'Abdullah al-Harari () (1906 – September 2, 2008) was a Harari muhaddith and scholar of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. He lived and taught in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

History

Al-Harariyy was born in 1906 in

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. In 1983, he founded Al-Ahbash, a

-based organization also known as the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects (AICP). Al-Ahbash is a

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

religious movement. Due to the group's origins and activity in Lebanon, the Ahbash have been described as the "activist expression of Lebanese Sufism." Al-Harariyy was one of the

Ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

signatories of the Amman Message. Issued in 2004, the statement gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy. He was also licensed as a Shaykh by

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

's branch in

. Al-Harariyy died of natural causes on September 2, 2008, aged 102.

Views

Al Harariyy held controversial views regarding Muawiyah,

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

, and others. He believed that they were wrong for rebelling against Rashidun Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib during the

first fitna The First Fitna () was the first civil war in the Islamic community. It led to the overthrow of the Rashidun and the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate. The civil war involved three main battles between the fourth Rashidun caliph, Ali, an ...

and he criticized them for it in his book, al-Dalil al-Sharʿi ʿala Ithbat man Qaatalahum ʿAli min Sahabi aw Tabiʿi, (The legal proof establishing the wrongdoings of the companions and successors whom Ali fought). This is a position that runs contrary to the orthodox

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

view, which maintains neutrality in regard to disputes among companions.

References

External links

Official website

'Abdullah al-Harari's page
on

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Shafi'is Asharis Al-Ahbash Ethiopian Sufis Ethiopian Muslims Sunni Sufis Sunni imams Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Mujaddid Hadith scholars People from Harari Region Ethiopian emigrants to Lebanon 1910 births 2008 deaths Critics of Ibn Taymiyya Critics of Ibn al-Qayyim Critics of Wahhabism {{Ethiopia-bio-stub