Ali al-Jifri
| Sheikh Habib Ali Al-Jifri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | الحبيب علي زين العابدين الجفري |
| Born |
April 16, 1971[1] Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Residence | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Occupation | Islamic scholar, academic, author |
| Organization | Tabah Foundation |
| Title | Shaykh, Habib |
| Website |
www |
Habib Ali Zain al-Abidin al-Jifri (Arabic: الحبيب علي زين العابدين الجفري; born April 16, 1971[1]) is a Sunni Sufi[2] Islamic scholar and spiritual educator located in the United Arab Emirates. He is the founder of Tabah Foundation,[3][4] a research institute based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.[5]
Early life
Habib Ali Zain al-Abidin al-Jifri was born in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 16 April 1971[6] (20th Safar 1391 AH) to parents who hail from the Hadhramaut valley in Yemen. His ancestral roots return to the city of Tarim. Al-Jifri is a direct descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, through his grandson Hussein.[7]
Education and training
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).[8] Having studied with Habib Abdul-Qadir, Al-Jifri spent a further ten years in the company of Habib Umar bin Hafiz, starting with him in the Northern Yemeni city of Bayda where he spent time at the school of the erudite scholar Habib Muhammad al-Haddar. Al-Jifri returned to the ancient city of Tarim with Habib Umar in the mid-90s and assisted him in the establishment of the Dar al-Mustafa seminary for Islamic Studies.
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.[9]
He was a recipient of the Eugen Biser award in 2008 for his contribution to the document A Common Word Between Us and You.[10]
See also
References
- 1 2 Pierret, Thomas. Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution. p. 127. ISBN 1107026415.
- ↑ Aquila Style: "Scholar spotlight: Habib Ali al-Jifri, a Sufi kind of love" - By Omar Shahid 21st August 2014
- ↑ Gerhard Böwering, Patricia Crone, Mahan Mirza, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, p 600. ISBN 0691134847
- ↑ http://www.tabahfoundation.org/en/
- ↑ Philip Lewis, Young, British and Muslim (Continuum 2007), p 76.
- ↑ Thomas Pierret, Religion and State in Syria: The Sunni Ulama from Coup to Revolution, p 127. ISBN 1107026415
- ↑ Yvonne Y Haddad, Educating the Muslims of America, p. 151. ISBN 0199705127
- ↑ http://www.alhabibali.com/biography/ln/en
- ↑ http://themuslim500.com/profile/habib-ali-zain-al-abideen-al-jifri
- ↑ Joseph Nnabugwu, Analyzing A Common Word Between Us Muslims and You Christians: A Critical Discourse Analysis, p 101. ISBN 1462853072