Draft:Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf
| Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf | |
|---|---|
| Name | Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf |
| Other Names | {{{other_names}}} |
| Personal Details | |
| Birth Place | Hadramaut, Yemen |
| Brith Date | 739 AH (1338–1339 CE) |
| Death Place | Hadramaut, Yemen |
| Death Date | 819 AH (1416 CE) |
| Teachers |
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| Students |
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| Religion | Islam |
Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf (739–819 AH / 1338–1416 CE) was a wealthy sheikh, social guide, and prominent figure among the people of his time in Hadramaut. He engaged in agriculture, charitable works, and mystical struggles, including mosque construction, Quran recitation, and dhikr gatherings. The gathering known as "Hadrat Saqqaf" is attributed to him. He was nicknamed "al-Saqqaf" because, during his time, he was like a roof over the heads of his friends and followers, and was also superior to all. All Al-Saqqaf Alawiyyun trace their lineage back to him.[1]
Lineage
Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad Mawla al-Dawila bin Ali bin Alawi al-Ghayyur bin al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad Sahib Mirbat bin Ali Khaliʿ Qasam bin Alawi bin Muhammad bin Alawi bin Ubaydallah bin Ahmad al-Muhajir bin Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib bin Ali al-Uraydi bin Ja'far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq) bin Muhammad ibn Ali (al-Baqir) bin Ali Ali ibn Husayn (Zayn al-Abidin) bin Husayn ibn Ali (Sayyid al-Shuhada) bin Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Ali was the husband of Fatimah bint Muhammad (al-Zahra), daughter of Muhammad ibn Abdullah (Khatam al-Anbiya) (peace be upon him and his progeny).
He is the twentieth descendant of the Messenger of God Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny).
Birth and Upbringing
He was born in the year 739 AH (1338–1339 CE) in the city of Tarim, Hadramaut, and his mother was ʿĀʾishah bint Abī Bakr al-Waraʿ bin Ahmad bin Faqih al-Muqaddam.[2] His upbringing from childhood was amidst listening to the Quran and Islamic sciences at home and in gatherings and assemblies. He memorized the Quran under Sheikh Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Khatib and had mastery over Quranic sciences and recitation tones. He investigated and examined all texts of jurisprudence and language, and in his youth, he was eager to perform charitable works. He was committed to studying, consulting, and verifying sciences, especially participating in his father's gatherings.
It is said that he was able to memorize Al-Wajiz and Al-Muhadhdhab almost entirely due to excessive consultation, study, and attendance at their lecture sessions.
Between him and Sheikh Fadl bin Abdullah, there was companionship, intense affection, spiritual connection, and frequent togetherness in numerous gatherings for reading beneficial sciences.[3]
Teachers
The attention of great teachers had a significant impact on his life. Some of them shaped his perception and knowledge and caused the opening of his talents.
For the pursuit of knowledge, he went to Shibam, Duʿan, Wadi ʿAmad, al-Ghayl, Burum, and Aden, and finally returned to Tarim. Here we refer to some of those from Tarim and elsewhere from whom he benefited and learned:[4]
- His father Muhammad bin Ali Mawla al-Dawila
- Muhammad bin Alawi Sahib al-Ama'im
- Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Khatib
- Ali bin Salam al-Tarimi
- Ali bin Saʿid Baṣulayb
- Abdullah bin Tahir al-Duʿani
- Abu Bakr bin Isa Bayazid
- Muhammad bin Saʿid Bashkil
- Muhammad bin Abī Bakr BaʿAbbad
- Muzahim bin Ahmad Bajabir
- Umar bin Saʿid Bajabir
- Muhammad bin Saʿid Kibban
Students
His most famous students who had a position in society, including his sons and the sons of his brother, are:
- Muhammad bin Hasan Jamal al-Layl
- Muhammad bin Ali Mawla Aydid
- Abu Bakr bin Alawi al-Shayba
- Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Khatib
- Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad al-Khatib
- Muhammad bin Umar Sahib al-Masaff
- Saʿd bin Ali Madhḥij
- Abd al-Rahim bin Ali al-Khatib
- Ali bin Muhammad al-Khatib
- Shuʿayb bin Abdullah al-Khatib
- Abdullah bin Muhammad Bashrahil
- Abdullah bin Ahmad al-ʿAmudi
- Ahmad bin Abī Bakr Baharmi
- Abdullah bin Ibrāhīm Baharmi
- Ali bin Ahmad bin Ali bin Salam
- Muhammad bin Muʿafa
- Abdullah bin Nafiʿ Bamundhir
- Isa bin Umar Bahلول
- Ahmad bin Ali al-Habani
- Saʿd bin Abdullah Baʿantar
- Muhammad bin Saʿid al-Maghribi
- Muhammad bin Ahmad al-ʿUmari
Notes
- ↑ Al-Muqhafī, Ibrāhīm Aḥmad (1422 AH). Muʿjam al-Buldān wa-l-Qabāʾil al-Yamanīyah. Vol. 1. Sanaa, Yemen: Dār al-Kalimah. p. 796.
- ↑ Al-Habashi, Aḥmad bin Zayn. Sharḥ al-ʿAynīyah. Singapore: Karjai Press Limited. p. 183.
- ↑ Khurd, Muḥammad bin ʿAlī (2002). Ghurar al-Bahāʾ al-Ḍawī wa-Durar al-Jamāl al-Badīʿ al-Bahī. Cairo, Egypt: Al-Azhar Library for Heritage. pp. 254, 543.
- ↑ Al-Shili, Muḥammad bin Abī Bakr (1402 AH). Al-Mashraʿ al-Rawī fī Manāqib al-Sādah al-Kirām Āl Abī ʿAlawī (PDF). Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). p. 323. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2020.
References
Spiritual States and Worship
Biographical books of the scholars mention his struggles in the early life, stating that he preserved his time and made minimal use of even permissible things, observed frequent fasting and abundant acts of worship, including late-night dhikr and recitation of the Quran. It is said that when he went to Shu'b al-Nu'ayr for Tahajjud prayers, he completed the Quran twice daily in his prayers. Later, he reached a stage where he completed it four times during the day and four times at night. His student, Ali bin Muhammad, said regarding him: "Sheikh Abdulrahman performed these eight completions in the following manner: he performed two completions after the Fajr prayer until Dhuhr, one completion between Dhuhr and Asr in two rak'ats of prayer, and another completion after the Asr prayer. At night, his posture was seen like a bow due to excessive standing." He intensely disliked fame and had a desire for seclusion and distance from people. Sometimes he would go to Shu'b Nabi Allah Hud (peace be upon him), taking his books, dhikr beads, and a small amount of food, and would stay there for a month or more.[1]
He was interested in physical work and farming according to the method of his family and ancestors, and he had many palm trees in Tarim, Al-Masila, and elsewhere. When planting palm trees, he would recite Surah Ya-Sin, but in one of his lands named "Bahabishi", after finishing the planting, he would recite a complete completion of the Quran and designate it as charity for his children, on the condition that they recite a specified amount of the Quran and perform Tahleel and Tasbih, and after his death gift the reward to his soul.
Due to his abundant wealth, he generously gave charity to the needy and donated large sums of money. He built ten mosques in various points of Hadhramaut and endowed property and land for every mosque that truly deserved it. His mosque, known as (Masjid Al-Saqqaf) in Tarim, still remains, which is the first mosque he built in the year 768 AH (1366 CE), and weekly ceremonies attributed to him and sessions for memorizing the Holy Quran are held there. Muhammad bin Alawi Al-Eidaroos, known as Sa'd, was one of the congregation imams and former trustees of the mosque.
One of his tasks in the final years of his life was striving to consolidate the Hadhrami school and the uniqueness of the Hadhrami method in the same style chosen by Faqih al-Muqaddam, aiming to instill knowledge, work, etiquette, and worship in the hearts of followers with enthusiasm; for this reason, he was called "Al-Muqaddam al-Thani" (The Second Muqaddam).
Al-Saqqaf Council (Al-Hadrah)
It is well-known among Sufi Shaykhs that "Al-Hadrah" is one of the dhikr councils that includes the movement of seekers and attendees with spiritual ecstasy and delight, which, according to their capacities, removes them from the usual habit of human nature, providing relief to the soul and immersion in dhikr. In this council, on Thursday and Monday nights, Sayyid Abdulrahman Al-Saqqaf would sit in his mosque after the Isha prayer, and these nights are called Al-Ratib nights. The Al-Hadrah council begins with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha. After that, Tahleel (La ilaha illallah) is said a specified number of times. Then ﴿Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Honor, above what they describe. And peace be upon the messengers. And praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds.﴾ [37:180–182], ﴿Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.﴾ is recited. After that, the Fatiha is recited again. Finally, the qasidas of the predecessors are recited in the customary order.
Most of the poems recited are in the Humayni style and simple, connecting the listener to the stations of the righteous saints and Shaykhs of the path. Sayyid Abdulrahman added arrangements and other poems for his children and for some of the people of taste. Abdulrahman bin Muhammad Al-Mashhur compiled all the arrangements of the Al-Hadrah council in a special book titled Al-Manhal al-Ajib al-Safi fi Fadl wa Kayfiyat Hadrat al-Shaykh Abdulrahman Al-Saqqaf.[2]
Sayings
From what he told his students:
- "One mithqal of inwardness is better than a heap of outward actions".
- "He who does not engage in remembrance (dhikr) is a monkey, and he who has no litanies is not a man."
- "He who does not stay awake at night (for worship) has no modesty."
- "He who does not read the book Al-Muhadhdhab will not know the golden rules. He who has no etiquette is a bear."
- "All knowledge without action is void, and all knowledge accompanied by action without divine intention is useless. All knowledge with action with divine intention that is not based on Sharia is rejected, and all knowledge with action with divine intention based on Sharia that is not accompanied by piety is nothing but loss."
- "Be a son of your time; if you see the people of the time as wolves, do not be like a sheep that they may eat you, and if you see them as sheep, do not eat them like a wolf."
Children
Sayyid Abd al-Rahman married four women. He considered frequent marriage to be a cause for freeing the mind from physical concerns and giving humans the opportunity to attend to spiritual matters. His wives were from both Tarim and outside Tarim. He left behind thirteen sons and seven daughters. The daughters were: Maryam, Fatimah, Bahiyyah, Asma', A'ishah, Alawiyyah al-Sum, and Alawiyyah al-Qarah. And the sons: Umar al-Mahdar, Muhammad, Ahmad, Ja'far, Hasan, and Shaykh, whose offspring have become extinct, and the lineage of Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf is from his other seven sons: Abu Bakr al-Sakran, Ali, Alawi, Abdullah, Aqil, Ibrahim, and Husayn.[3]
Death
He died on Thursday, the 23rd of Sha'ban, 819 AH (October 1416 CE) in Tarim and was buried in the Zanbal cemetery among his family and ancestors.[4]
Notes
- ↑ Al-Hamid, Salih bin Ali (1423 AH / 2002 CE). History of Hadhramaut. Part II. Sana'a, Yemen: Al-Irshad Library. p. 741.
- ↑ Balfaqih, Alawi bin Muhammad bin Ahmad (1415 AH / 1994 CE). From the Offspring of the Pure Muhammadic Fragment. Part I. Medina, Saudi Arabia: Dar al-Muhajir. p. 69.
- ↑ Al-Mashhur, Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad (1404 AH). Shams al-Zahirah (PDF). Part One. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Alam al-Ma'rifah. p. 83. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2020.
- ↑ Shanbal, Ahmad bin Abdullah (1424 AH). Tarikh Shanbal. Sana'a, Yemen: Maktabat Sana'a al-Athariyah. p. 163.
References
Al-Mashhur, Abu Bakr bin Ali (1422 AH). Imam Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. Series of Hadramaut Figures 9 (PDF). Aden, Yemen: Cultural Creativity Center for Studies and Heritage Service.