Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi
Syrian Islamic scholar
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Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi (Arabic: أبو الهدى الصيادي), full name Muhammad bin Hassan Wadi bin Ali bin Khuzam al-Sayyadi, was a Syrian Islamic scholar and poet, who held the title Shaykh al-Mashayikh, or head of the Sufi Shayks, of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Abdülhamid II.[1][2][3] He is the father of Hasan Abu Al-Huda, the fourth Prime Minister of Transjordan (r. 1923–1931).[2]
1849
Biography
Sayyadi was born in 1849 in Khan Shaykhun, modern day Syria.[4] His lineage allegedly goes back to Ahmad al-Rifa'i and Muhammad, making him a Sharif.[1][3] He was made Naqib al-Ashraf, or head of the Sharifs, of Jisr al-Shughur by Abdülaziz in 1871, and of Aleppo in 1873.[2][1][3][5]
Sayyadi met with prominent reformists like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. In 1895, he established a library next to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.[3]
In 1876, the Ottoman Sultan at the time, Abdülhamid II, met Sayyadi[2][3] and made him Shaykh al-Mashayikh of the Ottoman Empire.[1][6][3] After Abdülhamid II was deposed, Sayyadi was exiled to Büyükada where he died in 1909.[6][7] He is buried next to his father in Aleppo.[3][4]
Views
Sayyadi was a supporter of Sufism. He was part of the Rifa'i tariqa, and wrote poems and books with Sufi themes.[8][9] Sayyadi was also very anti-Salafi in his views.[8] He encouraged the Ottoman Empire to issue a crackdown on Wahhabism. This resulted in Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, a Sufi scholar with Salafi-influenced beliefs, being sent into exile.[10][11]
Works
- Khizanat al-Amdad fi Akhbar al-Ghawth al-Kabir al-Sajad Mawlana al-Sayyid 'Izz al-Din 'Ahmad al-Sayaad
- Buni al-Islam 'iya la Khamsat Ma'badi