“Whosoever surrenders his affairs to Allah at the start of his suluk, Allah will honour him at its end.“

Al-‘alim Al-‘Allamah Al-Arif Billah Ash-Shaykh Ash-Sharif Sidi Youssef Ibn Muhyiddin Riq Al-Bakhur Al-Hasani (حفظه الله)

Introduction

Shaykhuna Sidi Youssef Al-Hasani is the spiritual father and leader of our thoriqah. He is a contemporary scholar who guides people to Allah(swt) in this modern day and age. Since many of his students hail from Nusantara, his presence and da’wah is more focused on this region. Every year, he would make multiple visits to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei to visit his students and conduct lessons as well as suhbah. Thus is the dedication of a teacher to his students. Born in Akka, Lebanon on 10th October 1947 (26 Dhul Qa’idah 1366 H), his father was of Hasani decent and his mother of Husayni.

Formal Education

Ash-Shaykh grew up in a wealthy family which was well-known in Lebanon. However, despite receiving modern education since young, he always had a strong inclination to the religious sciences. The guidance and influence of the various Mashayikh in his region spurred his love for the religious sciences. Upon completing his education in Lebanon, his father intended to send him to Sweden to further his studies in the field of engineering. However, not long after going to Sweden, ash-Shaykh travelled to Syria to deepen his knowledge on the religious sciences which he loved dearly. He enrolled in the Ma’had Al-Fath Al-Islami in Damascus.

In 1974, ash-Shaykh undertook two bachelor’s degree simultaneously – one Islamic Studies from the Islamic University of Lebanon and the other, Asy-Syariah Wal-Qanun from the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Upon successfully completing both degrees, he pursued his masters degree at the Al-Azhar University in the same field. This phase of formal education ended in 1989 when ash-Shaykh completed his masters degree. He was later granted an honorary doctorate (Ph.D) from the Islamic University of Lebanon in 1991.

Spiritual Journey

Ash-Shaykh Sidi Youssef Al-Hasani initiated his spiritual journey during his early days at the hands of Sidi Muhammad Sa’id Al-Burhani, who was among the senior students and caliphs of the renowned Sidi Muhammad Al-Hashimi At-Tilimsani. During this period of mentorship, Ash-Shaykh was granted the good fortune of accompanying Sidi Muhammad Sa’id to meet with Sidi Muhammad Al-Hashimi shortly before the latter passed on in 1961. Soon after this, in 1967, ash-Shaykh would be separated from his beloved master Sidi Muhammad Sa’id who himself passed on due to old age. 

Due to his thirst for tarbiyyah, which is the continuous and comprehensive process of developing one’s character, values and spiritual adeptness at the hands of an accomplished master, ash-Shaykh took bay’ah with Sidi Abdul Qadir ‘Isa Al-Halabi – a close friend of Sidi Muhammad Sa’id Al-Burhani and fellow caliph of Sidi Muhammad Al-Hashimi. This took place when ash-Shaykh was furthering his religious studies at Ma’had Al-Fath Al-Islami in Damascus. Through sincere and diligent suhbah with his new master, ash-Shaykh proved to be proficient in matters of tarbiyyah and was thus granted permission by Sidi Abdul Qadir ‘Isa Al-Halabi to transmit the honourable Wiridul ‘Amm.

The Spread and Expansion of Thoriqah Asy-Syadziliyah

Upon completion of his degree, Ash-Shaykh was appointed as the representative to the Mufti of Lebanon and was sent to a mosque in Hamilton, Canada as an Imam and da’ie. He carried out this duty from 1982 to 1986. 

In 1992, ash-Shaykh was appointed as a guiding teacher at the Bosnia & Hamilton Mosque in Toronto. Alongside this appointment, he also served at a centre for the propagation of Islam known as Markaz ar-Rashad where he was later appointed as the Mufti of the local Muslim community. Ash-Shaykh used this opportunity to spread At-Tariqah ash-Shadziliyah ad-Darqawiyah al-‘Alawiyyah, while staying in Canada for the next 30 years. At this point, the dakwah of ash-Shaykh started to spread and became widely accepted.

Ash-Shaykh has also been appointed as a lecturer at the Islamic University of Lebanon, and assumed the responsibilities as a Qadhi. He was also an executive committee member of the Fatwa Committee of Lebanon. During this period, he had to travel frequently between Canada and Lebanon in order to fulfil his duties and obligations. 

In the mid 1990’s, ash-Shaykh started to widen his dakwah to Cairo, Egypt by establishing Darul Hasani Centre. The centre would serve as a place for the esteemed students of Al-Azhar University to gather and receive knowledge and tarbiyyah. Many of ash-Shaykh’s students were from Nusantara. When they graduated and returned to their homeland, they would establish their own centres of dakwah under the supervision of ash-Shaykh who would visit them numerous times each year (pre COVID-19). To date, there are a total of 15 Darul Hasani centres in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Alhamdulillah.