Category: Biographies

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).

Striving to Attain True Slave-Hood

Advice from Habib Ali al-Habashi (may Allah have mercy upon him and benefit us by him)

I counsel you by Allah to do your utmost to consistently perform extra acts of worship, especially the sunnah prayers before and after the compulsory prayers. Beware of leaving them. Give life to your night by rising to pray in it and give life to your day by fasting during it. Perform extra acts of worship in abundance for it is the means of attaining Allah’s love: “My slave continues to draw close to Me with extra acts of worship until I love him.” Continue reading Striving to Attain True Slave-Hood

The Shaykh and the Murid

The Shaykh and the Murid

‘The Shaykh and the Murid’ gives a unique insight into the life of one of the heroes of our times, Habib Mundhir al-Musawa, may Allah have mercy upon him. In his short life, Habib Mundhir had a huge impact on thousands, if not millions of people and was a cause of many people returning to Allah.

The film is interspersed with footage of Majelis Rasulullah, the intense gathering which he established in Jakarta, Indonesia. It includes an interview with him shortly before his death. With genuine humility, he describes his early days seeking knowledge and then his first steps in calling to Allah. He talks about the key to his success, his immense attachment to his shaykh, Habib Umar bin Hafiz.

There are many lessons we can learn from the life of Habib Mundhir and it is hoped that this film helps us to do that.

 

 

Habib Ali bin Muhammad bin Shihab

img_20161025_083310The Ummah recently lost another of its great men, the knower of Allah, Habib Ali bin Muhammad bin Shihab.

Thousands turned out for his janazah in Tarim at Asr on Monday 23rd Muharram 1438 / 24th October 2016. Before the prayer, Habib Ali al-Mashhur bin Hafiz spoke briefly about Habib Ali’s patience and perseverance in calling people to Allah, the fruits of which he will now be reaping. Even blindness and frailness did not prevent him from guiding people. At times he would be carried on people’s shoulders to attend the annual visit of Nabi Allah Hud (peace be upon him). He was loved by all, even those who opposed his methodology.

Right until close to the time of his death, he would generously give his time to visitors who came to his humble house in Dammun on the edge of Tarim.

May Allah raise the station of Habib Ali and allow us to follow in his footsteps.

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Habib Muhammad Rashad al-Bayti

Habib Muhammad Rashad bin Ahmad al-Bayti was a descendant of Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. He was born in 1344 (1926) in the town of Kaninah near Yemen’s Indian Ocean coast. His father died when he was eleven so it was his mother and his paternal uncle who took care of his development. He had a love for knowledge from an early age despite the environment around him in which ignorance prevailed. In fact he rarely mixed with his peers, which led one of his relatives to say to his mother that there was something wrong with him. His mother had great insight, however, and replied that her son would go on to great things, that he would rise far above his peers and that he would one day judge between them, which indeed happened. Continue reading Habib Muhammad Rashad al-Bayti