Syrian Islamic scholar
Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi (Arabic: أبو الهدى الصيادي), full name Muhammad bin Hassan Wadi bin Ali bin Khuzam al-Sayyadi, was a Syrian Islamic scholar and poet, who held the title "Sheikh al-Islam" of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century. He is the father of Hasan Abu Al-Huda, the fourth Prime Minister of Transjordan (r. 1923–1931).
Biography.
Sayyadi was born in 1849 in Khan Shaykhun, now modern day Syria. His lineage goes back to both Ahmad al-Rifa'i and even further back to Muhammad, hence making him a Sayyid. Due to his ancestry, he was put in charge of the "Naqib al-Ashraf" "Association", which consisted of other Sayyids.
Sayyadi met with prominent reformists like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. In 1895, he established a library next to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Ottoman Sultan of the time, Abdul Hamid II, met Sayyadi and made him Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire. After Abdul Hamid II was deposed, Sayyadi was exiled to Büyükada where he died in 1909. He is buried next to his father in Aleppo.
Views.
Sayyadi was a supporter of Sufism. He was part of the Rifa'i tariqa, and wrote poems and books with Sufi themes. Sayyadi was also very anti-Salafi in his views. He encouraged the Ottoman Empire to issue a crackdown on Wahhabism. This resulted in Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, a Sufi scholar with Salafist-influenced beliefs to be sent into exile.
References.
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