ت َْو َبـ ْه‬
‫ُـل َح ْو َبـ ْه‬ ْ ‫َفت‬
ِ ‫ـن الرو َع‬ ِ ِ ‫واس رُت َلنَـا العـور‬
‫ـات‬ ْ َّ ِ ‫َوآم‬ ‫ات‬ َْ َ ْ ْ َ
‫ودينَــا‬ ِ ‫رب و َ مو ُل‬ ِ ِ ِ
‫َوا ْغف ْـر ل َوالـدينَا‬ ِ
َْ ِّ َ
ِ‫ــائ ِر الخْ ِ ــالَّن‬ ِ ‫وس‬ ِ ‫اإل ْخـو‬
َ َ ‫ان‬ َ ِ ‫ـل َو‬ ِ ‫َواألَ ْه‬
ٍ ِ ‫ُـل ِذي حَم َ َّبـ ْه‬
‫ـح َب ْه‬ْ ‫ــرة َأ ْو ُص‬ َ ‫َأ ْوج ْي‬ ِّ ‫َوك‬
ِ َ ‫ِآم‬ َ ْ‫ني َأ م‬ َ ‫ـس ِل ِم‬
‫ـع‬ ْ ‫ــني َر ِّب ا ْس َم‬ ‫ـع‬
ْ ‫ج‬ ْ ُْ‫َوالم‬
30. “Enabling grace”
89
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
‫اب ِمنَّـا‬ ٍ ‫ـس‬ ِ

َ ‫ال بِاكْت‬ ‫ال َو ُجـو ًدا َمنَّـا‬ ً ‫َف َض‬
ِ ‫ُـل س‬ ِ ‫ـص َط َفى الرس‬
‫ـول‬ ُ ِّ ‫ن َْح َظى بِك‬ ‫ـول‬ ُ َّ ْ ُْ‫بِالم‬
‫ـب‬ ْ‫ـه عَـدَّ ح‬ِ ‫َع َلي‬ ‫َص ىَّل َو َسـ َّل ْم َر ِّبـى‬
ِّ َ‫ال‬ ْ
ِ ‫الـس ْح‬ ِ ِ ‫الـص ْح‬ ِ ِ
‫ب‬ ُّ ‫عدَ ا َد َط ِّش‬ ‫ب‬ َّ ‫َوآلـه َو‬
‫َـاهي‬ِ ‫يِف البِدْ ِئ وال َتن‬ ِ ‫إل َل‬
‫ــه‬ ِ ِ‫الَ ْمـدُ ل‬ْ‫َو ح‬
َ
O Lord, we admit that we have committed sins
And that we have exceeded the bounds
(Such that) we are on the brink of a blazing fire
So turn to us with a repentance
That washes away every wrongdoing
And conceal our faults
And calm our fears
And forgive our parents and our children
And our family, our brothers and all our friends
And all those we love and our neighbours and companions
And all the Muslims
Āmīn! O Lord, hear our petition!
Out of Your grace, Your generosity and Your favour
Not because of our own actions
Through the Messenger, the Chosen One
Bless us with all we ask for
My Lord, bestow peace and blessings upon him
To the number of every grain
And upon his Family and Companions
As much as rain falls from the clouds
And all thanks and praise be to Allah
In the beginning and the end.
90

ḤABĪB ÀLĪ AL-ḤABASHĪ
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Ḥabīb Àlī bin Muḥammad bin Ḥusayn bin Àbdullāh bin
Shaykh bin Àbdullāh bin Muḥammad bin Ḥusayn bin Aḥmad Ṣāḥib al-
Shi`b bin Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Abū Bakr al-Ḥabashī bin Àlī bin
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad “Asad Allah” bin Ḥasan al-Turābī bin Àlī bin al-
Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ,
bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin
Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad, bin `Īsā, bin
the Prophets G.
His mother was the knower of Allah and caller to Him, Sayyidah Àlawiyyah
bint Ḥusayn al-Jifrī.
His Life
Ḥabīb Àlī was born in the town of Qasam, North East of Tarīm, in 1259
(1843) at a time when his father, Ḥabīb Muḥammad, was calling to Allah in
91
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
the area at the order of his shaykh, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ḥusayn bin Ṭāhir.
It was Ḥabīb Àbdullāh who named him Àlī. In 1266, Ḥabīb Muḥammad
moved to Makkah, where he became the Muftī of the Shāfi`ī school. Ḥabīb
Àlī remained with his mother in Qasam where he excelled in the study of
the Qur’ān and the sciences of the Sacred Law until 1271, when they moved
to Say’ūn. There he studied at the hands of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlī
al-Saqqāf and Ḥabīb Muḥsin bin Àlawī al-Saqqāf and others. He would also
attend the gatherings of the great Imams, Ḥabīb Ḥasan bin Ṣāliḥ al-Baḥr
and Ḥabīb Àydarūs bin Ùmar al-Ḥabashī. In 1276, he travelled to Makkah
and spent two years in the company of his father taking as much as he could
from his knowledge and adab. He also took from Shaykh al-Islām, Sayyid
Aḥmad Zaynī Daḥlān and other great scholars of the time.
He returned to Say’ūn in 1278, where he started teaching while still seek-
ing knowledge at the hands of the scholars of the region. It was at this time
that he was united with the shaykh at whose hand his greatest opening came,
the Quṭb Ḥabīb Abū Bakr bin Àbdullāh al-Àṭṭās. Ḥabīb Àlī spent around
two years in Ḥabīb Abū Bakr’s company and said: “If I was given the choice
between the bliss of Paradise and sitting in the presence of Ḥabīb Abū Bakr,
I would choose sitting in his presence.” Ḥabīb Abū Bakr informed Ḥabīb Àlī
that he would be like a magnet that pulled people’s hearts to Allah.
Ḥabīb Àlī then broadened his call to Allah, and Allah placed love for him
in people’s hearts. He said: “I do not see a net more effective in capturing
immense gifts and divine knowledge than calling to Allah.” Out of his sin-
cerity, if he stood up to give a public speech, people would cry before he
even opened his mouth. The mercy that he had for creation was such that he
would not sleep before making tawbah on behalf of the whole Ummah and
asking Allah to guide the scholars, teach the ignorant and pardon the wrong-
92
ḥabīb àlī al-ḥabashī
doers. He said: “My hope in Allah is that He will not punish a single person
who lives in my time, and this is not a great thing for Allah.” His great com-
panion on the path, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās said of Ḥabīb Àlī: “Was
he someone who prayed a lot or did not sleep at night or made an immense
amount of dhikr? No. Rather, he loved his Lord and his Prophet Muhammad
and his predecessors, so they brought him to them and ordered him to speak
with their tongue and to call to Allah as the direct deputy of the Prophet.”
Along with his concern for the spiritual nourishment of the people, he
also arranged financial support for numerous poor households. He had a
great concern for students of knowledge and spent his wealth supporting
them and his time educating them. In 1296, he built a Ribāṭ or school in Say’ūn
for students of knowledge, the first of its kind in Ḥaḍramawt. Students came
from far and wide to study and live in the Ribāṭ, which produced a large
number of scholars and callers to Allah. A few years later, Ḥabīb Àli built a
mosque, Masjid al-Riyāḍ, as an extension of the Ribāṭ.
Ḥabīb Àlī is best known for his immense connection to the Messenger of
Allah G. On one of his visits to him in al-Madīnah, the Prophet G gave
him the good tidings that his actions and the actions of his companions
had found acceptance with Allah.
He established an annual gathering of mawlid in Say’ūn on the last Thurs-
day of the month of Rabī` al-Awwal which up to 40,000 people attended, all
of whom Ḥabīb Àlī provided with food and accommodation. The mawlid of
Imām al-Dayba`ī was recited in the gathering until in, 1327, Ḥabīb Àlī com-
posed his masterpiece, Simṭ al-Durur, which he described as a “gift to those of
later generations, for in it is an exposition on the state of the Prophet G.”
The fame and popularity of Simṭ al-Durur rapidly spread and it continues to
be one of the most popular and widely read of all the mawlid compositions.
93
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
In 1328, Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ bin Àlawī Jamal al-Layl wrote to Ḥabīb Àlī, his shaykh,
informing him of the impact Simṭ al-Durur was having in East Africa. On the
island of Lamu Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ built his own Masjid al-Riyāḍ, and gathered great
numbers of people to read the mawlid on the last Thursday of Rabī` al-Awwal,
a gathering which continues to grow to this day.
Ḥabīb Àlī’s poetry, which reached six volumes, likewise found acceptance
throughout the Muslim world. His collected prayers upon the Prophet G
are also evidence of his love and connection to him. One of his well-known
prayers is:
،َِّ‫ عَدَ َد َما يِف ِع ْل ِم الله‬،َِّ‫اب َرحمْ َ ِة الله‬ِ ‫َاح َب‬ِ ‫ال َّل ُه َّم َص ِّل َو َس ِّل ْم َع ىَل َس ِّي ِدنَا حُم َ َّم ٍد ِم ْفت‬
‫ َو َع ىَل آلِ ِه َو َص ْحبِ ِه‬،َِّ‫ي بِدَ َوا ِم ُم ْل ِك الله‬ ِ ‫صال ًة وسالما‬
ِ ْ‫دائ َم ن‬ ً َ َ َ
“O Allah, bestow prayers and peace upon our Master Muhammad,
the key to the door of the mercy of Allah, to the extent of the knowledge of Allah,
which continue eternally as the dominion of Allah continues eternally,
and upon his Family and Companions.”
His speech was recorded by his students, among them his grandson, Ḥabīb
Ùmar Mawlā Khaylah, whose compilation reached ten volumes.
His Death
He died in Say’ūn on 20th Rabī` al-Thānī 1333 (1915). A great dome was erect-
ed over his grave to accommodate visitors and gatherings of knowledge
and remembrance which continue to this day. His ḥawl, or annual commem-
oration of his passing, is a great event in the calendar of Ḥaḍramawt and
thousands come to connect to and remember this great Imam. A similar ḥawl
94
ḥabīb àlī al-ḥabashī
takes place in Solo in Java where a number of his progeny are buried. He
left behind a number of children, the most celebrated being his son, Ḥabīb
Muḥammad, who succeeded him, and his daughter, Ḥabābah Khadījah, one
of the most pious women of her day.
95

ḤABĪB AḤMAD BIN ḤASAN
AL-ÀṬṬĀS
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan bin Àbdullāh bin Àlī bin Àbdullāh
bin Muḥammad bin Muḥsin bin Ḥusayn bin Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin
Àqīl al-Àṭṭās bin Sālim bin Àbdullāh bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin
Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah,
bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin
Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh,
His mother was the pious Sayyidah Salmā bint Shaykh bin Àbdullāh al-
Àṭṭās.
His Life
Ḥabīb Aḥmad was born in Ḥurayḍah in 1257 (1841). He went blind while still
an infant, but Allah opened his inner sight and at a young age he would in-
96
ḤABĪB AḤMAD BIN ḤASAN AL-ÀṬṬĀS
form people of the unseen. His upbringing was supervised by his paternal
grandfather, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh, who began teaching him the Qur’ān at the
age of five. The knower of Allah, Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ bin Àbdullāh al-Àṭṭās, oversaw
his spiritual development. One Friday morning Ḥabīb Aḥmad, who was five
or six years old was playing in the street. Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ passed by and told him
to put on his best clothes and go to pray the Friday prayer. Then he recited
to him: If someone venerates the sacred things of Allah, this is truly a sign of
piety in the heart.31 This was the first verse of the Qur’ān that Ḥabīb Aḥmad
received from Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ, and he immediately went home, bathed, dressed
and went to the Friday prayer. Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ planted in the young boy’s heart
an intense longing for Allah and a desire to travel the path to him.
His attachment to Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ was immense, and whenever he heard that
he was coming to Ḥurayḍah from his hometown, Àmd, Ḥabīb Aḥmad would
go far out of Ḥurayḍah to meet him and would then spend all his time in
his company. Ḥabīb Aḥmad complained of being distracted by satanic whis-
perings (waswasah) in his early days until one day he stood next to Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ
while he said ‘Allah akbar’ gently. Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ’s words went straight to Ḥabīb
Aḥmad’s heart and removed all traces of these whisperings. Later he would
travel to study with Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ in Àmd and it was there that he received
his opening.32 His early days were characterised by immense spiritual striv-
ing. He said that he would turn the day into the night and the night into
the day and at times he would pray the Fajr or Ẓuhr prayer with the wuḍū’
that he had made for the Ìshā’ prayer the night before. So abstemious was he
31. Al-Ḥajj, 22:32

32. When asked what it means for Allah to give someone an opening (fatḥ), Ḥabīb Aḥmad
replied that it is for Allah to remove the veil that is on a person’s heart, enabling them to
see things as they truly are. They then witness meanings in outward forms and witness
realities in those meanings.
97
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
that Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ would bring him dates and sit with him to make sure he
ate them.
Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s second main shaykh was Ḥabīb Abū Bakr bin Àbdullāh
al-Àṭṭās, who placed his gaze upon Ḥabīb Aḥmad from an early age. Ḥabīb
Abū Bakr would test him by keeping him waiting outside his house for
hours before finally allowing him to enter. Ḥabīb Aḥmad once asked for a
written ijāzah33 from Ḥabīb Abū Bakr. Ḥabīb Abū Bakr asked him if he would
prefer for him to write the ijāzah on paper or in his heart. Ḥabīb Aḥmad of
course chose the latter. Ḥabīb Abū Bakr once wrote to Ḥabīb Aḥmad: “Per-
severe until the leaves and the thorns fall away and what is left is the fruit.”
Ḥabīb Abū Bakr later hailed Ḥabīb Aḥmad as the heir of his ancestor, Ḥabīb
Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās.
In 1274, while still in his youth, Ḥabīb Aḥmad went to perform ḥajj and visit
the Messenger of Allah G and then settled in Makkah in 1275 to seek knowl-
edge. Shaykh al-Islām, Sayyid Aḥmad bin Zaynī Daḥlān, took him under his
wing and oversaw his studies. Under his tutelage he finished his memorisa-
tion of the Qur’ān, mastered its variant readings and deepened his knowledge
of the Islamic sciences. He ordered him to leave all his awrād and focus on his
studies. Ḥabīb Aḥmad obeyed, leaving with great reluctance all of his awrād,
including the Rātib of Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān. Such was Ḥabīb
Ùmar’s concern for Ḥabīb Aḥmad, however, that he came to him repeatedly
and ordered him to read the Rātib until he did so. Sayyid Aḥmad greatly hon-
oured Ḥabīb Aḥmad and foresaw the rank that he would reach. He wanted him
to succeed him in teaching and leading the prayer in the Masjid al-Ḥarām
but Ḥabīb Aḥmad refused, following in the footsteps of his predecessors who
33. The ijāzah is the licence or permission given by the shaykh to the student to transmit
knowledge.
98
ḥabīb aḥmad bin ḥasan al-àṭṭās
preferred not to be known by all. Ḥabīb Aḥmad also studied at the hands of
other scholars of the Two Sanctuaries, among them Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin
Ḥusayn al-Ḥabashī and Ḥabīb Faḍl bin Àlawī Mawlā al-Dawīlah.
He returned to Ḥurayḍah in 1281 and spent the rest of his life in the way of
his predecessors calling people to Allah, spreading knowledge and rectify-
ing society. Ḥurayḍah and the surrounding valleys were characterised by
ignorance, illiteracy, tribal violence and un-Islamic customs. Ḥabīb Aḥmad
paid for teachers to come to the town to teach the ordinary people their
religious obligations and to teach them to read, write, and recite the Qur’an.
He paid for Muàllimah Ṣāliḥah, a female scholar from Tarīm who had stud-
ied at the hands of the great caller to Allah, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ùmar bin
Sumayṭ, to come to Ḥurayḍah to teach the women. He provided her with a
house and a salary, and would send her to other towns to teach. He over-
saw the education of children and would at times invite them to his house
and ask them about their progress. He would give the children sweets and
pens and paper and give money to their teachers.
His mastery of jurisprudence allowed him to find opinions that allowed
the common people to practise their religion with ease. He opposed exces-
sive rigidity in following the Shāfi`ī school, especially if this rigidity made
life difficult for the common people and was not in accordance with the
spirit of the Book and the Sunnah. People in outlying areas of Ḥaḍramawt
would often leave the prayer due to a lack of water with which to purify
themselves. Ḥabīb Aḥmad, however, taught them to purify themselves with
water that had previously been used for purification. Although this was im-
permissible according to most Shāfi`ī scholars, Ḥabīb Aḥmad used this opin-
ion to save people from leaving the prayer entirely. He always encouraged
his students to refer to the books of the early scholars since he found that
99
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
the later books had less blessings in them and less reference was made to
the evidence of the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. He emphasised that when it came
to acting upon the rulings of the Sacred Law, he would look at how his pre-
decessors among the Bā Àlawī Imams had acted upon them and follow their
example. He said: “I am not jealous of any angel or any prophet, but I am
envious of the one who follows our predecessors.”
Robbery and fighting had been common in Ḥurayḍah until Ḥabīb Aḥmad
designated the heart of the city a safe haven (ḥawṭah) and managed to get
all the tribes in Ḥaḍramawt to agree to this. He rid the town of some un-
Islamic practices, particularly those associated with weddings. He not only
served the living but also establishing a programme of recitation of the
Qur’ān for the dead similar to the programme in place in Tarīm and other
towns in Ḥaḍramawt. He insured that the town’s religious endowments
(awqāf) were properly preserved and recorded. He expended his wealth and
his time and used the respect in which he was held to solve tribal feuds in
the region and was regarded as the main negotiator in Ḥaḍramawt. When-
ever he heard that trouble had broken out between tribes or between the
rulers he would rush to the area to try to find a solution. At times he would
spend months going between one tribe and another in attempts to come
to an agreement. He would also spend his wealth and time repairing flood
channels and dams in a region prone to flash floods.
Although much of his time was spent in Ḥurayḍah and the surrounding
region, he would make regular trips to other cities in Ḥaḍramawt to visit the
scholars and blessed places. He continued his pursuit of knowledge at the
hands of the great Imāms of the time: Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Muḥammad al-Miḥḍār,
Ḥabīb Àydarūs bin Ùmar al-Ḥabashī, Ḥabīb Muḥsin bin Àlawī al-Saqqāf and
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlī al-Saqqāf. He once visited the Qur’ān school
100
in Tarīm established by Imām al-Àydarūs and insisted on sitting in front of

the teacher and reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah to him so that he would be counted
among one of the students who had studied there. He said that he sought
spiritual assistance from the mere earth of Tarīm. While in Tarīm, he would
divide his prayers among the different mosques so as to gain blessings from
all of them. He said that he could find evidence from the Qur’ān and the
Sunnah even for the customs of Tarīm.
He assembled a great library which contained many rare manuscripts
and became famous in Ḥaḍramawt. His veneration for sacred knowledge
was such that no effort or expense was too much for Ḥabīb Aḥmad in the
pursuit of books. He was overjoyed when a copy of the recently published
Tafsīr of Imām al-Ṭabarī reached him in Ḥurayḍah. His students started
reading it to him immediately and in the space of little over a year they read
through the ten large volumes. The day of its completion was a day of cele-
bration and Ḥabīb Aḥmad laid on a banquet which hundreds of people at-
tended. On his visit to Egypt he spent all the money he had on books.
He said that he continued to master his recitation of the Qur’ān until the
Messenger of Allah G came to him and recited it to him. He thus received
the Qur’ān direct from its source. The Qur’ān was opened up to him and he
was able to recite it in its entirety in a short space of time. On his visit to
Egypt in 1308, the scholars of al-Azhar were amazed by his knowledge and
struck by the beauty of his recitation. Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī, his close com-
panion, said that when he prayed behind Ḥabīb Aḥmad he would at times
leave reciting leave reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah so as to listen fully to Ḥabīb
Aḥmad’s recitation. Whenever he completed the Qur’ān, Ḥabīb Aḥmad would
gather all the members of his household together to read the final chapters
and join with him in his supplications.
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He would accept hadith as they were narrated without commenting on

their authenticity. He said that he witnessed the light of prophet-hood em-
anating from many of the hadith that the scholars regard to be weak. He said
that he could detect if someone’s words emanated from his heart or from
his caprice or lower self.
His daily routine would start around two hours before Fajr. He would
never leave the night prayer even if he was travelling. At this time he
would leave his house and go to the mosque of his ancestor, Ḥabīb Muḥsin
bin Ḥusayn al-Àṭṭās. Ḥabīb Aḥmad himself refurbished and extended the
mosque and would pray all his prayers and teach all his lessons in it. He
would pray for a time and when he had finished, coffee would be brought
to him and he would recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah several times with different in-
tentions. He would then sit and recite the Qur’ān until Fajr, or one of his
students would read to him. He would lead the prayer and then his stu-
dents would come to read to him until sunrise. If he had guests he would
spend time with them in his house and if not he would spend more time in
the mosque. He would drink large amounts of coffee in the last part of the
night and when he awoke from his midday rest. He said to his students:
“Follow me in everything I do, for I follow the Prophetic Sunnah, except in
drinking coffee.” If he was a guest at someone’s house he would not sleep
unless the implements for making coffee were ready at his side. He had an
unquenchable thirst for knowledge and for most of the day his students
would read books to him in all the Islamic sciences. On his many expedi-
tions he would carry with him a selection of reference books in each sci-
ence and he would have his students read to him while they were riding on
their horses or camels. When it was time to sleep he would have someone
read to him until sleep overcame him.
102
Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s house was constantly full of guests. He would feed every-
one and clothe the poor among them. If a scholar came to visit him he would
give him the best reception. He would lay on large feasts for his guests while
he would suffice himself with bread and curdled milk. If he was gifted food
or clothing we would distribute it amongst the needy. He would often go
into debt to cover his expenses and said: “I would not care if I spent all that
I possess in one day.” He was scrupulous about his income and he said that
he could witness darkness surrounding anything that came from a dubious
source. He would pay anyone that he hired to work for him several times
more than the standard rate. People were often rude and aggressive towards
him but he always remained forbearing. He said: “We forgive people for not
giving us our rights; all we ask is that they give their Lord the rights to due
to Him.” He also said: “For fifty years I have been in the service of the crea-
tion.” If he heard that a woman from among the poor people of Ḥurayḍah
was pregnant he would have his wife cook a whole sheep for her and then
let her eat what she wished of it.
We are fortunate that some of his words were faithfully recorded by his
students, at their forefront Shaykh Muḥammad bin Àwaḍ Bā Faḍl. Shaykh
Muḥammad placed the following statement at the beginning of his compi-
lation of Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s words, which pleased Ḥabīb Aḥmad: “Divine gifts are
attained through three things: truly seeking them, focusing oneself upon
attaining them and having a sound intention.” He said of Allah’s statement:
Only the purified ones may touch it34 that only the purified ones may touch
the Qur’ān and only the purified ones witness the secrets and marvels that
are contained in it. This verse applies to all things. Whoever wishes to ob-
tain knowledge, for example, say to him: Only the purified ones may touch
34. Al-Wāqiàh, 56:79
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it. Only those purified from corrupt intentions, heedlessness and all blame-
worthy attributes are able to touch these things.” He said that Allah sends
forth from every gathering of goodness or remembrance a white cloud
which then causes rain to fall upon people who have never done any good
so that they all attain felicity. Ḥabīb Abū Bakr al-Àṭṭās al-Ḥabashī later
compiled a selection of his statements pertaining to the different areas of
the Sacred Law in Tadhkīr al-Nās.
Countless people benefited from Ḥabīb Aḥmad. Among his close students
were Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin
Àlawī al-Àṭṭās, Ḥabīb Muṣṭafā bin Aḥmad al-Miḥḍār and his brother
Ḥabīb Muḥammad, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād and his brother Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh. The great author and lover of the Prophet, G, Shaykh Yūsuf
al-Nabahānī recognised Ḥabīb Aḥmad as being the imam of his time. He
duly sought an ijāzah from him and asked to be considered as one of his stu-
dents. Although they never met, Shaykh Yūsuf would write to him from his
home in Beirut and Ḥabīb Aḥmad would write back from Ḥurayḍah.
His Death
Ḥabīb Aḥmad continued his life’s work until his death in Ḥurayḍah on 6th
Rajab 1334 (1916). The evening before his death he mediated in a tribal dis-
pute. Then after finishing his prayers and recitation in the last part of the
night, he gathered together the members of his household and counselled
them to honour guests and to continue his work as a deputy of Ḥabīb Ùmar
bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās. He went to renew his wuḍū’, intending to go
out to the mosque to lead the prayer. At this point he lost his balance and
had to be supported by his daughter. He lay down, resting his head upon
her legs and his soul departed from his body. The news of his death quickly
104
spread throughout the region and the far corners of the earth. For years he
had carried his funeral shroud with him wherever he went, and he had put
aside everything required for the preparation of his body for burial. He in-
structed that he be buried wearing the cap of his shaykh, Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ, and
that he be buried at the feet of Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās,
and all of this was duly implemented.
The time in which Ḥabīb Aḥmad lived was described by some as a ‘golden
age’ and it was also said that if the only genius that Ḥaḍramawt produced
was this Imām, it would have sufficed. May Allah benefit us by Ḥabīb Aḥmad
bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās and all of Allah’s pious slaves.
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ḤABĪB ÀBDULLĀH BIN
ÙMAR AL-SHĀṬIRĪ
His Lineage
He is al-Imām Shaykh al-Islām al-Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar bin Aḥmad bin
Ùmar bin Aḥmad bin Ùmar bin Aḥmad bin Àlī bin Ḥusayn bin Muḥammad
bin Aḥmad bin Ùmar bin Àlawī al-Shāṭirī bin Àlī bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad
“Asad Allah” bin Ḥasan al-Turābī bin Àlī bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam,
bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh,
al-`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’,
His Life
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh was born in Tarīm in the year 1290 (1873). After gaining a
firm grasp in the foundational Islamic sciences, he studied under the Muftī
of Ḥaḍramawt, Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Mashhūr as well
as Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Mashhūr and Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin
Àydarūs al-Àydarūs. He spent four months in the Ribāṭ of Ḥabīb Àlī al-
106
ḥabīb àbdullāh bin ùmar al-shāṭirī
Ḥabashī in Say’ūn. During his time in Say’ūn, he not only studied under
Ḥabīb Àlī, but also under Ḥabīb Ùbaydullāh bin Muḥsin al-Saqqāf and Ḥabīb
Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf and a number of other scholars. He
likewise received knowledge from Ḥabīb Àydarūs bin Ùmar al-Ḥabashī and
Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās. In 1310, at the age of twenty, he travelled
to Makkah. He spent the next four years in the relentless pursuit of knowl-
edge. He would take around thirteen lessons a day from scholars such as
Ḥabīb Ḥusayn bin Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī, Shaykh Muḥammad Bā Buṣayl,
Sayyid Abū Bakr Shaṭā and Shaykh Ùmar Bā Junayd. He would meticulously
prepare for each of these lessons, and only allow himself two hours’ sleep
in every twenty four hours. On one occasion, he pressed himself to the Mul-
tazam on the wall of the Ka`bah and pleaded with Allah to allow the knowledge
he had gained to benefit people all across the world. He eventually suc-
cumbed to his father’s repeated requests to come home and returned to
Tarīm in 1314.
The Ribāṭ of Tarīm, which had been established in 1305, was in need of
a head of studies so Ḥabīb Àbdullāh took up this post and remained in it
for the next forty seven years. He did so sincerely for Allah’s sake, and
took no wage for his services. He supervised the arrangement of lessons
which were in the form of ḥalaqāt or circles of knowledge and expended
all his energies in benefiting the students. He would teach daily from after
Fajr until well after sunrise. He would then return after Ẓuhr and teach un-
til after the adhān of Àṣr. He would then occasionally attend the Rawḥah35
of one of his teachers before returning to the Ribāṭ to teach his own
35. The scholars of Ḥaḍramawt traditionally used the name rawḥah for the lessons they
would give after Àṣr in which they would focus upon teaching the sciences of the heart
and reading the books of the scholars of Taṣawwuf.
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Rawḥah. He would then teach from after Maghrib until after Ìshā’. He would
never leave these lessons unless he was completely unable to attend. At
times of poor health he would call his students to his house and teach them
there. He said that at times he would attend a lesson while in pain, seeking
healing through hearing and imparting knowledge.
On Wednesday and Saturday morning was the general lesson or madras
which was open to all, and people from Tarīm and further afield thronged
to attend. Ḥabīb Àbdullāh only presided over this gathering after the death
of his two teachers, Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Mashhūr and his son, Ḥabīb
Àlī. Ḥabīb Àbdullāh’s predecessors would tend to delve deeply into the
science of jurisprudence, but seeing that the level of people’s knowledge had
declined, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh changed the tone of the madras. While the same
books were still read, he focused more on reminding people of Allah and
calling them to Him, and as a result more of the ordinary people of Tarīm
began to attend.
He would attend the mawlid in the Jāmi` Masjid of Tarīm every Thursday
night and give a speech to those present, and established a number of other
weekly lessons outside of the Ribāṭ. He presided over the annual Mawlid in
the Ribāṭ on the last Wednesday of Rabī’ al-Awwal, which thousands attend-
ed. He once said that a spiritual flood came forth from this Mawlid which
reached everyone in creation. He had immense concern for the progress of
his students. He would constantly encourage them to use their time wisely
and to record what they learnt in writing. In his early days he would over-
see their memorisation of core texts. He would ask after them if they failed
to attend lessons, and in spite of all his duties, he found time to advise them
and fulfil their needs. He would often sit in on their lessons and test them
on their knowledge, thus increasing their desire to revise and memorise.
108
He told those who were studying Imām al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn with
him that if they did not read through the section they were about to study
twenty times at least, they should not attend the lesson. They duly read
through the section and studied all the commentaries and then Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh would ask them questions which none of the commentaries
answered.
In his later life, he preferred to teach children Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and the ba-
sics of the prayer, leaving his top students to teach older students. When
asked about this, he said he found comfort in teaching children, because
their hearts were completely pure, unlike adults. He also said that he hoped
to attain the reward for all these children’s acts of worship and the reward
of the acts of worship of the people that these children would go on to
teach.
As a result of his efforts the Ribāṭ flourished, and students came from all
parts of Yemen, from South East Asia, South India and East Africa. Records
show that 13,000 students studied under Ḥabīb Àbdullāh in the Ribāṭ. These
students then returned to their homelands and spread the knowledge that
they had obtained. A number of them opened their own schools and Ribāṭs.
Ḥabīb Ḥasan bin Ismā`īl bin Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim opened a Ribāṭ in
Àynāt, Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Haddār opened a Ribāṭ in al-Bayḍā’ and Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim opened one in
al-Shiḥr. It has been said that wherever you go in the world, especially in the
regions previously mentioned, you will find the students of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh,
or the students of his students. In this we witness the answering of the
prayer he made in Makkah in his youth. This is even more remarkable con-
sidering that he lived before the times of modern transport, in which travel
between continents took weeks.
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The knower of Allah, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Muḥsin al-Àṭṭās, said of him
that he will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement along with his students
as a nation (Ummah) by himself and he will be met by his grandfather,
Muhammad G. We find this meaning in the hadith in which the Messen-
ger of Allah said: “Shall I not inform you of the most generous of the gener-
ous? Allah is the Most Generous of the generous, I am the most generous of
the children of Adam, and the most generous of people after me is a man who
taught people and spread his knowledge – he will be resurrected on the Day
of Judgement as a nation (Ummah) on his own, as well as a man who gener-
ously gave his life for the sake of Allah.”36
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh always wished that he could pray all his prayers in the
great Masjid Bā Àlawī. His wish was answered when the Imām of the Masjid,
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Aḥmad Ḥāmid asked him to take his place while he
spent time in Java. This happened twice and lasted for a total of twelve years.
His thirst for knowledge was never quenched, and he said that had he
found someone to take over the running of the Ribāṭ, he would have trav-
elled in search of knowledge. He wished to spend less time teaching and
devote some time to authoring works but Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās
forbade him and instructed him to produce scholars who would then author
works, and this is what happened.
Perhaps his greatest student was Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb,
about whom he said: “It is a sufficient honour to the Ribāṭ that the likes of
Àlawī bin Àbdullāh came out of it.” Ḥabīb Àlawī would teach alongside
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh and preside over the madras in his absence. His other great
students were Ḥabīb Ja`far bin Aḥmad al-Àydarūs and Ḥabīb Muḥammad
bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ, who authored a biography of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh, named
36. Narrated by al-Bayhaqī and Abū Ya`lā
110
Nafḥ al-Tīb al-`Ātirī. Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Sirī also com-
piled some of his speech. Another of his students was Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ùmar
al-Shāṭirī, who at his request authored the great summary of Shāfi`ī law,
al-Yāqūt al-Nafīs. Shaykh Sālim Bukayyir Ghaythān, Muftī of Tarīm, studied
at length under Ḥabīb Àbdullāh and also taught in the Ribāṭ, as did Ḥabīb
Ùmar bin Àlawī al-Kāf.
Although almost his whole time was spent in the Ribāṭ, he made several ex-
cursions calling people to Allah to Dawàn and the Indian Ocean coast. He also
called people to Allah through his poems, which are collected in his Dīwān.
His Death
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh passed away after a short illness on the eve of 29th Jumadā
al-Ūlā 1361 (1941). The people of Tarīm and other parts of Ḥaḍramawt came
out to pray over him in the Jabbānah37 the following day. Ḥabīb Àlawī bin
Shihāb gave a speech extolling Ḥabīb Àbdullāh’s virtues before leading the
prayer. He was buried in the Zanbal Cemetery, at his request, at the feet of
his noble mother, Sayyidah Nūr bint Ùmar Shihāb al-Dīn, placing his hopes
in the narration that “Paradise is beneath your mother’s feet.”
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh’s sons continued to oversee the Ribāṭ after his death –
firstly his oldest son, Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Mahdī, then Ḥabīb Ḥaṣan. During
the period of socialist rule in South Yemen, the Ribāṭ was forcibly closed
and remained so for twenty five years, until the regime fell and North and
South Yemen were reunited in 1411 (1990). At this point, Ḥabīb Ḥasan and
his brother, Ḥabīb Sālim, returned from exile to re-open the Ribāṭ. After the
death of Ḥabīb Ḥasan in 1425 (2004), Ḥabīb Sālim took over the running of
37. The Jabbānah is the musallā situated near the graveyards of Tarim in which the Janāzah
prayer and the `Īd prayers are performed.
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
the Ribāṭ, and he continues to do so much the same way that his father did.
May Allah grant him long life and benefit us by him, his brothers and his
father and may the Ribāṭ continue to be a beacon shining the way for the
people of this Ummah.
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ḤABĪB ÀLAWĪ BIN SHIHĀB
His Lineage
He is Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Àydarūs bin Muḥammad bin Àlī bin
Àbdullāh bin Àydarūs bin Àlī bin Muḥammad bin Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad
bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Shaykh Àlī bin Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān
bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-
Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-
Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī
Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī,
the Prophets G.
His mother was Sayyidah Fāṭimah bint Muḥammad bin Ùmar Balfaqīh.
His Life
Ḥabīb Àlawī was born in Tarīm in 1303 (1886). His father, the scholar and
caller to Allah, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh, left Tarīm before Ḥabīb Àlawī’s birth and
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travelled to Java, where he was to spend the rest of his days. He oversaw
Ḥabīb Àlawī’s education from a distance and would write to him, counsel
him and send him financial support. It was thus his noble mother, Sayyidah
Fāṭimah, who raised him. Keen that he would attain a large portion of the
blessings of Tarīm, she would take him to the city’s sacred places and to the
pious people of the time for them to pray for him and read over him. As a
young boy he suffered severe stomach pain for a period of time which no-
one was able to cure. However, when the great Imam, Ḥabīb Àydarūs bin
Ùmar al-Ḥabashī, visited Tarīm, Ḥabīb Àlawī’s uncle took him to him. Ḥabīb
Àydarūs read over him for a long time and then informed his uncle that
the boy had eaten food which had the Evil Eye upon it. He prescribed him a
remedy and said that he would recover, with Allah’s permission. Then he
turned to those around him and said: “I only came to Tarīm on this occasion
for the sake of this boy.”
Ḥabīb Àlawī learnt the foundational sciences under the supervision of
his uncle, Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Àydarūs. Ḥabīb Muḥammad would take him
to the lessons of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Mashhūr, the
Muftī of Ḥaḍramawt, and Ḥabīb Àlawī’s heart very quickly became attached
to this great scholar. He started attending all of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān’s
lessons and rarely left his company. Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān gave him a lot of
attention and would treat him like one of his sons. He instructed him to
prepare the coffee that was served at his rawḥah. One of the students that
attended the rawḥah once told Ḥabīb Àlawī that he would never benefit
since he was busy preparing the coffee while others were receiving knowl-
edge. As a result he stopped preparing the coffee until Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān
noticed and told him to continue preparing it. He said to him: “My hope in
Allah is that you will attain a higher station than all your contemporaries.”
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ḥabīb àlawī bin shihāb
Among his many teachers were Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin
Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Abū Bakr al-Mashhūr,
Ḥabīb Àlī bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Mashhūr and Shaykh
Aḥmad bin Àbdullāh al-Bakrī al-Khaṭīb. He also studied at the hands of
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī and then taught alongside him at the
Ribāṭ. Ḥabīb Àbdullāh thought very highly of Ḥabīb Àlawī and would thank
Allah for his existence in the time in which he lived.
Ḥabīb Àlawī first started calling to Allah openly in 1330, when one of his
teachers, Ḥabīb Ḥusayn bin Aḥmad al-Kāf, asked him to take his place and
preside over the mawlid gathering that he held every Thursday night in
Masjid al-Zāhir. Ḥabīb Àlawī at first refused, but when Ḥabīb Ḥusayn in-
sisted, he presided over the gathering and spoke to those attending. His
words had such a profound effect that Ḥabīb Ḥusayn insisted that he con-
tinue to preside over the gathering, which Ḥabīb Àlawī did until the end of
his life. Such was the demand for people to hear his speeches that he was
asked to establish another mawlid gathering on Monday night. He duly es-
tablished the gathering in Masjid Bā Hārūn, but when so many people be-
gan to attend that there was no longer space in the mosque, he moved it to
Masjid Surūr. Everyone that attended attested to the awe-inspiring nature
of these gatherings and the tranquillity that would descend in them. Ḥabīb
Àlawī would be so spiritually satiated on the nights of these mawlids that
he would not be able to eat anything after them.
He also had a daily rawḥah in Masjid Surūr, and a twice weekly lesson in
the Zāwiyah of his ancestor, Shaykh Àlī bin Abū Bakr al-Sakrān, which many
people attended. He presided over the madras of the Ribāṭ during the ab-
sence of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī and continued to do so after
his death. He followed in the footsteps of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh, ensuring that
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everyone would benefit from his words and not just those who had studied
the Islamic sciences in depth. While benefiting the people of Tarīm with his
knowledge, he was keen to fulfil his social duties towards them, especially
the Ahl al-Bayt. He would thus attend wedding banquets, preside over mar-
riage contracts and lead the funeral prayer. He displayed great mercy in all
his dealings and would give sincere advice to rulers and ordinary people
alike. He would counsel the most stubborn of people in a firm and gentle
way without raising his voice.
The rest of his time was spent in worship and remembrance of Allah. His
day would begin long before dawn with prayer and recitation of the Qur’ān
in Masjid Surūr. He was fully focused on his Lord and this would raise the
spiritual aspiration (himmah) of those around him. So consistent was he in
spending the time between Maghrib and Ìshā’ in worship that he said that
if doing so had been compulsory, his worship would not have increased in
any way. He had an immense connection to the Book of Allah and would
recite it constantly. During his speeches he would cite a great number of
Qur’ānic verses, as if the Book was open in front of him. He said: “I have no
worries and no anxiety: I have the Qur’ān and [Imām al-Ḥaddād’s book,]
Tathbīt al-Fu’ād.” He would always attend the Ḥaḍrah of Shaykh Àbd al-
Raḥmān al-Saqqāf. At times he would go straight from the Ḥaḍrah to the
Zanbal graveyard and only return close to the time of Fajr.
He was scrupulous in his dealings, frugal in his way of living and lived
parts of his life in poverty. He had no interest in worldly luxuries but he loved
for his appearance to be beautiful. He slept a little and ate a little. When his
wife died he chose not to re-marry and lived a single life for many years.
He had the utmost veneration for the city of Tarīm and its inhabitants. He
spent his whole life in Tarīm and its outskirts, only leaving the city to attend
116
the visit of the Prophet Hūd 8 once or twice in his youth. This was out
of his desire to die and be buried in Tarīm and to fully serve its inhabitants.
He said that he had vowed to seclude himself (make i`tikāf) in Tarīm. He nev-
er once rode a horse or rode in a car in the city. At times he would be invit-
ed to someone’s house on the outskirts of Tarīm and when people offered
to take him in their cars he would politely refuse. They would pass him walk-
ing along the road and then find that he reached his destination before them.
People would try to walk alongside him and, although he was walking ef-
fortlessly, they would be unable to keep pace with him. This is how the Mes-
senger of Allah G walked.
He was severe in castigating the people of Tarīm, especially the Ahl al-
Bayt, for abandoning the traditions of their predecessors. When newspapers
first started to appear, he rebuked people for reading them and ignoring
the Qur’ān. He thanked Allah that he had never read a newspaper and never
once entered any of the new schools that emerged in his time with Western
style curriculums.
His talks would be full of the stories of the great Bā Àlawī Imams who
were his predecessors. He said that when he mentioned them he became
satiated and that if he wished he could carry on talking about them and
would not need to eat for days. Even in his public speeches he would speak
in the dialect of Tarīm, as this had more effect on those listening. Like many
of his predecessors, he disliked eloquence that was forced and unnatural.
We are fortunate that his students wrote down some of his words. Ḥabīb
Muḥammad bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ’s collection reached seven volumes. Ḥabīb
Ùmar bin Àlawī al-Kāf also gathered some of his speeches which can be
found in his beautiful biography of Ḥabīb Àlawī, Tuḥfat al-Aḥbāb.
Perhaps Ḥabīb Àlawī’s best student was his beloved son, Ḥabīb Muḥammad.
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
He placed all his concern in raising him and nurturing him until he emerged
as a great imam in his own right. Ḥabīb Àlawī said: “My son Muḥammad’s
spiritual state is greater than my state. He receives spiritual assistance di-
rectly from the Prophet without any intermediary.” Ḥabīb Àlawī could not
bear to apart from his son and would hardly allow him to leave his side. With
great difficulty he would allow him to attend the annual visit of the Prophet
Hūd 8 and the ḥawl of his shaykh, Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī. He did not give
him permission to perform ḥajj while he was still alive, but told him that he
would perform it after his death, which he duly did.
He had immense insight and future events were unveiled to him. He said:
“You people have radios which inform you of things which make you de-
spair, whereas I have my own radio which never changes.” He had the ability
to perceive people’s true intentions. His presence was so awe-inspiring that
people were ashamed to disobey Allah during his time in Tarīm. He informed
people of the tribulations that were to befall Ḥaḍramawt and other parts of
the Islamic world and consequently counselled people to repent and return
to Allah. It was as if his existence was preventing these things happening
and it was only after his death that they occurred. Few would disagree that
he was the imam of Tarīm and Ḥaḍramawt in his time.
His Death
For the last two years of his life Ḥabīb Àlawī remained in his house. He grad-
ually stopped speaking, not out of a loss of intellect or dumbness but rather
due to his spiritual state. His health gradually declined until he finally passed
away on the morning of 12th Ramaḍān 1386 (1966). He died with his head
resting on the thigh of his son, Ḥabīb Muḥammad. His death was the biggest
blow that the people of Tarīm had experienced for decades. The following
118
day a vast procession accompanied him to the Jabbānah. Before the funer-
al prayer Ḥabīb Muḥammad spoke to a crowd overcome with emotion,
mentioning some of Ḥabīb Àlawī’s Prophetic qualities. He recalled his
father’s statement: “I do not do anything without first taking permission
from the Prophet Muḥammad G and the Pious Predecessors.” After Ḥabīb
Muḥammad al-Mahdī bin Àbdullāh al-Shāṭirī spoke, Ḥabīb Muḥammad led
the prayer over his father. Ḥabīb Àlawī was then carried to his final resting
place in Zanbal, not far from the grave of his ancestor, Shaykh Àlī. He was
placed in his grave (at his request) by Ḥabīb Abū Bakr al-Àṭṭās al-Ḥabashī.
Ḥabīb Muḥammad soon emerged as his father’s successor, presiding over
the gatherings that his father presided over. His son, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh (may
Allah preserve him), to this day continues the work of his father and grand-
father.
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
ḤABĪB ÙMAR BIN SUMAYṬ
His Lineage
He is al-Imām al-Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Aḥmad bin Abū Bakr bin Àbdullāh bin
Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad bin Zayn bin Àlawī bin Àbd al-Raḥmān
bin Àbdullāh bin Muḥammad Sumayṭ bin Àlī bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin
Aḥmad bin Àlawī bin Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlawī Àmm al-Faqīh
(uncle of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam), bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī
the Prophets G.
His Life
Ḥabīb Ùmar was a descendant of Ḥabīb Muhammad bin Zayn bin Sumayṭ,
a great scholar and one of the main students of Imām al-Ḥaddād and Ḥabīb
Aḥmad bin Zayn al-Ḥabashī. His grandfather, Ḥabīb Abū Bakr, left his
birthplace in Shibām in Ḥaḍramawt and settled in in the Comoros Islands,
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ḥabīb ùmar bin sumayṭ
off the coast of East Africa, and this was where Ḥabīb Ùmar was born in
the year 1303 (1886). His father, the great scholar Ḥabīb Aḥmad, was with his
shaykh, Ḥabīb Faḍl bin Àlawī Mawlā al-Dawīlah, in Istanbul at the time of
the birth. Ḥabīb Faḍl gave Ḥabīb Aḥmad good tidings of the birth of his son
and named him Ùmar long before any news of the birth reached Istanbul.
In fact, the baby was given another name which Ḥabīb Aḥmad changed to
Ùmar when he returned from his travels. Due to the absence of his father,
it was his mother, the pious Fāṭimah bint al-Muàllim Shanzī, who raised
him in his early years. When he was six, his father requested that he be sent
to him in Zanzibar, where he was a judge. There he oversaw his develop-
ment until, at the age of eight, he sent him to his ancestral home in Shibām.
In Shibām his father’s uncle, Ḥabīb Ṭāhir bin Àbdullāh bin Sumayṭ, took
over the supervision of his education. During the years he spent studying
in Ḥaḍramawt, he received knowledge from the masters of the time, among
them Ḥabīb Àydarūs bin Ùmar al-Ḥabashī; Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-
Àṭṭās; Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Mashhūr and his son, Ḥabīb
Àlī; Ḥabīb Àlī bin Muḥammad al-Ḥabashī; Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin
Shihāb; Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī and Ḥabīb Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ.
His father then ordered him to return to Zanzibar. Ḥabīb Ùmar kept his
father’s company constantly and continued his studies at his hands and the
hands of the scholars of the island until he emerged as a great teacher and
caller to Allah. He saw that the Comoros Islands were more in need of his
knowledge than Zanzibar, and thus he returned to his birthplace. His in-
tense concern for spreading knowledge and Prophetic guidance caused him
to travel constantly throughout the towns and villages of the islands and
also to make excursions to the neighbouring island of Madagascar. He said,
“If you want rest in the next life then forsake rest in this life.” As a result of
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
his efforts many people accepted Islam at his hands. He was involved in
building a number of mosques and schools, and built tanks to collect rain-
water to provide drinking water to those that needed it. In a certain area
many people were suffering from malaria but when they drank the water
from one of Ḥabīb Ùmar’s tanks, they were all cured.
After his father’s death in 1343 (1924), he returned to Zanzibar to divide
his inheritance. Three years later, he returned again to the Comoros, where
he continued teaching and calling to Allah while engaging in some business
to support himself. While being a master of the Bā Àlawī Way, he was closely
connected to the Shadhili and Qadiri orders on the islands. He would attend
their gatherings and even composed poems which are still sung in those
gatherings.
In 1355 (1936), the Sultan of Zanzibar appointed him judge of the island
of Pemba and then in 1357 (1938) as one of the judges of Zanzibar, as his
father had been before him. In 1362 (1942), he was appointed Chief Judge of
the island. He performed his role in the best possible way for around twenty
years, constantly mediating between conflicting parties while hardly ever
having to issue a judgement. He reorganised the system of religious endow-
ments (awqāf) such that their proceeds were spent correctly. As a result old
mosques were refurbished, new ones built and a salaried imam was appointed
to each mosque.
He held a daily gathering after Àṣr in the Jāmi` Mosque of Zanzibar. He
would teach from Fatḥ al-Mu`īn, an advanced text in the Shāfi`ī school. A
large number of people would attend, amongst them people of wealth and
status. When he saw that the majority of people did not understand the les-
son, he told some young boys to read to him Safīnat al-Najāh, a basic text, so
that everyone would learn the rulings of purification and prayer. During
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ḥabīb ùmar bin sumayṭ
these years, he would make annual trips to Ḥaḍramawt and the Ḥijāz. He
also visited Egypt and travelled throughout East Africa.
He always had the best opinion of Allah and instilled this in whoever was
with him. People would come to him with their problems and leave full of
hope in the mercy and grace of Allah. He said, “Seeking to approach Allah
(iqbāl) is the door to acceptance (qabūl). Even if He only accepts one, every-
one else will enter because if people come to the door of the Generous, He
will not allow some to enter and turn some away. He will allow them all to
enter.” He counselled people every morning to intend the good actions that
they wished to perform that day so that they would be guaranteed the re-
ward even if they were unable to perform them.
He had no regard for worldly possessions. He would spend freely from
the wealth that came to him and had no regret for anything that he lost.
After the revolution in Zanzibar in 1384 (1964), his house and all that it con-
tained were confiscated by the government but he never complained or
showed any sign of discontent. He forgave all those that wronged him over
the years and treated them in the best way. He said, “If people would stop
arranging their own affairs, Allah would arrange them in the best of ways.
Look at a young child: he does not arrange his own affairs and as a result he
receives love and compassion from his family.”
One would expect a scholar and caller to Allah of his stature to be a great
speaker, but Ḥabīb Ùmar spoke very little. His call to Allah was with his state
(ḥāl) rather than his words. The Messenger of Allah G said, “If you see
someone who has been given silence and abstinence, draw close to him, for
he receives wisdom.”38 He kept his gatherings short but his presence had
38. Narrated by Ibn Mājah
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
such a strong effect on those in attendance that they would find their souls
being raised and their worries removed. They would leave with the desire
to do good. He possessed immense humility and would personally serve his
guests. He had a great gift for poetry, but he never allowed any of his poems
to be published. He was constantly in a state of vigilance of his Lord. Whether
alone or in company, he would sit very straight with his head lowered, deep
in reflection.
Many great scholars graduated at his hands, such as Ḥabīb Ùmar bin
Àbdullāh bin Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim, who travelled the world calling to
Allah. Many others benefited from him, among them Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr
al-Haddad and Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir bin Aḥmad al-Saqqāf.
His Death
The revolution in Zanzibar caused much turbulence and oppression and
caused Ḥabīb Ùmar to leave the island with his whole family. He settled
for a time in the city of al-Shiḥr on the South Yemen coast until the presi-
dent of the Comoros Islands insisted that he return to his birthplace. Ḥabīb
Ùmar’s insight also told him that troubled times were ahead for South
Yemen, so he moved with his family to the Comoros. There he lived out his
days, continually calling to Allah until his death on 9th Ṣafar 1396 (1976) at
the age of 92. He was buried in the qubbah (dome) of his grandfather, Ḥabīb
Abū Bakr, in Moroni, Comoros. May Allah have mercy upon him, benefit us
by him and grant us a portion of his legacy.
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
ḤABĪB MUḤAMMAD BIN
SĀLIM BIN ḤAFĪẒ
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb al-Àllāmah al-Shahīd Muḥammad bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ bin
Àbdullāh bin Abū Bakr bin Àydarūs bin Ùmar bin Àydarūs bin Ùmar bin
Abū Bakr bin Àydarūs bin al-Ḥusayn bin al-Shaykh al-Fakhr Abū Bakr bin
Sālim bin Àbdullāh bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin Shaykh Àbd al-
Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā
al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin
Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin
Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām
Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-
`Ābidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’,
His Life
Ḥabīb Muḥammad was born in the village of Mishṭah near Tarīm in the year
1332 (1914) and was brought up under the supervision of his noble father,
the great scholar, Ḥabīb Sālim. Ḥabīb Sālim taught his son the foundational
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Islamic sciences and then took him to Tarīm to learn from the city’s scholars.
His teachers were the Imams of the time. Among them were Ḥabīb Àbdullāh
bin Ùmar al-Shaṭirī, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb and Ḥabīb Àlī
bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Mashhūr, his grandfather on his mother’s side. Ḥabīb
Muḥammad also built a strong connection with the knower of Allah, Ḥabīb
Ja`far bin Aḥmad al-Àydarūs. He took knowledge from Ḥabīb Muḥammad
bin Hādī al-Saqqāf in Say’ūn and Ḥabīb Muṣṭafā bin Aḥmad al-Miḥḍār in al-
Qwayrah. He travelled on numerous occasions to the Ḥijāz to take knowledge
from its scholars, among them Shaykh Muḥammad al-Àrabī al-Tabbānī,
Sayyid Àlawī bin Àbbās al-Mālikī, Sayyid Muḥammad Amīn Kutbī and
Shaykh Ḥasan al-Mashāṭ.
The extensive knowledge which he obtained led to his appointment as
Muftī of Ḥaḍramawt. His use of his time was legendary. A day and a night
would not pass except that he had stood in prayer in the night, recited a
large portion of the Qur’ān, made abundant dhikr, taught his students, vis-
ited someone, wrote something, issued a legal opinion and saw to the needs
of a Muslim. He would attend, in one day, up to fourteen gatherings of
knowledge and remembrance.
He had a great concern for conveying and preserving sacred knowledge,
and authored a number of works in several sciences which are of great ben-
efit to students. Among them are Takmilah Zubdat al-Ḥadīth in the law of in-
heritance, al-Miftāḥ and al-Nuqūl al-Ṣiḥāḥ in the law of marriage and Durūs
al-Tawḥīd in tenets of faith. He wrote small books to help beginners in the
sciences of jurisprudence and grammar and al-Tadhkirah aI-Ḥaḍramiyyah
which covers all religious knowledge that it is compulsory for women to
know. He also recorded in several volumes the speech of Ḥabīb Àlawī bin
Shihāb and wrote a biography of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī, Nafḥ
al-Tīb al-`Ātirī. He composed a number of poems as well as a beautiful Mawlid,
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ḥabīb muḥammad bin sālim bin ḥafīẓ
named Al-Nafḥah al-Wardiyyah which shows his intense love for and con-
nection to the Messenger of Allah G. He also put the Mawlid of Imām Ibn
Kathīr into verse.
He had a passion for calling people to Allah and spreading knowledge,
expressed by his constant visits to the towns and villages of Ḥaḍramawt. He
journeyed to India and Pakistan where he took knowledge from the Hadith
scholars there, among them Shaykh Muḥammad Yūsuf al-Kandahlawī, au-
thor of Ḥayāt al-Ṣaḥābah. He visited Sudan and East Africa and visited Ḥabīb
Ùmar bin Aḥmad bin Sumayṭ in the Comoros Islands.
In 1387 (1967), a socialist government came to power in South Yemen which
attempted to eradicate Islam from society. Scholars were persecuted and
religious institutions, such as the Ribāṭ of Tarīm, where Ḥabīb Muḥammad
himself studied, were forcibly closed. This did not, however, deter him from
exerting all his efforts in calling to Allah. On a trip to the Ḥijāz, he was ad-
vised not to return to Ḥaḍramawt as it was clear that his life was in danger.
He replied that the Companions of the Messenger of Allah G had gone
out seeking martyrdom and that if it came to his own hometown, he could
not flee from it. He duly returned to Tarīm and continued his life’s work,
speaking out fearlessly in the defence of truth. He was required to register
with the security forces on a daily basis so that they could check on his
whereabouts. Thus, on Friday morning on 29th Dhū’l-Ḥijjah 1392 (1973) he
left his son, Ḥabīb Ùmar, then only nine years of age, in the mosque before
the Friday prayer and went to register. He was never seen again.
His Legacy
The socialist regime thought that by abducting and killing Ḥabīb Mu
ḥammad, they would succeed in their mission; but, in fact, they failed com-
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
pletely. They wish to extinguish Allah’s light (by blowing) with their mouths
but Allah will complete His light, even though the disbelievers may detest
it.39 In 1410 (1990), the regime fell and North and South Yemen reunited,
paving the way for a revival of the religion. Ḥabīb Muḥammad’s work did
not come to an end, but rather was continued by his sons. Ḥabīb Àlī
Mashhūr remained in Ḥaḍramawt throughout this dangerous period, teach-
ing and preserving the way of his forefathers. He is currently the Muftī of
Tarīm. Ḥabīb Ùmar spent ten years in safety in al-Bayḍā’ in the North of
Yemen under the tutelage of his father’s companion, Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin
Àbdullāh al-Haddār. He then returned to Ḥaḍramawt to breathe new life
into the religious life of the region. His tireless work led to the establish-
ment of Dār al-Muṣṭafā. Dār al-Muṣṭafā is a centre for traditional Islamic
learning based upon three foundations: knowledge (ìlm), spiritual wayfaring
(sulūk) and calling to Allah (da`wah). It continues to grow and receive students
from all corners of the earth. Dār al-Zahrā’ was opened in 1422 (2001), real-
ising Ḥabīb Muḥammad’s goal of improving Islamic education for women.
Ḥabīb Ùmar, like his father before him, is constantly travelling, spreading
the pure methodology of his predecessors. All of the fruits that we now see
are the result of the steadfastness and sacrifice of Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin
Sālim. Dār al-Muṣṭafā was officially opened in 1417 (1997) on 29th Dhū’l-
Ḥijjah, the same date on which Ḥabīb Muḥammad was abducted. Every year
on that date, Dār al-Muṣṭafā celebrates its anniversary and, along with it, the
life and achievements of this great Imām. May Allah grant him the best of re-
wards on behalf of this Ummah, benefit us by him and raise him to the high-
est station in the company of his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah G.
39. Al-Ṣaff, 61:8
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ḤABĪB IBRĀHĪM BIN
ÀQĪL BIN YAḤYĀ
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb al-Àllāmah Ibrāhīm bin Ùmar bin Àqīl bin Àbdullāh bin
Ùmar bin Abū Bakr bin Ùmar bin Ṭāhā bin Muḥammad bin Shaykh bin
Aḥmad bin Yaḥyā bin Ḥasan bin Àlawī bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā
al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-
Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī
the Prophets G.
His Life
Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm was born in the town of al-Masīlah near Tarīm in the year
1327 (1908). He came from a long line of pious people, about which he said:
“All my forefathers were noble people – they were all scholars and friends
of Allah back to the Messenger of Allah G. It is only me who has lagged be-
hind.” He received a righteous upbringing at the hands of his parents and his
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
paternal and maternal grandmothers, Sharīfah Zahrā’ and Sharīfah Sīdah,

both the daughters of the great Imām, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ḥusayn bin
Ṭāhir. Both women were known for their piety, and Sharīfah Sīdah was
known specifically for her scholarship. Students would come to her to seek
knowledge and take ijāzah from her because of the strength of her sanad.40
On one occasion, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās came to visit her and
Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm, then a young child, was brought in for Ḥabīb Aḥmad to read
over and pray for. He was also taken to Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī for the same
reason. His mother, Sharīfah Nūr, would take him to the mosque before he
had reached the age of seven in the last third of the night and not allow
him to return to the house until after sunrise. It was in this environment of
knowledge and spiritual nurturing that Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm grew up. It is not
surprising that by the age of eight he was already composing poetry which
demonstrated not only his linguistic genius but also his state with his Lord.
Here he incorporates the verses of Imām Àlī into his own verse:
‫إِذا َأ ْز َم ٌة َأن َْش َب ْت ِق َبيل‬

‫َو ِض ْق ُت و َضا َق ْت هِبا ِح َييل‬
ِ ‫ت ََذك َّْر ُت َق ْو َل‬
:‫اإل َما ِم َع ّيل‬
ُ ‫َر ِض‬
‫يت بِام َق َس َم اهللُ يل‬
‫َو َف َّو ْض ُت َأ ْمري إِىل َخالِقي‬
‫الض ُيق َحتَّى ا ْن َقض‬

ِّ ‫َفماَ َعت ََم‬
‫الرىض‬ ِ ‫و جاء ْت ت‬
ِ ‫َباش ُري َف ْي‬
ِّ ‫ض‬ َ َ
40. The sanad is the chain of connection through which knowledge is transmitted.
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ḥabīb ibrāhīm bin àqīl bin yaḥyā
ْ َ‫و َقدْ َأ ْط َف َأ اهللُ م‬

‫ج َر ال َغض‬
‫َكماَ َأ ْح َس َن اهللُ فيام َمض‬
‫ي ِس ُن فيام َب ِقي‬ ِ
ْ ُ‫ك ََذل َك ح‬
When a calamity comes my way

And I feel anxious and there is no way out
I recall the statement of Imam Àli:
“I am content with what Allah has apportioned for me
And I resign my affair to my Creator”
No sooner do the storm clouds of calamity gather but they pass

and the good tidings of the outpouring of contentment come
Allah has extinguished the burning embers of anxiety:
“Just as Allah has treated me well in the past
So too will He treat me well in the time I have left.”
He said, “Had I wished to speak to people only in verse, I could have done
so.” The strength of his memory was such that he said: “I never read a book
and was in need of referring back to it.” It is no surprise that he quickly
memorised the Qur’ān and many of the core texts of the Islamic sciences.
He was taught firstly by his uncle, Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Àqīl bin Yaḥyā.
Later he mastered the inward and outward sciences at the hands of the
Imams of Tarīm at the time, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Àydarūs al-Àydarūs,
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Bārī bin Shaykh al-Àydarūs, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-
Shāṭirī and Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb. He also took knowledge
from masters such as Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād and Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ bin
131
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Àbdullāh al-Ḥaddād. These were not his only teachers; he said: “We have a
connection to all the people of Allah.”
He began teaching in the mosque of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ḥusayn bin
Ṭāhir before he reached puberty and later became the imam of the mosque.
In his youth, he was involved in a number of scholarly activities, and was
constantly writing, researching and teaching. He inherited great tracts of
land around al-Masīlah, but one of his relatives falsely claimed that the land
belonged to him. Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm duly went to Tarīm with documentation
proving his ownership of the land to present his case to the judge. He was
met, however, by his shaykh, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī, who said
to him, “O Ibrāhīm, if someone contests you in the affairs of your religion,
then defend your religion. But if someone disputes with you over something
worldly, then throw it in his face.” Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm duly left his claim to own-
ership of the land and in 1354 (1935) left Ḥaḍramawt for North Yemen. He
first lived in al-Ḥudaydah on the Red Sea coast where he once again stud-
ied with his uncle, Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Àqīl. He also learnt from the great
scholar, Sayyid Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad al-Ahdal. He went into busi-
ness and was very successful but subsequently left it, having no desire for
ephemeral things. After the death of his uncle he moved to Zabīd and then
Taìzz, where he eventually settled. During this period he travelled to Iraq
for the purpose of research. When he returned to Yemen he was appointed
a minister in the government of Imām Yaḥyā bin Muḥammad. He remained
in this position until the revolution of 1381 (1962), after which he was ap-
pointed the Muftī of the city of Taìzz.
The door of his house in Taìzz was never shut, day and night, and all-
comers were welcome. In fact it was more of a zāwiyah than a house – gather-
ings of remembrance were held, guests were honoured, the poor were fed
132
and their needs answered. Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm would go out early in the morning
to buy food for his household and then go out to fulfil people’s needs. He
would then sit daily from midday until sunset and students would come and
read books to him in various sciences. He possessed an extremely strong
sanad in Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and the book was constantly read along with its
commentaries. As soon as it was completed, a new reading would commence.
This lesson continued almost uninterrupted for around forty years. Other
people would come with their problems or requests for fatwā and Ḥabīb
Ibrāhīm would help them all with warmth and compassion. He would teach
after Fajr and after Maghrib daily in Jāmi` al-Muẓaffar and only suspended
the lessons after a failed socialist attempt on his life. The rest of his time would
be spent in remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Qur’ān. He performed
ḥajj more than twenty times, renewing his connection to the scholars of
the Ḥijāz on each occasion.
He was extremely humble and his heart had no attachment to worldly
things. He said “I am an enemy of the dunyā.” He built houses for several
people but never built one for himself. He preferred simplicity in the way
he lived, and disliked affected behaviour (takalluf). When one of the wealth-
iest businessmen in Yemen came to visit him, he insisted that he eat from
the same plates that the poor people ate from. He said: “I have never sworn
an oath by Allah in my life in truth or in falsehood.” He was once offered a
chair to sit on while teaching but he refused saying: The abode of the here-
after We shall give to those who do not wish to be raised (above others) in the
earth.41
Among his many students were Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Haddār, Ḥabīb Zayn
41. Al-Qaṣaṣ, 28:83
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IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
bin Sumayṭ, Sayyid Muḥammad Àlawī al-Mālikī, Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Ḥafīẓ and
Shaykh Muḥammad al-Ḥarīrī.
His poetic ability has already been mentioned and among his works is a
poem detailing the sanad of the Alawī path and a mawlid entitled Dhakhīrat
al-Adhkiyā’. At the end of each section of the mawlid he says:
‫َجزا اهللُ َعنَّا ا ُمل ْص َطفى َأ ْف َض َل اجلَزا‬

‫َج َزا ًء ُي َؤ ِّدي ال َف ْر َض و النَّدْ َب و النَّ ْفال‬
May Allah give the Chosen One the best of rewards on our behalf, a reward which
encompasses that which is compulsory, recommended and extra.
He rendered the Prophetic biography in verse but when he had reached

11,000 verses, he sensed in himself some pride in his work and duly burnt
the composition. He composed a large number of other poems which are
collected in his dīwān. Upon the death of a mule that he owned, he wrote
a poem lamenting its passing, praising it for its sincere service and apolo-
gising for his shortcomings in his treatment of it. His students also collect-
ed his sermons, fatwas and some of his speech. He composed a number of
prayers upon the Messenger of Allah G. Among them is this beautiful
formula:
َ ‫يب ا َمل ْح ُبوب و حُ ِم ِّب ِيه َكماَ ُي ْر ِض‬

‫يك و‬ ِ ِ‫حلب‬ ٍ ِ
َ ‫ال َّل ُه َّم َص ِّل و َس ِّل ْم َعىل َس ِّيدنا حُم َ َّمد ا‬
‫ُي ْر ِض ِيه و َح ِّب ْبنَا إِل ْي ِه و ِز ْدنا حَم َ َب ًة فِ ِيه‬
O Allah, bestow Your prayers and peace upon our Master Muhammad, the Beloved,
and upon those who love him to the extent that pleases You and pleases him and
make us beloved to him and increase us in love for him.
134
His Death
Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm lost his sight in his final years and he spent most of his time
in silence. He said at this time that the true meaning of well-being (`āfiyah)
is for the heart to be free from any opposition to the decree of Allah. He
had lived his life in strict adherence to the Sunnah, and this did not change
even in his last days. When someone helping him to make wuḍū’ rolled up
his right sleeve before his left in order to wash his right arm, he reminded
him that the Sunnah when removing clothing is to begin with the left and
not the right. He finally departed this life on 14th Jumādā al-Ūlā 1415 (1994).
Vast crowds came out to attend his funeral prayer in Jāmi` al-Muẓaffar,
where he had been khaṭīb for more than thirty years. He was then carried
to his final resting place in the Ḥabīl Salmān graveyard in Taìzz. May Allah
raise his station and benefit us by him in this life and the next.
135

ḤABĪB AḤMAD MASHHŪR
AL-ḤADDĀD
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr bin Ṭāhā binÀlī bin Àbdullāh bin Ṭāhā bin
Àbdullāh bin Ṭāhā bin Ùmar42 bin Àlawī bin Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin
Àbdullāh bin Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Aḥmad “al-Ḥaddād” bin Abū Bakr
bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān
bin Àlawī Àmm al-Faqīh (uncle of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam), bin Muḥammad
Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib
al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah
His Life
Ḥabīb Aḥmad was born in the town of Qaydūn in the Dawàn Valley, South
of Ḥaḍramawt, in the year 1325 (1907). His father, Sayyid Ṭāhā, was one of
42. Sayyid Ùmar was the brother of the great Imām Àbdullāh bin Àlawī al-Ḥaddād, who is
thus Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s great uncle.
136
ḥabīb aḥmad mashhūr al-ḥaddād
the people of Allah. He spent long periods of time in Indonesia and it was
his mother, the saintly Ḥabābah Ṣafiyyah, daughter of the Imām Ṭāhir bin
Ùmar al-Ḥaddad, who raised him. She had memorised the Qur’ān and would
recite it while breast-feeding him. She then proceeded to give him upbring-
ing infused with the recitation of the Qur’ān and its teachings. It was her
that told him at the age of seven to go and pray the Fajr prayer behind the
great Imām, Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-Àṭṭās when he visited Qaydūn. He
then recited Sūrat al-Fātiḥah to Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan. This in turn led
to further meetings between the two. She also placed him in the Ribāṭ of
Qaydūn, the religious school founded by his two uncles, Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin
Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddad and his brother, Ḥabīb Àlawī. There he learnt the Islamic
sciences. Ḥabīb Àlawī took him to Tarīm where he took knowledge from
the great scholars of the time, among them Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-
Shaṭirī, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb and Ḥabīb Àbd al-Bārī bin
Shaykh al-Àydarūs. Ḥabīb Àlawī also took Ḥabīb Aḥmad to Indonesia while
he was still in his late teens to connect to scholars such as Ḥabīb Muḥammad
bin Aḥmad al-Miḥḍār and Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Muḥsin al-Àṭṭās. Ḥabīb
Aḥmad then returned to Qaydūn to continue his studies with his other uncle,
Ḥabīb Àbdullāh. He began teaching there at the same time. In al-Mukallā’,
he learnt from Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Muḥsin al-Haddār, and it was from him he
received his opening.
He travelled to East Africa for the first time in 1347 (1928). He visited Zan-
zibar and was asked to teach in the main mosque during Ramaḍān. He be-
gan with a commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥah and spent 15 days expounding
on the meanings of the verse: You we worship and from You we seek assis-
tance. On a subsequent trip in 1351 (1932), he visited Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ bin Àlawī
Jamal al-Layl on the island of Lamu, who was one of the great callers to Allah
in that region and the founder of Masjid al-Riyāḍ, one of the first institutes
137
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
of Islamic learning in East Africa. Ḥabīb Ṣāliḥ, then in his eighties, commanded
Ḥabīb Aḥmad to lead the prayer in Masjid al- Riyāḍ.
Seeing the dire need for scholars and callers to Allah in the region, he
returned to East Africa after performing Hajj and settled in Mombasa, Ken-
ya’s main port. This was his base for around 25 years. His house was always
full of students and visitors and he would teach in the mosques of the city.
More than once he was asked to take the position of judge but he refused.
He ran a small business in order to be financially independent and he would
remain so throughout his life, never in need of financial support from indi-
viduals or groups. He made many expeditions into rural areas, calling local
tribes to Allah. He learnt Swahili, the language of the region, and would use
it for communication. However, he always made his speeches in Arabic to
emphasise its importance and nobility as language of the Qur’ān and the
Prophet G. One of his students would then translate his words into Swahili.
In this period, he established a strong connection to Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Sumayṭ,
at times visiting him in Zanzibar and the Comoros Islands. Ḥabīb Ùmar also
visited him in Mombasa and later in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, where
he settled in 1375 (1956).
In Uganda, Ḥabīb Aḥmad found a number of tribes who were animists
worshipping a variety of deities. He also found Muslims who had accepted
Christianity at the hands of missionaries, as well as sects such as the Qadianis
and the Ismailis. He found Muslims who had moved towards secularism or
socialism and those at the other extreme who, claiming to defend the reli-
gion, declared many of their brothers outside the fold of Islām. Still others
were giving religious judgements and spiritual guidance while being un-
qualified to do so. Ḥabīb Aḥmad addressed his call to all these different groups.
This call is reflected in his book, Miftāḥ al-Jannah (beautifully translated by
138
Dr Mostafa Badawi under the title “Key to the Garden”) which was first pub-
lished in 1389 (1969). The Key to the Garden is lā ilāha ill’Allah, and the book
is essentially an explanation of the meanings of this formula and what it
entails. The first part of the book deals with the fundamental beliefs of Islām,
the second with oft-misunderstood elements of the religion and the third pro-
vides direction for those wishing to tread the spiritual path. The book thus
comprehensively deals with the constituent parts of the religion – Islām,
Īmān and Iḥsān. The core of the book is contained in Ḥabīb Aḥmad’s suppli-
cation:
‫كون إِيامين بِ َك و بِام َأن َْز ْل َت ُم ْستَفاد ًا ِم ْن فِك َْر ٍة َم ُشو َب ٍة‬َ ‫َر ِّب َأ ُعو ُذ بِ َك َأ ْن َي‬
‫ش َّي ِة َب ْل‬
ِ َ‫اج ِمن ال ِّطين َِة ال َب ر‬ ٍ ْ ‫صاف النَّ ْف ِس ِّي ِة َأ ْو ُم ْستَنِد ًا إىل َع ْق ٍل مَم‬
ٍ ‫زوج بِ َأ ْم َش‬ ِ ‫بِاألَو‬
ْ
‫ُور نَبِ ِّي َك ا ُمل ْص َطفى و َب َركَاتِ ِه‬
ِ ‫بني َو َمدَ ِد َك األَ ْع ىَل ن‬
ِ ‫ُور َك ا ُمل‬ ِ ‫ِم ْن ن‬
“My Lord, I seek refuge in You, lest my faith in You and Your revelation be derived
from reflection polluted by the attributes of the lower self or from an intellect that
is mixed with the earth from which mankind was created. Rather, I ask that my
faith be derived from Your manifest light, Your most exalted assistance, the light
and blessings of Your Prophet, the Chosen One.”
Ḥabīb Aḥmad returned to Mombasa in 1389 (1969). His efforts in Uganda had
led tens of thousands of people to convert to Islam. Many Muslims who had
accepted Christianity returned once again to Islam and others came back
to the straight path after deviation. His expeditions had taken him to the
frontiers of Congo, Zaire and Rwanda. He did not merely convey the mes-
sage and then move on; rather he left behind teachers in communities that
had accepted Islam and built schools and mosques.
139
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
He would perform ḥajj every year and meet with the scholars of the Ḥijāz,
with whom he would discuss and attempt to solve the problems of the Ummah.
He had a strong bond with Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir bin Aḥmad al-Saqqāf, and
they would often attend gatherings together in Jeddah. He also travelled to
Ethiopia, Somalia, Egypt, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
He can be described as the Messenger of Allah G is described: he spoke
little and spent much time in reflection; his laugh was a smile; and he spoke
to people according to their understanding. There is no doubt that he was
among those mentioned in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah G: “The
best of my nation are those the sight of whom reminds one of Allah.”43 He
would answer anyone’s invitation and, in his old age and in poor health, he
could still be seen going from house to house and gathering to gathering.
His gatherings were gatherings of mercy and remembrance of Allah. At the
end of his gatherings he would often recite lā ilāha ill’Allah Muḥammadan
Rasūlullāh to those attending and they would then recite it back to him, thus
directly receiving these words through an unbroken chain to the Messenger
of Allah G. He had the utmost concern for the Ummah, and was greatly
troubled by conflicts such as the civil war in Somalia, and the Iraqi invasion
of Kuwait and the war which followed. Those with him said that he would
be in a state of fever at the times that the Muslim Ummah was suffering, in
embodiment of the hadith: “The believers in the love, mercy and compas-
sion they show one another are like the body. If one part of it suffers from
an ailment, the rest of the body complains of insomnia and fever.”44 He
represented Uganda at the conferences of the Islamic World League, seek-
ing to find solutions and raise awareness of the problems of the region.
43. Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī

44. Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim
140
He played an important part in the spread of the work of Imām al-

Ḥaddād. Due to his influence, Imām al-Ḥaddād’s books were republished
and several were translated into foreign languages. He revived the method-
ology that Imām al-Ḥaddād laid down for those unable to undertake the
spiritual strivings of the elite but who nonetheless wished to travel the
spiritual path.
Allah says in the Qur’ān: For the one that fears the station of his Lord
there are two gardens.45 Ḥabīb Aḥmad said of the two gardens that one is in
this worldly life and one is in the next. The first is the knowledge of Allah
and the Messenger of Allah and the unveiling of the realities of faith and
certainty. In this first garden, the heart is filled with light and contentment
with the decree of Allah. The second garden is the bliss of Paradise.
Besides Miftāḥ al-Jannah, he authored a number of essays on important
issues. He put Safīnat al-Najāh, the well-known primer in Shāfi`ī law, into
verse. From a young age he had been gifted with great poetic ability and he
left behind a Dīwān of his poems.
Towards the end of his life he would divide his time between Mombasa
and Jeddah, until poor health prevented him from travelling to East Africa.
Heads of state would come to visit him to pay their respects and ask for his
prayers and advice, along with a constant stream of visitors and students.
He left an indelible mark on all those with whom he came into contact and
many of them went on to call others to Allah in the same merciful way as
he did. We are fortunate to have some of these people in our communities
around the world.
45. Al-Raḥmān, 55:46
141
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
His Death
He finally departed from this life on 14th Rajab 1416 (1995). The funeral
prayer was performed over him first in Jeddah and was led by Sayyid
Muḥammad Àlawī al-Mālikī, in the presence of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir al-
Saqqāf. It was then performed again in the Masjid al-Ḥarām in Makkah be-
fore he was placed in the blessed earth of the Àlawī enclosure in the Ma`lā
cemetery. May Allah raise him to the highest of ranks and help us to pre-
serve his legacy.
142

ḤABĪB MUḤAMMAD
AL-HADDĀR
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb al-Àllāmah Muḥammad bin Àbdullāh “al-Haddār” bin Shaykh
bin Aḥmad bin Muḥsin bin Àlī bin Ṣāliḥ bin Muḥammad bin Ṣāliḥ bin Aḥmad
bin al-Ḥusayn bin al-Shaykh al-Fakhr Abū Bakr bin Sālim bin Àbdullāh bin
Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àbdullāh bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin
His Life
Ḥabīb Muhammad was born in the village of Àzzah near the city of al-
Bayḍā’ in the North of Yemen in the year 1340 (1921). His great, great grand-
father Sayyid Muḥsin had left Ḥaḍramawt and settled in al-Bayḍā’ around
143
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
the beginning of the 13th Hijrī century. He was given the best of upbringings
by his father, who had devoted him to the service of Allah while he was still
in his mother’s womb. His father hoped that Allah would in turn make him
a scholar. His mother was Nūr bint Àbdullāh Bā Ṣāhī, an extremely pious
woman known for her worship and charity. She would spend from dawn to
dusk in her kitchen cooking for the hungry, especially at the time of famine
in Yemen during the Second World War. In his childhood, Ḥabīb Muḥammad
learnt the Qur’ān and the foundational Islamic sciences from his father and
the scholars of al-Bayḍā’. In one of the last nights of Ramaḍān while in the
mosque, he witnessed a brilliant light. When he informed his father of this,
he said to him: “Perhaps it is Laylat al-Qadr, so ask Allah to make you one of
the scholars that act according to their knowledge.”
His thirst for knowledge then led him to attempt to travel to Tarīm at the
age of seventeen. After travelling by sailboat from Aden to al-Mukallā’, he
was unable to go any further due to political strife and thus returned home.
Not deterred, he then travelled by land. His father accompanied him on the
first leg of the journey. When the time came for them to part company his
father faced the qiblah with tears in his eyes and said: “O Allah, people are
sending their children to America and other places to earn them money
and I am sending him to learn, so give him an opening and make him one of
the scholars that act according to their knowledge.” In spite of almost dying
of thirst on a mountain path between Say’ūn and Tarīm, Ḥabīb Muḥammad
finally arrived safely in Tarīm, and headed straight for its famous Ribāṭ,
where he was met by Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī.
Ḥabīb Muḥammad spent the next four years in the Ribāṭ in the pursuit of
knowledge. His efforts were immense. He would prepare for each lesson by
reading the subject material at least eighteen times and would only sleep
144
ḥabīb muḥammad al-haddār
around two hours in the day and night. So engaged was he in his studies
that he did not once enter the room of the student in the room next door
to him and did not open letters that were sent to him from al-Bayḍā’. Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh recognised his ability and gave him special attention and respon-
sibility, leaving the Ribāṭ in his hands when he left Tarīm. He studied at the
hands of, among others, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb, Ḥabīb Ja`far
bin Aḥmad al-Àydarūs and Shaykh Maḥfūẓ bin Sālim al-Zubaydī. After the
death of Ḥabīb Àbdullāh in 1361 (1941), Ḥabīb Muḥammad returned home,
his heart full with desire to spread his knowledge and guide people to the
path of Allah. In 1362 (1942), he established a school in his birthplace, Àzzah.
He would also go out to the people, travelling from village to village remind-
ing people of their duties. He would address the crowds that gathered for
the weekly market in the city of al-Bayḍā’ and played an important role in
resolving tribal conflicts.
He travelled on foot to perform ḥajj in 1365 (1945). On his return, he spent
some time in Taìzz studying at the hands of Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm bin Àqīl bin
Yaḥyā. In 1375 (1955) he performed ḥajj for the second time and from that
year on, he would make ḥajj almost every year – while, at the same time,
taking knowledge from the scholars of the Ḥijāz, among them Sayyid Àlawī
bin Àbbās al-Mālikī.
In 1370 (1950), he travelled to Somalia and was made Imām of Masjid
Mirwas in Mogadishu. He remained there for a year and a half, during which
time Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād visited him. He taught constantly
and oversaw the establishment of a ribāṭ in the town of Bidua.
Ḥabīb Muḥammad had long wished to establish a ribāṭ in the city of al-
Bayḍā. He sought financial support in Aden and Ethiopia and preliminary
construction was completed in 1380 (1960). Many people saw the Messenger
145
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
of Allah G in their dreams giving good tidings of the success of the Ribāṭ.
Someone saw him planting his blessed foot in the Ribāṭ saying: “This will
remain as long as my Ummah remains.” Ḥabīb Muḥammad was in need of a
teacher so he requested that Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ send
someone from Tarīm. Ḥabīb Muḥammad selected Ḥabīb Zayn bin Ibrāhīm
bin Sumayṭ, who became the Ribāṭ’s greatest teacher and remained in al-
Bayḍā’ for around twenty years. In 1402 (1981) Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Muḥammad
bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ left a troubled Ḥaḍramawt and came to al-Bayḍā’. He
spent ten years taking knowledge from Ḥabīb Muḥammad, who married his
daughter to him. Ḥabīb Ùmar also taught in the Ribāṭ and expended great
efforts calling the people of the region to Allah and His Messenger G. All
of this was the best preparation for his return to Ḥaḍramawt after the fall
of the socialist regime and his eventual establishment of his own ribāṭ, Dār
al-Muṣṭafā.
Ḥabīb Muḥammad was staunch in his opposition to the socialist govern-
ment that came into power in South Yemen in 1387 (1967). This led to his
imprisonment in al-Mukallā’ on a visit to Ḥaḍramawt in 1390 (1970). But this
did not prevent him from calling to Allah and, in his time there, the prison
was transformed. The five prayers were established in congregation and
Ḥabīb Muḥammad delivered lectures and lessons to the inmates. Due in part
to the intercession of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf and Ḥabīb Ja`far al-
Àydarūs, he was eventually released and he returned to al-Bayḍā’. He
thanked them for their efforts and warned the scholars of Tarīm and Say’ūn
of the danger of remaining in Ḥaḍramawt.
In 1395 (1974), he went to the Comoros Islands to visit Ḥabīb Ùmar bin
Sumayṭ and then to Kenya to visit Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād. Ḥabīb
Muḥammad had established a close bond with Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf
146
and they travelled together to Iraq and Syria in 1396 (1975). Ḥabīb Àbd al-
Qādir also twice visited al-Bayḍā’ and Ḥabīb Muḥammad’s Ribāṭ. Ḥabīb
Muḥammad had great respect for the Tablīgh movement and, in 1402 (1981),
he headed to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia to visit the move-
ment’s scholars and attend their gatherings.
From the time he rose for the night prayer, his waking moments were
filled with the remembrance of Allah. He would complete the recitation of
the Qur’ān every week. He would teach daily from books such as Saḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī, Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn, Qaḍī `Īyāḍ’s al-Shifā and Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn of Imām
al-Nawawī. He never left the congregational prayer from his childhood to his
old age. He would sit daily to resolve people’s problems and receive their
questions. Due to his immense legal knowledge, he was appointed muftī of
the province of al-Bayḍā’.
He compiled a number of collections of adhkār to be read during the day
and night (al-Fawā’id al-Ithnā Àshar, Nāshi’at al-Layl) and on journeys (Jawāhir
al-Jawāhir). The many adhkār that are read today in Dār al-Muṣṭafā are mere-
ly a selection of some of his daily awrād. He also compiled collections of
adhkār and supplications for Ramaḍān (al-Nafaḥāt al-Ramaḍāniyyah) and for
ḥajj (Miftāḥ al-Ḥajj). He wrote a treatise on the attainment of noble charac-
ter (Àjalat al-Sibāq), a treatise on the performance of ḥajj (Risālat al-Ḥajj al-
Mabrūr) and compiled a selection of hadith entitled Shifā al-Saqīm. Through
his numerous poems, many written in colloquial Arabic, he called people to
fulfil their duties towards Allah and warned them against disobeying Him.
His Death
Ḥabīb Muḥammad suffered for many years from serious illness and to-
wards the end of his life he moved to Makkah, where the climate suited his
condition. He would travel regularly to visit his grandfather, the Messenger
147
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
of Allah G, where he would stand for hours in front of the Blessed Chamber.
He would also go often to Jeddah to attend the gatherings of Ḥabīb Àbd al-
Qādir al-Saqqāf and would likewise attend the gatherings of Ḥabīb Abū Bakr
al-Àṭṭās al-Ḥabashī in Makkah. His son said of him that he did not waste a
moment of his life. Due to his incapacity as death approached, he had one of
his relatives make tayammum for him. His last words were the words he would
repeat frequently throughout his life:
‫ال إِ َل َه إِالّ اهلل َأ ْفنِي هِبا ُع ْمري‬

‫ال إِ َل َه إِالّ اهلل َأ ْد ُخل هِبا َق رْبي‬
‫ال إِ َل َه إِالّ اهلل َأ ْخلو هِبا َو ْحدي‬
‫ال إِ َل َه إِالّ اهلل َأ ْلقى هِبا َرب‬
lā ilāha ill’Allah - with it I end my life
lā ilāha ill’Allah - with it I enter my grave
lā ilāha ill’Allah - with it alone I isolate myself
lā ilāha ill’Allah - with it I meet my Lord46
He then fell into prostration and his soul departed from his body. It was the
8th Rabī` al-Thānī 1418 (1997). As his body was carried to its resting place
in the Ma`lā Cemetery, Makkah was filled with the loud recitation of lā ilāha
ill’Allah, a fitting end to a man who had said: “Our flesh and blood is infused
with lā ilāha ill’Allah.” He was buried in the proximity of his mother, the
Mother of the Believers, al-Sayyidah Khadījah al-Kubrā and Ḥabīb Aḥmad
Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād. May Allah continue to benefit us by him and may his
memory live on.
46. From the Àqīdah of Shaykh Alī bin Abū Bakr al-Sakrān
148
He would end his gatherings and prayers in the last portion of the night
with these words:
، ‫ول أل ْعماَ لِنَا َوالدَّ َع َوات‬ ِ ‫َوامنُ ْن إِلهَ ِ ي بِال َق ُب‬

ْ
ِ ِ
، ‫الص ُفوف األَ َّوالت‬ ُّ ‫نَدْ ُخل َم َع َط َه َوآله يِف‬
، ‫اآلخ َرات‬ ِ ‫معهم وفِ ِيهم د ِائ ًام يِف الدَّ ِار ِذه و‬
َ َ ْ َ ْ ََُ
، ‫ار َيات‬ ِ ‫اري َن ُه ْم َوال َق‬ ِ ‫َوا ْغ ِف ْر لِنَاظِ ِم َها َول ْل َق‬
ِ
، ‫ني َوكَاتِ َبات‬ َ ِ‫عها َأ ْو ن رََش َها َوكَاتِب‬ ِ
َ ‫َو َم ْن َسم‬
، ‫اص ِل ْح لِلنِّ ِّيات‬ ِ
ْ ‫َو ْار َح ْم َو َو ِّف ْق ُأ َّم َة َأحمْ َد َو ْاهد َو‬
، ‫َائنَات‬ ِ ‫َع َلي ِه ص ىَّل اللهَُّ وس َّلم عَدَّ َذر الك‬
ِّ َ َ َ َ ْ
ِ‫ح‬ ِ‫ح‬ ِ ِ
، ‫الات‬ َ ‫الص‬ َّ ‫ني َو‬ َ ‫الصال‬ َّ ‫َوآله َوك ُّل األَنْبِ َياء َو‬
، ‫اد ال َّل َح َظات‬ ِ َ‫يِف ك ُِّل حَل َظ ٍة َأبدً ا َع ىَل ِعد‬
َ ْ
ِ
، ‫ب عَدَّ النّعماَ ت‬ ُّ ‫َواحلَ ْمدُ للِهَِّ َكماَ حُي‬
My Lord grant our actions and supplications acceptance

Let us enter (paradise) along with Tāhā and his Family in the first row
Let us be with them always in this abode and in the next
Forgive the poet and those reading this poem, male and female
And anyone that hears it and spreads it and those that write it male and female
Have mercy and grant grace to the Ummah of Aḥmad,
guide its members and rectify our intentions
May peace and blessings be upon him, the number of atoms in creation
And upon his Family and all the Prophets and the pious men and women
In every instant, forevermore, the sum of all innumerable moments
And all praise belongs to Allah, equal to His infinite grace and bounty,
as He loves to be praised.
149

ḤABĪB ÀBD AL-QĀDIR
AL-SAQQĀF
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir bin Aḥmad bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Àlī bin
Ùmar bin Saqqāf bin Muḥammad bin Ùmar bin Ṭāhā bin Ùmar bin Ṭāhā
bin Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Muḥammad bin Àlī bin Shaykh Àbd al-
Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin Àlī Mawlā
al-Darak, bin Àlawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin
Àlī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ, bin Àlī Khāli` Qasam, bin Àlawī, bin
Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh, bin Àlawī, bin Ùbaydullāh, bin al-Imām
Ùrayḍī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin Àlī Zayn al-`Ābidīn,
bin Ḥusayn al-Ṣibt, bin Àlī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daugh-
ter of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets G.
His mother was Sayyidah Àlawiyyah bint Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Muḥammad
al-Jifrī.
His Life
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir was born in Say’ūn, in 1331 (1912). Ḥabīb Àlī al-Ḥabashī,
in the final years of his life, named him and gave good tidings of the future
150
ḥabīb àbd al-qādir al-saqqāf
that was awaiting this child. He was given the best of upbringings by his fa-
ther, the great scholar and caller to Allah, Ḥabīb Aḥmad. If he was late even
by a few minutes for the ḥizb of Qur’ān after Maghrib in Masjid Ṭāhā,47 his
father would give him a hard time that night. “How can you prefer anything
over your Lord, His Book and His House?” he would ask him. “The thing which
delayed you – will it be of any benefit to you in the throes of death or in the
next life? Will it be with you in your grave?” He memorized the Qur’ān in his
early years and began the pursuit of knowledge at the hands of his father
and the Muftī of Ḥaḍramawt, Ḥabīb Àbd al-Raḥmān bin Ùbaydullah al-
Saqqāf, as well as Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Hādī al-Saqqāf. Amongst his teachers
were the Imams of his time, Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Shihāb, Ḥabīb
Ja`far bin Aḥmad al-Àydarūs and Ḥabīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī.
He began teaching publicly in Say’ūn while still in his youth and students
of knowledge flocked to benefit from him. However, due to the mounting
persecution that scholars received at the hands of the socialist regime in
South Yemen, he left the country in 1393 (1973), going first to Singapore and
then Indonesia. He then headed to the Ḥijāz, and settled in Jeddah. He es-
tablished gatherings of knowledge and remembrance in his house in Jeddah
attended by numerous scholars and visitors.
He made trips to various countries calling to Allah and visiting the schol-
ars and Muslims in those places. Amongst the places he visited were Syria,
Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Comoros Islands
(where he visited Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Sumayṭ in the company of Ḥabīb Aḥmad
Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād) and East Africa. He visited North Yemen and returned
47. It is the tradition in the mosques of Ḥaḍramawt for people to gather after Maghrib to
read a portion of the Qur’ān together in a group. Masjid Ṭāhā was established by Imam
Ṭāhā bin Ùmar al-Ṣāfī (died 1007), Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir’s ancestor and the first of the
Àlawī Sayyids to settle in Say’ūn.
151
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
to visit Ḥaḍramawt after the unification of North and South Yemen, but did
not resettle there.
He was loved by all those that came into contact with him. He had immense
concern for every member of this Ummah, regardless of their race or rank
and he would stop at nothing to attend to people’s needs and deal with their
requests. Countless people benefited from his knowledge and from his gath-
erings, which were gatherings of connection to Allah, His Messenger G
and his inheritors. It is a great blessing that a number of those gatherings
were video recorded.
In his call to Allah, he became the target of much abuse but in every situ-
ation he only responded by doing that which Allah loved. He harmed and
abused no-one in response. He relived the way of Imām al-Bukhārī, who said:
“I hope to leave this life without Allah taking me to account for back-biting
a single Muslim.” Those who had harmed him in the past would visit him in
Jeddah and be treated in the same way as old friends and brothers – he
would honour them and fulfil their needs.
He said, “If someone comes to me in need, I cannot relax until I have done
everything I can to fulfil his need.”
He advised people to read the following formula in times of difficulty:
ِ ‫اللهم ص ِّل وس ِّلم عىل سي ِدنا حُمم ِد بِن َعب ِد اهلل‬

ِ ‫القائ ِم بِ ُح ُق‬
‫وق اهلل‬ ْ ْ ِّ ِّ َ ْ َ َ َّ ُ
‫ماضا َق ْت إال َف َّر َج َها اهلل‬
َ
“O Allah, bestow prayers and peace upon our Master Muhammad the son
of Àbdullah, the one who fulfils the rights of Allah. No difficulty arises except
that Allah removes it.”
152
People renowned for their hatred of Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir and his methodology
could not help falling in love with him and becoming his staunch support-
ers. On numerous occasions, people openly abused him but never once did
he respond or defend himself. He would fulfil the right of every single person;
the only right he would ignore was his own. As Allah says: Repel (evil) with
that which is better. Then he who was an enemy to you will be like an inti-
mate friend.48
One day, a businessman gave Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir a bag containing a mil-
lion Saudi Rials. He took the bag and drove around Jeddah distributing the
money. He would say to his driver: “In that apartment there are a group of
widows – give them this.” Within a few hours, he had distributed it all. He
shook the bag to make sure that it was empty and then said: “O Allah, bear
witness.”
His contemporaries were in agreement that he was truly their Imam.
Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm bin Àqīl bin Yaḥyā said of him:
ِ ‫اسن األَوص‬ ِ ِ ‫ج َع‬

‫اف‬ َ ْ َ َ ‫اإل َل ُه حَم‬ َ َ‫م‬
ِ ‫اد ِر الس َّق‬
‫اف‬ ِ ‫ث َعب ِد ال َق‬ ِ ‫يِف ال َغو‬
َّ ْ ْ
‫َأ ْح َيا بِ ِه ا َمل ْولىَ ُع ُلو َم ِكتَابِ ِه‬
ِ ‫وبِ ِه اس َت َقام ْت ِسري ُة األَس‬
‫الف‬ ْ َ َ ْ َ
‫َل َقدْ ت ََر َّب َع يِف َربِي ِع َم َق ِام ِه ْم‬
ِ ‫ون َأي ِخ‬ ِ
‫الف‬ ِّ َ ‫َف ُه َو اخلَلي َف ُة ُد‬
Allah placed all praiseworthy qualities in the ghawth, Àbd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf
Through him, the Lord gave life to the knowledge of His Book;
48. Fuṣṣilat, 41:34
153
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
Through him, the way of the predecessors remained upright

He was firmly established in the stations that they held,
So he is thus the Khalīfah, (their successor), without any debate.
When Sayyid Sālim bin Àbdullāh al-Ḥāmid requested counsel from Ḥabīb
Àbd al-Qādir, he wrote the following:
After praising Allah and sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, he
advised him to hold fast to taqwā of Allah. He said that, “The people of taqwā
are of varying levels and taqwā itself has no end, since it is in reality a divine
outpouring which people receive according to the readiness of their hearts.
Those who have attained these stations are with the people with their physi-
cal bodies but with Allah with their hearts and souls.
So be avid, my brother, to reach these realms in which you witness the
greatness of Allah’s signs. This is to be achieved through inward and outward
purity and protecting one’s limbs from committing acts of disobedience. If the
slave uses his limbs in the service of his Lord, Allah will protect him from the
Devil: Truly you (Iblis) have no power over My slaves.49
Fulfil the rights of your parents, your relatives, your spouse, your children,
your neighbours and all the people of lā ilāha ill’Allah. Observe the prayer, for
in the prayer you give greetings to all the pious slaves of Allah. Thus whoever
neglects the prayer neglects the rights of all the people of lā ilāha ill’Allah. Per-
form the sunnahs and the adhkar pertaining to the prayer, because every pious
action entails a specific reward and a specific divine gift and connection. If the
slave pleases his Lord through serving Him, seeks to draw close to Him by
obeying His commands and realises that he is a slave whose role it is to stand
49. Al-Ḥijr, 15:42
154
at the door, Allah will enshroud him with the cloak of His love and bring him
close until [Allah says] “I become the hearing with which he hears, the vision
with which he sees…”
Seek constantly the descent of Allah’s mercy through calling upon Him in a
state of brokenness and lowliness, as nothing is more conducive to bringing
forth His mercy than the slave’s recognition of his own weakness, and Allah is
more merciful to His slaves than a mother is to her child.
You are required to fulfil the rights of Allah and the rights of His slaves and
this is only possible, firstly, by seeking the assistance of Allah and, secondly,
by organising your time so that you give every individual his or her right. Ful-
fil the rights of the people of lā ilāha ill’Allah by attending funerals, visiting the
sick and assisting the helpless. Treat them in the best possible way, as you
would love to be treated, because mercy entails mercy and “those who show
mercy are shown mercy by the All-Merciful.”
Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir continued calling to Allah in the Ḥijāz, travelling between
Jeddah and the Sacred Sanctuaries, spreading the knowledge and mercy
that he had inherited from his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah G.
Towards the end of his life, illness confined him to his house but did not
prevent him from receiving numerous visitors. In spite of the immense
amount of work he would perform, he would never allow the week to pass
without completing the recitation of the Qur’ān. This was because the love
of the Qur’ān had been so deeply infused in him from his childhood.
His Death
He finally responded to the call of his Lord before Fajr on 19th Rabī’ al-Thānī
1431/4th April 2010, a month short of his hundredth birthday. The funeral
155
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
prayer was the same night in the Masjid al-Ḥarām in Makkah and he was
buried in the Ma`lā Cemetery in the proximity of his mother, the Mother of
the Believers, al-Sayyidah Khadījah al-Kubrā and his companions on the
path, Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād and Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Haddār.
May Allah shower him with mercy and raise him to the highest of ranks in
Paradise. May we continue to benefit by this great Imām.
156

ḤABĪB “SA`D” AL-ÀYDARŪS
His Lineage
He is al-Ḥabīb “Sa`d” Muḥammad bin Àlawī bin Ùmar bin Àydarūs bin
Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin Àlawī bin Àbdullāh bin al-Ḥasan bin Àlawī bin
Àbdullāh bin Aḥmad bin Shaykh Ḥusayn bin Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs
bin Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān bin Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin
His Life
Ḥabīb Muḥammad, known by all as “Sa`d”, was born in Tarīm in 1351 (1932).
He was raised, nurtured and schooled under the watchful gaze of his father,
Ḥabīb Àlawī, one of the foremost scholars of Tarīm at the time, and his
157
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
pious mother, Sharīfah Fāṭimah bint Ḥasan al-Junayd. She was also the
mother of two great scholars: Muḥammad and Àwaḍ, sons of Ḥabīb Ḥāmid
bin Muḥammad Bā Àlawī, who were both imams of Masjid Bā Àlawī. Ḥabīb
Sa`d was assiduous in his care for his mother and later she lived with him
in his house in al-Nuwaydarah until she passed away in 1410 (1989) at the
age of nearly one hundred. Ḥabīb Sa`d thus grew up in an environment of
scholarship and piety. He studied under many scholars in Tarīm and else-
where. He spent six years at the Ribāṭ of Tarīm under the tutelage of Ḥabīb
Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shāṭirī. He received knowledge and spiritual
guidance from Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Shihāb and later from his son, Ḥabīb
Muḥammad. Likewise, he learnt from Ḥabīb Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ and after him
his son, Ḥabīb Muḥammad. Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àlawī al-Kāf was another of
his many teachers.
In 1371 (1951), he travelled to Aden to earn a living and study at the hands
of the city’s scholars. In 1391 (1971), however, he was jailed by the socialist
government of the time, which in its vain attempts to suppress Islām im-
prisoned and killed a number of scholars. He spent three and a half years in
prison enduring the most severe types of torture. Yet in spite of these cir-
cumstances, he was able to memorise the Qur’ān. After his release, he re-
turned to Tarīm in the year 1395 (1975), where he was made the imam of the
famous Masjid al-Saqqāf. The Ḥaḍrah established in the mosque by Shaykh
Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf more than six hundred years previously had been
suspended by the socialist authorities. However, through the efforts of
Ḥabīb Sa`d, it was resumed.
In 1397 (1976), he reopened the renowned school of Abū Murayyam for
the memorisation of the Qur’ān, which had been closed by the authorities.
It was founded by the great Imam, Muḥammad bin Ùmar Abū Murayyam
158
ḥabīb “sa`d” al-àydarūs
in 822 (1419). Thousands of great scholars have graduated from it over the
centuries. The school is known for being a place where people attain spirit-
ual openings and a place where memorisation of the Qur’ān is made easy
and prayers are accepted. Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Ḥafīẓ was one of the first students
to complete his memorisation of the Qur’ān after the school reopened.
Ḥabīb Kāẓim bin Ja`far al-Saqqāf also graduated at the hands of Ḥabīb Sa`d,
along with many other scholars and callers to Allah. The school has since
gone from strength to strength and has opened sixteen branches in and
around Tarīm.
In his service of sacred knowledge, he presided over a number of gather-
ings and lessons. One was the lesson inside the Qubbah (dome) of his ances-
tor, Imām ‘Abd Allah al-Àydarūs, in which the Iḥyā’ Ùlūm al-Dīn of Imām
al-Ghazālī is read. He also revived the weekly reading of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī in
Masjid Bā Àlawī which is concluded in the month of Rajab.
Out of his desire to benefit people, he compiled over one hundred small
books on numerous subjects. He believed that a book should be short, bene-
ficial and affordable and this is how his books are. The first of them was
Kitāb al-Āyāt al-Mutashābihāt, which assists anyone who wishes to memorise
the Qur’ān by mentioning verses in different parts of the Book that are either
similar or the same. It was revised and published by Ḥabīb Sālim al-Shāṭirī
in 1409 (1988) and was well received by Ḥabīb Àbd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf. Ḥabīb
Sa`d compiled several other books on aspects of the Qur’ān as well as biogra-
phies and pieces of wisdom of many of the Imāms of Haḍramawt. His Kitāb
al-Niyāt (Book of Intentions) delves deep into the science of intentions and
due to its practical benefit was translated into English and several other
languages. He also compiled books on subjects as diverse as remedies for
forgetfulness and depression, neglected elements of the Sunnah, water,
159
IMAMS OF THE VALLEY
mountains, cats, ants, coffee, vinegar, apples, the heart and special attributes
of the number seven.
Ḥabīb Sa`d’s door was always open to visitors, who came in their droves.
Hardly a single visitor left without first drinking tea and being presented with
his latest book. His heart was full of mercy and compassion for all those that
came to him, especially students of knowledge, whom he would assist and
encourage in whatever way he could. He saw all his students as his children.
He severely counseled people to respect papers on which the name of Allah
or one of His Prophets was written, and not to waste food or water.
He was in a constant state of remembrance of Allah and a substantial por-
tion of his life was spent with the muṣḥaf or masbaḥah (prayer beads) in his
hands. He would spend most of the night writing and researching, would go
in the second half of the night to pray in Masjid Bā Àlawī and then go to
Masjid al-Saqqāf to read the Qur’ān with the group before Fajr.
In his final years, it was only old age and poor health that prevented him
from leading the prayer in Masjid al-Saqqāf and presiding over the Ḥaḍrah
and gatherings of knowledge. When he found the strength he would come,
and he attended the great khatm of Masjid al-Saqqāf on the 21st night of
Ramaḍān in the last year of his life, as well as the Ḥaḍrah only a few days
before his death.
He often advised his students to read a portion of the Iḥyā’ every day and
it is fitting that just days before his death he was given copies of a new print
of the book and he spent his last hours with this great work in his hand.
His Death
He was finally reunited with his Lord on Thursday, 8th Dhū’l-Qa`dah 1432/
6th October 2011 at the age of 82. Thousands of the people of Tarīm and
160
ḥabīb “sa`d” al-àydarūs
Ḥaḍramawt came out at Àṣr on Friday for his funeral prayer. Before the
prayer, Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Ḥafīẓ and Ḥabīb Sālim al-Shāṭirī addressed the
crowd, recounting the exploits of this great Imām and calling the people to
return to Allah and hold fast to the inheritance of the their predecessors.
He was then buried in the Zanbal graveyard just outside the Qubbah of
Imām al-Àydarūs, at the top of the path which leads down to the grave of
Imām al-Ḥaddād. May Allah have mercy upon Ḥabīb Sa`d and benefit us by
him.
161
‫‪‬‬
‫‪REFERENCES AND DIAGRAMS‬‬
‫‪All references are mentioned in Arabic with the exception of Sufi Sage of‬‬
‫‪Arabia, Mostafa al-Badawi and Key to the Garden, Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-‬‬
‫‪Ḥaddād, translated by Mostafa al-Badawi‬‬
‫نيل املقصود ‪ -‬احلبيب سامل بن عبداهلل الشاطري‬

‫الدر املنضود ‪ -‬األستاذ فهمي بن عيل عبيدون‬
‫برد النعيم ‪ -‬الشيخ حممد بن عبد اهلل اخلطيب‬
‫صور من حياة الصحابة ‪ -‬األستاذ عبد الرمحن رأفت باشا‬
‫تعريف بالسابقني األولني من املهاجرين و األنصار – جلنة املناهج بدار‬
‫املصطفى‬
‫املرشع الروي ‪ -‬السيد حممد بن أيب بكر الشيل‬
‫الغرر ‪ -‬اإلمام حممد بن عيل خرد‬
‫‪162‬‬
‫‪references and diagrams‬‬
‫رشح العينية ‪ -‬احلبيب أمحد بن زين احلبيش‬

‫عقد اليواقيت اجلوهرية ‪ -‬احلبيب عيدروس بن عمر احلبيش‬
‫تاريخ الشعراء احلرضميني ‪ -‬السيد عبداهلل بن حممد السقاف‬
‫سلسلة أعالم حرضموت ‪ -‬احلبيب أبوبكر بن عيل املشهور‬
‫أدوار التاريخ احلرضمي ‪ -‬السيد حممد بن أمحد الشاطري‬
‫تاريخ حرضموت ‪ -‬السيد صالح احلامد‬
‫املعجم اللطيف ‪ -‬السيد حممد بن أمحد الشاطري‬
‫تراجم خمترصة‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن علوي العيدروس‬
‫ديوان اإلمام احلداد‬
‫ديوان احلبيب عيل احلبيش (احلكمي)‬
‫غاية القصد واملراد‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن زين بن سميط‬
‫هبجة الزمان و سلوة األحزان ‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن زين بن سميط‬
‫قرة العني و جالء الرين ‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن زين بن سميط‬
‫اإلمام احلداد ‪ -‬د‪ .‬مصطفى البدوي‬
‫أغىل اجلواهر‪ -‬دار األصول‬
‫ظهور احلقائق – احلبيب عبداهلل بن علوي العطاس‬
‫قراءة يف منهج اإلمام عمر بن عبد الرمحن العطاس – السيد مصطفى بن عبد‬
‫الرمحن العطاس‬
‫‪163‬‬
‫‪IMAMS OF THE VALLEY‬‬
‫فتح اخلالق و رفع األستار – احلبيب عبد الرمحن بلفقيه‬

‫مطالع األنوار رشح الرشفات – الشيخ عبد اهلل بن أمحد با سودان‬
‫املوارد اهلنيئة ‪ -‬احلبيب أمحد بن زين احلبيش‬
‫تذكري الناس – احلبيب أبو بكر العطاس بن عبداهلل احلبيش‬
‫عقود األملاس – احلبيب علوي بن طاهر احلداد‬
‫من جمموع مناقب احلبيب أمحد بن حسن العطاس – احلبيب عيل بن أمحد‬
‫العطاس‬
‫نفح الطيب العاطري – احلبيب حممد بن سامل بن حفيظ‬
‫نبذة عن احلبيب عمر بن سميط – احلبيب عبد القادر بن عبد الرمحن اجلنيد‬
‫جني القطاف ‪ -‬احلبيب أبوبكر بن عيل املشهور‬
‫قبسات النور ‪ -‬احلبيب أبوبكر بن عيل املشهور‬
‫فيوضات البحر امليل‪ -‬السيد طه بن حسن السقاف‬
‫األمايل ‪ -‬احلبيب أمحد بن عبدالرمحن السقاف‬
‫حتفة األحباب – احلبيب عمر بن علوي الكاف‬
‫منحة اإلله ‪ -‬احلبيب سامل بن حفيظ‬
‫هداية األخيار ‪ -‬احلبيب حسني بن حممد اهلدار‬
‫االستزادة من أخبار السادة ‪ -‬السيد عيل بن حمسن السقاف‬
‫رشف املح ّيا ‪ -‬السيد حممد بن علوي بن حييى‬
‫‪164‬‬
‫‪ḥabīb àbd al-qādir al-saqqāf‬‬
‫ترمجة احلبيب إبراهيم بن عقيل بن حييى ‪ -‬السيد هاشم بن سهل بن إبراهيم‬

‫مفتاح اجلنة ‪ -‬احلبيب أمحد مشهور بن طه احلداد (مع مقدمة د‪ .‬مصطفى‬
‫البدوي)‬
‫العقود اجلاهزة ‪ -‬احلبيب عبد القادر بن عبد الرمحن اجلنيد‬
‫احلبيب أمحد مشهور احلداد ‪ :‬صفحات من حياته و دعوته ‪ -‬السيد حامد بن‬
‫أمحد مشهور احلداد‬
‫منبع اإلمداد ‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن مصطفى بو نمي‬
‫هبجة النفوس ‪ -‬الشيخ عبد اهلل بن عبد الرمحن الراقي با فضل‬
‫الفوائد السنية – احلبيب أمحد بن حسن احلداد‬
‫التحقيق يف الطريق إىل معرفة بالد الصديق ‪ -‬السيد حممد بن عبداهلل‬
‫العيدروس‬
‫منحة الكريم ‪ -‬األستاذ منري بن سامل بازهري‬
‫ملحة موجزة عن تاريخ حرضموت ‪ -‬األستاذ منري سامل بازهري‬
‫مكانة تريم عند العارفني ‪ -‬احلبيب حممد بن علوي العيدروس‬
‫‪165‬‬
Our Master Muhammad the al-Sayyidah Khadījah
Messenger of Allah G al-Kubrā
Àlī ibn Abī Ṭālib Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’
al-Ḥasan al-Ḥusayn
Àli Zayn al-`Ābidīn
Muḥammad al-Bāqir
Ja`far al-Ṣādiq
Àli al-Ùrayḍī
Muḥammad al-Naqīb
` Īsā
al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allah Aḥmad
Ùbaydullāh
Àlawī
Muḥammad Ṣāhib al-Ṣawmaàh
Àlawī
Àlī Khāli` Qasam
Muḥammad Ṣāhib Mirbāṭ
Àlī
al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad
Figure 1. The Lineage of the Àlawī Sayyids from

the Messenger of Allah G to al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
166
al-Sayyidah Zaynab
al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
“Umm al-Fuqarā’”
Àlawī al-Ghayūr
Àlī Mawlā al-Darak Shaykh Àbdullāh Bā Àlawī
Shaykh Muhammad Mawlā al-Dawilah
Shaykh Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf
Shaykh Ùmar al-Miḥḍār
Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān Shaykh Àbdullāh
Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs Shaykh Àlī
Imam Abū Bakr al-Àdanī
Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim
Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās
Ḥabīb Àlawī bin Shihāb
Figure 2. The Descendants of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
167
1. Graves of the Sahābah
2. Qubbah of Shaykh Abū Bakr Bā Shamaylah
3. Saqīfah of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
4. Qubbah of Imām Àbdullāh al-Àydarūs
5. Grave of Imām al-Haddād
5
6. Qubbah of Imām Àbdullāh bin Shaykh al-Àydarūs
7. Habīb Àbdullāh bin Ùmar al-Shātirī
8. Habīb Hasan bin Àbdullāh al-Shātirī
9. Habīb Sa`d al-Àydarūs 9
6
4
7 8
168
3
1
2
Figure 3. General Map of the Zanbal Cemetery
Fig. 3 General Map of Zanbal Cemetery
1. Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam
2. Imām Àlawī al-Ghayūr
3. al-Sayyidah Zaynab “Umm al-Fuqarā’”
4. Shaykh Àbdullāh Bā Àlawī
5. Shaykh Muhammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah
6. Shaykh Àbd al-Rahmān al-Saqqāf
7. Shaykh Àlī bin Àlawī Khāli` Qasam
8. Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān
9. Shaykh Ùmar al-Mihdār
10. Shaykh Àlī bin Abū Bakr al-Sakrān
11. Habīb Àbd al-Rahmān Balfaqīh
12. Habīb Àbd al- Rahmān al-Mashhūr
13. Habīb Muhammad bin Àlawī bin Shihāb
14. Habīb Àlawī bin Shihāb
9 10 13 14
169
12 3 8
2
4 1
11 5 6
Figure 4. Diagram of Saqifah of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam

Fig. 4 Diagram of Saqifah of al-Faqih al-Muqaddam

FINAL WORD
Imām al-Ḥaddād said:
‫ت ا ُمل ْص َط َفى ال ُّط ُه ِر‬ ِ ‫َأه ُل بي‬

َْ ْ
ِ‫ض َفادك ِر‬
َّ ِ ‫ان األَ ْر‬ ُ ‫ُه ْم َأ َم‬
‫الز ُه ِر‬ُّ ‫ُش ِّب ُهوا بِاألَن ُْج ِم‬
ِ
‫السن َِن‬ ُّ ‫م ْث َل َما َقدْ َجا َء يِف‬
The pure people of the household of al-Muṣṭafā

They are a source of safety for the people of the earth, so reflect
They have been likened to radiant starts

As it has been mentioned in the Sunnah
170
‫بكَتِ ِه ْم‬ ْ َ‫َر ِّب َفا ْن َف ْعنَا بِ ر‬
‫حل ْسنَى بِ ُح ْر َمتِ ِه ْم‬ ِ
ُ ‫َو ْاهدنَا ا‬
‫َو َأ ِم ْتنَا يِف َط ِري َقتِ ِه ْم‬
ِ ‫ومعا َف ٍاة ِمن‬
‫الفت َِن‬ َ َُ َ
My Lord benefit us by their blessings

And by their sanctity show us the path to goodness
And make us die upon their path

Safe from tribulation.
171

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Copyright © Dar al-Turath al-Islami (DTI )

DTI reserves all rights to this work. No part of this work

Cover photograph by Abbas Khan, project-bostan.com

The Prophet Hūd 8 17

`Abbād bin Bishr al-Anṣārī ? 21

Imām `Alī bin `Alawī “Khāli` Qasam” 29

Shaykh `Abd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf 36

Shaykh `Umar al-Miḥḍār 40

Imām al-`Aydarūs al-Akbar 43

Shaykh Abū Bakr bin Sālim 51

Ḥabīb Ùmar bin Àbd al-Raḥmān al-Àṭṭās 57

Ḥabīb `Abd al-Raḥmān Balfaqīh 79

Ḥabīb `Abdullāh bin Ḥusayn bin Ṭāhir 85

Ḥabīb `Alī al-Ḥabashī 91

Ḥabīb Aḥmad bin Ḥasan al-`Aṭṭās 96

Ḥabīb `Abdullāh bin `Umar al-Shāṭirī 106

Ḥabīb `Alawī bin Shihāb 113

Ḥabīb `Umar bin Sumayṭ 120

Ḥabīb Muḥammad bin Sālim bin Ḥafīẓ 125

Ḥabīb Ibrāhīm bin `Aqīl bin Yaḥyā 129

Ḥabīb Aḥmad Mashhūr al-Ḥaddād 136

Ḥabīb Muḥammad al-Haddār 143

Ḥabīb `Abd al-Qādir al-Saqqāf 150

Ḥabīb “Sa`d” al-`Aydarūs 157

References and Diagrams 162

Final Word 170

Yemen and the Valley of Ḥaḍramawt

giance to Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq ? as soon as he was instated as

‫وار ُعها ُدبِ َغ ْت بِ َأ ْقدا ِم َسا َد ٍة‬

Shaykh al-Shawwāf said:

It is not part of this wretched material world,

The Bā `Alawī Way

kinship and brotherhood; showing goodness to all people; assisting those

ِ ‫أعامل َخ َل ْت َعن َش‬

It is: actions free from deficiencies,

Hold fast to the Book of Allah, and follow the Sunnah

noblest of them in lineage, to call them to Allah. He said to them: “O my

11. Hūd, 11:58

12. Narrated by al-Ḥākim

14. Narrated by al-Dhahabī

loins. Thus, he emigrated, following the commandment of his Lord: So flee

16. Al-Dhāriāt, 51:50

Imām al-Muhājir arrived in Ḥaḍramawt at a time when an offshoot of

The Messenger of Allah G had warned of the internal divisions that

progeny in every generation who continue to spread the light of prophecy

Imām al-Nawawī’s Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn by heart. He later travelled within

17. Al-`Ankabūt, 29:69

19. The “ḥawṭah” became a feature of Ḥaḍramawt – an area designated by someone of

‫ب َأ ْجل‬ ِ ‫َو ِذك ُْر ا ْل َع ْيدَ ُر‬

The remembrance of al-`Aydarūs, the Quṭb, polishes

‫ال َّل ُه َّم ْار ُز ْقنَا‬

“O Allah, bless us with the most expansive of intellects,

20. Maryam, 19:25

prominence will be in your progeny.” Amongst this blessed progeny was

time of al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam until it reached Shaykh Shihāb al-Dīn, who

‫اب يا َغنِي‬ َّ ‫الص يِاف اهلَني‬

‫اصدَ ا‬ِ ‫الكرام َفمن َأتَانَا َق‬ ِ

Do you not know that we are people of honour,

We are generous people so whoever comes to us seeking

him. Unable to speak, he indicated that he wished someone to make wuḍū’

‫نَبِ ٌّي َعظِ ْي ٌم ُخ ْل ُق ُه اخلُ ُل ُق ا َّل ِذي‬