Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din was a Ba Alawi scholar of Tarim, widely known in his family as Ibn Shihab. Al-Mashra al-Rawi traces him through Ali bin Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. He was born and raised in Tarim, memorised the Quran and studied foundational texts before pursuing jurisprudence, hadith, legal theory, Quranic commentary and tasawwuf. Among those named in his education are his father, his brothers and Abdullah bin Shaykh al-Aydarus. He later travelled through Yemen and to the Hijaz, spending time in the Two Holy Sanctuaries and studying with additional scholars there. The source particularly emphasises his breadth of learning and careful writing.
Scholarly connections
Student: Muhammad bin Abi Bakr al-Shilli. Al-Shilli names Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din among the teachers from whom he studied Quranic commentary, hadith, legal theory and Arabic.
Student: Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Ahmad al-Aydarus. His biography records Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din among the scholars from whom he studied.
Student: Abdullah al-Aydarus al-Hafid. His biography names Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din among the teachers from whom he studied.
Student: Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. Al-Mashra al-Rawi records that he studied Quranic commentary, hadith, legal theory, tasawwuf and Arabic with Abu Bakr.
Student: Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Husayn al-Aydarus. The biography identifies this scholar among the student’s teachers.
Student: Abdullah bin Husayn bin Muhammad Bafaqih (Mawla Aidid). The biography identifies this scholar among the student’s teachers.
Teacher: Abdullah bin Shaykh bin Abdullah al-Aydarus. Abu Bakr’s biography records Abdullah bin Shaykh al-Aydarus among his teachers, while Abdullah’s biography names Abu Bakr among his students.
Student: Umar bin Abdullah Bashayban. Al-Mashra al-Rawi explicitly names Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din among Umar’s teachers in Tarim.
Student: Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Hadi bin Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. Al-Mashra al-Rawi identifies Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman among Ahmad al-Hadi’s teachers.
Teacher: Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din al-Saqqaf. Abu Bakr’s biography identifies his father among those from whom he studied, and his father’s biography names Abu Bakr among his students.
Lineage and source note
Primary source: Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, biography of Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din. It records his Tarim upbringing, education, travels through Yemen and the Hijaz, teaching and scholarly activity. Extraordinary narratives appearing after this biography in the source belong to the following Abu Bakr al-Saqqaf entry and are not attributed to this subject.