Habib Ali al-Jifri
| Shaykh Habib Ali Al-Jifri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | الحبيب علي زين العابدين الجفري |
| Born |
April 16, 1971 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Residence | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Occupation | Islamic scholar, academic, author |
| Home town | Hadhramaut, Yemen |
| Title | Shaykh |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Shafi'i |
| Parents |
Abdul Rahman bin Ali Al-Jifri (father) Marumah bint Hassan Al-Jifri (mother) |
| Website | |
| www.alhabibali.com/en/ | |
Habib Ali Zain al-`Abideen al-Jifri (Arabic: الحبيب علي زين العابدين الجفري; born April 16, 1971) is an Islamic scholar and spiritual educator from Hadhramaut, Yemen. He is the founder of Tabah Foundation,[1] a research institute based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Early life
Habib Ali Zain al-Abidin al-Jifri was born in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 16 April 1971 (20th Safar 1391 AH) to parents who hail from the Hadramawt valley in Yemen. His ancestral roots return to the city of Tarim. Al-Jifri is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad through his grandson Hussein.
Lineage
Ali Zain al-Abidin son of Abdul-Rahman son of Ali son of Muhammad son of Alawi son of Ali son of Alawi son of Ali son of Ahmed son of Alawi son of Abdul-Rahman Mawlah al-Arsha son of Muhammad son of Abdullah al-Tarisi son of Alawi al-Khawas son of Abu Bakr al-Jifri son of Muhammad son of Ali son of Muhammad son of the Ahmed son of the al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad son of Ali son of Muhammad Sahab Murbat son of Ali Khali` Qassam son of Alawi son of Muhammad son of Alawi son of Ubaidullah son of the Ahmed al-Muhajir ila Allah (trans: the one who made an exodus to the Divine presence) son of Isa son of Muhammad al-Naqib son of Ali al-Uraidhi son of Jafar al-Sadiq son of Muhammad al-Baqir son of Ali Zain al-Abidin son of Hussein (the grandson of the Messenger of God blessings & peace be upon him) son of Ali son of Abu Taleb, may God ennoble his countenance, the husband of Fatimah al-Zahra daughter of the Messenger of God blessings & peace be upon him. His noble mother is Marumah daughter of Hassan son of Alawi son of Hassan son of Alawi son of Ali al-Jifri. - See more at: http://www.alhabibali.com/biography/ln/en#sthash.Cnw9rFMj.dpuf
Al-Jifri began his pursuit of knowledge in his early childhood. His first teacher was his mother's great aunt, Safiyya b. Hasan al-Jifri, a scholar of the Islamic sciences and spiritual educator. At the age of nine he was introduced to Habib Abdul-Qadir al-Saqqaf. Al-Jifri went on to spend over ten years in his company and studied many renowned works, including various hadith collections and the Ihya of Imam al-Ghazali (Revival of the Religious Sciences).[2]
Education and Career
He began taking knowledge from his early childhood from his first teacher, his mother’s great-aunt the scholar and knower of God Safiah daughter of Alawi son of Hassan al-Jifri, she had an immense influence on him and the direction he took in the pursuit of knowledge and spirituality. As a continuation of the authentic methodology of receiving Sacred Knowledge, and wayfaring on the spiritual path, through an unbroken chain of masters, all the way back to the Messenger of God may God Bless him & his family and give them peace, a methodology the preservation and maintenance of which, the valley of Hadramaut and the city of Tarim are renowned, this work was continued in the intellectual Milieu of the Hejaz which became a meeting point for the Scholars of the School of Hadramaut when they were exiled from the South of Yemen during Communist Rule; he received his education in the Sacred Sciences and the Science of Spiritual Wayfaring at the hands of Scholars and Spiritual Educators, among them: • The Scholar and Spiritual Educator Habib Abdul-Qadir Bin Ahmad al-Saqqaf in Jeddah. With whom he studied the Authentic Hadith Compilations of Bukhari and Muslim, as well as the Revival of the Religious Sciences of Imam Ghazali and other important texts. He continued studying directly under his teacher from the age of 10 until he was 21 years of age. • The Scholar and Spiritual Educator Habib Ahmad Mashhur Bin Taha Al-Haddad the author of many famous books. Among the books he studied under this master was: ‘The Clarification of the Secret Knowledge known to those Brought Near to the Divine Presence’. • The Scholar and Master Muhammad Bin Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani, the Hadith Master of the Two Holy Sanctuaries. Under whom he studied Hadith Terminology, Legal Principles and the Biography of the Prophet. • The Scholar and Educator Al-Habib Attas al-Habshi. • The Scholar Habib Abu Bakr al-Mashhur al-Adani, the author of numerous works. • The Scholar Sheikh Muhammad Ba-Sheikh. • He enrolled in the College of Islamic Studies in Sana’a Yemen from 1412 AH/1991 AD, until 1414 AH/1993 AD. During this time he was given the opportunity to study directly under Habib Muhammad Bin Abdullah al-Hadaar who was in his last days, so he went to the Habib’s Centre of Learning in the City of Baeda in Yemen. It was during this phase that he began to move from theoretical studies to the work of calling to God, as he benefited greatly from the late Habib Muhammad Al-Hadaar’s methodology of living his knowledge, and making it impact his reality. • During that phase the link between him and the Great Scholar & Educator Habib Omar Bin Muhammad Bin Salem Bin Hafiz, (who was one of the foremost people in Habib Muhammad Al-Hadaar’s Centre of Learning) was strengthened He later went to the City of Sheher to be with him. • He settled in Tarim in the Companionship of Habib Omar Bin Mohammed Bin Hafiz from 1993 to 2003. - See more at: http://www.alhabibali.com/biography/ln/en#sthash.Cnw9rFMj.dpuf
Al-Jifri is the founder and director-general of the nonprofit privately funded Tabah Foundation for Islamic Studies in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He is a member of the board of Dar al-Mustafa Islamic University in Tarim, Yemen. He runs the Islamic Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He is a member of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan, and is also affiliated with various other international Islamic organizations.
He has strong connections with many centers and academies involved with international dialogue in religions and civilizations, including the Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University in the United States. He is also a contributor to A Common Word Between Us and You, an Islamic-Christian dialogue. He received the annual award of the Eugen Biser Foundation in Germany for the year 2008 for his contribution to Islamic-Christian dialogue.
Al-Jifri is a noted critic of Wahhabism, he has made his reputation on conference and television appearances. He wrote the book Jesus Christ the Son of Mary and His Most Blessed Mother.
He was interviewed by Dalia Mogahed from the Gallup Centre for Muslim Studies.[3]
Awards and recognition
In 2009, Al-Jifri was listed 37th in the world’s 500 most influential Muslims by Georgetown University’s The Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talaal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.
See also
- Ba'Alawi
- Sufism
References
- ↑ http://www.tabahfoundation.org/en/
- ↑ http://www.alhabibali.com/biography/ln/en
- ↑ "Biography". Muslim West Facts Project. Retrieved August 27, 2010.