If the Ba'alwi Lineage is Brought to a Bahsul Masail by NU
Book title: An Indonesian Scholar Proves The Falsity of The Ba 'Alawi Lineage Connecting to the Prophet Muhammad
Author: KH. Imaduddin Utsman Al-Bantani, Indonesia
Title of Original / Indonesian version: Ulama Nusantara Menggugat Nasab Palsu: Jawaban KH. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani terhadap Buku Hanif Alatas dkk
Penulis: KH. Imaduddin Utsman Al-Bantani, pengasuh pesantren Nahdlatul Ulum, Banten
Cetakan pertama: November 2024
Penerbit: Lakeisha 2024
15,6 cm X 23 cm, 691 Halaman
ISBN : 978-623-119-469-5
Bidang studi: Sejarah Baalawi, sejarah Nabi, ilmu nasab, sejarah Islam, genealogi, garis keturunan, filologi/manuskrip, Tes DNA
Publisher of English version: Al-Khoirot Research and Publication
Fields of study: Ba'alawi history, history of the Prophet, science of lineage, Islamic history, genealogy, bloodline / lineage, philology/manuscripts, DNA testing
Table of Contents
- If the Ba'alwi Lineage is Brought to a Bahtsul Masail by NU
- Back to Book Indonesia Ulema Challenge Spurious Lineage: KH. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani's Refutation of the Book by Hanif Alatas et al
If the Ba'alwi Lineage is Brought to a Bahtsul Masail by NU
According to Hanif Alatas et al., the discourse on the Ba'alwi lineage, if brought to a Bahtsul Masa'il (BM) by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), would be declared valid (sahih). This is because under the NU Bahtsul Masa'il method, if the problem being discussed has already been mentioned in a book, it can automatically be used as a legal proof (hujjah). This statement by Hanif underestimates the credibility of NU scholars. Not everything found in a book can simply be taken as a hujjah. It requires certain conditions, such as whether the opinion contradicts higher legal proofs, namely the Al-Qur'an, Hadith, and Ijma'. Even if it exists in a book, if it contradicts these three, it will not be adopted. Secondly, it depends on whether the opinion is strong or not; if a stronger opinion exists, then the opinion found in that book will not be used as a hujjah in BM-NU.
Furthermore, it will be examined whether the issue is a matter of scholarly opinion or a matter of history. If it is a scholarly opinion, what is required are proofs from the Al-Qur'an, Hadith, and Ijma'; if the opinion concerns history, then books that are chronologically closer to the event being discussed will be traced. Books closer in time to the event will take precedence over newer books. If the issue is a matter of genealogy (nasab), then the oldest genealogy books that are closest in time to the name being analyzed will be examined.
If the Ba'alwi lineage issue is brought to a Bahtsul Masa'il, its structure will be as follows:
Draft of the NU Bahtsul Masail Regarding the Ba'alwi Lineage
Description of the Problem
For nearly the past two years, social media has been abuzz with the discourse regarding the lineage of the habibs in Indonesia who originate from the Ba'alwi clan. The discourse was triggered by a "thesis" from a scholar from Banten named K.H. Imaduddin Utsman al-Bantani, who stated that their lineage to the Prophet Muhammad SAW is proven to be batilun (invalid), maudu'un (fabricated), and munqati'un (broken/severed). The weekly news magazine TEMPO, in its special Eid al-Fitr 1445 H coverage edition, raised this issue in one of its controversy sections titled "Imaduddin Utsman's Research Reveals the Alleged Severed Lineage of Habibs in Indonesia".
The Ba'alwi clan itself originates from Tarim, Hadramaut, Yemen. A portion of them migrated massively to Indonesia between roughly 1880 and 1943 AD (Jajat Burhanuddin, 2022). In social and religious community relations, they claim to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, using the title "habib". In the literature of books written by their scholars, their lineage relationship to the Prophet Muhammad SAW is traced through the line of Ahmad bin 'Isa (d. 345 H?) bin Muhammad al-Naqib bin 'Ali al-'Uraidi bin Ja'far al-Sadiq bin Muhammad al-Baqir bin 'Ali Zainal 'Abidin bin Husain bin Fatimah binti Prophet Muhammad SAW. Ahmad bin Isa himself has been confirmed in authoritative (mu'tabar) genealogy books as a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
For this claim, 550 years after the passing of Ahmad bin Isa, they wrote many books from the ninth century until the fifteenth century Hijriah regarding the historical historiography of the prominent figures and the lineage of their ancestors. The first scholar of the Ba'alwi clan to write this historiography was Ali bin Abubakar al-Sakran (d. 895 H) in his book titled Al-Burqat al-Musyiqat, followed by Abubakar bin Abdullah al-Idrus (d. 914 H) in his book Al-Juz' al-Lathif, and Muhammad Ali Khirid Ba'alwi (d. 960 H) in his book Al-Ghurar. In these books (internal sources), they state that Ahmad bin Isa "migrated" (hijrah) from Basra to Hadramaut in the year 317 H, which is why he is known by the title "al-Muhajir" (the emigrant). Ahmad bin Isa, according to them, was an "imam" who died and was buried in Hadramaut. They also state that their ancestor named 'Ubaidillah (d. 383 H) was an "imam" and scholar who was one of the sons of Ahmad bin Isa.
The complete lineage of Ali bin Abubakar al-Sakran down to Ahmad bin Isa, as written by him in Al-Burqat, is: Ali (d. 895 H) bin Abubakar al-Sakran bin Abdurrahman Assegaf bin Muhammad Maula Dawilah bin Ali bin Alwi Al-Ghayyur bin Muhammad (Faqih Muqaddam) bin Ali bin Muhammad (Sahib Mirbat) bin Ali Khaliq Qasam bin Alwi bin Muhammad bin Alwi bin Ubaidillah (d. 383 H) "bin" Ahmad bin Isa (d. 345 H) (Al-Burqat, pp. 148–149).
According to Kiai Imad, the claims made by the Ba'alwi scholars are completely devoid of any references. Ahmad bin Isa is not confirmed in books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah to have migrated to Hadramaut; likewise, he is not confirmed in books from the fourth to eighth centuries Hijriah to have held the title "al-Muhajir" or to have died and been buried in Hadramaut; furthermore, he is not confirmed in books from the fourth to eighth centuries Hijriah to have had a son named Ubaidillah. According to Kiai Imad, this claim only emerged in the ninth century Hijriah, pioneered by Ali bin Abubakar al-Sakran who died in 895 H. According to Kiai Imad, the Ba'alwi family's claim of being descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW is rejected because the claim is not confirmed by earlier historical sources.
The discourse expanded further when a biologist working at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) named Dr. Sugeng Pondang Sugiharto stated that out of 180 individuals from the Ba'alwi clan who had taken DNA tests, their results showed that they were not genetically confirmed to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. According to Dr. Sugeng, let alone being descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, this Ba'alwi clan is not even confirmed to be of Arab descent from the lineage of the Prophet Ibrahim AS.
QUESTIONS:
- Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa migrated to Hadramaut?
- Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa held the title Al-Muhajir?
- Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa died and was buried in Hadramaut?
- Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ubaidillah was one of the sons of Ahmad bin Isa?
- Is it true that the DNA test results of the Ba'alwi clan (habibs) prove they are not descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW?
- What is the legal ruling on using DNA tests to validate lineage according to Islamic law?
Draft of the Bahtsul Masa'il Answers Regarding the Ba'alwi Lineage
1. Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa migrated to Hadramaut?
There are no contemporary or nearest genealogy and history books up to the eighth century Hijriah that confirm Ahmad bin 'Isa ever went to Hadramaut, let alone migrated to settle there. 'Ali bin Abu Bakar al-Sakran (d. 895 H) was the first scholar from the Ba'alwi clan to formally write—without any reference—that Ahmad bin 'Isa migrated from Basra to Hadramaut (Al-Burqat, p. 131).
Ahmad bin Isa was reported to be in Medina in the year 234 H in a village named "Surya" by a scholar named Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin al-Hasan al-Tusi (d. 460 H) in his book Al-Ghaybah.
عنه عن العلوي من ولد علي بن جعفر بن عيسى العلوي من ولد احمد قال: دخلت على ابي الحسن عليه السلام بصريا فسلمنا عليه فإذا نحن بأبي جعفر وابي محمد قد دخلا فقمنا الى ابي جعفر لنسلم عليه فقال ابو الحسن عليه السلام ليس هذا صاحبكم عليكم بصاحبكم واشار الى ابي محمد عليه السلام
"165—Narrated from him (Sa'ad bin Abdullah), from Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Alwi, from the descendants of 'Ali bin Ja'far, he said: 'I visited 'Ali Abul Hasan, peace be upon him, in Surya, so we greeted him with peace. Then we met Abi Ja'far and Abi Muhammad, both of whom had entered. We stood up for Abi Ja'far to greet him with peace, but Abul Hasan, peace be upon him, said: "He is not your companion (leader); look to your companion," and he gestured toward Abi Muhammad, peace be upon him.'"From the narration above, we can conclude several things: first, that Ahmad bin 'Isa was an Imami Shi'ite (syi'iy imamiy). It is very difficult to understand and accept logically that an Imami Shi'ite like Ahmad bin 'Isa would migrate to Hadramaut, which at that time was controlled by the Ibadi sect who were fiercely anti-Shi'ite. Second, Ahmad bin 'Isa was in the city of Medina in the year 234 H at around 20 years of age. From this, the historiography of the Ba'alwi scholars faces a contradiction regarding the chronological timeline they created. For example, the Ba'alwi record that the year of Ahmad bin 'Isa's migration to Hadramaut was 317 Hijriah (Al-Ghurar, p. 96), and the year of his death was 345 Hijriah (Al-Masyra' al-Rawi, Vol. 1, p. 249). If Ahmad bin 'Isa was 20 years old in the year 234 H, it means that at the time of his migration, he would have been 103 years old, and at the time of his death, he would have been 131 years old. It is highly anomalous for an elderly, frail man of 103 years to move from Basra to Hadramaut, covering a distance of more than 2,000 km. Likewise, it is extremely improbable for someone to reach the age of 131.
Conclusion: There are no books from the fourth to the eighth centuries stating that Ahmad bin Isa moved to Hadramaut.
Chronology of the Ba'alwi narrative that Ahmad bin Isa migrated from Basra to Yemen:
Supposing that Ahmad bin Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib was in Basra. In reality, the person in Basra was Ahmad bin Isa bin Zaid, not Ahmad bin Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib.
Freeriding on the history of the Bani Ahdal mentioned by Al-Janadi (d. 732 H) in the book Al-Suluk, which states that their ancestor named Muhammad bin Sulaiman migrated from Iraq to Yemen (Al-Suluk, Vol. 2, p. 360). The Ba'alwi then claimed that their ancestor Ahmad bin Isa migrated to Yemen alongside that Muhammad bin Sulaiman.
In the Ba'alwi family book Al-Ghurar (p. 98) by Muhammad Ali Khirid (d. 960 H) and the Al-Ahdal family book Tuhfat al-Zaman (Vol. 2, p. 238) by Husain Al-Ahdal (d. 855 H), it is stated that Muhammad bin Sulaiman and Ahmad bin Isa were full brothers or first cousins. This means their father or grandfather should be the same. However, today the lineages of the Ba'alwi and Al-Ahdal differ. The Ba'alwi write Alwi bin Ubaid bin Ahmad bin Isa all the way to Ali Al-Uraidi; whereas Al-Ahdal writes his lineage as Muhammad bin Sulaiman bin Ubaid bin Isa bin Alwi all the way to Musa al-Kadhim. They do not meet at a single grandfather. How can two people be brothers along the male line but not share the same grandfather?
2. Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa held the title Al-Muhajir?
There are no books from the fourth to the eighth centuries that mention Ahmad bin Isa holding the title "Al-Muhajir". The titles recorded by genealogy books for Ahmad bin Isa are "Al-Abah" and "Al-Naffat". The first mention of Ahmad bin 'Isa as "Al-Muhajir" by the Ba'alwi family was made by Ahmad bin Zein al-Habsyi (d. 1144 H), a twelfth-century Hijriah scholar, in the book Syarh al-'Ainiyyah (p. 129). Thus, this title was bestowed upon him 799 years later, calculated from the death of Ahmad bin 'Isa to the death of Ahmad bin Zein al-Habsyi.
Observe the wording of Al-Ubaidili (d. 437 H) in the book Tahdhib al-Ansab below:
واحمد بن عيسى النقيب بن محمد بن علي العريضي يلقب النفاط
"And Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Naqib bin Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Uraidi is given the title 'al-Naffat.'"Observe also the wording of Al-Umari (d. 490 H) in the book Al-Majdi below:
وأحمد ابو القاسم الابح المعروف بالنفاط لانه كان يتجر النفط له بقية ببغداد من الحسن ابي محمد الدلال على الدور ببغداد رأيته مات بأخره ببغداد بن محمد بن علي بن مُحمد بن أحمد بن عيسى بن محمد بن العريضي.
"And Ahmad Abul Qasim al-Abh, who is known as 'al-naffat' because he traded in nafat oil (a type of kerosene); he has descendants in Baghdad through Al-Hasan Abu Muhammad al-Dallal Aladdauri in Baghdad. I saw him (Al-Hasan) die at the end of his life in Baghdad. He (Al-Hasan) is the son of Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa bin Muhammad (al-Naqib) bin ('Ali) al-Uraidi."3. Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ahmad bin Isa died and was buried in Hadramaut?
There are no history or genealogy books stating that Ahmad bin Isa died and was buried in Hadramaut. Al-Janadi (d. 732) in his book Al-Suluk does not record the existence of Ahmad bin 'Isa's grave, despite being a historian who diligently recorded the names of graves that were visited and deemed blessed. This means that in the year 732 H, the grave of Ahmad bin 'Isa was not yet known (read: 'did not exist') as it is today. News of Ahmad bin Isa's grave being in Hadramaut was only first recorded in the tenth century by Bamakhramah (d. 947 H) in his book Qiladat al-Nahar. Bamakhramah also mentions that the grave is believed to be there because Abdurrahman Assegaf used to perform pilgrimage at that spot based on a great light seen radiating from it. Thus, it is clear that the grave currently considered to be that of Ahmad bin Isa is a grave that was newly built around the ninth century Hijriah.
وتوفي احمد المذكور بالحسيسة المذكورة وقبره في شعبها قال الخطيب وكان يرى عل الموضع الذي يشار اليه ان قبره الشريف فيه النور العظيم وكان شيخنا العارف بالله عبد الرحمن بن الشيخ محمد بن علي علوي يزوره في ذالك المكان
"And the aforementioned Ahmad passed away in the aforementioned Al-Husaisah. And his grave is in the valley of Husaisah. A magnificent light was seen over the place indicated to be his noble grave (Ahmad bin 'Isa). And our teacher, Al-Arif Billah Abdurrahman bin Sheikh Muhammad bin 'Ali Alwi, used to visit that place."4. Are there any books from the fourth to the eighth centuries Hijriah stating that Ubaidillah was one of the sons of Ahmad bin Isa?
Ahmad bin 'Isa (d. 345 H?), in the records of the genealogy books closest to his time, did not have a son named Ubaidillah. The books confirming that Ahmad bin 'Isa did not have a son named Ubaidillah/Abdullah are:
First, the book Tahdhib al-Ansab wa Nihayat al-Alqab authored by Al-Ubaidili (d. 437 H). When mentioning the descendants of 'Ali al-Uraidi, Al-Ubaidili does not mention the name Ubaidillah as a child of Ahmad bin 'Isa. He only mentions one child of Ahmad bin 'Isa, which is Muhammad. The quote from the book is as follows:
واحمد بن عيسى النقيب بن مُحمد بن علي العريضي يلقب النفاط من ولده ابو جعفر (الاعمى) محمد بن علي بن محمد بن أحمد ، عمي في آخر عمره وانحدر الى البصرة واقام بها ومات بها وله اولاد وأخوه بالجبل له اولاد.
"And Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Naqib bin Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Uraidi is given the title Al-Naffat. Among his descendants is Abu Ja'far (al-A'ma: the blind) Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad; he went blind at the end of his life, moved to Basra, settled and died there, and he has children. His brother in Al-Jabal (the mountain) also has children."Second, the book Al-Majdi fi Ansab al-Talibiyyin by Sayyid Syarif Najmuddin 'Ali bin Muhammad al-Umari al-Nassabah (d. 490 H). In that book, he mentions that among the descendants of Ahmad bin 'Isa, some are in Baghdad, namely from Al-Hasan Abu Muhammad al-Dallal Aladdauri bin Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa. Just like Al-Ubaidili, Al-Umari only mentions one child for Ahmad bin 'Isa. The full quote is below:
وأحمد ابو القاسم الابح المعروف بالنفاط لانه كان يتجر النفط له بقية ببغداد من الحسن ابي محمد الدلال على الدور ببغداد رأيته مات بأخره ببغداد بن محمد بن علي بن محمد بن أحمد بن عيسى بن محمد بن العريضي.
"And Ahmad Abul Qasim al-Abah, who is known as 'al-Naffat' because he traded in nafat oil (a type of kerosene); he has descendants in Baghdad from al-Hasan Abu Muhammad ad-Dallal Aladdauri in Baghdad. I saw him die at the end of his life in Baghdad. He is the son of Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa bin Muhammad (an-Naqib) bin ('Ali) al-Uraidi."
احمد النفاط ابن عيسى بن محمد الاكبر ابن علي (بالري) محمد بن العريضي عقبه محمد وعلي والحسين.
"In the city of Rayy, (there is a descendant of Abu Talib named) Muhammad bin Ahmad an-Naffat bin 'Isa bin Muhammad al-Akbar bin 'Ali al-Uraidi. His (Muhammad bin Ahmad's) descendants are three: Muhammad, 'Ali, and Husain."
The book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah by Imam Al-Fakhrurazi (d. 606 H), which was finished in the year 597 Hijriah. In this book, Imam Al-Fakhrurazi explicitly states that Ahmad bin 'Isa did not have a son named Ubaidillah. The quote from the book is as follows:
أما أحمد الابح فعقبه من ثلاثة بنين: محمد ابو جعفر بالري، وعلي بالرملة، وحسين عقبه بنيسابور.
"As for Ahmad al-Abh, his lineage continues through three sons: Muhammad Abu Ja'far who is in the city of Rayy, 'Ali who is in Ramla, and Husain whose lineage is in Nishapur."From the quote above, Imam Al-Fakhrurazi explicitly mentions that Ahmad al-Abh bin 'Isa's lineage is limited only to three sons: Muhammad, 'Ali, and Husain. There is no child named Ubaidillah or Abdullah, whether with continuing lineage or without. He states the number of Ahmad bin 'Isa's children using a jumlah ismiyyah (a nominal sentence in Arabic structured using a noun) which indicates hasr (exclusivity/restriction only to what is mentioned). Genealogists have specific rules in genealogy science; among them, if they write using a jumlah fi'liyyah (a verbal sentence in Arabic structured using a verb), for example with the phrasing:
أعقب من ثلاثة
("He had offspring from three sons"),then it means the total number of children he had is not restricted to the number mentioned, and there could still be other children not mentioned for some reason. However, if a jumlah ismiyyah is used, such as the sentence in the book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, then it means the number of children who had offspring is strictly limited to the number mentioned. Sheikh Mahdi al-Raja'iy in his book Al-Mu'qibun states:
فلان او العقب من فلان فانه يدل ذالك اذا قالوا عقبه من ومن على ان عقبه منحصر فيه وقولهم أعقب من فلان فان يدل على ان عقبه ليس بمنحصر فيه
"And among the terminology of genealogists is that when they say 'his offspring is from fulan' or 'the offspring is from fulan', it indicates that if they say 'his offspring is from so-and-so and so-and-so', his lineage is strictly confined to them. Conversely, their phrase 'he had offspring from fulan' indicates that his lineage is not confined strictly to them."Imam al-Fakhrurazi, the author of Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, lived in the city of Rayy, Iran, where many descendants of Ahmad bin 'Isa from the line of Muhammad Abu Ja'far resided. Naturally, the information regarding how many children Ahmad bin 'Isa had was validly obtained from Ahmad's descendants living in Rayy. Up until the author of this book passed away in the year 606 Hijriah—which was 261 years counted from the passing of Ahmad bin 'Isa—there was no narration, no story, and no report that Ahmad bin 'Isa ever had a child named Ubaidillah and a grandson named Alwi.
The book Al-Fakhri fi Ansab al-Talibiyyin by Azizuddin Abu Talib Ismail bin Husain al-Marwazi (d. 614 H) mentions the same thing as the fifth-century books, namely only mentioning one line of descent for Ahmad bin 'Isa, which is through Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa. The full quote is:
منهم أبو جعفر الاعمى محمد علي بن مُحمد بن احمد الابح له اولاد بالبصرة واخوه في الجبل بقم له اولاد
"Among them (the descendants of 'Isa al-Naqib) is Abu Ja'far al-A'ma (the blind) Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Abh; he has children in Basra, and his brother is in 'Al-Jabal' in the city of Qum, and he has children."The book Al-Asili fi Ansab al-Talibiyyin by Safiyuddin Muhammad ibnu al-Taqtaqi al-Hasani (d. 709 H) mentions a single sample line of descent for Ahmad bin 'Isa, which is through his son named Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa. The full quote is as follows:
ومن عقب أحمد بن عیسی النقيب الحسن بن ابي سهل أحمد بن علي بن ابي جعفر محمد بن أحمد
"And from the descendants of Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Naqib is al-Hasan bin Abi Sahl Ahmad bin 'Ali bin Abi Ja'far Muhammad bin Ahmad."
The book Al-Sabat al-Musan by Ibn al-A'raj al-Husaini (d. 787 H) states that part of Ahmad bin 'Isa's children was Muhammad. He does not mention any child of Ahmad bin 'Isa named Ubaidillah or Abdullah. See the quote below:
واما احمد فأعقب وكان من ولده ابو محمد الحسن الدلال ببغداد مُحمد بن راه شيخنا العمري ببغداد وهو مات بأخره ببغداد وهو بن بن عيسى الرومي وكان له اولاد منهم ابو أحمد محمد بن علي بن القاسم احمد الاشج المعروف بالنفاط ..
"And as for Ahmad, he left offspring, and among his offspring was Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dallal in Baghdad. My teacher Al-Umari saw him in Baghdad, and he died late in his life in Baghdad. He is the son of Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Rumi, and he had children, among whom was Abul Qasim Ahmad al-Asyaj, known as al-Naffath."The book Umdat al-Talib by Ibnu Inabah (d. 828 H) does not mention Ahmad bin 'Isa as having a child named Ubaidillah or Abdullah. Ibnu Inabah states:
ومنهم احمد الاتج بن ابي محمد الحسن الدلال بن مُحمد بن علي بن مُحمد بن أحمد بن عیسی الاكبر
"Among the descendants of Muhammad al-Naqib is Ahmad al-Ataj bin Abi Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dallal bin Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin 'Isa al-Akbar."
Chronology of the initial claims of the habibs' ancestors as descendants of the Messenger:
1) The ancestors of the habibs looked at the history of the Al-Ahdal family mentioned in the book Al-Suluk by Al-Janadi (d. 732 H).
واما الاهدل فَهُوَ بهاء سَاكِنة بعد الف وَلَام وهاء بعْدهَا دَال مُهْمَلَة مَفْتُوحَة ثمَّ لَام سَاكِنة كَانَ كَبِير القدر شهير الذكر يُقَال قدم من بلد العراق الى اليمن وَهُوَ شريف حسيني أن جده مُحَمَّد قدم على قدم التصوف وسكن اجوال السَّوْدَاء من واضي سِهَام
"As for Al-Ahdal, it is pronounced with a sukun on the 'ha' after 'Alif', 'lam', and 'ha'. After that 'ha' is an unpointed 'dal' with a fatha, followed by a sukun on the 'lam'. He was a man of great stature and widespread fame. It is said that his grandfather came from the land of Iraq to the country of Yemen, and he was a Husayni Sharif. His grandfather, Muhammad, arrived upon the path of Sufism and inhabited Ajwal al-Sauda' in the valley of Saham."In that book, the ancestor of the Al-Ahdal family named Muhammad (bin Sulaiman) is referred to as a "Husayni Sharif" who migrated from Iraq. The Ba'alwi scholars then claimed that their ancestor Ahmad bin Isa migrated together with that Muhammad bin Sulaiman as a first cousin (sharing one grandfather). This claim was embraced by a ninth-century descendant of Muhammad Al-Ahdal named Husain al-Ahdal (d. 855 H) in his book Tuhfat al-Zaman, in which he states:
وحكي لنا عن بعضهم ان محمد المذكور خرج هو واخ له وابن عم فعمد اخوه وابن عمه الى الشرق فذريته ال با علوي في حضرموت
"It was narrated to us from some people that the aforementioned Muhammad (bin Sulaiman) went out (migrated) along with a brother and a cousin of his. Then his brother and his cousin headed toward the east. Thus, the descendants of his cousin are the Ba'alwi family in Hadramaut."Since the Al-Ahdal and Ba'alwi families supposedly share one grandfather, their lineages should meet at that first grandfather. Let us look at the lineage of the Al-Ahdal family in the book Al-Ahsab al-'Aliyyah fi al-Ansab al-Ahdaliyyah by Abu Bakar bin Abil Qasim bin Ahmad al-Ahdal (d. 1035 H), where he states:
وأما نسبه فهو علي الأهدل بن عمر بن مُحمد بن سليمان بن عبيد بن عيسى بن علوي بن محمد بن حمحام بن عون بن موسى الكاظم بن جعفر الصادق بن محمد الباقر بن علي زين العابدين بن الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين هذا نسبه
"And as for his lineage, may Allah be pleased with him, it is: 'Ali al-Ahdal bin Umar bin Muhammad bin Sulaiman bin Ubaid bin 'Isa bin Alwi bin Muhammad bin Himham bin 'Aon bin Musa al-Kadhim bin Ja'far al-Sadiq bin Muhammad al-Baqir bin 'Ali Zainal 'Abidin bin al-Husain bin 'Ali bin Abi Talib, may the pleasure of Allah be upon them all. This is his lineage."The two lineages are similar, but their arrangements are different. While the Ba'alwi lineage is: Alwi bin Ubaid bin Ahmad bin Isa, the Al-Ahdal lineage is: Muhammad bin Sulaiman bin Ubaid bin Isa bin Alwi. It is clear that initially, they both felt they shared a common descent, but ultimately went their separate ways. Logically, if the Ba'alwi did not seek a different path, their lineage would be: Ahmad bin Isa bin Ubaid bin Alwi bin Muhammad bin Himham, etc. This proves that this Ba'alwi lineage is a chaotic, "assembled" lineage. What is stranger still is that the two individuals who supposedly migrated together (Ahmad bin Isa and Muhammad bin Sulaiman) did not even live during the same era. Ahmad bin Isa passed away in 345 H, while Muhammad bin Sulaiman passed away in 540 H.
The Al-Ahdal family itself is rejected as being descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW because Musa al-Kadhim did not have a child named Aon.
2) After failing to hitch onto the Al-Ahdal lineage, the Ba'alwi habib family shifted paths to the lineage of Sharif Abul Jadid, which they also found in the book Al-Suluk. In Al-Suluk, it is mentioned:
واحببت ان الحق بهم الذين وردوها ودرسوا فيها وهم جَمَاعَة من الطَّبَقَة الاولى مِنْهُم ابو الحسن علي بن محمد بن احمد مُحَمَّد ابن
حَدِيد بن عبد الله بن أحمد بن عيسى بن مُحَمَّد بن عَلَى ابْن جَعْفَر الصَّادِقِ بن مُحَمَّد الباقربن علي بن زين العابدين بن الحُسَيْن بن علي ابن ابي طالب كرم الله وجهه ويعرف بالشريف ابي الحَدِيد عِنْد أَهل اليمن اصله من حضرموت من اشراف هنالك يعْرِفُونَ بَال ابي علوي بَيت صَلَاح وَعبادة على طريق التصوف وَفِيهِمْ فُقَهَاءِ يَأْتي ذكرمن اتحقق ان شَاءَ الله تَعَالَى مَعَ أهل بلده
"And I wish to append the names of those who came to Taiz and studied there. They are a group from the first generation. Among them is Abu al-Hasan, 'Ali, bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Hadid (Jadid, according to two manuscript variants) bin 'Ali bin bin Muhammad bin Jadid bin Abdullah bin Ahmad bin 'Isa bin Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Ja'far al-Sadiq bin Muhammad al-Baqir bin 'Ali bin Zainal 'Abidin bin al-Husain bin 'Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah honor his face, and he is known as Sharif Abul Jadid among the people of Yemen. His origin is from Hadramaut, from the sharifs there who are known as the Al Abi Alwi, which is a house of righteousness and worship within the Sufi path. Included among them are the jurists whose mentions will come later, whom I know to be true, if Allah Almighty wills, along with the people of his land."From that text, Ali al-Sakran (d. 895 H) asserted that Jadid was the brother of his ancestor named Alwi, and that Abdullah was Ubaid. This claim was made without a single historical source from the era of Jadid stating that Jadid had a brother named Alwi. Ali al-Sakran stated:
وقد فهمت مما تقدم اولا منقولا من تاريخ اْلجندي وتلخيص العواجي وسبق به الكلام في ترجمة الامام ابي الحسن عَلي بن محمَد ابْن أَحْمد جدِيد انه عبد الله بن احمد بن عيسى .انتهى (البرقة المشيقة: 151-150)
"And I understand from the past accounts, for the first time, based on what is found in Tarikh al-Janadi (the book al-Suluk) and the book Talkhis al-Awaji, and discussion about it has been mentioned, in explaining the biography of the figure al-Imam Abu al-Hasan, 'Ali bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Jadid, that Ubaid is Abdullah bin Ahmad bin 'Isa."Thus, the habib family initially claimed lineage to Ahmad bin Isa simply because they saw the lineage of Sharif Abul Jadid in the book Al-Suluk and then claimed that their ancestor was the brother of Jadid without any supporting references.
3) Unfortunately, grafting the lineage onto Jadid bin Abdullah was unsuccessful, because it turned out that in older manuscripts of Al-Suluk, the name Abdullah does not exist. The Ba'alwi lineage today, which is taken from the lineage of Sharif Abil Jadid, is based on the version of Al-Suluk printed from a Egyptian manuscript dated 877 H. Meanwhile, in the Paris manuscript copied in 820 H, Jadid is not the son of Abdullah bin Ahmad, but rather the direct son of Ahmad. The theory of 'Ali al-Sakran that Ubaid—as recorded in the Bani Ahdal version—is another name for Abdullah, is rejected outright.
4) Defenders of the Ba'alwi have tried to bring forward transmission chains (sanad-sanad) that they claim were written in the sixth century Hijriah, but it is clear that these transmission chains are fabricated. The names of the habib family up until the eighth century were never recorded as scholars, let alone scholars of hadith, so how could they possibly narrate hadiths?
5. Is it true that the DNA test results of the Ba'alwi clan (habibs) prove they are not descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW?
According to `[https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/j-1el-147/about/background](https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/j-1el-147/about/background)`, it is concluded that:
- Individuals who are L859+ are descendants of the Quraysh tribe.
- Individuals who are FGC8703+ are descendants of the Banu Hashim clan.
- Individuals who are FGC10500+ are descendants of Imam Ali AS.
- Individuals who are FGC30416+ are descendants of Imam Hussein AS.
Meanwhile, the majority of the Ba'alwi Habibs who have taken DNA tests do not possess the codes listed above.
According to Dr. Sugeng Sugiharto, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW along the paternal (male) line must belong to haplogroup J, because the Prophet Ibrahim AS belonged to haplogroup J. Meanwhile, out of the hundreds of Ba'alwi habibs who have taken DNA tests, the results show that the majority of them belong to haplogroup G. This means they are not only unconfirmed as descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, but they are also not included among the descendants of the Prophet Ibrahim AS.
"The Ba'alwi's lineage to the Prophet Ibrahim is rejected, because it cannot be confronted and confirmed with the descendants of the Prophet Ishaq. If they claim to be descendants of Imam Ali, which automatically means descendants of the Prophet Ismail, then their haplotype from the Prophet Ibrahim upwards must be identical to the Kohanim... logically, how can they be descendants of Imam Ali, when they are not even from the children of Ibrahim...", asserted Dr. Sugeng in a YouTube content uploaded on January 1, 2024, titled "Nasab G-Y32612 itu ke Ibrahim saja hil yang Mustahal, bagaimana jadi Alawiyyin??"
We can look at several examples of the Ba'alwi family who have taken DNA tests ([https://www.familytreedna.com/public/baalawi?iframe=ycolorized](https://www.familytreedna.com/public/baalawi?iframe=ycolorized)), for instance, a man from the Al-Habsyi clan who took a DNA test under KIT number: IN89146, living in Saudi Arabia; his result was haplogroup G-M201. Failed.
Another example, a man from the Bin Sheikh Abubakar clan, who took a DNA test under KIT number: M9523, living in Indonesia; his haplogroup result was G-M201. Failed as well.
Another example, a man from the Assegaf clan, who took a DNA test under KIT number: 88697, living in Yemen; his haplogroup result was G-M201. Failed again.
Another example, a man named Omar, who took a DNA test under KIT number: IN76599, living in Yemen; his result, haplogroup G-M201. Failed yet again.
And there are still many other examples of DNA test results from the Ba'alwi clan that we can download from various DNA testing service provider websites. The results show that the majority of them belong to haplogroup G-M201.
6. What is the legal ruling on using DNA tests to validate lineage according to Islamic law?
According to the decision of the 31st NU Muktamar (National Conference) in 2024, DNA testing can be used to negate (nafi) the attachment (ilhaq) of lineage, but it cannot necessarily be used to establish or determine the attachment of lineage (Ahkamul Fuqaha, 2010 edition, p. 509).
Final Conclusion: The Ba'alwi clan (the habibs) is scientifically proven not to be descendants of the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
ENDNOTES
- Abu Ja 'far Muhammad bin al-Hasan al-Tusi, Al-Gaybah, (Muassasah Al Ma 'arif al-Islamiyah, Qum, 1425 H.) h. 199
- Al-Ubaidili , Tahdzib al-Ansab, h.176
- Al-Umari, Al-Majdi , h.337
- Bamakhramah, Qiladat al-Nahr, juz 2 h.681
- Al-Ubaidili .. h.176
- Al-Umari . . . h. 377
- Abu Ismail Thobathoba, Muntaqilat al-Thalibiyah, h.160
- Al-Fakhrurazi, Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah, h. 111
- Mahdi al-Rajai, Al-Mu 'qibun, h.14
- Al-Marwazi, Al-Fakhri, h.30
- Al-Thaqtaqi al-Hasani, Al-Ashili , h. 212
- Al-A 'raj al-Husaini, Al Sabat al Mushan, h. 83-84
- Ibnu Inabah, Umdat al-Thalib, h.225
- Al-janadi . . juz 2 h.360
- Husain al-Ahdal, Tuhfat al Zaman, juz 2 h. 238
- Abubakar al-Ahdal, (Al Ahsab al Ahdaliyah, h. 4)
- Lihat Zabarat al-Hasani, Nail al-Hasanain, 121
- Al-janadi . . . Juz 2 h. 135-136
- Ali al Sakran, Al-Burqat, h. 150