Habib Omar al-Jilani, one of Mecca’s most respected Hadith scholars, a leading Shafi‘i jurist and a revered spiritual guide known across the Islamic world, has died, his students announced this week. He was 90.
Al-Jilani, celebrated for his gentle character, deep scholarship and commitment to the Prophetic tradition, was regarded as one of the last remaining pillars of the Meccan scholarly community. He passed away while preparing to travel to Jakarta for a mission dedicated to Islamic teaching and outreach, a journey he intended solely for serving the religion, his students said.
Born in 1946 in the village of al-Hariba in Yemen’s Hadramawt region – long known for its scholars and pious families – al-Jilani came from a distinguished lineage tracing back to Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, the famed saint and leader of the ‘arifin (gnostics). His father, Imam Hamid bin Abdulhadi al-Jilani, was among Yemen’s leading scholars, and his mother hailed from the devout and learned Baras family.
Displaying remarkable aptitude from childhood, al-Jilani pursued studies in grammar, jurisprudence, Hadith, tafsir and spiritual refinement. Recognizing his talent, his father personally supervised his education. At just 17, he was appointed to teach at the Hariba Madrasa, marking the beginning of a lifetime devoted to Islamic knowledge.
He later studied under major scholars of Hadramawt, including Habib Muhammad bin Hadi al-Saggaf and Habib Alawi bin Abdullah bin Shihab, before emigrating to Mecca due to the repressive communist regime then ruling southern Yemen.
In Mecca, al-Jilani studied with many of the city’s leading scholars, such as Shaykh Hasan Mashshat, Sayyid Alawi bin Abbas al-Maliki, Abdullah al-Lahji, Abdullah al-Dardum, Ishaq Azzuz, Habib Abd al-Qadir bin Ahmad al-Saggaf, Habib Ahmad Mashhur bin Tahah al-Haddad, Habib Hud al-Saggaf and Shaykh Yasin al-Fadani.
Over the next three decades, he established prominent lesson circles in Mecca, attracting students, scholars and sayyids from around the world. He taught nightly after evening prayers outside of Ramadan, and during the afternoon in Ramadan. His lessons – rich in wisdom, refinement and spiritual insight – were widely sought after.
Al-Jilani authored numerous works, including al-Wajiz, responses to questions from King Abdulaziz University; Tazkiya and the Ummah’s Need for It; studies on Portuguese attacks on Yemen’s coasts; works on the dangers and ethics of issuing fatwas; The Etiquette of Students of Knowledge; research on entering ihram from Jeddah; and Hadramawt Jurists’ Service to the Shafi‘i School. He also produced a biographical work on his father titled Nashr al-Mamadaih wa’l-Mahamid.
He traveled extensively for scholarly conferences and da‘wah, delivered lectures at Islamic institutes worldwide, and shared lessons on Sunnah sciences, sirah and Shafi‘i jurisprudence through social media.
Students remember him as a man of dignity, piety and steadfast adherence to Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah.
“His life was an example for the truthful; his passing a reminder for those who act,” one student said.
