The Appropriation of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Ihyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn by the Sāda Bā ʿAlawī of Ḥaḍramawt

John F. Rhodus Jr.

This dissertation examines the appropriation of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Ịḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn by the Sāda Bā ʿAlawī of Hadramawt. The study begins by discussing the origins of the Sāda Bā ʿAlawī, highlighting the three most salient landmarks of their historical narrative and emphasizing what formed the backdrop of their appropriation of the Iḥyā’. I then proceed to introduce Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Ịḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn. I argue that it must be understood as intertwined with al-Ghazālī’s life and viewed through the lens of tajdīd (religious renewal), the essence of which is encased in his unique conception of ʿilm ṭarīq al-ākhira (The Science of the Path of the Hereafter). Once these foundational aspects of the study are in place, the thesis moves on to examine the convergence between the Sāda Bā ʿAlawī and the Ịḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn by exploring the silsila (initiatic chain) of the Sāda Bā ʿAlawī to al-Ghazālī’s magnum opus, the potential date of its arrival in Hadramawt, and the time period for the first stage of its appropriation. I argue that the process of appropriation began roughly around the time of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saqqāf (d. 819/1416) and culminated in Shaykh ʿAbd Allah al-ʿAydarūs’s (d. 865/1461) project of promulgation, which was motivated by his position as Naqīb (Headman), the increased social distinction of the Sāda Bā ‘Alawī, new political developments in Hadramawt, and the burgeoning of the Bā ʿAlawī diaspora. Analyzing the hermeneutics of Shaykh ʿAbd Allah indicates that he saw the Iḥyā’ as both the best summary of the Bā ʿAlawī approach to religion as well as the preeminent practical manual for the path to God. He would then go on to dedicate himself to the promulgation of the Iḥyā’ with all means available to him to ensure its transmission to subsequent generations, thus establishing it as a core component of the Bā ʿAlawī tradition. At the nexus of Yemeni Sufism and Ghazālian studies, this study will uncover important dimensions of the understudied Sāda Bā ʿAlawī by examining them through the lens of al-Ghazālī’s Iḥya’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn and simultaneously demonstrating a positive reception of one of Islam’s most important works.