Ahmad al-Muhajir

Ahmad al-Muhajir (Arabic: أحمد المهاجر‎, Aḥmad al-muhāǧir, [ɑhmɑd ɑl muhɑːdʒiɽ]; 260-345 AH or 873-956 CE) also known as Al-Imām Aḥmad bin ʻIsa was an Imam Mujtahid and the progenitor of Ba 'Alawi sada group which is instrumental in spreading Islam to India, Southeast Asia and Africa. He was the son of ‘Isa the son Muhammad the son of 'Ali al-Uraidhi who was the fourth son of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq, a fifth generation descendant of Ali bin Abu Talib and Fatimah bint Muhammad, the daughter of Muhammad.

His full name is Aḥmad ibn Isa Ar-Rumi ibn Muḥammad An-Naqib ibn 'Ali al-Uraidhi ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq ibn Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Ali Zayn al-Abidin ibn al-Husain ibn Ali bin Abu Talib. According to another history, he is thought to have been born in 241 Hijrah (820 CE).

Imam Aḥmad grew up under the supervision of his parents in an environment surrounded by scholars and living examples of prophetic character.He memorized the Qur'an and then mastered the sciences of the sacred law until he reached the rank mujtahid.He also had his own hadith collection (musnad) and was held in great esteem by Imam Al-Tabari.

In this section, it is claimed that Ahmed Ibn Isa is the owner "Musnad Ahmed" and that is incorrect. The Musnad Ahmed is hadith collection is written and collected by Immam Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, but not Ahmed Almuhajer.

Al-Imam Aḥmad bin Isa is called al-Muhâjir (emigrant) because he left Basra, Iraq during the Abbassid Caliphate that was headquartered in Baghdad in the year 317H (929 CE). His inner sight allowed him to witness the calamities and tribulations that would take place in Iraq.He realized the greatness of the sacred trust that he was carrying in his loins.

Aḥmad bin Isa left Basra with his wife, his son, Abdullah, (who preferred to be known as Ubaidillah) and his grandson from Ubaidillah (Basri, who was born in Basra).With them also was Sharif Muḥammad bin Sulayman, the grandfather of the Ahdal family and Sharif Aḥmad al-Qudaymi, the grandfather of the Qudaymi family, and a group of 70 people.He left his other three sons Muḥammad, Ali and Hussein in Iraq to take care of their wealth and property.

He first went to Madinah and Mecca, and then from Mecca to Yemen in around 319 H. He migrated at a time when there was much internal strife, bloodshed and confusion in Iraq, where a large number of the descendants of Muhammad were persecuted for political reasons by the ruling Abbasids and also because there was turmoil due to revolt against Abbasids ruling by members of the Qaramita.

He set out for Yemen in 319 H with his party and eventually reach Hadhramaut, while Aḥmad al-Qudaymi settled in northern Yemen and Sharif Muḥammad bin Sulayman in Tihama onthe Red Sea coast.He first settled in the village of Jubayl and then Hajrayn.Next he traveled to the village Qarat Bani Jushayr and finally settled in al-Husayyisah near Seiyun.

Imam al-Muhâjir arrived in Hadhramaut at a time when an offshoot of the Kharijite sect called Ibadiyyah held political power and had widespread influence throughout the valley.He persevered in the spreading of Islamic truths until he almost single-handedly removed the Ibadi sect from Hadhramaut without ever taking up arms against them.

He died in 345 H or 956 CE (another version said he died in 307 H or 924 CE) in al-Husaisah, a town between Tarim and Seiyun, Hadramaut. His shrine stands on a hill and is among the first shrines that visitors to Hadramaut pay their respects to when visiting the area.

There is a controversy about what Madhhab followed by Aḥmad bin ʻIsa. Most ulama (Islamic scholars) have the opinion that he was a sunni imam. Some other ulama such as Imam ʻAbdurraḥman bin ʻUbaidillah al-Saqqāf, Habib Ṣaleh al-Ḥamid, and Sayyid ʻAbdullah ibn Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād (brother of Habib Alwi bin Thahir al-Haddad, Mufti of Johor) and some others contend that he was a Shi'a follower.

Habib ʻAbdullah bin Ṭāhir al-Ḥaddād narrated: "Verily I tend to say that al-Muhâjir is follower of Imamiyah, because the Shafi'i Madhhab entered Hadhramaut long after his migration".

Habib Abdurrahman bin Ubaidillah al-Saqqaf emphasized that al-Muhâjir was not Sunni Shafi'i in fiqh (jurisprudence) nor Ash'arite in aqidah (theology).As Imam Aḥmad bin Isa is a Mujtahid, he does not need to follow any madhhabs.

At first the term Alawi is given to all descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, both of his al-Hasan and al-Husayn. Later, to distinguish the descent of Alwi bin Ubaidullah,the title Aal Bani Alawi is then used.

The Sayyids from the family of Bā 'Alawi sada of Yemen trace their descent to Aḥmad al-Muhâjir through his grandson, Alwi "Shahib Sumul" ibn Ubaidillah.Some of the Nine Saints of Java or Wali Sanga in Indonesia in some traditions are claimed to be descendants of him as well.Alwi son of Ubaidillah or also known as Alwi al-Awwal (The first Alwi) was the first of his descendants to be born in Yemen (one version says he was born in al-Husaisa, another version says he was born in Sumul)The word Bā in Ba 'Alawi sada is a strict Hadhrami term meaning the descendants of..

Currently, descendants of Imam Aḥmad through Alwi ibn Ubaidillah spread out mostly in Yemen, Africa, Southeast Asian countries (mostly in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, some in Singapore, South Philippines and a few in Thailand), and South Asian countries (Pakistan and India). Some of the prominent descendants of Imam Aḥmad are Imam Muhammad al-Faqih al-Muqaddam in the 13th century, Sayyid Abu Bakr Al-Aidarus (saint) of Tarim and Azmatkhan in India, Sunan Ampel in Indonesia in 15th century,Imam Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad in the 17th century, Raden Saleh bin Yahya(an aristocrat and an artist) in the 19th centuryHaidar Abu Bakr al-Attas (former prime minister of Yemen), Habib Umar bin Hafiz of Tarim, Habib Ali al-Jufri of Jeddah in 21st century.Some of his descendants in Indonesia, among others, are Sayyid Abdullah Al-Aidarus, Habib Ali Kwitang, Ali Alatas, Alwi Shihab, and Hamid Algadri.

Imam Aḥmad al-Muhâjir is an Imam Mujtahid, which means he is regarded as a primary source for rulings on religious matters.