Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi (Arabic: محمد أبو الهدى اليعقوبي‎; born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar and religious leader. He has opposed both Bashar al-Assad and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[1]

Not to be confused with Mohammad Yaqoobi.
Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
Personal
Born (1963-05-07) 7 May 1963
Damascus, Syria
ReligionIslam
NationalitySyrian
EthnicitySyrian
EraModern
RegionLevant
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceMaliki / Hanafi
CreedAshari
Main interest(s)Aqidah, Hadith, Tafsir, Tasawwuf, Fiqh, Usul al-fiqh, Mustalah, Nahw
TariqaShadhili
OccupationIslamic scholar, religious leader, author
Muslim leader
Websitewww.sacredknowledge.co.uk

Early life and background

Al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus, Syria.[2] He comes from a family of Islamic scholars that traces its roots back to Morocco and has taught the Islamic sciences for centuries. His father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (d. 1985) was a scholar. His paternal grandfather Ismail al-Yaqoubi (d. 1960) was a scholar and Sufi master. His father's maternal uncle was Arabi al-Yaqoubi (d. 1965), and his paternal uncle was Sharif al-Yaqoubi (d. 1943).[3] Amongst al-Yaqoubi's predecessors three have held the post of Maliki Imam at the Grand Umayyad Mosque of Damascus.[2]

Al-Yaqoubi is a descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad,[4] tracing his lineage through Mawlay Idris al-Anwar, (founder of the city of Fès), who was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.[2]

Education

Al-Yaqoubi's father took care of his upbringing, and he was both his teacher and spiritual master. His father gave him several ijazah, or certificates of authority to teach, narrate and issue legal rulings under Islamic law.[3][5]

Al-Yaqoubi also received training from his father in Sufism, until he attained qualification as a murshid and the rank of a spiritual master in the Sufi tradition.[3][5]

Al-Yaqoubi has also received ijazat from prominent scholars of Syria including: the Maliki Mufti of Syria, Makki al-Kittani; the Hanafi Mufti of Syria, Muhammad Abul Yusr Abidin; Ali al-Boudaylimi of Tlemcen, Abdul Aziz Uyun al-Sud, Salih al-Khatib,[2] Zayn al-'Abideen at-Tounisi, Muhammad Wafa al-Qassaaband and Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri of Damascus.

In 1987, al-Yaqoubi completed a degree in Arabic Literature at the University of Damascus within the Faculty of Islamic Law.[6] He then studied philosophy for two years at the Beirut Arab University.[7]

In 1991, he joined the PhD program of linguistics in the Oriental Studies Department of the University of Gothenburg.[7] In Sweden, he worked as a researcher and teacher of Arabic literature.[7] In 1999, the Swedish Islamic Society appointed him mufti of Sweden.[6] Al-Yaqoubi is "fluent in several languages including Arabic, English, and Swedish" [2][8] and sacred knowledge organisation states that he has trained several hundreds of scholars, imams and preachers [2][8]

Career

Al-Yaqoubi started teaching Qur'an studies and recitation at the Darwishiyya Mosque at the age of 11. He delivered his first Friday sermon at the age of 14 at al-Saadaat Mosque, was appointed as Friday Imam and speaker (Khatib) at the age of 17 and was appointed as a teacher of Islamic studies at the age of 20.[2]

In the mid-2000s, al-Yaqoubi returned to Syria and began preaching been teaching the Islamic sciences such as Aqidah (Islamic theology), Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis), Hadith (Prophetic tradition), Tasawwuf (Sciences of the heart), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Usul (origins and fundamentals), Mustalah (hadith terminology), and Nahw (Arabic grammar).[5]

Al-Yaqoubi previously resided in Damascus and was a public teacher at institutions there. He taught Islamic theology at the Umayyad Mosque; and he held the position of Jumu'ah Khatib (Friday speaker) at the Jami' al-Hasan Mosque; at the Mosque of Ibn Arabi, he taught from al-Risalah of Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin Qushayri and Shamaail Tirmidhi of Tirmidhi. He was a public speaker in both Arabic and English.[2] In June 2011, al-Yaqoubi was forced into exile by the Assad government and moved to Morocco.[6]

Al-Yaqoubi is currently writing, publishing new works and continuing to teach under Sacred Knowledge, an initiative dedicated to the spreading of orthodox Islam.[9]

Involvement in the Syrian Revolution 2011–present

In April 2011, al-Yaqoubi was one of the first Sunni clerics to express his support for the Syrian uprising and condemn the Syrian government's response to peaceful demonstrations.[6][10] In August 2011, the BBC reported that al-Yaqoubi had called for more international pressure on the government of Syria after Government forces renewed their crackdown on protesters.[11] He was forced into exile in 2011.

Despite other leading scholars initially calling for minor reforms, al-Yaqoubi was early to demand the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.[12]

Al-Yaqoubi initially fully supported Kofi Annan's "Six-point plan" urging for "international pressure on Russia and China" to force the end of the conflict in Syria.[13]

He advocates the establishment of a democratic free state in Syria alongside championing the "vital role" of the Islamic scholar in preventing the break-up of Syrian society after the fall of Assad.[14]

As the conflict has protracted, al-Yaqoubi publicly urged Jordan and Turkey to intervene militarily in Syria "to save the Syrian people", voicing frustration at the failure of the international community to intervene.[13] In addition, he believes that any intervention will be undertaken by the United Nations, NATO, or the United States because it's "more realistic".[15]

Al-Yaqoubi has been an active participant in the political process to form a credible political alternative to the Assad government. However, due to political intrigue, his appointment to be a full member of the Syrian National Council was blocked almost as soon as it was to be formally confirmed.[16]

Since the start of the Syrian uprising, al-Yaqoubi has campaigned internationally to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. In December 2012, he led a convoy for the delivery of "vast quantities of food, baby food and blankets" to displaced Syrians in Turkey.[17]

Consequently, he fled the country after the Syrian regime tried to silence him[18] after he publicly criticised the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party,[19] calling on the president to step down[20] and supporting the Syrian uprising.[19] He is currently in exile in Morocco, helping to deliver humanitarian aid, and is in regular contact with Syrian fighters who consult him on the moral and spiritual issues raised by their struggle.[18] After his exile from Syria, he has taken part in a sustained international effort to provide aid for the Syrian people. He has publicly urged the international community to "implement help immediately"[21] and to "lift the siege" on Syria in an interview with Sky News.[13]

In August 2013, al-Yaqoubi said he wants the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to open a register in which fighters, civilians and administrators can be organized and given an identification number. He also thinks there should be recruitment centers in major towns and cities in the Middle East to pre-empt individual efforts, where those who want to fight can be vetted and trained under the FSA 's supervision.[18]

In September 2014, al-Yaqoubi co-signed an open letter to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying "misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder"[1] and refuting the ideological foundation of ISIS, banning Muslims from joining it and making it clear that this is non-Islamic, anti-Islam.[20] In November 2014, he led prayers at the funeral of the American Peter Kassig.[1] In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour he condemned the killing of Kassig by ISIL and said, "We have to speak loud and very clear that Muslims and Islam have nothing to do with this... ISIS has no nationality. Its nationality is terror, savagery, and hatred."[20] In the same month in an interview with Margaret Warner on PBS NewsHour he said of al-Baghdadi, "He's against Islam. He's non-Muslim, according to the Muslim standards, because he's allowing people to kill Muslims, referring to the Book of Allah [Quran], wrongly using religious texts. This is anti-Islamic. He's going against God. He's going against the message of Islam, Muhammad, peace be upon him. If he repents and come in a court and defend himself, he won't have any one single verse of the Quran to defend his opinion in killing innocent people."[1] In March 2015, he said that ISIL has a sophisticated system of fallacies, and he referred to the extremists as "ignorant", "stupid" and "arrogant".[22]

Views

On 22 January 2010, al-Yaqoubi refuted the comments made by Mufti of Syria Ahmad Bader Hassoun on 19 January 2010 about the Prophet Muhammad.[23] Al-Ya'qoubi explained the necessity to obey the Messenger in every command including the news about the Qur'an and the names of the prophets. Al-Ya'qoubi asserted, "we know that Moses and Jesus are prophets only because our Prophet Muhammad told us so. Had he told us otherwise, we would have had to believe him...believing in Moses and Jesus does not imply the validity of Judaism and Christianity of today." He also asked Mufti Hassoun to resign his job out of embarrassment and to protect the dignity of Islam and the integrity of the Islamic scholars of Syria. The following day al-Yaqoubi was dismissed as Friday public speaker of al-Hasan Masjid in Abu Rummaneh, Damascus[24] by the government. Six months later he was re-instated.[25]

On 21 June 2010, al-Yaqoubi declared on Takbeer TV's programme Sunni Talk that the Mujaddid of the Indian subcontinent was Ahmed Raza Khan, and said that a follower of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah can be identified by his love of Khan, and that those outside of that those outside the Ahlus Sunnah are identified by their attacks on him.[26]

On 18 August 2011, al-Yaqoubi led prayers from a stage in Summerfield Park, Winson Green, Birmingham to some 20,000 people who gathered to remember three men killed while attempting to protect their neighbourhood from rioters and looters during the England riots. At the ceremony he said that "they made themselves an example of what a Muslim should be and what Islam is"[27] and that "these three people are martyrs and the best we can do for them is to pray for them and for ourselves - to pray for our community."[28][29][30] He asked for 18 August to be made a "day not of mourning and sadness but a day of bravery."<[31]

Al-Yaqoubi had been a critic of Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti's stance of supporting the Syrian government. However, after Al-Bouti's assassination on 21 March 2013, al-Yaqoubi claimed that Al-Bouti was a martyr and that he had been privately readying to defect from the Syrian government.[6]

In August 2013, al-Yaqoubi said: "Animosity against a state cannot be declared by individuals or groups; no Islamic government is in a state of war with the UK; they all have diplomatic relations and therefore, any attack against UK citizens or interests would be deemed as un-Islamic and illegal in the Shari’a, regardless of whether we approve of UK policies or not, or its government".[18]

In the April 2016 issue of Dabiq Magazine, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared him a murtadd (or apostate).[32]

Recognition

In 2012, al-Yaqoubi was listed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims by Georgetown University's Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan [33] as well as being listed in the honourable mentions in both 2015 and 2016 [34]

Personal life

In 1985, al-Yaqoubi's father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, died.[3] In 2006, al-Yaqoubi's first wife, Farizah, died in a car accident, he personally wrote a eulogy on an online obituary in which he stated that she used to pray 100 rak’as of salah everyday.[35]

Publications

Books
  • Al-Anwar fi Shama'il al-Nabiy al-Mukhtar, by al-Baghawi, preface and indices, Al-Maktabu publishing House[36]
  • Ahkam al-Tas'ir fil: Fiqh al-Islamic Rulings on Price-fixing in Islamic Law, Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah, Beirut, 2000[37]’'
  • Husn al-Fahm li Mas'alati al-Qadā'i fil 'Ilm: Understanding Court procedures according to Magistrates' knowledge, Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah, Beirut, 2000[38]’'
  • Refuting ISIS: A Rebuttal Of Its Religious And Ideological Foundations[39]
  • Refuting ISIS: A rebuttal of its religious and ideological foundations (Arabic copy) [40]
  • Foreword, Lights of Yearning: In Praise of the Most Praised ﷺ, by Walid Lounès Bouzerar, Dar al-Habib, 2015[41]
  • Al-Anwar Al-Muhammadiyyah: The Prophetic Lights[42]


  • Inqādh Al-Ummah إنقاذ الأمة the Arabic of Refuting ISIS, Second Edition,’'[43]
  • The Manners Of Debate (Arabic Edition) (Arabic) Paperback – 25 April 2016’'[44]
  • Judgement of Hadith Narrators (Arabic Edition) Paperback – 26 June 2016’'[45]
  • "In the Shade of the Levant", Arabic edition, Publisher Sacred Knowledge [46]
  • Celebrating Love and Theology: Refutation of the Mu'tazilites (Arabic Edition), Sacred Knowledge, Beirut, 2017,[47]
  • A Compendium of the Prophet Muhammads Noble Names, Rabat, 2017[48]’'

Audio CDs
  • Invocations of the Heart (Volume 6)[49]
  • Love and Marriage[50]
  • The Book of Knowledge: Imam al-Ghazali[51]
  • Yasin: The Heart of the Qur'an[52]
  • Invocations of the Heart[53]
  • The Miracle of the Fig[54]
  • The Champion of Truth: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq[55]
  • Islam: The Religion of Love[56]
  • Light upon Light[57]
gollark: Well, yes, but they'll likely be irrelevant.
gollark: Yes, badly, but you can have everything.
gollark: My bot does duckduckgo.
gollark: `go build go-is-bad`
gollark: Yes.

See also

References
  1. "Syrian cleric who led funeral prayers for Peter Kassig speaks out against Islamic State, Assad". Eurasia Review. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. "Muhammad al-Yaqoubi". Sacred Knowledge. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  3. "Bio: Sheikh Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi". Bahnhof. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  4. (ref:evidence of lineage)
  5. "Muhammad al-Yaqoubi". Gateway To Divine Mercy. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  6. "Profiles of Syrian Sunni Clerics in the Uprising". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013. Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
  7. "Teachers". Deen Intensive Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  8. http://sacredknowledge.co.uk/our-teachers/shaykh-muhammad-al-yaqoubi/
  9. http://sacredknowledge.co.uk
  10. "أحداث سورية خطبة الجمعة للشيخ محمد اليعقوبي من دمشق". sacredknowledgemedia. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  11. "Cleric calls for international pressure on Assad regime". Birmingham: BBC World News. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  12. Khatib, Line; Lefèvre, Raphaël; Qureshi, Jawad (2012). State and Islam in Baathist Syria: Confrontation or Co-optation?. St Andrews Papers on Contemporary Syria. ISBN 978-0-9568732-0-0.
  13. "Syrian Revolution: Sky News interviews Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi 19-06-12". sacredknowledgemedia. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  14. "Shaykh Al-Yaqoubi calls for a military intervention in Syria". Syria.nur.nu. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  15. Landis, Joshua (3 June 2013). "Syria's Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi Interviewed". Eurasia Review. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  16. Barber, Matthew (27 May 2013). "Brotherhood Figures Block Yaqoubi's Appointment, Post-Confirmation". Syria Comment. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  17. Barber, Matthew (27 May 2013). "Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi Visits Syrian Refugee Camp". SKT Welfare. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  18. Hussein, Tam (13 August 2013). "Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi on Jihad and Syria". The Majalla Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  19. "Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi". BBC World Service. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  20. Krever, Mick (17 November 2014). "Sunni cleric: ISIS chief al-Baghdadi 'is going to hell'". CNN.com. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  21. "Syrian Revolution: Channel 4 News (UK) interviews Sh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi 06-07-12". sacredknowledgemedia. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  22. Viviano, JoAnne (20 February 2015). "Terrorists distort Islam, Muslim scholar tells Hilliard interfaith event". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  23. Gelfond Feldinger, Lauren (21 January 2010). "The lonely man of peace". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  24. "honey pot" (3 February 2010). "Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad al Yaqubi Dismissed..." Qatar: Qatar Living. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  25. "الرد على مفتي سورية أحمد حسون للشيخ محمد اليعقوبي". Khaadimone Fakename. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  26. "Shaykh Yaqoubi Advocates Imam Ahmed Raza as a Mujaddid from Indian Subcontinent !!!!". Sunni Talk. Takbeer TV. 21 June 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
  27. Dawkins, Andrew (18 August 2011). "Birmingham riots: Crowds mourn riot death 'martyrs'". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  28. "Man, 29, Charged With Birmingham Riot Murders". Sky News. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  29. Britten, Nick (18 August 2011). "Birmingham riots: thousands gather for funerals of three men killed protecting community". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  30. Rajeev, Syal (18 August 2011). "Birmingham riots: funeral held for hit-and-run victims". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  31. Menon, Lakshan (21 August 2011). "Thousands flock to funeral of Birmingham riot victims". The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  32. "Kill the Imams of the West" (PDF). Dabiq 1437 Rajab (April - May 2016). Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (14): 15. Retrieved 30 April 2016. Paragraph entitled: Murtaddīn in the West: The Syrian Sūfī and ally to the United Kingdom, Muhammad al-Yaqoubi
  33. "Sheikh Muhammad Al Yaqoubi". The Muslim 500. November 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  34. "Honourable Mentions | The Muslim 500". themuslim500.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  35. Al-Yaqoubi Al-Hasani, Shaykh Muhammad (May 2006). "Remembering Al-Hajjah Farizah Rabbat Umm Ibrahim Al-Yaqoubi Al-Hasani" (PDF). Q News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2015.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  36. "المكتبة التاريخية: كتاب الأنوار في شمائل النبي المختار للبغوي - طبعة دار المكتبي pdf". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  37. "دار البشائر الإسلامية للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع". www.dar-albashaer.com. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  38. "دار البشائر الإسلامية للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع". www.dar-albashaer.com. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  39. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (25 August 2015). Refuting ISIS: A Rebuttal Of Its Religious And Ideological Foundations. Sacred Knowledge. ISBN 9781908224125.
  40. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (25 August 2015). Refuting ISIS (Arabic): A Rebuttal Of Its Religious And Ideological Foundations (in Arabic). Sacred Knowledge. ISBN 9781908224132.
  41. al-Yaqoubi, Shaykh Muhammad; Bouzerar, Walid Lounès (23 June 2015). Lights of Yearning: In Praise of the Most Praised (First ed.). Lounès Press. ISBN 9780994810700.
  42. "The Prophetic Lights: A Poetic Expansion of the Famous Burda Poem via Tashtir". burdah.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  43. https://www.amazon.com/Refuting-ISIS-Arabic-Second/dp/1908224185/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1485476242&sr=8-14&keywords=al-yaqoubi
  44. https://www.amazon.com/Manners-Debate-Arabic-Muhammad-Al-Yaqoubi/dp/1908224215/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1485476242&sr=8-12&keywords=al-yaqoubi
  45. https://www.amazon.com/Judgement-Hadith-Narrators-Muhammad-Al-Yaqoubi/dp/1908224169/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1485476242&sr=8-15&keywords=al-yaqoubi
  46. https://www.amazon.com/Levant-Arabic-Shaykh-Muhammad-Al-Yaqoubi/dp/1908224142/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471164086&sr=8-3&keywords=Muhammad+al-Yaqoubi
  47. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Celebrating-Love-Theology-Refutation-tazilites/dp/1908224150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497375095&sr=8-1&keywords=celebrating+love+and+theology+refutation+of+the+mu+%27tazilites
  48. ISBN 9781908224170
  49. https://www.amazon.com/Invocations-Heart-Shaykh-Muhammad-Al-Yaqoubi/dp/B01M1L6ES0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485476242&sr=8-4&keywords=al-yaqoubi
  50. Yaqoubi, Muhammad Al (1 January 2010). Love and Marriage. Sacred Knowledge.
  51. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad. The Book of Knowledge - Imam al-Ghazali.
  52. Yaqoubi, Muhammad Al (1 January 2010). Yasin - The Heart of the Qur'an. Sacred Knowledge.
  53. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad. Invocations of the Heart 6 CD Set.
  54. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (1 January 2004). The Miracle of the Fig 6 CD Set. Rumi Productions.
  55. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad. The Champion of Truth: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
  56. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (1 January 2011). Islam: The Religion of Love. Sacred Knowledge.
  57. Al-Yaqoubi, Muhammad (25 December 2009). Light Upon Light. Sacred Knowledge. ISBN 9781908224040.
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