Category: Early Imams

The Renewal (tajdid) of Imam al-Haddad

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

Imam al-Haddad is known as the ‘renewer’ (mujaddid) of the 12th Islamic century. What form did his renewal (tajdid) take?

Imam al-Haddad brought about a general renewal and a specific renewal. He brought about a general renewal by giving life to the meanings of the religion in the hearts and the lives of its adherents. This was the promised renewal which the Prophet ﷺ informed us would take place every century. He brought about a specific renewal by explaining the spiritual path of his predecessors and making it easy for those who wish to travel it. He placed everything that a wayfarer on the path needs – whether it be the Ba Alawi path specifically or any Sufi path – in two of his books: ‘Good Manners’ (Adab Suluk al-Murid) and ‘The Book of Assistance’ (Risalat al-Mu`awanah).

Imam al-Haddad’s Counsels on Hajj and Umrah

Counsels on Travelling

You must hold fast to all the acts of devotion which you perform regularly when you are not travelling. Do not make light of leaving any of them. You should make up any acts of devotion that you are unable to perform due to travelling when you are able to do so if they are of the sort that can be made up. If it is not possible to make them up, then remember that Allah has made things easy for people travelling. The hadith states: “If a believer travels or becomes sick, Allah orders His angels to record for him the same actions that he would perform when he was not travelling and was in good health.”1 This is a blessing, a mercy and a source of ease from Allah. All praise be to Allah – He is so merciful and kind to His slaves! Continue reading Imam al-Haddad’s Counsels on Hajj and Umrah

Imam ‘Abdullah bin ‘Alawi al-Haddad

His Lineage

He is al-Imam al-Habib ‘Abdullah bin ‘Alawi bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin ‘Abdullah bin Muhammad bin ‘Alawi bin Ahmad “al-Haddad” bin Abu Bakr bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Abdullah bin Ahmad bin ‘Abd al-Rahman bin ‘Alawi ‘Amm al-Faqih (uncle of al-Faqih al-Muqaddam), bin Muhammad Sahib Mirbat, bin ‘Ali Khali’ Qasam, bin ‘Alawi, bin Muhammad Sahib al-Sawma’ah, bin ‘Alawi, bin ‘Ubaydullah, bin al-Imam al-Muhajir il-Allah Ahmad, bin ‘Isa, bin Muhammad al-Naqib, bin `Ali al-‘Uraydi, bin Ja’far al-Sadiq, bin Muhammad al-Baqir, bin ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidin, bin Husayn al-Sibt, bin ‘Ali bin Abi Talib and Fatimah al-Zahra’, the daughter of our Master Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets ﷺ. Continue reading Imam ‘Abdullah bin ‘Alawi al-Haddad

Salat of Imam al-Haddad

The following prayer upon the Prophet ﷺ was composed by Imam al-Haddad

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ على سَيِّدِنا و مَوْلانا مُحَمَّدٍ الَّذي أُمِرْنا على لِسَانِهِ بِحِفْظِ الحُدُودِ و الوَفَاءِ بِالعُهُودِ و الرِّضا بِالمَوْجُودِ و الصَّبْرِ على المَفْقُودِ

O Allah, bestow prayers upon our Master Muhammad, on whose tongue we have been commanded to maintain the boundaries, to honour our trusts, to be content with what we possess and to patiently bear any losses we suffer.

On the Statement of Imam al-Haddad: “We will not leave them, even if they leave us.”

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

Please explain the statement of Imam al-Haddad: “We will not leave them, even if they leave us.”

The Shuyukh honour their covenants with those who are attached to them even if those people do not treat them well. As far as they are able, they continue to give good advice to them, pray for them and intercede on their behalf with Allah.

 

Benefiting from the Pious

Advice from Imam al-Haddad (may Allah have mercy upon him and benefit us by him).

You must keep the company of pious people, display the same etiquettes that they display and seek to benefit from their deeds and words. You do this by visiting both the living and dead amongst them in a state of great reverence for them, truthfully having the best opinion of them. This is how visitors benefit from those that they are visiting and receive spiritual assistance from them. Continue reading Benefiting from the Pious

Imam al-‘Adani

His Lineage

He is Imām Abū Bakr al-‘Adanī bin Imām ‘Abdullāh al-‘Aydarūs bin Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Sakrān bin Shaykh ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf bin Shaykh Muḥammad Mawlā al-Dawīlah, bin ‘Alī Mawlā al-Darak, bin ‘Alawī al-Ghayūr, bin al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam Muḥammad, bin `Alī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib Mirbāṭ, bin ‘Alī Khāli’ Qasam, bin ‘Alawī, bin Muḥammad Ṣāḥib al-Ṣawma’ah, bin ‘Alawī, bin ‘Ubaydullāh, bin al-Imām al-Muhājir il-Allāh Aḥmad, bin ‘Isā, bin Muḥammad al-Naqīb, bin `Ali al-‘Uraydī, bin Ja`far al-Ṣādiq, bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir, bin ‘Ali Zayn al-‘Abidīn, bin Ḥusayn al-Sibṭ, bin ‘Alī bin Abī Ṭālib and Fāṭimah al-Zahrā’, the daughter of our Master Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets ﷺ. Continue reading Imam al-‘Adani

Love for and Etiquette with One’s Shaykh

“How do we attain true love for our shaykh?”

Answered by Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

“By asking for that from Allah and pleading with Him to be given it. We should also study how the Companions were with the Messenger of Allah, and how the seekers of the past were with their shaykhs. We can find this in their biographies.” Continue reading Love for and Etiquette with One’s Shaykh