Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Alawi ibn al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Aziz (1944–2004), also known as Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki, () was one of the foremost traditional Sunni Islamic scholar of contemporary times from Saudi Arabia. He is considered to be the Mujaddid of 20th-21st century.

Life

Family background The Maliki family is one of the most respected families in Mecca and has produced great scholars who taught in the Haram of Mecca for centuries. In fact, five of the Sayyid's ancestors have been the Maliki Imams of the Haram of Mecca. Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki was born in Mecca. Due to the well-known nature of their family, they preferred to teach themselves in the Sacred Holy Mosque.Marion Holmes Katz, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad: Devotional piety in Sunni Islam, p. 185. . Publication Date: June 6, 2007

Education With his father's instruction, he also studied and mastered the various traditional Islamic sciences of Aqidah, Tafsir, Hadith, Seerah, Fiqh, Usul, Mustalah, Nahw, etc. Scholars of Mecca, as well as Medina, all of whom granted him full Ijazah to teach these sciences to others. Some of the scholars from whom he obtained ijazahs and chains of transmission from include: His father, 'Alawi ibn 'Abbas al-Maliki al-Hasani, al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur Taha al-Haddad, Hasanain Makhlouf, Muhammad al-'Arabi al-Tabbani, Muhammad Hafidh al-Tijani, Amin Kutbi, Mustafa Raza Khan, and numerous others.Obituary to al-Sayyid Muhammad bin Alawi al-Maliki

Career

Despite criticism of him, al-Maliki retained prominence. In an attempt to counter Wahabism in the early 1990s, the Government of Saudi Arabia began supporting practitioners of Sufism in the Hijaz region as a way to bolster religious support of the state; al-Maliki became the self-imposed leader of Hijazi Sufism under state sponsorship, with several thousand supporters.Stephane Lacroix, Awakening Islam, pg. 220. Trns. George Holoch. Cambridge: President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2011.

Death He died in 2004 and was buried in Mecca. After his death, Saudi dignitaries made condolence visits to his family.Marion Holmes Katz, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad: Devotional piety in Sunni Islam, p. 215. . Publication Date: June 6, 2007. See Khalid ' Abd Allah, " al-Amlr Sultan yazuru usrat al-Duktur Muhammad 'Alawl al-Malikl mu'azziyan," Jaridat al-Riyad, 19 Ramadan 1425 (accessed at www.alriyadh.com/Contents/02-l l-2004/Mainpage/LOCALl_24136.php on May 25, 2006). Crown Prince 'Abd Allah (the future king) was quoted as stating that al-Maliki "was faithful both to his religion and country"See P.K. Abdul Ghafour, "Abdullah Lauds Noble Efforts of Al-Malki," Arab News, November 2, 2004.(https://www.arabnews.com/node/257480) as one western journalist noted, "the rehabilitation of his legacy was almost complete."Marion Holmes Katz, The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad: Devotional piety in Sunni Islam, p. 215. . Publication Date: June 6, 2007. Quoting Ambah, "In Saudi Arabia," p. A13.

Literary works Al-Maliki has written on a variety of religious, legal, social and historical topics.

Selected works on various subjects

Aqidah

Mafahim Yajib an Tusahhah (Conceptions That Need to Be Corrected) Bidaah Menurut Ulama Salaf On Celebrating the Birthday of Prophet

Seerah Muhammad the Best of Creation Prophet's Night Journey and Heavenly ascent Al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah fi Isra wa M’iraj Khayr al-Bariyyah Al-Zakha’ir al-Muhammadiyyah Prophet in the Barzakh and the Hadith of Isra and Miraj

Miscellaneous Salawat Quraniyyah Meluruskan Kesalahpahaman Dialah Allah

See also List of Sufis List of Ash'aris and Maturidis Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad Arab people Maliki Islam in Saudi Arabia

References

External links Extract from "Notions That Must Be Corrected" by Shaykh Muhammad b. Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani Getting to know the Sufis by Stephen Schwartz, The Weekly Standard

Video of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn 'Alawî Al Mâlikî's funeral The Prophets in Barzakh and the Hadith of Isra and Miraj Followed by the Immense Merits of Al-Sham - Online book by Shaikh Muhammad The path ahead, Macleans.ca Obituary by Shaykh Seraj Hendricks Obituary by Shafiq Morton Obituary on Islamica Magazine A defence of the Ash'ari school by Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Alawi al-Maliki