Da'wa in Islamic thought : the work of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad

Abstract

Imam 'Abd Allah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad was born in 1044/1634, he was a scholar of the Ba 'Alawi sayyids, a long line of Hadrami scholars and gnostics. The Imam led a quiet life of teaching and, although blind, travelled most of Hadramawt to do da'wa, and authored ten books, a diwan of poetry, and several prayers. He was considered the sage of his time until his death in Hadramawt in 1132/1721. Many chains of transmission of Islamic knowledge of East Africa and South East Asia include his name. Al-Haddad's main work on da'wa, which is also the core of this study, is al-Da'wa al-Tamma wal-Tadhkira al-'Amma (The Complete Call and the General Reminder). Six main points can be derived from it. They are: the definition of da'wa, the knowledges of da'wa, the legal rulings on da'wa, the reasons people might avoid da'wa, the eight categories of its recipients, and the probable results of da'wa. His other works reflect his own da'wa and as such confirm and elaborate upon his opinions on da'wa found in al-Da'wa al-Tamma. The focal points in these works are steadily and consistently upon the most essential aspects of Islam: the heart, the intention, submission, and obedience. While Imam al-Haddad was known among the Ba 'Alawi circles during his life, his teachings spread to the international Islamic community only after his death. In the Fourteenth/Twentieth Century Mufti of Egypt, Hasanayn Muhammad Hasanayn Makhluf oversaw their first modem prints, while Ba 'Alawi scholar Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad was the first to have a sizeable following of Westemers. Today, Imam al-Haddad's teaching on da'wa is manifest in the institutional form of Dar al-Mustafa in Yemen and his treatises are finding currency in the West for their simple and non-technical style.