The Bā ʿAlawī Sufis of the Hadhramawt Valley

A Premodern Intellectual and Social History (317-992/929-1583)

Series: 

Author:
Omar Edaibat
While a considerable scholary literature exists on the Banū ʿAlawī sāda's Indian Ocean diaspora and their more recent history in Hadhramawt, their premodern origins remain poorly understood, with lingering concerns surrounding the reliablity of available sources on their formative history in the valley. This social and intellectual history addresses that lacuna by closely re-examining the available primary sources, charting the evolution of the sāda’s Sufi tradition from its early 10th century origins up to the late 16th century. In doing so, it reveals that far from reflecting a provincialist phenomenon, Hadhrami Sufism remained well-integrated within the intellectual and spiritual currents of western Yemen and the Hejaz, exhibiting a sophisticated intellectual engagement with the wider legacy of philosophical Sufism, while retaining its own distinctive features that were equally shaped by the unique and recurring challenges of its social and political mileu.
Copyright Year:
2026
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ISBN:
978-90-04-74907-8
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22 Dec 2025
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-74906-1
Publication:
29 Jan 2026
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Omar Edaibat, Ph.D. (2021), McGill Institute of Islamic Studies, is a lecturer and translator in Islamic Studies with a specialization in the social and intellectual history of Sufism. He has taught at several Canadian universities, with several academic publications, the latest of which is the forthcoming translation of Book 25 of Fons Vitae's series on al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ, entitled Al-Ghazālī: On the Censure of Anger, Malice, and Envy.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures

Introduction

1 Imam Aḥmad al-Muhājir and the Migration to Hadhramawt
 1 Medieval Yemen and Hadhramawt: Political Struggles and Sectarian Dynamics
 2 Emigration (hijra) from Iraq and Ties to the Hadhrami Community
 3 Imām ʿUbaydallāh and His Descendants in the Valley
 4 Conclusion

2 Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam and the Emergence of Ṭarīqa Sufism
 1 An Age of Sufi Brotherhoods
 2 The Ayyūbids
 3 The Rasūlids
 4 The Ṭāhirids
 5 The Rise of the Āl Yamānīs in Tarīm and Political Upheaval in Hadhramawt
 6 Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam and the Birth of a Hadhrami Ṭarīqa
 7 Conclusion

3 The Consolidation of Ṭarīqa Identity and Praxis: Imams ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf and ʿUmar al-Miḥḍār
 1 Revisiting the System of Social Stratification in Hadhramawt
 2 State Patronage of Sufism and the School of Ibn ʿArabī Under the Rasūlids
 3 The View from Hadhramawt
 4 Al-Faqīh al-Muqaddam’s Descendants
 5 The Defining Features of Bā ʿAlawī Sufism in the 15th Century
 6 Conclusion

4 An Intellectual and Cultural Efflorescence in the Valley
 1 The First Kathīrī Sultanate
 2 An Intellectual and Cultural Revival in Hadhramawt
 3 The Reception of Ibn ʿArabī in Hadhrami Sufism Revisited
 4 Conclusion

5 Sufi Authors and Saintly Exemplars: Imam ʿAbdallāh al-ʿAydarūs and al-Shaykh ʿAlī
 1 Imām ʿAbd Allah al-ʿAydarūs
 2 Al-Shaykh ʿAlī
 3 Conclusion

6 Imam Abū Bakr al-ʿAdanī: The Patron Saint of Aden
 1 Biographical Background
 2 Al-Juzʾ al-laṭīf
 3 Conclusion

7 Shaykh Abū Bakr b. Sālim: A Master of Sufi Ḥaqāʾiq
 1 Biographical Background
 2 An Author of Sufi Ḥaqāʾiq
 3 Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index
This is an academic work that is primarly intended for academics and specialists in the social and intellectual history of Islam, and Yemeni Sufism in particular, though as the first comprehensive history on the 'Alawī sāda in English of its kind, it is likely to attract a wider readership, especially given their tradition's global reach and popularity.
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