This biography of the saint and Iman Abdallah al-Haddad takes readers into the fascinating world and spiritual life of 17th- and early 18th-century Yemen. The life of this renown spiritual master—whose teachings and personal example continue to influence lives around the world—is examined, from his early attraction to Sufi poetry and visit to the tomb of the prophet Hud to his rise as a Sufi master, his Hajj journey to Mecca, and his death. The biographical facts of al-Haddad's life are interspersed with 35 black and white photographs and ruminations on his spiritual teachings, including his take on the "nine stages of certainty," the five investitures of taqwa, the stages of gnosis, and karamat and super natural events. Sufi practitioners, historians, and anthropologists will come to a deeper understanding of this timeless and enduring tradition with this fascinating record of a seminal Sufi master.
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From the Back Cover
"Two paths to God exist for the people of this world, the path to salvation and the path to sanctification. For those who seek more than the minimum, who desire more than the average man, who want and yearn for intimate knowledge of their source and ultimate destiny, sanctification allows them that possibility . . . This book, while a biography of one of the greatest saints in Islamic history, is more than that. It is a book of alchemy itself, filled from start to finish with the science of tasawwuf, which is and has always been the heart of Islamic tradition . . . Dr. Badawi was a student of a direct descendent of Shaykh Abdallah al-Haddad, Habib Ahmad Mashur al-Haddad. Those of us fortunate enough to have known him personally consider him a realized spiritual master and sanctified soul, and none can sanctify save God . . . This book is a compelling testimony to the spiritual power and influence of the sanctified soul on the world. It is perhaps more importantly for us a step toward re-introducing the desperately needed path of sanctification." – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
"At a time when the Muslim world is suffering from false teachings being spread by extremists, the message of al-Haddad offers a precious means of return to the high ethical and spiritual standards of classical Islam. The publication of this important book should prove a milestone on the way of furthering that blessed effort." – T. J. Winter
This unique biography of the saint Imam Abdallah al-Haddad takes readers into the fascinating world and spiritual life of 17th-and early 18th-century Yemen. The life of this great spiritual master—whose teachings and personal example continue to influence lives around the world—is examined, from his early attraction to Sufi poetry and visit to the tomb of the prophet Hud—to his rise as a Sufi master. The biographical facts of al-Haddad's life are interspersed with his spiritual teachings, including those on the nine stages of certainty, the five investitures of taqwa, the stages of gnosis, and supernatural events. Sufi practitioners, historians, and anthropologists will come to a deeper understanding of this timeless and enduring tradition with this fascinating record of a seminal Sufi master’s life and death.
From the Fons Vitae Imam al-Haddad Spiritual Masters series, which includes The Book of Assistance (1872038018), Gifts for the Seeker (1887752579), and The Lives of Man (1887752145).
About the Author
Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi is a disciple in the Sufi order of Imam al-Haddad. He is the author of the Fons Vitae Imam al-Haddad Spiritual Masters series. Imam Abdallah al-Haddad was a Sufi master in Yemen in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Should have been a lot more.,
By Gogol (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sufi Sage of Arabia: Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (The Fons Vitae Imam al-Haddad Spiritual Masters series) (Paperback)
Iman al-Haddad is quite a well known scholar especially amongst English speaking Muslims due to a number of his and his descendants works being translated into English by the author of this book M al-Badawi. This book, on the face of it is a biography of Imam al-Haddad (Well that is what it is described as on the back cover) However in that sense it is something of a disappointment.This is really not a biography but rather the author traces the life of Imam al-Haddad while addressing issues relating to Sufism. While this may be of great interest to the follower of the particular Sufi order to which Imam al-Haddad belonged or to someone wanting say an introduction to Sufism or a Muslim reading up a bit more on the subject I found myself very quickly skipping pages as a large amount of this books topics have been covered in numerous other books. It would appear that Mr al-Badawi has attempted to adopt the style of Martin Lings in his excellent biography of Shaykh al-Alawi in that he attempts to tie in historical and social events that went on during the Imams life however where I think this fails is that Shaykh al-Alawi is a contemporary scholar (Living through much of the last century) Whereas Imam al-Haddad lived over 2 centuries ago so the reader requires much more historical detail to put events into context. There are numerous photographs contained in this book which do make a fine addition to it including the zawiya, various Mosques where he taught, his historical homes etc. The introduction gives a brief history of the Imam arriving in Yemen from the Iraq area to very briefly covering his teachers. The book then goes on to discuss issues such as Sufism, Sainthood, the Imam as a teacher etc as well as his position on Islamic doctrine (Which may have been a contentious issue where he lived as Yemen was and is now divided between Shafi Sunni Muslims and Zaydi Shia) Unfortunately the problem with all of this as I have pointed out above is that this is covered in numerous other books (Martin Lings, Sufi saint being one of them and Imam al-Haddad's own books translated into English being others) For the reasons above I only give this 3 stars. Not because this is a particularly poor book, far from it. Simply that many of the topics in the book have been covered by numerous others and therefore for the reader Muslim or non Muslim they would find very little else in this book to discover. Perhaps the author would have been better to have written a simple biography of Imam al-Haddad. I feel it would have been much more appreciated and much more beneficial in our contribution to Islamic studies in the west.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction to Ba'Alawis and Imam al Haddad,
By TJ (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sufi Sage of Arabia: Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad (The Fons Vitae Imam al-Haddad Spiritual Masters series) (Paperback)
Dr. Mostafa Badawi is a well respected name within Sufi circles. I bought this book without reading any reviews and I haven't regretted it. In my opinion this book isn't just about Imam Al Haddad's life, but it also answers many questions that individuals associated with the Sufi path might have.
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