Sayyidi al-Habib `Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah preserve him and benefit us by him) was asked:

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

He replied: “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.”

To give an example of this we can look at the biography of Habib Ahmad bin Zayn al-Habashi, perhaps the greatest student of Imam al-Haddad:

Habib Ahmad first met Imam al-Haddad while still a child on a visit to Tarim with his father. The Imam placed his hand on Habib Ahmad’s head and informed his father that he was a blessed child. From the age of twenty four Habib Ahmad took Imam al-Haddad as his shaykh and focused all his efforts in receiving from him. He placed himself completely under the Imam’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.’

Habib Ahmad kept his company as much as he could, and could hardly bear to part with him. He complained of this once to Imam al-Haddad, who said that he also found difficulty in parting with him but Habib Ahmad’s being apart from him strengthened his longing for him (Imam al-Haddad) and enabled him to receive more from him. Habib Ahmad often accompanied the Imam on his visits to the Prophet Hud (peace be upon him). When they were on the road he would walk directly behind the Imam “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 (Imam al-Haddad) held another, I would only follow his opinion because he is the Imam and Renewer 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.”

Habib Ahmad studied around seventy books in various sciences at his hands, and was studying Imam Malik’s al-Muwatta’ with him when the Imam passed away.

Click here to view the embedded video.

During the Habib Umar Malaysia 2012 tour, Shaykh Abdulkarim was invited by Shaykh Afeefuddin Al-Jailani to speak about his experiences as a convert seeking sacred knowledge. His journey highlights the universal essence within all of us, fitrah. Shaykh Afeefuddin then continues with his class on Shaykh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani’s “Fath Ar-Rabbani” text.

Masjid Baitul Aman, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 20 April 2012

Please visit www.DarulJailani.net to learn more about Shaykh Afeefuddin.

The following talk was delivered at Darul Murtadza in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in which the Shaykh discusses the true meanings of the vicegerency of man on earth and the path to reaching Allah Most High.

Please benefit and share.

Please find below the latest information on the Annual Dowra Summer Intensive in Tarim, the Annual Visit of Prophet Hud (peace be upon him), and enrollment at Dar al Mustafa and Dar al-Zahra.

Dar al-Mustafa Summer Dowra 2012

Anyone who wishes to apply for the 2012 Summer Dowra at Dar al-Mustafa and Dar al-Zahra in Tarim may now do so by going to www.thedowra.com

Dates of the Dowra: 1st July – 5th August 2012 (11th Sha`ban – 17th Ramadan 1433).

This year’s Dowra takes place in the blessed months of Sha`ban and Ramadan. Students will be fortunate enough to experience the month of Ramadan in Tarim.

The Annual Visit of the Prophet Hud

The great annual Visit of the Prophet Hud (peace be upon him) will take place this year a few days before the Dowra. Brothers are strongly recommended to come early to attend the Visit.

The Visit will start around 26th June and continue until 30th June 2012 (6th – 10th Sha’ban 1433).

Visas may be arranged for those who wish to come for the Visit only.

The Visit is for men only, but we will endeavour to arrange a separate visit for sisters and any brothers who are not able to attend the main Visit.

Studying in Dar al-Mustafa and Dar al-Zahra

Anyone that wishes to study in Dar al-Mustafa or Dar al-Zahra this year 2012-13 should contact daralmostapha@gmail.com asap.

The academic session starts in Shawwal (at the end of August), but students must apply now and are advised to attend the Dowra first.

Allah yaftah alaykum.

To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return.

It has reached us that al-Sayyid al-Habib Abu Bakr bin al-Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim had passed away today on the 20th of Jumad al-Awwal in Aynat.

He was the father of Habib Ali bin Abu Bakr, who teaches in Dar al-Mustafa. He would always attend the gatherings of Habib Umar until ill-health had confined him to his house in Aynat. 

The janazah is likely to be after Asr today. May Allah envelope him in His mercy and grant him the highest abode in Jannah—al Fatiha.

Sayyidi al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) said:

If you wish to follow this path, you must know that you call people to Allah from the platform of the Sacred Law—meaning that you try to bring them to Allah by reminding them of Allah’s orders and prohibitions, by teaching them to venerate Allah and His Messenger, and by reminding them to prepare for the Hereafter.

Do not call them to Allah from the platform of your attachment to your shaykh or your spiritual path (tariqah). These attachments should not be made manifest in general gatherings.[1] Allah has commanded us to speak to people according to the level of their intellect. Thus, in general gatherings, we do not like to mention too much the affairs and states of the elect of Allah, on the basis of the principle of dealing with everyone according to their station. “Do you wish for people to deny Allah and His Messenger?”[2]

The reality is that we do not call people to individuals or groups, in spite of the fact that we have no doubt that the elect of Allah are doors to Allah and manifestations of His generosity. Just as it is impossible to call people to Allah without affirming the messengership of the Messengers, it is likewise impossible to affirm the message without affirming the inheritance and the station of the elect.

There are affairs which we have been ordered to clarify, and others which we have been ordered to conceal. There are affairs which should be kept private, and others which should be made public. We have been ordered to give some things priority over others. We should go with what Allah has ordered us to do. The lower self naturally rushes to give things which are less important priority over things which are more important.

[1]Meaning gatherings attended by those who do not follow the same spiritual path

[2] Sayyiduna `Ali (may Allah ennoble him and be pleased with him) said: “Speak to people according to what is familiar to them. Do you wish for people to deny Allah and His Messenger?” Narrated by al-Bukhari.

On 14^thJumad al-Awwal, we commemorate the life of one of the great imams of our times, Habib Ibrahim bin `Aqil bin Yahya. Habib Ibrahim was one of Habib `Umar’s teachers, and Habib Umar would often visit him in the years he spent in al-Bayda in North Yemen. Some of us who have been to Tarim may have had the privilege of meeting his grandson, Habib Hashim bin Sahl.

Attached is a brief biography. May Allah Most High sanctify his secrets and benefit us by him in this world and the next.

ِAl-Hamdu lillah, Ustadh Amjad Tarsin (Allah preserve and increase him) has shared with us a very beneficial guide on delivering the Friday Sermon, which includes some fiqh details and other practical advice on the Friday Prayer.

Please feel free to benefit from it and share with others. The guide can be downloaded from here [updated].

BarakAllahufikum.

On the 20th of Rabi` al-Thani (which falls on Tuesday, March 13, in Tarim), we commemorate the life of the great Saint and Scholar, Habib ‘Ali bin Muhammad al-Habashi.

In commemoration of his life and passing, we present to you a biography of the great Lover of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ, as well as some extremely beneficial counsels for all of us to pay heed, in sha Allah.

We ask Allah Most High to enable us to benefit by this great Imam, strengthen our attachment to him, and allow us to emulate him in his attachment and proximity to Allah and His Most Beloved Creation ﷺ.

BarakAllahufikum.

On 19^th Rabi` al-Thani we commemorate the life of the great Imam, Habib `Abdulqadir al-Saqqaf, the shaykh of all our shuyukh. It is two years since he passed away but his memory lives on.

We present two short videos with English subtitles filmed on a visit he made to Oman in 1988. In “Learning How to Ask Allah”, Habib `Abdulqadir gives us some valuable advice on how to approach our Lord. While the second video was filmed during a visit he made to his ancestor, Imam Muhammad bin `Ali “Sahib Mirbat”, the grandfather of al-Faqih al-Muqaddam and the ancestor of all the great Ba `Alawi scholars. In it he discusses the importance of attending the gatherings of the pious and attaching one’s heart to them:

• Learning How to Ask Allah:
  

Click here to view the embedded video.

Keeping the Company of the Pious:

Click here to view the embedded video.

We have also included a brief biography of him, which is attached.

May Allah benefit us by this great Imam and strengthen our attachment to him.