A BIOGRAPHY OF SHAYKH ^ABDULLAH AL-HARARIYY
He is the great ^alim (Islamic scholar), an example of the ^ulama' (Islamic scholars), Imam, Muhaddith, the pious worshipper, Shaykh Abu ^Abdir-Rahman, ^Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yusuf, Ibn ^Abdullah Ibn Jami^, al-Harariyy,{He is al-Harariyy because he is from the city of Harar. In 1887, as-Sumal was occupied and divided into five parts and the western province (Harar) was given to al-Habashah (Ethiopia).} ash-Shaybiyy,{He is ash-Shaybiyy, because Banu Shaybah is a clan of Quraysh, who are the people in charge of al-Ka^bah.} al-^Abdariyy,{He is al-^Abdariyy, because he also belongs to ^Abd-ud-Dar, a clan of Qusayy Ibn Kilab, the fourth grandfather of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.} the Mufti of as-Sumal (Somalia).
He was born in Harar around 1339 A.H., or 1920 R.C. He grew up in a humble house loving the ^Ilm (Islamic knowledge) and its people. He memorized the Qur'an by heart and tartil (reading correctly with tajwid rules) when he was seven years old. His father read for him “al-Muqaddamat-ul-Hadramiyyah” and “al-Mukhtasar-us-Saghir” in Fiqh, which is a famous book in his country. Then, he continued to scoop from the sea of knowledge. He memorized numerous books in various Islamic sciences. He gave the ^Ilm of Hadith a great amount of attention. He memorized the six books of Hadith (al-Bukhariyy, Muslim, at-Trimidhiyy, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, an-Nasa'iyy) and other books of Hadith with their isnad (names and biographies of the chains of relators). He was authorized by the ^ulama' to pass fatwa and to relate Hadith when he was less than eighteen years old.
He was not satisfied with taking knowledge only from the ^ulama' of his own city. He went to many places in al-Habashah and as-Sumal seeking knowledge and its people. He had many trips with hardships and difficulties, but he did not care about them; whenever he heard about an ^alim he went to him, which is the habit of the righteous Salaf.
His intelligence and wonderful memory helped him get in depth in the Shafi^iyy Fiqh (Islamic knowledge following Imam ash-Shafi^iyy), and also the same in the Malikiyy, Hanafiyy, and Hanbaliyy Fiqh, so that he became a person at whom fingers point (i.e., famous); people would come to him from different places in al-Habashah and as-Sumal. He became the Mufti of as-Sumal (the highest religious authority qualified to pass Islamic judgements).
He took the Shafi^iyy Fiqh and its Usul (science of inferring rules and judgments) and Nahw (Arabic Grammar) from the ^alim, Shaykh Muhammad ^Abdus-Salam al-Harariyy, Shaykh Muhammad ^Umar Jami^ al-Harariyy, Shaykh Muhammad Rashad al-Habashiyy, Shaykh Ibrahim Abdul-Ghayth al-Harariyy, Shaykh Yunus al-Habashiyy, and Shaykh Muhammad Siraj al-Jabartiyy. From those ^ulama' he took many main texts such as Alfiyyat-uz-Zubad, at-Tanbih, al-Minhaj, Alfiyyat-ubni-Malik, al-Luma^ by ash-Shiraziyy, and other main texts.
He took the sciences of the Arabic Language, especially from the righteous Shaykh Ahmad al-Basir and Shaykh Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Habashiyy and others. He read the Fiqh of the three Madhahib and their Usul under Shaykh Muhammad al-^Arabiyy al-Fasiyy, and Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman al-Habashiyy. He took Tafsir (science of Explanation of the Qur'an) from Shaykh Sharif al-Habashiyy in his town, Jummah.
He took Hadith and its sciences from many teachers notably from Hafidh Shaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad Siraj al-Jabaritiyy, the Mufti of al-Habashah, and Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman al-Habashiyy, and others.
He met with the righteous Shaykh, Muhaddith, Qari' (Reciter of al-Qur'an), Ahmad ^Abd-ul-Muttalib al-Habashiyy, the Head of the Qurra' (plural of Qari') in al-Masjid-ul-Haram in Makkah{He was appointed as the Imam and Shaykh of al-Masjid-ul-Haram by Sultan ^Abdul-Hamid II, the last Muslim, ottoman Khalifah.}. From this Shaykh he was the first to take the fourteen Qira'at (ways of reciting the Qur'an). He took from him in the Science of Hadith, read under him, and obtained an ijazah (permit to relate what he learned of Hadith). He also took from Shaykh, Qari', Dawud al-Jabartiyy. Then when he lived in Damascus, he learned from Shaykh, Muqri' (Teacher of Qira'at) Mahmud Fayiz ad-Dayr^ataniyy, the Shaykh of Damascus who knows the Seven Qira'at.
He went to Makkah and met its ^ulama' such as Shaykh, ^Alim, as-Sayyid, ^Alawiyy al-Malikiyy, and Shaykh Amin al-Kutubiyy. He attended circles by Shaykh Muhammad al-^Arabiyy at-Tabban. He contacted Shaykh ^Abdul-Ghafur, al-'Afganiyy an-Naqshabandiyy and took the Naqshabandiyyah Tariqah from him.
Afterwards, he went to al-Madinah and contacted its ^ulama'. He took Hadith from Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ^Aliyy as-Siddiqiyy al-Bakriyy al-Hindiyy al-Hanafiyy, who gave him an ijazah. Then he stayed by and in ^Arif Hikmat and al-Mahmudiyyah libraries going through the manuscripts. He stayed in al-Madinah close to the Prophet’s Mosque for about a year. He met with Shaykh, Muhaddith ^Abd-ul-Qadir Shalabiyy and his student Shaykh, Muhaddith Ibrahim al-Khatniyy. Moreover, he received permission to teach from many ^ulama'.
He then went to Jerusalem in the fifth decade of this century and then he went to Damascus where he was welcomed by its people, especially after the death of its Muhaddith Badr-ud-Din al-Hasaniyy. He went to Damascus, Beirut, Hims, Hamah, Halab, and other cities. He then lived in Jami^-ul-Qatat, and his fame spread in the area. Consequently, the scholars and students of ash-Sham (area including Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan) came seeking him, and he got to know some of its scholars. They benefited from him and acknowledged his knowledge; he was called “the Successor of Shaykh Badr-ud-Din al-Hasaniyy”. He was also known as ‘the Muhaddith of ash-Sham countries”.
He took permission for the Rifa^iyyah Tariqah from Shaykh ^Abdur-Rahman as-Sibsibiyy al-Hamwiyy and Shaykh Tahir al-Kayyaliyy al-Himsiyy, and permission for the Qadiriyyah Tariqah from Shaykh Ahmad al-^Irbiniyy, may Allah have mercy upon them.
Shaykh ^Abdullah came to Beirut in 1950 R.C. and he was the guest of the famous shuyukh. He met with Shaykh Tawfiq al-Hibriyy, may Allah have mercy on him, and at his residence he used to meet the important people in Beirut.
The primary goal of Shaykh ^Abdullah is to spread the correct belief of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah, a task which has been occupying most of his time. He fought the atheists and the people of bida^ (prohibited innovations) to extinguish their fitan (misguidings). This did not leave much time for writing books; he prepared quite a few writings, however:
1. An explanation of Alfiyyat-ul-^Iraqiyy in the Science of Hadith
2. A poem in Tawhid (Islamic Belief) of about sixty lines.
3. As-Sirat-ul-Mustaqim in Tawhid, published.
4. Ad-Dalil-ul-Qawim ^alas-Sirat-il-Mustaqim in Tawhid, published.
5. Mukhtasaru ^Abdillah-il-Harariyy, al-Kafilu bi^Ilm-id-Din-id-Daruriyy, published.
6. Bughyat-ut-Talib li Ma^rifat-il-^Ilm-id-Diniyy-il-Wajib, published.
7. At-Ta^aqqub-ul-Hathith ^ala man Ta^ana fi ma Sahha min-al-Hadith, published. In his book, Shaykh ^Abdullah refuted the claims of al-'Albaniyy against some Ahadith. The Muhaddith of the Moroccan area, Shaykh ^Abdullah al-Ghammariyy, said about the book “it is a good and well written refutation.”
8. Nusrat-ut-Ta^aqqub-ul-Hathith ^ala man Ta^ana fi ma Sahha min-al-Hadith, published.
9. Al-Mawlid-ush-Sharif, published.
10. Sharh-ul-^Aqidat-in-Nasafiyyah.
11. Sharh-ul-^Aqidat-it-Tahawiyyah.
12. Sharhu Alfiyyat-iz-Zubad in the Shafi^iyy Fiqh.
13. Sharhu Matni Abi Shuja^ in the Shafi^iyy Fiqh.
14. Sharh-us-Sirat-il-Mustaqim.
15. Sharhu Matn-il-^Ashmawiyyah in the Malikiyy Fiqh.
16. Sharhu Mutammimat-il-'Ajurummiyyah in Nahw.
17. Sharh-ul-Bayquniyyah in the Science of Hadith.
18. Sarih-ul-Bayan fir-Raddi ^ala man Khalaf-al-Qur'an, published.
19. Al-Maqalat-us-Saniyyah fi Kashfi Dalalati Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah.
20. Ad-Durr-un-Nadid fi Ahkam-it-Tajwid, published.
Shaykh ^Abdullah al-Harariyy is a very pious, humble, and worshipful Muslim. He spends his time teaching the ^Ilm and performing dhikr (mentioning sentences containing the names of Allah) at the same time. He does not care about acquiring worldly things. He has the correct belief in Allah and is holding on to the Qur'an and Sunnah. He has a good memory and powerful and brilliant proofs. He is wise, managing things at the right time and place. He refuses and renounces disobeying Allah very much. He has a high effort in bidding the ma^ruf and forbidding the munkar (ordering with obedience and prohibiting disobedience) until the people of misguidance and prohibited innovation feared and envied him. This did not lessen his efforts to fight them, because Allah supports and defends the people who believe in Him.
May Allah have mercy upon him. Ameen
