Sidi Muhammad ibn Al-Habib
Muhammad ibn al-Habib ibn as-Siddiq al-Amghari al-Idrisi al-Hasani
The master, our Sheikh, our guide, and a true knower of Allah, Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib (1876 CE / 1293 AH to 1972 CE / 1392 AH), stands among the great inheritors of the prophetic legacy in the modern age. He was a scholar of sacred knowledge, a realized spiritual guide, and a Sheikh of the Darqawi path, whose life was devoted to guiding hearts to Allah with balance, clarity, and mercy.
He bore the name Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib ibn al-Siddiq al-Amghari al-Idrisi al-Hasani, he belonged to a noble Hasani lineage tracing back to Sayyidina ʿAli and Sayyidina al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with them. His ancestors were rooted in Marrakech before settling in Tafilalt, and his father later moved to Fes, where our Sheikh was raised and formed within its deep scholarly and spiritual tradition.
His birth and primary education:
He was born around 1870 CE / 1295 AH in Fes, a city renowned as a center of knowledge and spiritual cultivation. At the proper age, he began his studies at the Qur’anic kuttab of Qantara Abu’r-Ru’us in the Sharabiliyyin quarter, under the guidance of the faqih and righteous wali, Sidi al-Hashimi as-Sanhaji, learning the foundations of reading, writing, and Qur’anic recitation. He later studied with the faqih Sidi Ahmad al-Filali at the school of Qasba an-Nawwar, where he memorized the Qur’an under his guidance. These early years laid the foundation for his future role as a scholar, guide, and knower of Allah within the Darqawi tariqa.
His secondary education and instruction:
Following his primary education, our master, Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib, embarked on a path of deeper learning, studying under the guidance of some of the most esteemed scholars of his time. Around 1890 CE / 1309 AH, he studied with the renowned faqih Sidi Mahmad al-Irari at the Abu’l-Junud Mosque in Fes. There he engaged deeply with the Ajrummiyya, the Alfiyya, as-Sullam by Bannani, and The Qualities of Muhammad by at-Tirmidhi, grounding himself in both grammar and the spiritual qualities of the Prophet ﷺ.
He then continued at the Qarawiyyin Mosque, a place whose walls breathe centuries of knowledge. There he studied the Mukhtasar of Khalil with scholars including az-Zurqani, Bannani, and al-Kharashi, under the guidance of Sidi Ahmad ibn al-Jilali al-Amghari, a prominent faqih and Darqawi Sidi. These studies combined precision of law with depth of heart, shaping him as both scholar and seeker.
His education was wide-ranging. He explored the Tuhfa with the commentary of Sidi at-Tawudi ibn Sawda and the Collection of the Adab of the Teacher and Student under Sidi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi Bannani. He studied portions of Sahih al-Bukhari, the Hikam of Ibn ‘Ata’illah, and other seminal works with scholars including Sidi Ahmad ibn al-Khayyat az-Zargari, Sidi ‘Abdu’s-Salam al-Huwari, Sidi Khalil al-Khalidi, and Sidi Muhammad ibn Ja’far al-Kittani.
To formalize his mastery and secure the transmission of knowledge, he received written ijazas from Sidi Badru’d-d-Dismishqi in Damascus and the Qadi of Tlemcen, Sidi Abu Shu’ayb. He also received oral ijazas from Sidi Ahmad ibn al-Jilali al-Amghari and Sidi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi Bannani. Through these authorizations, Sidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib became a recognized authority, a guide whose scholarship was inseparable from his devotion, a teacher whose knowledge reached both the mind and the heart.
His journeys:
In 1350, he embarked on a journey to perform the sacred obligation of Hajj in the holy lands, an experience that profoundly shaped his intellectual legacy as an Islamic scholar. During his travels, he visited Kinana, Syria, and Algeria, where he met renowned scholars and shared his knowledge through lessons on significant works like the Sahih of al-Bukhari and al-Murshid al-Mu'in. He later performed another Hajj around 1360, returning to the sacred House of Allah in the Hijaz. In 1391, he set out from Meknes with the intention of performing a third Hajj but sadly passed away before reaching his destination, leaving behind the teachings of the Darqawi tariqa.
His intellectual legacy:
Sayyidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib left behind a notable intellectual legacy within the Darqawi tariqa. He authored a diwan titled "The Desire of the Travelling Murids and the Gift of the Wayfaring Gnostics," which has been published many times in various languages. Additionally, he wrote a commentary on the Hafidha of Shaykh Sidi Muhammad al'Arabi al-'Alawi al-Madghari, incorporating supplications, Quranic verses, and Shadhili hizbs. He also provided a commentary on the Salat al-Mashishiyya. As an esteemed Islamic scholar, he was a faqih of great perception, well-versed in various sciences, with particular expertise in tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and tasawwuf (Sufism).
His death and burial:
Sayyidi Muhammad ibn al-Habib, an esteemed Islamic scholar and a prominent figure in the Darqawi tariqa, passed away in Blida, Algeria, on Monday, 23 Dhu'l-Qa'da, 1391, while on his way to perform Hajj. He was initially buried in the Darqawi zawiya in Blida, which he himself had inaugurated. Later, to honor his intellectual legacy, his remains were transferred to Meknes, where he was reburied in his zawiya in Darb al-Pasha, near the Zaytuna mosque.
May Allah forgive his sins, conceal his faults, and grant him an honorable and beautiful abode in the highest ranks of Paradise, alongside the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, as he follows the Darqawi tariqa and contributes to the intellectual legacy of esteemed Islamic scholars. Amen.