Yaser M. Haddara

This is a loose abridged translation of one of the biographies from the book Prominent People in the Contemporary Islamic Movement and Call. Previously I put up posts on Dr. Mohammad Natsir, Sh. Muhammad al-Khidr Hussein, and Ustadh Mohamed Abdelhamid Ahmed.

Sheikh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghudda, rahimahullah, has been described by those that met him as someone that manifested humility, warmth, noble character, great manner, straightforwardness when he talks, depth of understanding, and precision in scholarly issues.

He was born in Rajab 1336 A.H. (1917 C.E.) in Aleppo, Syria. His father and grandfather used to trade in woven material, and his father was keen to attend the presence of scholars and keep up with their classes and lectures. He attended a private Islamic elementary school, then a high school for religious education (al-Khusrawiyya). After his high school graduation he went to Egypt to study at al-Azhar where he attained the `aalimiyya degree in 1948. He also specialized in Education in the Faculty of Arabic Language at al-Azhar and obtained a degree from that faculty in 1950 before returning to Syria.

Sh. Abdul Fattah came to be known among the greatest caliber of the scholars of Syria and the most prominent of the leaders of the contemporary Islamic movement. He studied with many of the leading scholars of his time, most prominently Sh. Ahmad al-Zarqa of Aleppo and his son Sh. Mustafa al-Zarqa, rahimahum Allah jamee’an. His students include scholars and activists throughout Syria, the Arab World, and beyond. He taught in Aleppo, Damascus, and Riyad. He followed the Hanafi school and disliked for people to search out rukhas or opinions that were in the extreme minority. At the same time he disliked partisanship in following madhhab.

Books

Sh. Abu Ghudda authored or edited close to 100 books mostly in the sciences of hadeeth. Some of his most prominent texts:

• Risalat-ul-Mustarshideen by al-Harith al-Muhasiby: one of the earliest books of tasawwuf, this is a beautiful masterpiece addressing those seeking self-purification and guiding them to key practices and attitudes for the journey. Sh. Abu Ghudda’s commentary is extensive and I found it to be of immense value in highlighting key passages, adding reminders, and explaining concepts.
• Al-Ihkam fee tamyeez al-fatawa ‘an al-ahkam wa tasarrufat al-qady wa-l-imam by al-Qarafy: this is one of the most important books of all time dealing with specific issues in usool and in the proper understanding of sunnah. Sh. Abdul Fattah brought to it his vast scholarships in both fields.
• Safahat min sabr al-’ulamaa (Stories of the perseverance of scholars): this is a beautiful book he authored about the struggles and sacrifices of scholars and their dedication to the pursuit of knowledge.
• Qeemat al-zaman ‘inda-l-’ulamaa (The Value of Time for Scholars): another immensely enjoyable text that he authored that describes our scholars’ attitude towards time and recounts some of their habits and practices in investing their time as well as their thoughts and reflections on the subject.

He authored books on biographies of classical and contemporary scholars, on the study of sunna, on the practices of scholars through the ages, on some of the significant debates in Islamic theology and their impact and relevance, and on numerous other subjects. He edited books written by prominent scholars on various aspects of hadeeth methodology, fiqh, and usool. He was aware of the tremendous scholarly legacy of the scholars of the Indian subcontinent in the area of hadeeth sciences. He traveled to India to obtain some of the valuable manuscripts of her scholars and returned with a treasure trove of manuscripts for Imam Abdul Hayy al-Lucknowy, Imam Ahmad al-Uthmani al-Tahanawy, and Imam Muhammad Anwar al-Kashmiri. He was particularly keen to work on these manuscripts and get them into publication with scholarly notes.

Many of his personal qualities were remembered and recounted by contemporaries, peers and scholars:

• He had a sensitive soul and his tears would freely flow when summoned by the plight of man or the remembrance of God. People saw him weeping simply because one of his students was weeping in grief, and they saw him weeping as he stood in the Prophet’s mosque supplicating.
• He had dignity, integrity, and precision. He did not allow his knowledge or credibility to be the subject of trade or compromise.
• Dr. Muhammad Aly al-Hachmi speaks of his relationship with sh. Abdul Fattah as a brother, as a colleague, and as someone related through marriage. In all these spheres of interaction he was characterized by compassion, kindness, loyalty, chivalry, nobility, integrity, and forgiveness. “Hearts wept for him before the eyes.”
• Sh. Muhammad Abu Zuhra wrote to him after a trip they had together saying, “The happy days that I spent in your company showed me the sincerity of muttaqeen, the good humor of believers, and the patience of good friends.”
• Sh. Mustafa al-Zarqa called him, “My most beloved brother, who has in my heart a love greater than my heart, and in my self a reverence even though he is younger in age.”

He taught his students that, “A book does not divulge its secret until you have read the whole of it,” and that, “The privilege of the scholar is to alert the mind by the shade of the Law.”

He met Hasan al-Banna in the forties while he was studying in Egypt and called him the mujaddid (reviver or renewer) of the Islamic call in the fourteenth century. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood and was one of its leading scholars and symbols, as well as assuming the leadership of the group in Syria twice including the period 1986-1991.

Shaykh Abdul Fattah died in Riyad in 1997 and was buried in Madeena in accordance with his wishes. His website is http://www.aboghodda.com/ and has some material in English as well as in Arabic, and there is also a wikipedia page for him (in Arabic). His son, sh. Zahid Abu Ghudda is one of the well-known and respected scholars here in the GTA. He has a blog at http://zahidabdulfattah.blogspot.com/.