The Lineage of Syarif Abil Jadid from the Clan of Alu Abi Alawi

Book Title: Exposing the Scholarly Scandal of Ba’alwi History and Genealogy: The Finalization of the Ba‘alwi Genealogical Severance from the Prophet Muhammad PBUH
Original title in Indonesian: Membongkar Skandal Ilmiyah Sejarah dan Genealogi Ba’alwi: Finalisasi Keterputusan Genealogi Ba’alwi Kepada Nabi Muhammad Saw.
Author: KH. Imaduddin Utsman Al-Bantani, head of Pondok Pesantren Nahdlatul Ulum (Islamic Boarding School), Banten
First Edition: 1445 AH / 2024 AD
Publisher: Maktabah Nahdlatul Ulum Banten
Translated into English and Published by: Al-Khoirot Research and Publication
Previous Book: Measuring the Authenticity of the Habib Lineage in Indonesia (Menakar Kesahihan Nasab Habib di Indonesia)
Field of Study: Ba'alwi History, Genealogy (Ilmu Nasab), Islamic History

Table of Contents

1. The Lineage of Syarif Abil Jadid from the Clan of Al Abi Alawi 
2. Back to: Book   Exposing the Scholarly Scandal of Ba’alwi History and Genealogy: The Finalization of the Ba‘alwi Genealogical Severance from the Prophet Muhammad PBUH   

The Lineage of Syarif Abil Jadid from the Clan of Al Abi Alawi

A Yemeni historian named Al-Janadi (d. 732 AH) wrote a book titled Al-Suluk fi Tabaqat al-Ulama wa al-Muluk, a book that speaks about the history of scholars and kings in Yemen. Today, we can read its printed version published by Maktabah Al-Irsyad in the city of San’a in the year 1416 Hijriah. The book was edited (tahqiq) by Muhammad bin Ali al-Akwa’ al-Hiwali. According to Al-Hiwali, the printed version is based on two manuscripts he obtained: first, from Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah. This manuscript was completed by Al-Arabi bin Ahmad bin ‘Ali bin Husain al-Halwani on Saturday, the seventh of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 877 Hijriah. The second manuscript is located in Paris, written by Ahmad bin Yahya bin Ismail bin al-Abbas bin Daud bin Yusuf bin Umar bin Ali bin Rasul (the son of King Yahya bin al-Malik al-Asyraf Ismail).

This manuscript was completed on Monday, the ninth of Sha’ban in the year 820 Hijriah. This means the Paris manuscript was written eighty-eight years after the passing of Al-Janadi, and the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah manuscript was written 145 years after his passing. Within the book, there is the lineage of a scholar named Abul Hasan Ali, who is known by the name Syarif Abul Jadid, whose lineage is connected to Ahmad bin Isa. This is the very first book to mention the existence of a child of Ahmad bin Isa other than the three children mentioned by the book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarokah in the 6th century. In the Paris manuscript version, Abul Hasan Ali is called a descendant of Ahmad bin Isa through his "son" named Jadid; in the Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah version, it is through his "son" named Abdullah. The probability that this connection of Abul Hasan Ali to Ahmad bin Isa is a citation error from Al-Janadi or from a copyist is very large because the "Alu Abi Alwi" family in the periods before and after were only known by historians as Arab descendants from the Qahtan tribe, as will be explained later.

In the Paris manuscript version from the year 822 Hijriah, the wording of the book is as follows:

"And I wish to provide a supplement of the names of those who came to Ta’iz and studied there. They are a group from the first tier. Part of them is Abu al-Hasan, Ali, bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Hadid (Jadid, according to two manuscript narrations) 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 Thalib karramallahu wajhah, and he is known by the name Syarif Abul Jadid according to the inhabitants of Yemen. His origin is from Hadramaut, from the syarifs there who are known as Al Abi Alwi, which is a house of righteousness and worship within the Sufi path (tariqat tasawwuf). Included among them are the jurists whose mention will come later, whom I know with certainty, insya Allah Ta’ala, along with the people of his land."

Meanwhile, in the Egyptian manuscript version from the year 877 Hijriah, the wording is as follows:

"And I wish to provide a supplement of the names of those who came to Ta’iz and studied there. They are a group from the first tier. Part of them is Abu al-Hasan, Ali, bin Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Hadif (Jadid, according to two manuscript narrations) 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 Thalib karramallahu wajhah, and he is known by the name Syarif Abul Jadid according to the inhabitants of Yemen. His origin is from Hadramaut, from the syarifs there who are known as Al Abi Alwi, which is a house of righteousness and worship within the Sufi path (tariqat tasawwuf). Included among them are the jurists whose mention will come later, whom I know with certainty, insya Allah Ta’ala, along with the people of his land."

Whether the version is Jadid "bin" Ahmad bin Isa or Abdullah "bin" Ahmad bin Isa, both are rejected as children of Ahmad bin Isa due to the explicit narration from the book Al-Syajarah al-Mubarakah in the 6th century Hijriah stating that the children of Ahmad bin Isa numbered three, namely: Muhammad, Ali, and Husain. Another reason is that historical books in the 4th century Hijriah refer to the Banu Alwi as descendants of Qahtan. According to the author, the Banu Alwi mentioned by Al-Hamadani (d. 344 AH) in his book Al-Iklil fi Akhbaril Yemen wa Ansabi Himyar (the book Al-Iklil contains accounts of the State of Yemen and the lineage of Himyar) is the exact same clan as the Alu Abi Alwi in Yemen, which is the clan of Abul Hasan Ali. In the writing of lineages in Yemen, the word "banu" is frequently abbreviated to "ba", such as the phrase "Banu Fadal" abbreviated to "Bafadal", "Banu Alwi" abbreviated to "Ba’alwi", and so forth. Then, from this word "ba", it is frequently written less accurately as the word "aba". The Banu Alwi were an honorable family in Yemen; therefore, Al-Hamadani refers to them as "Syarif". Thus, the designation "syarif" for the Banu Alwi family is not because they are descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW, but because they are indeed descendants of Kahlan bin Saba, who were the rulers of Hadramaut from the Qahtan Dynasty. Kahlan himself was a full brother of Himyar bin Saba. The Banu Alawi family is attributed to Alawi bin Ayan (Alyan in another narration). The Banu Alwi family, besides being mentioned by Al-Hamadani in Al-Iklil, is also mentioned by Ibnu Hazm (d. 456 AH) in the book Jamharat Ansabil Arab (a compilation book of Arab lineages).

Al-Hamadani said:

 "So they are the Banu Alwi bin ‘Ayan; they have become few in the villages of the state of Hamadan, and there remains none of them except the households of the Family of Alu ‘Asim, Alu Rausha, Alu Hakim—small families. And part of the Bani Alwi is Shuraih bin Malik, though I do not know from which family he is. And some scholars of Arhab said that Alwi is sometimes given a tasghir (becoming ‘Ulawi), and sometimes it is not given a tasghir (remaining Alwi). They said Alwi bin Alyan bin Alwi had children. Alyan bin Alwi had a child, Alwi the junior. From him spread the Banu Alwi. Thus ends the discussion of the Banu Alwi."

Notice the phrase "Wamin asyarafi bani alwi..." (and part of the syarifs of the bani alwi). The Bani Alwi have since old times been called "Asyraf", not because they are descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW, but because they were honorable people from the descendants of Kahlan from the Bani Qahtan who ruled Hadramaut in the 4th century before Islam. This Alwi bin Ayan lived in the same era as the ancestor of Prophet Muhammad SAW, Qusay bin Kilab. Later on, the descendants of this Alwi bin Ayan were called the Banu Alawi, and they gave birth to many great figures in the Islamic struggle and in the fields of knowledge, especially in the field of Hadith Science. Ibnu Hazm mentions that among the popular descendants of the Banu Alwi was Yazid bin Qais, who became the Sahibu syurthat (Chief of Police) during the era of Sayyidina Ali Ra. Al-Hamadani mentions this Yazid bin Qais just as Ibnu Hazm mentions him; aside from that, Al-Hamadani also mentions that this Qais was also appointed by Ali as the ruler of Isfahan. Another popular name from the Banu Alwi family is Amr bin Salmah. Al-Hamadani describes him as "Syarifan nabihan dzahinan kaliman" (An intelligent syarif, a strong memorizer, and a skilled speaker). He was among the close associates of Sayyidina Ali. When Hasan bin Ali entered into a peace treaty with Muawiyah, Amr bin Salmah was dispatched by Hasan along with Muhammad bin al-Ash’ats to meet Muawiyah. Muawiyah deeply admired Amr for his boldness and eloquence in speech, as well as for his intelligence. Muawiyah asked Amr: "Are you from the family of Mudhar?" Amr replied, "Ana Amr bin Salmah al-Hamadani al-Arhabi al-Alwi" (I am Amr bin Salmah from Hamadan, then from Arhab, then from the Banu Alwi). Hamadan and Arhab are two cities in Yemen.

The Banu Alwi family was also known as transmitters of hadith. Among the hadith transmitters from the Banu Alwi family, as mentioned by Ibnu Hajar al-Asqalani in the book Al-Tahdib, is the aforementioned Amr bin Salmah. Besides being mentioned by al-Asqalani, Amr bin Salmah is also mentioned by Abi Hatim al-Razi in his book Al-Jarhu Wat Ta’dil, and also mentioned by Imam Adz-Dzahabi in the book Siyaru A’lamin Nubala, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad. Aside from Amr bin Salmah, another hadith transmitter from the Banu Alawi family is Amr bin Yahya; he was one of the teachers of Ibnu Abi Syaibah. Abul Hasan Ali or Syarif Abul Jadid (d. 620 AH), who was mentioned by Al-Janadi in Al-Suluk, was also a hadith scholar and part of the "asyraf". These two common threads—namely being a hadith scholar and being among the "asyraf"—strengthen the assumption that this Abul Hasan was a descendant of the aforementioned Banu Alwi. Most likely, the copyist of the book Al-Suluk, when connecting the lineage of Syarif Abul Jadid to Ahmad bin Isa in the 9th century, was influenced by the massive claims of the family of Abdurrahman Assegaf at that time as the Alu Abi Alwi found in Al-Suluk. When previously this family claimed their ancestor was a brother of the ancestor of the Al-Ahdal family—in whose names there happens to be the name Alwi—then upon seeing that within Al-Suluk there was the name Alwi, they assumed that this Alu Abi Alwi was that ancestor of theirs.

Although in the beginning, the Al-Ahdal family and Abdurrahman Assegaf claimed to be brothers by sharing the exact same ancestor named Alwi, today their lineages differ when connecting to Prophet Muhammad SAW. The core names of their ancestors remain present in their two genealogies, namely: Ubeid, Isa, and Alwi, but the arrangement and lines are now completely different. The Al-Ahdal family connects its lineage through Aon bin Musa al-Kadim, whereas the family of Abdurrahman Assegaf connects through the younger brother of Musa al-Kadim, namely Ali al-Uraidi. In detail, this matter will be explained later. In the year 839 Hijriah, the name of the Abu Alwi tribe was written by Al-Maqrizi in his book Al-Turfat al-Garibat as "Arab of Hadramaut". From here, it is linear between the accounts from Al-Hamadani in the 4th century down to Al-Maqrizi in the 9th century that the Abu Alwi tribe consists of Arab people from Hadramaut, not descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW. The conclusion of this subsection is that the genealogy of Abul Hasan Ali to Ahmad bin Isa, whether through Jadid bin Ahmad bin Isa or Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Isa, is rejected because Ahmad bin Isa did not have children named Jadid and Abdullah, as affirmed by the 6th-century book, Al-Syajarah al-Mubarokah. 

ENDNOTES

1. Lihat Ibnu Hazm Al-Andalusi, Jamharat Ansabil Arab, (Dar al-Ma’arif, Kairo, T.t.) cet. Ke-5 h. 896
2. Al-Hamadani, Al-Iklil (Al-Maktabah al-Syamilah, T.tp. T.t.) h. 36
3. Lihat Ibnu Hazm…h. 896
4. Lihat Al-Hamadani…h.35.
5. Lihat Al-Hamadani…h.36