Shaykh Abu Bakr Bin Salim

It’s the blessed tomb of the great Shaykh Abu Bakr Bin Salim, teacher of the great Habib ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdur Rahman al-’Attas, who was in turn, teacher of the great Imam ‘Abdallah Ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad. All of them saints of the first degree. May Allah bless them all!

Shaykh Abu Bakr Bin Salim was born in Tarim in the year 919 Hijriah and passed away at ‘Inat, a neighbouring town, in the year 992 Hijriah.

May Allah bless his soul and grant us benefit from his knowledge, lights and secrets.,Amin.




Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ba ‘Alawi


This is the tomb of the great Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ba ‘Alawi, a direct descendant of the beloved Prophet Muhammad through Imam Ahmad Ibn ‘Isa al-Muhajir (The Emigrant).

Known as the father of Tarim (Abu Tarim), he was born in the year 574 H./1178 C.E. He was an esteemed Scholar and Saint of God, and is considered to be the spiritual Pole (Qutb) and Helper (Ghawth) of the famous Tariqah ‘Alawiyyah.

He took his knowledge from many teachers. Among them were, Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Salim Marwan al-Hadhrami at-Tarimi, Shaykh Salim Ibn Fadhl, Imam ‘Abdallah Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman Ibn ‘Abu ‘Ubayd, Qadhi Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ba ‘Isa, Imam Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Abu al-Hubbi, Shaykh Sufyan al-Yamani, Imam ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Jadid, Imam Salim Ibn Basri, Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali al-Khatib, Shaykh ‘Alwi Ibn Muhammad Sahib al-Mirbat, and many more. May Allah bless their souls and grant us benefit from their knowledge, lights and secrets.

Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam received his initiation on the Path from two sources. The first initiation that was bestowed upon him was through his parents which linked him directly to the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The second one was granted to him by Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Maq’ad al-Maghribi and Shaykh ‘Abdallah as-Salih al-Maghribi, both disciples of the great Shaykh Abu Madyan. May Allah bless their souls and grant us benefit from their knowledge, lights and secrets.

A great Saint of God, Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-Saqqaf said this of him: “I have never met or heard anyone whose speech is as powerful as al-Faqih Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali, except the speech of the Prophets. We cannot find the means to extoll any Saint higher than him in status except the Companions of the Prophet, or those that were granted excellence through the traditions (hadith) such as Uwais al-Qarni and the like.”

Once, when he visited the tomb of the Prophet Hud, may Allah’s peace be upon him, he was greeted with the presence of the Prophet’s soul who said to him, “O Shaykh! If you do not visit me, surely I will visit you.”

It was related that while he was with his companions, a bedouin with dirt on his head, suddenly appeared. Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam immediately rose to his feet, took hold of the dirt and consumed it. Confused, his companions asked, “Who was that man?” He replied, “That was the Khidr, may Allah’s peace be upon him.”

Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam died in the year 653 H./1255 C.E. and was buried in Tarim, Yemen. He left behind 5 sons, ‘Alwi, ‘Abdallah, ‘Abd ar-Rahman, Ahmad and ‘Ali. From them numerous Saints, Sufis and Scholars were produced. Great men such as Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Shaykh ‘Umar Muhdar, Shaykh Abu Bakr Bin Salim, Habib ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-’Attas, Imam ‘Abdallah Ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad, Habib Nuh Ibn Muhammad al-Habshi, Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdallah as-Suhaimi, Habib ‘Umar Ibn Muhammad al-’Attas, Habib Ahmad Mashhur Ibn Taha al-Haddad, Ustaz Muhammad Taha Ibn Muhammad Fadhlallah as-Suhaimi, Habib ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Habshi, Habib ‘Umar Bin Hafiz, all trace their lineage back to him. May Allah bless them all.

It was related that after Imam al-Faqih al-Muhammad’s departure, his wife was deeply saddened due to the fact that she met the beloved Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, only twice after the death of her husband.

Although I’m not a direct descendant of Imam al-Faqih al-Muqaddam, I’m grateful that the mother of my maternal grandmother, Sharifah Maryam Bint ‘Umar Ba Raqbah, may Allah bless her soul, is a descendant of his. And I’m grateful that Allah granted me the opportunity to visit his tomb frequently while I was in Yemen.

May Allah bless his soul and grant us benefit from his knowledge, lights and secrets. Amin.


Imam ‘Abdallah Ibn ‘Alawi al-Haddad

A Short Biographical Sketch of
MAWLANA AL-HADDAD
Rady Allahu 'Anhu
(1044 - 1132 A.H)

By: Dr. Mostafa Al-Badawi

The Messenger of God, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family, prophesied that in every century God would raise up amongst his nation a man who would renew its religion. Imam 'Abdallah al-Haddad was the renewer, or Mujaddid, of the twelfth Islamic century. He was renowned, and deservedly so, for the breadth of his knowledge and his manifest sanctity. The profundity of his influence on Muslims is reflected by the fact his books are still in print throughout the Islamic world.

He was born in Tarim, in the hills of Hadramaut, one of the southerly regions of the Arabian peninsula, and grew up in an environment where the accent was upon piety, frugality, erudition, and an uncompromising thirst for gnosis (ma'rifa). His lineage is traced back to the Prophet, may blessings and peace be upon him, and his family, through Imam al-Husayn. His illustrious ancestors, the 'Alawi sadat, had for centuries produced generation after generation of great scholars, gnostics, and summoners to the Straight Path.


Imam al-Haddad's writings, if we except a few short treatises, and his volume of poetry, are mostly concerned with establishing within his readers the firmest possible foundations for faith and certainty. He recognised the signs of his times and of the times to come, and observed how people were drawing away from religion, exhibiting a reluctance to study and a diminishing inclination to seek spiritual growth. He therefore endeavoured to produce concise, clear, and uncontroversial texts. His concern for brevity is manifest throughout his books, many of which are abbreviated adaptations of Imam al-Ghazali's monumental Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya 'Ulum al-Din). Ghazali had himself been the renewer of the sixth century.

Imam al-Haddad died on the eve of the seventh of Dhu'l-Qa'da, 1132 A.H. having spent his life bringing people to their Lord through his oral and written teaching, and his exemplary life. He was buried in a simple grave in the cemetary at Tarim.

Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi

Al-Madina al-Munawwara Ramadan 1408

Source: Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi Al-Haddad, The Book of Assistance, The Quilliam Press, London, 1989, p.vii-viii.



Habib Nuh Ibn Muhammad al-Habshi 1788—1866

May Allah bless his soul and grant us benefit from his knowledge, lights and secrets. Amin.