Gibril Fouad Haddad | |
|---|---|
جبريل فؤاد حداد | |
| Born | 1960 (age 64–65) CE or 1380 AH[1] Beirut, Lebanon |
| Other names | Fouad Haddad; Gabriel Fouad Haddad; G.F. Haddad; Gibril F. Haddad; Gibril Fouad Haddad; Gibril Haddad; GF Haddad; Jibril Fouad Haddad; Jibril Fuad Haddad; Jibril Haddad |
| Occupation(s) | Islamic scholar,muhaddith |
| Employer | Universiti Brunei Darussalam |
Gibril Haddad | |
|---|---|
| Title | Shaykh |
| Personal life | |
| Region | Lebanese scholar |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh,Sufism,Aqidah |
| Occupation | Islamic Scholar |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Tariqa | Naqshbandi |
| Creed | Ashari |
Gibril Fouad Haddad (born 1960) (Arabic:جبريل فؤاد حداد;Arabic pronunciation:[gɪbriːlfʊɑːdħadda:d]) is a Lebanese-born Islamic scholar,hadith expert (muhaddith), author, and translator of classical Islamic texts. He was featured in the inaugural list ofThe 500 Most Influential Muslims and has been called "one of the clearest voices of traditional Islam in theWestern world",[2] a "prominent orthodox Sunni"[3] and a "staunch defender of thetraditional Islamic schools of law."[4] He holdsijazas from over 150 scholars across the Muslim world.[5][6] He was a visiting fellow (2013-2015) then senior assistant professor (2015-2018) at the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Center for Islamic Studies,Universiti Brunei Darussalam.[7][8] He is also a staunch critic ofWahhabism andSalafism.[9]
Gibril Haddad was born in 1960 inBeirut,Lebanon to a middle-class LebaneseCatholic family.[10] He has described his extended family as a mix ofEastern Orthodox andRoman/Maronite Catholics.[11] He was raised in a mixed neighborhood and attended aJesuit school that his father and grandfather had attended before him.[10] In 1976, his father died during theLebanese Civil War and his family was forced to flee Lebanon for theUnited Kingdom where Haddad completed high school.[10][12] Later his family moved to theUnited States where Haddad attendedColumbia College inNew York City and graduated with aBachelor of Arts degree. He then returned to Lebanon and got a job at his old school.[10][12] Two years later, he left Lebanon again and enrolled in a French literature graduate program atColumbia University, New York.[1][11] Haddad states he spent most of his time after classes at the local church or library and occasionally visited his mother.[12]
While in Lebanon Haddad realized that he was a nominal Christian who "did not really live according to what he knew were the norms of his faith."[10] He then decided that whenever the chance came he would try his best to live according to his idea of Christian standards for one year. He tried to do so while he was a student at Columbia University.[10] During that time, one of his AmericanChristian friends converted toIslam. Haddad recalls that this event had a significant impact on him and made him feel envious: “Here was an American embracing the religion of my people - theArabs - and the religion I felt attached to.”[12][10] During a year he spent inParis on a scholarship, Haddad bought a complete set of tapes of the recitation of theQuran. Upon returning to New York, he heard the tapes and paid special attention to the passages that concerned Christians. He recalls that he felt the words of the Quran were those ofGod but also "squirmed" at some of the "verses of threat".[10] He read many other books about Islam and eventually became dissatisfied with the Christian way of worship.[12] In 1991,[13][7] he went to a Muslim student group at Columbia University and pronounced theShahada, thereby formally converting to theHanafiSunni branch of Islam.[12][10]
Shortly after his conversion, Haddad met ShaykhHisham Kabbani of Tripoli[12][10] who introduced him to the ways of theNaqshbandi Spiritual Order (tariqa). In the month ofRamadan following his conversion, Haddad traveled toLondon where he met Kabbani's teacher and father-in-law,Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani of Cyprus, and accepted him as his spiritual guide of the Naqshbandi Spiritual Order.[11]
He then moved toDamascus where he studied for about 10 years[1] under manyIslamic scholars such as Dr. Nur al-Din `Itr, Shaykh Adib Kallas, Shaykh Wahbi Sulayman al-Ghawji, ShaykhMuhammad al-Yaqoubi, Dr. Samer al-Nass, Dr.Wahba Zuhayli, Shaykh Abd al-Hadi Kharsa, Shaykh Muhammad Muti al-Hafiz, Shaykh Bassam al-Hamzawi and Shaykh Munir al-Hayek.[1][11] During his time in Damascus, Haddad continued to meet Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani at his home in Cyprus as well as in Damascus.[11] InMecca, he studied under Shaykh Dr.Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki.[1][11] InMorocco he studied under Sidi Mustafa Bassir and inBeirut, he studied under Shaykh Husayn Usayran, the last of the close students ofQadi ShaykhYusuf al-Nabhani.[1][11]
Haddad initially followed theHanafischool of Sunni jurisprudence after his conversion to Islam but later adopted theShafi'i school of Sunni jurisprudence. He stated he did so because:1. He found it easier to study due to ShaykhNuh Ha Mim Keller’sReliance of the Traveler;2. He found it more logical to practice because it is the main school of jurisprudence in Lebanon and because it is the school his wife follows and;3. The founder of the school,Imam Shafi'i, was a member of theQuraysh tribe (the tribe ofMuhammad) and Muhammad had told his followers to hold fast to the Quran and the members of his household.[11][12]
Shaykh Gibril Haddad is regarded as an accomplished and influential Islamic scholar, hadith expert (muhaddith), religious leader, author, and translator of classical Islamic texts.[2][14][1] He holdsijazas from over 150 scholars across the Muslim world and has translated and published over 30 works.[2][5][6]
In 2009, he was listed amongstThe 500 Most Influential Muslims.[2][7][1] He has been a teacher on the traditional online Qibla Islamic institute (formerly SunniPath)[7][1] and is a contributor to the website eshaykh.com, which offers guidance and traditional teachings on various aspects of Islam.[15] He is currently chief editor of theIntegrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān (IEQ).[13][7][8]
Opposition to Salafism
Haddad is a staunch defender of the traditional Islamic schools of law[16] and an opponent ofSalafism-Wahhabism.[11][17]Jonathan A. C. Brown has noted Haddad to be an orthodox Sunni who has penned abrasive polemics againstSalafism and mounted vigorous defense of traditional Islamic law.[9][18]
He has published a complete translation of Qadi Ibn Jahbal al-Dimashqi's refutation ofIbn Taymiyya'sAl-`Aqidat al-Hamawiyat al-Kubra ("The creed of the great people ofHama") as well as a primer on contemporary Salafism titledAlbani and his Friends.[11][3][19] He has criticized theIslamic Circle of North America (ICNA), theIslamic Society of North America (ISNA), and theWorld Assembly of Muslim Youth for promoting Salafism.[17] He has also written a critique ofDeobandi scholarTaqi Usmani's fatwa against the celebration of Muhammad's birthday (Mawlid).[11]
Gibril Haddad has written hundreds of articles[13] and written, translated and published many books including:[13][1][12]
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