Sayyid Tajuddin al-Kittani – The passing of a great saint in Damascus
by Seeker
The passing of a great saint in Damascus
Written by His Eminence
Sayyid Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi
We sadly received today the news of the death of Sayyid Tajuddin Al-Kittani, a scholar who practised his knowledge, a righteous wali and respected Sayyid, after he spent 85 years in teaching and guiding people and reviving the Sunnas of the Elect, upon him all prayers and salutation be sent.
This is a great calamity and a serious loss, at which hearts may split and mountains could collapse, as the deceased was a pillar of sainthood and guidance in the Syrian territories.
He was a godly man, filled with trust, overwhelming with sincerity, while humility and asceticism added to his perfection.
He is the son of the famous scholar, Sayyid, Muhammad Makki Al-Kittani, who was the Malikite Mufti and the chairman of the league of the Ulema in Damascus. He accompanied his father and swam in the oceans of his knowledge and guidance. He studied the Islamic and Arabic sciences under various scholars of Syria; and after he graduated from Al-Azhar university he started teaching the Damascus secondary schools where generations of young students benefitted from him, while teaching the sacred knowledge outside schools till he retired. He then devoted the rest of his life to offering spiritual guidance to his students.
He received an ijaza from his father, who requested iajzas for him from many scholars such as the Grand Muhaddith sh. Badruddin Al-Hasani. He also received an ijaza from Sayyid Abdul Kabir ibn Al-Maahi Al-Siquilli and studied with him, alongside his father, the forty hadiths of Imam Ajlooni. He, after the death of his father, started leading the Tuesday dhikr gathering in the home of his father, which was moved later to Al-Dlamiyyah mosque in Salihiyya quarter.
He, may Allah have mercy on him, was a wali with a fast state, with strong spiritual impact and high aspirations in the spiritual world. His dua was answered, and he always tended to seclusion, keeping away from formalities, befriending his students, speaking always the truth, though he did not speak much.
He maintained a state of dhikr and practised the Prophetic sunnas and guarded the adabs of the shari’a revering anything related to the Prophetic Side, as his ancestors always did.
He, may Allah have mercy on him, was in great love with our family, the Al-Yaqoubis, holding my father in respect. He attended some of my father’s lectures on Risala of Imam Qushayri and the commentary of Hikam by Ibn ‘Ajeebah and referred to my father on tough shari’a questions and ambiguous sufi issues. He loved me and made several statements in praise of me, which I proclaim in thankfulness to Allah. I knew him since I was a little boy, while I am now at the age of fifty, and he always was a man of uprightness and firm state. He also knew how I had special attention from his father and that I got the iajza of his father several times and that I heard the musalsal hadiths from him.
He is the second son of Sayyid Makki. The first son of Sayyid Makki, who is seven years older than him, is Sayyid Muhammad Al-Faatih, living now in Syria. He is the imam of the gnostics and the remaining of the elders of the salaf and a distinguished wali in the Islamic World today. We pray Allah extend his life and allow Muslims to benefit from his presence.
Upon receiving this sad news with full acceptance of the decree of Allah and an absolute submission to His Divine Will, we beseech Allah to send His Infinite Mercy upon the deceased. We offer our heartfelt and sincere condolences to his two sons Dr. Abdul Rahman and Dr. Abdul Kabir, to his older brother, Sayyid Al-Faatih and to the rest of his brothers, and specially to his uncle, Dr. Idris Al-Kittani of Rabat, and to the entire Kittani family in Syria and Morocco as well as all his students. We pray that Allah put all good and barakah in his offspring and his brothers. We belong to Allah and to Him is our return.