The Religious Philosophy of Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Habashi Al-Harari and the Doctrines and Politics of Al-Ahbash: an Evaluation

  • Md. Thowhidul Islam Associate Professor
Keywords: Al-Habashi, Ethiopia, Al-Ahbash, Lebanon, religious philosophy, doctrine, politics, controversy

Abstract

Shaikh Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Habashi Al-Harari of Ethiopia is a controversial Islamic scholar and founder of Al-Ahbash in Lebanon. He was involved in the struggle mainly with the Islamic fundamentalist Wahhabis there and was expelled from Ethiopia in 1947. After living in different cities, he settled down at Beirut, Lebanon in 1950. He was declared leader of the Jam’iyyat al-mashari’ al-khayriyya al-islamiyya (Association of Islamic Charitable Projects) in 1983 after the death of its founder Shiakh Muhiyy al-Din al-Ajuz. Since then, it has been known as ‘Al-Ahbash’ (the Ethiopians) after his title Al-Habashi. Al-Ahbash became one of the most controversial Muslim associations in the contemporary spectrum of Islamic groups because of its religious philosophy and doctrines.

Al-Ahbash philosophy blended Sunni and Shi’a theology with Sufi spiritualism into a doctrinal eclecticism. Its ideological discourses mainly follow Shafi’i, Ash’ari and Maturidi doctrines. Al-Ahbash’s doctrine has also been influenced by some Sufi orders (tariqas) like Rifa’iyya and Qadiriyya. It emphasized Islam’s innate pluralism and determines the religious and political program, which do not fit with the conventional Islamists idea. It advocated for opposition to Islamic political activism and the use of violence against the ruling order. These attributes opposed to the political thoughts of many Islamic thinkers like Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Abd Al-Wahhab, Sayyid Qutb. The most controversial issue in Al-Ahbash doctrine is the question of the relation among religion, politics, and the state in Islam. Al-Ahbash advocated the separation of religion and state and thereby rejected the idea of an Islamic state. Its views on education, women and science also contradict many of the above named writers opinions. Thus, Al-Ahbash represents a new but controversial view in Islam. This paper is aimed at understanding the philosophy and political doctrines of al-Ahbash.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Al-Qura’an, Sura At-Tawbah, Sura Ta ha.

Al-Habashi, Shaykh Abdallah (1990). Sarih al-Bayan (Explicit Declaration), Jam’iyyat Al-mashari’ Al-khayriyya Al-islamiyya, Beirut.

Al-Habashi, Shaykh Abdallah (1984). Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim (The Correct Path), Jam’iyyat Al-mashari’ Al-khayriyya Al-islamiyya, Beirut.

Al-Habashi, Shaykh Abdallah (1990). Bughyat Al-talib. Jam’iyyat Al-mashari’ Al-khayriyya Al-islamiyya, Beirut, Lebanon.

Al-Habashi, Shaykh Abdallah (1990). Al-Durar al-Sunniyya fi al-radd 'ala Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (The Sunna Jewels in Response to Ahmad ibnTaymiyya), Jam’iyyat Al-mashari’ Al-khayriyya Al-islamiyya, Beirut, Lebanon.

Al-Habashi, Shaykh Abdallah (2007). Idhhar Al-‘Aqidah As-Sunniyyah bi Sharh Al-‘Aqidah At- Tahawiyyah, Dar al-Masha’ari, Beirut.

Ali Gomaa, ‘Al-Abash’, Personal fatwa- 4, 288, June 21, 2005. Retrieved from http://draligomaa.org/category/fatawa/

Hamzeh, A. Nizar & Dekmejian, R. Hrair (1996). “A Sufi Response to Political Islamism: Al-Ahbash of Lebanonâ€. International Journal of Middle East Studies, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Vol-28.

Iyad, Qadi, Al-Shifa fi Ma’arifa Huquq Al-Mustafa, (The Healing in the knowledge of the Prophet’s right), Chapter 3, Section 6, Retrieved from http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/respect.htm .

Kabha, Mustafa & Erlich, Haggai (2006). “Al-Ahbash and Wahhabiyya: Interpretations of Islamâ€. International Journal of Middle East Studies, Cambridge University Press, Vol-38 (4).

Manar Al-Huda, Association of Islamic Charitable Projects, Beirut, Lebanon.

Markaz al-Nasr li Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah, Jakarta, Exposing Abd Allah al-Harari and his sect the Ahbash of Lebanon, Retrieved from http://sunnah.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Exposing-Abd-Allah-al-Harari-and-the-Habashis-of-Lebanon.pdf

Musa, Kamal Abbud (1980). Al-Nahj Al-Saleem lil qiran al-jawzi fi al-Islam, Mu’assasat al-Risalah, Beirut.

O'Brien, Natalie (January 9, 2011). Muslims call for radical redio station to be closed, Sydney Morning Herald.

Pierret, Thomas (2010). “Al-Ahbash†in Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol-3, Brill Publication, Leiden, Scotland.

Pierret, Thomas (2005). “Internet in a Sectarian Islamic Contextâ€, ISIM Review, International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, The Netherlands, Spring 2005.

Ramadan, Tariq (2004). Western Muslims and the future of Islam. Oxford University Press US.

Rougier, Bernard (2007). Everyday jihad: the rise of militant Islam among Palestinians in Lebanon. Harvard University Press.

Rubin, Barry (2009). Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan.

Seddon, David (2004). A political and economic dictionary of the Middle East, 1st edition, Routledge.

Sfei, Antoine & Roy, Olivier (2008). The Columbia world dictionary of Islamism. Columbia University Press.

Published
2021-12-26
How to Cite
Islam, M. T. (2021). The Religious Philosophy of Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Habashi Al-Harari and the Doctrines and Politics of Al-Ahbash: an Evaluation. International Journal of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, 4(2), 22-37. https://doi.org/10.32795/ijiis.vol4.iss2.2021.755