Husayn bin Abdullah al-Aydarus was a Ba Alawi scholar of Tarim who lived from 861 to 917 AH. Al-Mashra al-Rawi records that he memorised the Quran, studied recitation and tajwid, and then pursued the religious and Arabic sciences. His teachers included Muhammad bin Ali Kharid, Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman Balfqih, Ahmad Sharif bin Ali Kharid, Abdullah bin Abd al-Rahman Balhaj Bafadl and Abdullah bin Ali Bamadraj. His father died while Husayn was still a child, and the source says that his uncle Ali bin Abi Bakr took responsibility for his upbringing.
Husayn later travelled through Yemen and Aden and performed Hajj. In the Hijaz he studied hadith and other disciplines with scholars including Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Sakhawi and Ibrahim bin Ali bin Zuhayrah. After returning to Tarim he taught across several fields. The source names a number of people who studied with him, including his son Ahmad bin Husayn bin Abdullah al-Aydarus, whose own biography also records study under his father.
The biography also associates Husayn with the restoration of a mosque in Tarim that became connected with his name.
Karamat in the received tradition
Al-Mashra al-Rawi preserves several karamat attributed to Husayn. His student Abd al-Rahim bin Ali al-Khatib related that during a Friday dawn prayer he became physically distressed and considered leaving the congregation. Husayn unexpectedly shortened the second rak’ah by reciting Surat al-Ikhlas after al-Fatihah, then remained seated in his usual place until sunrise. Abd al-Rahim understood the change as an instance of spiritual perception on his teacher’s part.
The work also relates that one of Husayn’s companions complained of having little wealth and many dependants. Husayn instructed him to recite verses of the Quran over the small amount of food and dates he possessed, and the account says that the provisions were blessed sufficiently to last through the year. Another traditional account concerns Husayn’s son-in-law, Muhammad bin Ali al-Amiri al-Samahi, who was imprisoned in Shibam. People reportedly saw Husayn in a dream in Shibam saying that he had come to secure the man’s release, and the prisoner was released the following morning. These reports are preserved as part of Husayn’s received devotional biography.
Husayn died in Tarim on 16 Muharram 917 AH and was buried near his brother. A modern scholarly study of Hadrami Shafi’i jurists independently confirms his death in 917 AH and discusses him among the scholars of that period.
Lineage and source note
Primary source: Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, biography of Husayn bin Abdullah al-Aydarus. It records his birth in 861 AH, education, travels, teachers, students, attributed karamat and death on 16 Muharram 917 AH. His identity and 917 AH death are independently corroborated in modern scholarship on Hadrami Shafi’i jurists and in later biographical references.