Umar bin Muhammad Ba Husayn al-Saqqaf was a Ba Alawi spiritual teacher whose life connected Tarim and Ahmadabad in India. Al-Mashra al-Rawi records that he was born in Tarim in 979 AH and grew up in a household associated with the Ba Husayn branch of the al-Saqqaf family.
The biography says that Umar showed an early preference for worship and religious discipline. He later travelled through coastal regions and entered India in 1001 AH. He eventually settled in Ahmadabad, where the account describes him teaching, guiding students, receiving visitors, assisting people in need and interceding on behalf of others.
Karamat in the received tradition
Umar’s biography preserves a substantial body of traditional accounts of karamat and unusual spiritual states associated with him. His disciple Muhyi al-Din Abd al-Qadir bin Shaykh bin Abdullah al-Aydarus is quoted in the first person as saying that he witnessed many extraordinary occurrences from Umar and regarded him as one of his shaykhs.
The same received tradition speaks of spiritual unveilings, aid to people in distress, healing of the sick and the multiplication of limited provisions among the extraordinary occurrences associated with Umar. These reports are preserved as transmitted devotional memory connected with his historical reception in Ahmadabad.
Abd al-Qadir also devoted an independent work to his teacher titled Qurrat al-Ayn fi Manaqib al-Wali Umar bin Muhammad Ba Husayn. Later bibliographical sources independently list this work among Abd al-Qadir’s writings, corroborating the identity of Umar bin Muhammad Ba Husayn as the subject of the dedicated monograph.
The primary biography states that Umar remained in Ahmadabad until his death and was buried there. It does not preserve a death year, so none is supplied here.
Lineage and source note
Primary source: Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, biography of Umar of the Ba Husayn branch. The Arabic heading preserves a longer lineage through Muhammad, Husayn, Ahmad, Husayn and Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf. The biography records his Tarim birth in 979 AH, entry into India in 1001 AH, residence in Ahmadabad, the testimony of his disciple Abd al-Qadir bin Shaykh al-Aydarus, received karamat and burial in Ahmadabad.
Nuzhat al-Khawatir lists Qurrat al-Ayn fi Manaqib al-Wali Umar bin Muhammad Ba Husayn among Abd al-Qadir al-Aydarus’s works. Hadiyat al-Arifin independently lists the same title among his writings. These bibliographical witnesses corroborate the exact Umar bin Muhammad Ba Husayn identity and the dedicated teacher-student association, while the 979 AH birth, 1001 AH entry into India and Ahmadabad burial remain claims of the primary biography. Later genealogical writing also recognises Ba Husayn as a branch of the al-Saqqaf family descending through Ahmad bin Husayn bin Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf.
Scholarly connections
Student: Muhyi al-Din Abd al-Qadir bin Shaykh bin Abdullah al-Aydarus. In the primary biography Abd al-Qadir describes Umar as one of his shaykhs and says that he benefited greatly from his companionship. The dedicated Qurrat al-Ayn provides independent bibliographical confirmation of that teacher-student association.