Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Alawi ibn al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Aziz (1944–2004), also known as Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki, () was one of the foremost traditional

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 ...

Islamic scholar 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 ...

of contemporary times from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. He is considered to be the

Mujaddid A ''mujaddid'' () is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" () to the religion. According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revitalize Islam, clean ...

of 20th-21st century.

Life

Family background

The Maliki family is one of the most respected families in Mecca and has produced great scholars who taught in the Haram of Mecca for centuries. In fact, five of the Sayyid's ancestors have been the Maliki

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

s of the Haram of Mecca. Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki was born in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. Due to the well-known nature of their family, they preferred to teach themselves in the Sacred Holy Mosque.

Education

With his father's instruction, he also studied and mastered the various traditional Islamic sciences of

Aqidah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...

Tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

, Seerah,

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

, Usul, Mustalah, Nahw, etc. Scholars of Mecca, as well as

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, all of whom granted him full

Ijazah An ''ijazah'' (, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such authority. It is particul ...

to teach these sciences to others. Some of the scholars from whom he obtained ''ijazahs'' and chains of transmission from include: His father, 'Alawi ibn 'Abbas al-Maliki al-Hasani, al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur Taha al-Haddad, Hasanain Makhlouf, Muhammad al-'Arabi al-Tabbani, Muhammad Hafidh al-Tijani, Amin Kutbi,

Mustafa Raza Khan Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri (1892–1981), was an Indian Sunni Muslim scholar and author, and leader of the Sunni Barelvi movement following the death of its founder, his father Ahmed Raza Khan. He was known as ''Mufti-Azam-i-Hind'' to his follo ...

, and numerous others.

Career

Despite criticism of him, al-Maliki retained prominence. In an attempt to counter Wahabism in the early 1990s, the

Government of Saudi Arabia The politics of Saudi Arabia takes place in the context of a unitary absolute monarchy, along traditional Islamist lines, where the King is both the head of state and government. Decisions are, to a large extent, made on the basis of consult ...

began supporting practitioners of Sufism in the Hijaz region as a way to bolster religious support of the state; al-Maliki became the self-imposed leader of Hijazi Sufism under state sponsorship, with several thousand supporters.

Death

He died in 2004 and was buried in Mecca. After his death, Saudi dignitaries made condolence visits to his family. Crown Prince ' Abd Allah (the future king) was quoted as stating that al-Maliki "was faithful both to his religion and country" as one western journalist noted, "the rehabilitation of his legacy was almost complete."

Literary works

Al-Maliki has written on a variety of religious, legal, social and historical topics.

Selected works on various subjects

Aqidah

* Mafahim Yajib an Tusahhah (Conceptions That Need to Be Corrected) *Bidaah Menurut Ulama Salaf *On Celebrating the Birthday of Prophet

Seerah

* Muhammad the Best of Creation *Prophet's Night Journey and Heavenly ascent * Al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah fi Isra wa M’iraj Khayr al-Bariyyah * Al-Zakha’ir al-Muhammadiyyah *Prophet in the Barzakh and the Hadith of Isra and Miraj

Miscellaneous

*Salawat Quraniyyah *Meluruskan Kesalahpahaman *Dialah Allah

References

External links

Extract from “Notions That Must Be Corrected” by Shaykh Muhammad b. Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani

Getting to know the Sufis by Stephen Schwartz, The Weekly Standard
*

The Prophets in Barzakh and the Hadith of Isra and Miraj Followed by the Immense Merits of Al-Sham
- Online book by Shaikh Muhammad
The path ahead, Macleans.ca

Obituary on Islamica Magazine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maliki, Muhammad Alawi 1944 births 2004 deaths Asharis Scholars of Sufism Saudi Arabian Sufis Maliki fiqh scholars Al-Azhar University alumni People from Mecca Academic staff of Umm al-Qura University Banu Idris Shadhili order Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Sunni imams Sunni Sufis 20th-century Saudi Arabian people Burials at Jannat al-Mu'alla Mujaddid Muslim reformers Students of Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri