300 years of Al-Haddad's barakah

Bismillah.

Habib Umar bin Hafiz graced an event honoring Imam Al-Haddad at Masjid Al-Bukhary Kuala Lumpur last night. Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah for the blessed gathering. He said:

Let us all beautify our sights, hearing, and hearts with thoughts and memories of an honorable man - Imam Abdullah ibn Alawi Al Haddad.

As we approach the end of 1431 Hijri, we are witnessing 300 years of Al-Haddad's wafat (demise). He passed away in 1132 Hijri, so 300 years have gone by and our gathering here tonight is proof of Imam al-Haddad's great influence. His teachings stood the test of time and it's all due to his siddiq (truthfulness) and ikhlas (sincerity).

As narrated by Habib Ali Al-Habshi, Al-Haddad hails from the best of descent and was pleasant to the eyes. He would counsel and guide people based on his vast knowledge. Blessed are those who associate themselves with such an esteemed lineage for they would inherit plenty of secrets of Allah through Al-Haddad. In truth, those who follow him, follow the light.

Imam Al-Haddad became blind at the age of four. Many of us are not blind physically but blind in our hearts. The great ulama in the olden days often marveled at Al-Haddad's genius work. Those who read his kitab found it hard to believe that a blind person could author such brilliant publications. So one day, one curious reader of Al-Haddad's book decided to investigate. At the imam's house, the man was served with coffee. When he was about to drink, the imam gestured to the man about a fly in his drinks. As you might expect the man was startled and impressed that a blind man like Al-Haddad could see a fly in his drinks when he couldn't. It was evident that Al-Haddad had been blessed with a strong basirah (spiritual insight).

The imam was known for his istiqamah (regular) in qiyamulail (night prayers) in health and in sickness. He was guru to more than 100 noblemen during his time. His Wirdul Latif became known all around the world to this day. So was Ratib al-Haddad. In fact, the Ratib became famous and was widely read at the Haramain at the time when there had been no publicity about it. But Allah spread Al-Haddad's teachings to the East and West for his sincerity and truthfulness towards Him.

Imam Al-Haddad was acclaimed as the renewer of Islam (mujaddid) of the 12th century. He was strictly zuhud (detached) from the world. He has remained in service for Islam during his lifetime and beyond. People who attended his majlis was said to have benefited from him even when he had not spoken anything. One man who eventually became his student was a judge/scribe who feared that his writings might have been erroneous and unfair. Three of his fingers were constantly in pain and he would lament and complain to Al-Haddad. The imam thought that it was due to the man's past mistakes. His pains aggravated when he got home and that caused him to be even more upset. He thought that it was no use of him learning from Al-Haddad when the imam could not even cure his ailment. One night, he dreamed a frightful dream. He saw himself lifeless and saw people giving him a bath and burying him. Two horrifying angels confronted him. He thought there was no way he could escape those two awful beings, that he was doomed. All of a sudden, he saw Imam Al-Haddad appearing in his grave out of nowhere. The imam talked to the angels, telling them to leave the judge alone because he had repented and that he had sat in Al-Haddad's majlis before. 

The man immediately realized that it was not useless at all to sit in the company of Al-Haddad. The next morning he performed subuh prayers behind Al-Haddad. The moment Al-Haddad said his salam, he turned back and said: "Your dream was indeed true. It's not only true for you but for everyone. Whoever loves me truthfully would benefit just as you did." From then on the man lived a life of piety with khusyuk [attentivenes] and tawaduk [reverence] both in khalwah [in private] and jalwah [in society].

Habib Ahmad bin Zain al-Habshi once asked Imam Al-Haddad what tariqa Al-Ba'alawi was all about? He said: "It comprises of ilmu, amal, ikhlas, khauf and waraq." (knowledge, good deeds, sincerity, fearful and piety). "And the tariqa suits the state (hal) of the person."

Imam Al-Haddad was also an avid correspondent. He would exchange letters with people from around the globe, for example, Syria, Mesir and India, who often consulted him for fatwa (Islamic rulings). As expected of Imam Al-Haddad, he would entertain queries with his deep knowledge and basirah. In recent times, Al-Haddad's works have been widely translated into English. It was reported that a man who was serving imprisonment sentence in England had embraced Islam after reading Al-Haddad's book.

Without a doubt, his dakwah has traversed the passage of time miraculously because Imam Abdullah bin Alawi Al-Haddad was one who's siddiq and ikhlas. He belongs with ahlul hikmah, at the mention of whose name, hearts become alive. And there is another group of people, mentioning their names alone may cause one's heart to die.

Habib Umar bin Hafiz concluded his speech with the kindest words and prayers that had brought many to tears. "May we benefit from this blessed gathering today in honor of Imam Al-Haddad. Surely, we shall be  meeting Allah and may Allah exempt us from hisab and azab, and gather us again at Jannatul Firdaus..."

Ameen Allahumma ameen.

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Based on interpretation by Habib Soleh Al Jufri