On April 7,
1997, the delegation of As-Sunna Foundation of America flew
to Jakarta, Indonesia
from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The delegation included ASFA
Chairman, Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani, ASFA general
secretary Mateen Siddiqui, president of Muslim Networks,
Br. Mohammed Khan, President of LSI, Leonardo
"Khalid bin Waleed" Stoute, secretary of Jama`at
As-Sunnah Singapura, Ibrahim Abdur Rahman, and
representative of the Haqqani Foundation of Malaysia,
Mahmoud Khan.
Greeting the delegation at the airport were many well-wishers,
interested in meeting the shaykh and the ASFA delegation. The
group was whisked off to central Jakarta by the waiting cars. In
the city, they emerged at one of the centers of the
Naqshbandi-Khalidi Tariqat. Greeted by Shaykh Masud Mustafa, they
were hosted at a fine Indonesian meal and Shaykh Hisham addressed
the large crowd of murids. Present at that meeting were a number
of prominent members of the Jakarta community, including the
Habaib descendants of the original Islamic pioneering Muslim
settlers from Hadramaut, Yemen, who are descendents of the family
of the Prophet (s) and who were responsible for spreading Islam
according to Ahl as-Sunna wal-Jama`at far and wide
throughout Southeast Asia through the Sufi tariqats of Shadiliya,
Alawiyya, Chistiyya, Darqawiyya and others. Later, it was the
Naqshbandiyya-Khalidiyya caliphs of Shaykh
Khalid al-Baghdadi and the Naqshbandiyya-Daghestani silsila
of Sayyid Jamaluddin al-Ghumuqi
al-Husaini's caliphs that spread Islam into the far reaches
of the islands and the outlying areas of Indonesia.
Few people slept that night, due to the excitement of being with the Shaykh and the ASFA delegation. Many stayed up waiting to pray tahajjud and Fajr with the shaykh. Fajr recitations were followed by a brief rest and then breakfast. After breakfast the first stop was the home of Brother Firdaws, preparing to leave for Hajj the same day. After a meeting with his family and close friends, the entourage drove to Jakarta downtown. There they paid a visit to Jamiat Majlis at-Turuq of Indonesia--the supervising government body in charge of the Sufi tariqats in Indonesia.
After this official visit, Shaykh Hisham and the ASFA delegation paid a visit to Istiqlal Mosque. The lower floor of the mosque is devoted to the Majlis Ulema of Indonesia. There the guests visited the offices of K.H. Dr. Muhammad Ali Yafi and other Majlis officials. They welcomed the shaykh and were highly interested to hear about the progress of da`wah in the United States. They were surprised to hear that "Salafism" had penetrated the US Islamic movement as strongly as it has, and happy to see the work of ASFA in combatting such extremism, radicalism and intolerance between Muslims.
The delegation then traveled to visit the mosque of Sayyid Abu Bakr bin Sayyid Alawi. Among the great awliya of Indonesia, Sayyid Abu Bakr was one of the famous Yemeni Ahl-i Bayt saints who traveled to Indonesia in order to make da`wah and call people to the path of peace and submission. His tomb is beside the mosque, and Shaykh and the delegation stopped there to pray for his soul.
That night, group dhikr was held at the Naqshbandi center and many brothers and sisters took initiation on the Naqshbandi silsila. The shaykh spoke on the need for all Muslims to hold fast together to the rope of Allah and to serve Islam, each person and each group to its utmost capacity.
The next day began again at around 4:30 am, with the tahajjud prayers, followed by Fajr and breakfast. The day comprised visits to various families, masajid and maqams. Then as the afternoon drew to a close, the group bid farewell to the hosting Indonesian group and at 4:30 pm, flew to Malaysia.
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Shaykh Hisham M. Kabbani, ASFA Chairman, and the rest of the ASFA delegation from the US visit with Jamiat Majlis at-Turuq of the government of Indonesia, the official government body which oversees the 40 Islamic tariqats in Indonesia |
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Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani presents a copy of his latest book "The Doctrine of Ahl as-Sunna: a Refutation of 'Salafi' Innovations" to the Majlis Jamiat at-Turuq of Indonesia |
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Brother Firdaws and Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani discuss Br. Firdaws' upcoming Hajj trip |
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani leads group invocation at the newly designated center for dhikr in Jakarta |
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As-Sayyid Shaykh Hisham Muhammad Kabbani met with the Esteemed Leader of government's Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), K.H. Dr. Muhammad Ali Yafi and presented him with his latest book, "The Doctrine of Ahl as-Sunna". Also present at this formal meeting with the Ministry of Religious Affairs of The Republic of Indonesia were other officials of the Ministry. Dr. M. A. Yafi was highly appreciative of the ASFA Chairman's efforts to counterattack the Wahabi propaganda machine, which fortunately has had little effect in Indonesia due to the strength of the Ahl as-Sunna scholars and the power of the tariqats there which were responsible for spreading Islam throughout Indonesia |
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Another group of Indonesians take initiation with Shaykh Mohammed Nazim al-Haqqani at the hand of Shaykh Muhammad Kabbani. Shaykh Mustafa Mas'ud is holding Shaykh Hisham's hand, with his wife and daughters behind him |
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Shaykh Nor Khalis of Bandung and a large group of his murids take initiation to Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani at the hand of Shaykh Hisham Kabbani. Shaykh Nor Khalis lives in a village in Central Java. He invited Shaykh Hisham Kabbani to visit his village on his next trip to Indonesia. He dedicated his Islamic center, located at Kabu Paten Kendal, to the work of charity, helping orphans, widows and the needy |
The
ASFA delegation praying for the soul of the wali, Sayyid
Abu Bakar bin Sayyid Aluwi
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Ladies taking initiation into theNaqshbandi-Haqqaniorder |
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Shaykh Hisham Kabbani's arrival at the Jakarta Naqshbandi zawiya. He is greeted by Shaykh Mustafa Masud |
Dinner is served at the Naqshbandi center in Jakarta |
ASFA Delegation Visits
Singapore
ASFA Delegation's Malaysia
Tour