_ living islam : Islamic tradition _ https://www.livingislam.org/ Sheikh Ahmad Habbal (rahimahuLLahu) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - Notes taken by a student from Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi's obituary on the day of his passing Sheikh Ahmad Habbal al-Rifa'i passed away today, Tuesday, 1st of Safar 1430 Hijri (corresponding to January 27, 2009), at an age of nearly 110 years. His lineage goes back to the Prophet, sallAllah `aleihi wa sallam. The uncle of his father (Sheikh Salih) was Sheikh Sa'id Habbal, Imam of the Umayya mosque, and he was said to be the Qutb of his time. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was a student and close accompanion to Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani, and had an immense love for him. After the passing of Sheikh Badr al-Din (in 1354 H.) he accomapanied and served Sheikh Sharif al-Yaqoubi, the paternal uncle of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, until he passed away (in 1362). He was unique in Sham - yes, on the entire earth - in righteousness, taqwa, wara', zuhd, worships, following the sunna and love for the Prophet (sallAllah `aleihi wa sallam). He carried on the majlis of dhikr and salawat after Sheikh `Arif `Uthman (one of the great awlia of Sham), which were held every day after fajr salat in different mosques in Damascus, and in which the fuqara used to attend. It has been reported by tawatur (i.e. by so many people, that it is not reasonable to assume that they are all wrong), that the Prophet (sallAllah `aleihi wa sallam) was heard (in dreams) saying: "Sheikh Ahmad Habbal is my representative in Sham", "Ask Sheikh Ahmad Habbal", "Refer to Sheikh Ahmad Habbal". Such visions are not relied upon in matters of fiqh, but they are accepted as proof of a person's rank. "The souls of the dead are connected to the living" - this is mentioned in "Kitab al-Ruh" of Ibn al-Qayyim, the disciple of Ibn Taymiyya, and he gives examples from the sahaba and the tabi'in and the salaf that it was the habit of the salaf to rely on visions seen by several people independently. An example is seeking Laylat al-Qadr in the last ten days of Ramadan. Therefore, if the awlia in a certain place have been informed in their dreams that a person has attained a special rank, and these reports are so many that they reach the degree of tawatur, it is accepted as a proof. Such was the case of Sheikh Ahmad Habbal. (Sheikh Ahmad Habbal took hadith from Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani, and he kept his close company, and took from his states.) Malik ibn Anas did not relate hadith except to somone in which he saw a strong attachment to the Prophet (sallAlllah `aleihi wa sallam). One of his student was Ayyub ibn Ayyub al-Sahiyani - he used to tremble and his skin contracted, each time he heard the mention of the Prophet (sallAllah `aleihi wa sallam). (This was the state of Sheikh Ahmad Habbal, every time the name of the Prophet (s) was mentioned.) Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was of those whose du'a was answered. His last days coincided with the war in Ghazza, and he was continuously doing du'a against the Israelis and Americans - it was as if he was fighting side by side with the mujahidin. People of knowledge are many in Sham (wal hamduli Allah), i.e. people who are knowledgeable in fiqh, `aqida, qira'a, Arabic language and eloquence - but the people of wilaya are few. Tomorrow, his janaza will be held in the Umawi mosque after zhuhr salat, and it is a duty on every person i Sham to attend. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was one of the forty Abdal, of whom it is mentioned in a sahih hadith: "The Abdal of my ummah are forty, and they are in Sham. By them (people) will be given rizq, and by them they will be given aid/victory."- Imam al-Suyuti authored a risala on the hadith of the Abdal. The Prophet (sallAllah `aleihi wa sallam) also said: "The destruction of Dimashq will take place forty years after the destruction of the world" - due to the baraka of the du'a of the Prophet (sallAlllah `aleihi wa sallam), and the presence of the sahaba and Ahl al-Bayt. In another hadith, reported by Sayyidatuna Aisha (radia Alllah `aleiha) the Prophet (s) said: "Allah does not take the knowledge away by tearing it out from the breasts of the `ulama, but by taking their souls (i.e. when they die), until only ignorants remain, whom people take as their leaders. They will give fatwa without knowledge, being misguided and misguiding (others)." This hadith is agreed upon. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal is one of those (`ulama whose soul has been taken). We are seeing war and killings in Jordan, Iraq, Palestine - but Sham is protected. (The awlia protect the land by their du'a, by their closeness to the Prophet (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam), and by lifting the tribulations from the common people. This was the case with Sheikh Ahmad Habbal, and therefore every single person in Sham is endebted to him.) The love for the Prophet (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam) has always been present in Sham. People do mawlids, adorn the streets, the shops, the home to celebrate him (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam). However there was a time when this habit decayed. Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Kettani and Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani revived the love for the Prophet (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam) at that time. Everyone in Sham owes a favor to Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Kettani for bringing back the habit of celebrating and honoring him (sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam). (Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was upholding the meetings of salawat at fajr time, thereby protecting the people of Sham, while people were unaware, sleeping in their beds.) The people of Tasawwuf are the people of dhikr, and those who do not accept an atrocity, without trying to change it. The wali is the one who, when you see him, you are reminded of Allah. Visiting Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was like going to sit in front of the Angels. Common people who kept company with Sheikh Badr al-Din ended up being `ulama. He was of those who educate people by his state (hal) - not by his words (maqal). In those times, the study sessions were long, like two hours, and the sessions of reminder and preaching short, like ten minutes (- nowadays the proportions are the inverse). There was no need to speak much to remind people of Allah. A wali changes people's hearts just by a few words - or even without any words at all. Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani was al-muhaddith al-akbar, not only of Sham - but of the world. (There is not a Sheikh of hadith in al-Azhar today, who is not student of a student of Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani.) The `ulama of al-Azhar from his generation took from him, and from them took all others after them. Like (Sheikh Hakim al-Mundhiri), Sheikh Mahmud Muti'i, who became the mufti of Egypt, or Sheikh Muti' Buq'i, who was a student of Sheikh Badr al-Din before he became a teacher at al-Azhar, and from him Doctor Yusuf al-Qaradawi took the knowledge of hadith. There is not a country on earth, even as far as China, that is not endebted to Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal was the last of those who knew the states of Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani. Who does not keep company of the awlia does not know their states. Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi kept the company of his father, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, for twenty years, from childhood until he was a grown man, in every public or private moment, in every majlis, in every meeting with `ulama and awlia. He was with him every miniute, his father supervised all his movements and looked into all his states, and instructed him in the sciences and in dhikr. This is how Sheikh Ahmad Habbal kept the company of Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani. "If it were not for my Guide (murabbi), I would not know my Lord (Rabbi)" The past year has been called the year of affliction, due to the death of many awlia. We have seen the passing of: - Sheikh Hasan Habannaka al-Midani (who passed away last year), he was the Sheikh of Sham in Shafi'i fiqh, and Arabic language - Sheikh Murshid `Abidin, the brother of Sheikh Abul Yusr `Abidin, a Hanafi faqih, and one of the oldest `ulama of Sham, who passed away last year at the age of 100 years. - Sheikh Muhammad Sukkar, Sheikh of the variants of Quran recition. - Mustafa al-Khann, scholar of usul al-fiqh and Arabic language, one of the greatest students of Sheikh Hasan Habannaka, and teacher of Doctor al-Buti - `Abd al-`Aziz al-Rafa'i, of the people of zuhd - Sheikh Mustafa Turkmani, the successor of Sheikh `Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri - Sheikh `Abd Allah al-Rabih, from amongst the mujahidin, who passed away in Makka and was buried in al-Ma'alla (the burial place of Sayyidatuna Khadija, radia Allah `anha) All these have passed away during a time span of one and half years. Sheikh Muhammad al-Makki al-Kettani and Sheikh Abul Yusr `Abidin believed that Allah lifts away the trials from Sham by the presence of Sheikh Ahmad Habbal. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal told Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi about the rain prayer (salat al-istisqa) on mount Qasiun. People did not perform the rain prayer in the Umawi mosque or in any place in the city, but they climbed up the mountain to perform it there - as has been the habit ever since the time of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyya (radya Alllah `anhu). Sheikh Ahmad Habbal related how he went up in the company of Sheikh Sharif al-Yaqoubi (and other `ulama of Damascus, among them) Sheikh Amin al-Swayd (one of the students from the company of Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani), and they stayed for three days, making du'a for rain to come down. After the three days, Sheikh Sharif said: you may descend if you wish, i will not descend until the rain comes. So he did, and within a short time the rain came down. Sheikh Ahmad Habbal also informed Sheikh Muhammad that the burial procession of Sheikh Sharif was the largest seen in Sham after that of Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasan - and he (Sheikh Ahmad) was present on both occasions. It is stated in the book "Al-Ibriz" that when tribulations descend from heaven, they first hit the awlia, according to their ranks: the highest wali will be struck by the heaviest blow, then it goes to the one next to him in rank, and he carries it, and so on, until the lowest awlia receive the last trials. It is in this way that the awlia protect the common people from tribulations, by taking them upon themselves. This is one of the secrets of the awlia. As it is stated in the hadith about the Abdal: "By them people are given rizq, and by them they are given protection/victory." Until the last moment of his life, Sheikh Ahmad Habbal did not cease making du'a for the Muslims. During Sheikh Muhammad's visit to him, which may have lasted for half an our, he heard him doing du'a for the people of Ghazza and the Muslims in general over thirty times. All or us need to attend his janaza, and dedicate recitals for him - maybe we will attain his shifa'a on the Day of Rising.