The Visiting and Resident 'Ulama

Toronto has also been blessed by the visiting 'ulama-e-haqq (scholars of truth). Among the most senior of these or representatives of their tariqas are:

• Imam Muhammad bin 'Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani (from Makkah);

• Mawlana Shah Ahmad Noorani Siddiqui al-Qadiri and Mawlana Nasrullah Khan al-Qadiri (from Pakistan);

• Mawlana Na'eem Ashraf al-Qadiri and Sayed Mehboob Ali Shah Chishti (from India);

• Al-Marhum Mawlana 'AbdulWahhab Siddiqi al-Naqshbandi, Rahmatullahi 'alaih and Shaykh Muhammad Abubakar BaShuaib (from U.K);

• Shaykh Mustafa Yucel al-Naqshbandi (from Germany);

• Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti (from U.S.A); and

• Shaykh Salisu Shaban al-Tijani (from Ghana).

Faiz and barakat (blessings) have also been received from the visits of various other 'ulama (whose names are given here in alphabetical order according to country of origin).

From India:

• Mawlana Sayed Muhammad Madani Ashrafi,
• Mawlana Sayed Kalim Ashrafi,
• Mawlana Sayed Muhammad Hashmi Ashrafi,
• Mawlana Sayed Muhammad Jilani Ashraf Kachchochavi,
• Mawlana Sayed Kamruddin Qadiri,
• Khawaja Khushhal Shah,
• and Sayed Abul Hasan Ashrafi;

From Netherlands:

• Hafiz Shaheed Siddiqui;

From Pakistan:

• Prof. Shah Faridul Haq,
• Mawlana Ahsan Ilahi,
• Dr. Tahirul Qadiri,
• Mawlana Qari Ghulam Rasul,
• Mawlana Sayed Muhammad Taher Shah;
• and Mawlana Ahmad Siddiqui;

From Trinidad:

• Mawlana Siddiq Nasir;

From U.K:

• Mawlana Qamar uz Zaman Azmi,
• Mawlana Qari Khadim Husain Chishti,
• Mawlana Shahid Raza,
• Mawlana Faizul Aqtab Siddiqi,
• Zainul Aqtab Siddiqi
• and Nurul Aqtab Siddiqi;

From U.S.A:

• Shaykh Muhammad al-Akili,
• Dr. Hasan ud-Deen Hashmi,
• Mawlana Husain Rizvi,
  
• Mawlana Ghulam Yasin Qadiri Rizvi;

From Yemen:

• Sayyid Ali al-Jifri al-'Alawi.

Muslims of Toronto have also benefited immensely from the visits of scholars from U.S.A whose hearts Allah Ta'ala has opened to Islam, scholars such as Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller and Shaykh Hamza Yousef.

Muslim women have also been overjoyed with the visits of Dr. Farida Ahmad, an illustrious 'alimah from Pakistan, the daughter of Mawlana 'Abdul Aleem Siddiqi. MaashaaAllah!

These 'ulama have drunk deep at the fount of Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and when they go to preach to non-Muslims, they warn against shirk (polytheism) and expound on the blessings of Islam and when they address Muslims, they talk of the love of Allah Ta'ala and the love of the beloved Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam. They command great love and respect, as do the sayyid saadaat (descendants of the beloved Prophet Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam), and all elders in general.

The 'ulama and mashaayikh are hosted by various Muslim fraternities, organisations and mosques. They deliver a khutbah (talk), establish a halaqa (circle) of zikr and mawlid, and mobilise the mureedeen and muhibbeen to greater juhd (exertion). They expound on sound 'aqida (creed), shari'a (sacred Muslim law), tariqa (spiritual path), and ma'rifa (gnosis), that is, all the spiritual realities of Islam, and many of them draw huge crowds, especially among University students who eagerly await them to hear about the Ihya' of Imam al-Ghazali Rahmatullahi 'alaih or the Qasida tul Burda of Imam al-Buseeri Rahmatullahi 'alaih. From whichever part of the world they come, their language is the same, the language of Tasawwuf, the language of the inner spiritual dimension of Islam. Muslims of Toronto feel they are an international fraternity of muhibbeen of the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa Sallallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam, spiritually linked to him through the baraka (blessings) of their Shaykh.

This feeling of international brotherhood has been strengthened with increasing access to the internet which links sufi tariqas across the world in the world wide web. Zikr groups that have developed web-sites are:

• 'Alawiyyah (Iqra Islamic Publications)
  http://www.iqra.net

• Canadian Society of Muslims
  http://muslim-canada.org
  

• Jerrahi Sufi Order of Canada
  http://www.jerrahi.org
  

• Minhaj ul Qur'an
  http://www.minhaj.org
  
  
• Muslims of the Americas
  http://www.ummah.net/moa-on-line/
  

• Spiritual Foundation
  http://www.spiritualfoundation.org
  

• The Sufi Study Circle of the University of Toronto
  http://muslim-canada.org/sufi/index.html
  

• World Islamic Mission
  http://www.wimnet.org
  

Among the resident senior 'ulama, imams and mashayikh are (in alphabetical order according to country of origin): Imam Hafiz 'AbdulHaleem 'Aleem (from Afghanistan), Imam Hâjj Shameer Khan and Imam Muhammad Yusuf (from Guyana), Syed Mumtaz Ali saheb (from India), Shaykh Yousef Bakhour and Imam Yusuf Chebli (from Labanon), Imam 'Abdulshakur Dulloo (from Mauritius), Mawlana Qazi Bashiruddin Farooqui (from Pakistan), Shaykh Umar al-Qadiri (from Somalia), Shaykh Ahmad Talal (from Syria), and Imam Muzaffar Kosar (from Turkey).

Recently, the Muslims of Toronto suffered a great loss when Shaykh Hamid Jabir, Imam of Tariq Masjid passed away after performing Hajj and was laid to rest in Jannatul Baqi in Madinatul Munawwah. He was a Hafiz u'l Qur'an and a Shaykh with the 'Alawi background who used to recite Waseelatush Shafi and Tabaraka Dhul 'Ulaa after Taraweh prayers in the month of Ramadan. May Allah Ta'ala raise his daraja (rank) in Jannah, Aameen.

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