Born in Damascus on the 13th of
Dhul Hijja, 1382 AH (1963 CE),
Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Abul
Huda al-Yaqoubi is from a noble
family of scholars that descend
from the Prophet Muhammad (may
Allah's peace and blessings be upon
him). From this household have
emerged numerous renowned men
of Allah who have taught the
sacred sciences for many centuries.
Shaykh Muhammad's father, the
light of Damascus and master of
the Islamic disciplines, Sayyid
Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, was one of the
greatest scholars of The Levant in
recent times.
Shaykh Muhammad's grandfather
was a great scholar and Gnostic,
Sayyid Ismail al-Yaqoubi; his
father's maternal uncle was Shaykh
Arabi al-Yaqoubi and his paternal
uncle was the famous Gnostic,
Shaykh Sharif al-Yaqoubi. Amongst
his blessed ancestors, three have
held the Maliki Imamate at the
Grand Umayyad Mosque in
Damascus -- may Allah envelope
them all in His mercy.
Shaykh Muhammad traces his
lineage back to the Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah's peace and
blessings be upon him) through the
great Mawlay Idris al-Anwar who
built the city of Fes, a descendant of
Sayyiduna al-Hasan the Second,
who is the son of Sayyiduna al-
Hasan (may Allah be pleased with
him), the grandson of the Prophet
(may Allah's peace and blessings be
upon him) and son of Sayyiduna Ali
ibn Abi Talib (may Allah ennoble his
countenance).
From an early age, Sayyid Ibrahim
al-Yaqoubi supervised Shaykh
Muhammad's upbringing and
tutelage. He accompanied his father
until his demise in 1406 AH. Shaykh
Ibrahim meticulously ensured that
every aspect of his son's life was
developed with the most detailed
care under the guidance of the
Shari'a. For over twenty years,
Shaykh Muhammad studied over
500 works with his father, in the
sciences of Qur'an, Hadith
(Prophetic traditions), Fiqh
(Jurisprudence), Mantiq (Logic) and
many more. His father gave him full
authority to narrate Hadith, to
teach and to issue fatawa (legal
rulings). He also received many
other ijazat (licenses to teach) from
the most prominent scholars of
Syria such as: the Hanafi Mufti of
Syria, Shaykh Muhammad Abul Yusr
Abidin; the Maliki Mufti of Syria,
Sayyid Makki al-Kittani; Shaykh Ali
al-Boudaylimi of Tlemcen; Shaykh
Salih al-Khatib; and Shaykh Abdul
Aziz Uyun al-Sud.
Some of the books Shaykh
Muhammad studied under his
father are as follows: most of the
six books of Hadith, al-Muwatta of
Yahya al-Laythi, most of al-
Muwatta of Imam Muhammad with
Sharh al-Laknawi, most of al-
Muwafaqat of al-Shatibi, the first
volume and other sections (of the
five volumes) of al-Hashiya of Ibn
Abidin, Ihya Ulum al-Din, al-Hidaya
of al-Marghinani, Mughni al-Labib
of Ibn Hisham, parts of Kitab
Sibawayhi, Miyar al-Ilm of al-
Ghazali, several volumes of Sharh
Sahih Muslim of al-Nawawi, several
volumes of Irshad al-Sari of al-
Qastallani, half of Madarik al-Tawil
of al-Nasafi, Hashiyat al-Sawi on
Tafsir al-Jalalayn, three volumes of
Mu'jam Maqayis al-Lugha of Ibn
Faris, al-Bayan w'al-Tabyin of al-
Jahiz, several volumes of Wafayat
al-Ayan of Ibn Khallikan, and
Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra of
Ibn al-Subki, and Maqamat al-Hariri.
In fact, Shaykh Muhammad wrote a
thabat (detailed list) of the names
of the books he studied under his
father entitled, "The Concealed
Pearls". This book is a testament to
his father's labour of love and the
expenditure of his energy in
passing on his knowledge and
experience to his children, a rarity
in our times.
In the summer of 1973 at the age
of 11, Shaykh Muhammad started
teaching a regular Qur'an and
Tajwid class composed of a group
of boys at the Darwishiyya Mosque
in Damascus. He began giving
public speeches in Ramadan after
Asr prayer in the same mosque at
the age of 12. At the age of 14, he
made his debut as Friday speaker in
the mosque known as al-Saadaat,
where Sayyiduna Mu'adh ibn Jabal
is buried. At the age of 17, he was
appointed Friday Imam and
speaker and as a teacher of the
Sacred Knowledge at the age of 20.
Since then, he has been teaching
the Islamic sciences to students of
all levels from all parts of the
world. Shaykh Muhammad
memorized Jawharat al-Tawhid
when he was 5 years old, al-Arba'in
al-Nawawiyya when he was 6, and
later on, dozens of famous didactic
odes and poems along with most
of al-Qur'an al-Karim. He also
memorized considerable parts of
al-Mufaddaliyyaat and al-Hamasah
of Abi Tammam. The first poem he
wrote was at the age of 13, and it
was a plea to the Prophet. His
collection of poetry is growing, and
a few poems in English have been
added to it. Throughout the years
of his study, Shaykh Muhammad
went through extensive spiritual
training in the path of Tasawwuf
under his father, who was a great
saint and spiritual guide known for
his righteousness and asceticism.
Shaykh Muhammad studied the
major works of Tasawwuf under
him. As well as

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