Shaykh 'abd al-rahman al-saqqaf

His Lineage

He is Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf bin Shaykh Muhammad Mawla al-Dawilah, bin 'Ali Mawla Darak, bin 'Alawi al-Ghuyur, bin al-Faqih al-Mu­ qaddam,­ Muhammad bin 'Ali, bin Muhammad Sahib Mirbat, bin 'Ali Khali' Qasam, bin 'Alawi, bin Muhammad Sahib al-Sawma'a, bin 'Alawi, bin 'Ubay-dullah, bin al-Imam al-Muhajir il-Allah Ahmad, bin 'Isa, bin Muhammad al-Naqib, bin 'Ali al-'Uraydi, bin Ja'far al-Sadiq, bin Muhammad al-Baqir, bin 'Ali Zayn al-'Abidin, bin Husayn al-Sibt, bin 'Ali bin Abu Talib and Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of our Master Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets .

Zanbal burial area in tarim

He was given the name “al-Saqqaf” because he concealed his true state from the people of his time under a ceiling (saqf) of humility and hatred of fame. Another opinion is that he rose above his contemporaries until he became like a ceiling on top of them. Imam al-Saqqaf was also known as “al-Muqaddam al-Thani,” the “second Muqaddam,” in recognition of the proximity in rank to his great, great grandfather al-Faqih al-Muqaddam.

His Life

Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf was born in Tarim in 739 (1338). He mem-orised the Qur’an and learnt the sciences of the Sacred Law in his early years. He had such a thirst for knowledge that he knew practically by heart Imam al-Ghazali’s Wajiz and Imam al-Shirazi’s al-Muhadhab. He was also endowed with knowledge of the heart which he received from the Imams of his time, amongst them his father Shaykh Muhammad Mawla al-Dawilah, along with Shaykh Muhammad “Sahib al-'Ama'im” and Shaykh Muhammad Ba 'Abbad.

His acts of mujahadah (spiritual striving) were immense. He reached the level where he would recite the whole Qur’an four times during the day and four times during the night. He spent 33 years without sleeping about which he said: “How can someone sleep when if he lies on his right side sees Paradise and if he lies on his left side sees the Fire?” He would spend a month or more in isolation in the proximity of the grave of the Prophet Hud , taking with him his books and a small amount of provision. He was in a constant state of remembrance of Allah to the extent that when he removed his clothes they continued in dhikr.

After travelling to Ghayl Ba Wazir, Shihr and Aden to deepen his inner and outer knowledge, he returned to Tarim, where he started teaching and giving spiritual instruction. He was greatly concerned with the spiritual progress of his students, who flocked from far and wide to learn from him. In doing so, he strengthened and built upon the foundations of the Tariqah, which had been laid by al-Faqih al-Muqaddam.

He said: “The one who has no wird (litany or regular act of devotion) is a monkey.” “The one who has no adab (etiquette) is a bear.” “All knowledge with-out action is meaningless; all knowledge and action without intention is worth-less; all knowledge, action and intention not in accordance with the Sunnah is rejected; all knowledge, action and intention in accordance with the Sunnah without scrupulousness is at risk of coming to nothing.”

Like his predecessors he was concerned with benefiting society. He planted numerous date palms and upon each planting he would recite Surah Ya Sin or the whole Qur’an. Out of his scrupulousness upon handling the dates that would be distributed as zakat, he would not lick his fingers so as not to take anything from the property of the poor. He built ten mosques in different parts of Hadramawt, the most famous being Masjid al-Saqqaf in Tarim. He said of this Mosque that “When I started building it, the four Imams (Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi' and Ahmad) were in the four corners and the Prophet was in the mihrab (prayer niche).” On Wednesday and Sunday night, he established a Hadarah of dhikr in which the poems of the great Shaykhs of the Way are recited. The Hadarah continues to this day.

He left behind thirteen sons and seven daughters. All his sons were great Imams, the most famous being Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Sakran and Shaykh 'Umar al-Mihdar. One of his greatest students was Shaykhah Sultanah al-Zubaydiyah, who reached the pinnacle of knowledge of the Divine and established a ribat in her home town to accommodate seekers of this knowledge. She died in 847 and was buried in her home town, which was known thereafter as the Hawtah (or “safe haven”) of Shaykhah Sultanah. Her grave lies close to the grave of Imam al-Muhajir, and her poetry continues to be recited in the Hadarah.

His Death

In his old age, the Shaykh was unable to maintain the acts of worship in which he had been constant throughout his life. He thus had someone read the Qur’an to him while he listened. In spite of his weakness he would always be in the mosque in a state of purity when the time of the prayer entered. He continued leading gatherings of knowledge and remembrance, gradually passing the responsibility on to his sons until he was finally united with his Lord in Sha'ban 819 (1416). He was buried in Zanbal alongside his father.