and i miss them dearly...: Venitian ikhwan!

We had the pleasure of hosting an ikhwan from venice, Bro Nicola Isa Abd Haqq Benassi,23 years of age, who converted to islam 2 yrs ago, at the hands of Shaykh Yahya Sergio Yahe Pallavicini who was born to a Japanese muslim woman and Shaykh Abdul Wahid Pallavicini. This story of the Pallavicinis is just sooo interesting.

We had dinner after mgrb at joo chiat, and I had a light moment and wonderful sharing by Brother Isa,who speaks fluent Italian and French, and Arabic. He told me his story. He was born a catholic and converted to islam just a yr ago, studying islam and Arabic at venice and Milan under the tutelage of shaykh yahya pallavicini. And we joked around, askin him whether or not he is married and he is not. We told him in Singapore there are a lot of good muslimahs. Haha

with Bro Isa Abdal Haqq Benassi

Anyways, I asked him about adaptation, from cathoicism to islam.
He said something to this effect;
It is quite natural for me because both come from God and I am still worshipping the same God.

And I asked what about the Trinity?
He said in theology trinity and tauhid is different and incompatible and he accepts that tauhid is the correct one.

Then I asked how did you come to accept the Prophet saw?
He said I didn’t know abt islam or the Prophet saw until about a yr ago when I started reading up, I even do not know that I would be in Singapore today to visit the zawiya of Sidi Abdul Rasyid bin Muhammad Sa’id al-linggi. But I see the Prophet, u know he is the Seal of all messengers, as the final synthesizer of all the monotheistic religion. Almost as saying “if there is such a thing as the Old and New testament, then there is such a thing as the LAST AND FINAL TESTAMENT and that is the Quran.

Lai yushibanaa illa maa kataballahu lanaa, HUWA MAWLANA.

And I asked him again, what made you come to Islam?
He said it was his search for a spiritual master and he found Shaykh Yahya Pallavicini.

I interrupted, aren’t bishops and the Pope spiritual masters?
He said only by name, not practice. He met Pope Benedict the 16th and couldn’t feel the attraction to a master as he felt for Shaykh Yahya and Shaykh Abdul wahid pallavicini. MasyaAllah!

One of the things he mintak kirim bawak balik ke italy is the kain pelekat, haha.

Shaykh Abdul Wahid Pallavicini, Shaykh Yahya’s father, was among the first ever recorded Italian musim. He travelled to Egypt and converted to islam and was initiated into the Syazili Order of Shaykh Abu Hasan Asy-Syazili. Then he experienced a spiritual opening to look for his Guide. So he travelled far and wide until word came to him of a famous Shaykh in Singapore. He came to Singapore and attended the zawiya and majlis of Sidi Abdul Rasyid bin Sidi Muhammad Sa’id Al-Linggi, seorang anak melayu yang sangat sangat diakui kealimannya ,kesolihannya oleh para guru-guru beliau di hijazz.

Anyways, Shaykh Abdul Wahid Pallavicini was attracted to Sidi Rasyid and then took baiah under him. And Sidi Abdl Rasyid gave him, one of four who received the ijaza from sidi Rasyid to propagate the tariqah ahmadiah idrisiah to Italy. Shaykh Abdul Wahid Pallavicini returned to Italy and founded the COREIS and the Al-Wahid Mosque in Milan, the Ahmadi zawiya there, hopefully I get to visit one day amin!

When, February 2006, Yahya Pallavicini, imam and vice-president of the CO.RE.IS., was invited to become a member of the Council for Italian Islam set up by the Ministry of the Interior, one of the main aims of the Comunità Religiosa Islamica (COREIS) Italiana was realized — that is, the provision of a face and official status for Islam in Italy. It is almost twenty years since Pope John Paul II invited the representatives of all the world religions to gather in Assisi. The Islamic authorities also included Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini, who was the inspirer and catalyst of the group of Muslim intellectuals who in 1993 founded the Associazione Internazionale per l’Informazione sull’Islam, which was transformed into the CO.RE.IS. Italiana in 1997
http://www.coreis.it/home%20page%20in%20inglese.htm

His father, Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini, embraced the Muslim faith in 1951, like many other European intellectuals at that time who adopted Islam in the wake of the French metaphysician René Guénon. In the course of a long of a voyage in the East, he joined the Sufi confraternity Ahamadiyyah Idrissiyyah Shadhiliyyah, which is in sharp contrast to the sectarian Wahhabi Islamism that still dominates Saudi Arabia. He later became head of the confraternity in Italy. In Assisi, in 1986, Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini took part in the prayer meeting among the leaders of the religions called together by John Paul II. His dream is to build in Milan "a little Jerusalem that would see the children of Abraham united in prayer: Jews, Christians, and Muslims." His unshakable faith is that Islam is "the ultimate and definitive expression of that primordial tradition that founded, confirms, and vivifies the earlier revelations." http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?page=media&item=314

Since then, the Pallavicinis saw the conversion of some 50k Italians to islam packaged with the idrisi tradition, to such as extent that practically every Italian muslim today is an Ahmadi, and no, by that they are not the infamous ahmadis associated with mirza ghulam ahmad of british india. Ahmad is one of the Most Exalted names of the Prophet alaihi afdhalasalatu wassalam. Which is why in surah saff, when jesus was prophesying about the Prophet Muhammad saw, he said “good news of a messenger who will come after me, his name is AHMAD.” Ahmadurrasulullah, muhammadurrasulullah

with dr ahmad hassan malibari, slalu nyakat aku

afther dinner, we had isyak at an ikhwan's place and then off to masjid kassim for zikir. Bro isa is just 2 years muslim yet he was the imam for our isyak, impressive! we were served durian puffs, kinda awkward for bro isa but makan jugak!

Bro Isa and Ust Hasbi, Khalifah tariqah di Singapura

the old-timers

Sidi Ahmad ibn Idris, may Allah sanctify his soul, was a syazili before receiving instructions to establish his own tariqah when he met nabi saw secara suri(yaqaza).

Sidi ahmad idris punye khalifah pertama ialah sidi Ibrahim ar-rasyid dan selepas itu sidi Muhammad ad-dandarawi.

Sidi Jamaluddin al-linggi pula mengambil tariqah ini daripada sidi Muhammad dandarawi. Antara anak sidi jamaluddin ialah sidi Muhammad sa’id bin jamaluddin al linggi, a close friend of al gwath habib nuh al habsyi. Sidi Muhammad sa’Id dapat perintah rasul supaya sebarkan ajaran ke tanah jawi.

Anaknya, Mufti negeri 9 sebelum ini, Tuan Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad sa’id, pernah menjadi khalifah bagi tariqah ni. Shaykh Ahmad bin Muhammad sa’id al linggi adalah abang kepada sidi Abdul Rasyid bin Muhammad said al linggi.

Sekarang mufti N9 is Sohibus Samahah Tuan Mufti Shaykh Murtadha bin Shaykh Ahmad bin shaykh Muhammad said al linggi, abang kepada Sidi Faiz bin Shaykh Ahmad bin shaykh Muhammad said al linggi.

So its really very recent, just 5 generations away from sidi ahmad ibn idris al fasi.

And it’s very interesting to have ikhwan from Europe with unfamiliar names such as benassi, pallavicini, salvatore perhaps?

Tuan Mufti Shaykh Murtadha bin Shaykh Ahmad bin Shaykh Muhammad Said al Linggi