Abdullah bin Abd al-Qadir bin Abdullah al-Faradi belonged to the Al-Auhaj branch of the Ba Alawi family. Al-Mashra al-Rawi traces his lineage through Alawi al-Auhaj and the Sahib Mirbat line and says that he was known, like his forebears, by the Al-Auhaj family name.
He was born in Aden, memorised the Qur’an and pursued a broad religious education. The biography says that he became accomplished in fiqh, hadith, tasawwuf, inheritance law, arithmetic and timekeeping. He kept the company of senior Sufi teachers and benefited from them before taking up teaching himself.
Al-Mashra al-Rawi remembers Abdullah as a clear and careful teacher whose lessons benefited students in Aden and beyond. It also records his humility in scholarly life. When people placed him above another scholar, he would visit that scholar, sit before him and sometimes read with him so that he would not present himself as more learned. He encouraged caution in disputed legal questions and warned students against pursuing only the easiest opinions.
Abdullah died in Aden in 979 AH.
Lineage and source note
The primary source is Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, in its biography of Abdullah bin Abd al-Qadir bin Abdullah al-Faradi of the Al-Auhaj line. It records his Aden birth, Qur’an study, fields of learning, teaching activity, scholarly conduct and death in 979 AH.
An independent exact-person witness appears in Shams al-Zahirah fi Nasab Ahl al-Bayt min Bani Alawi, first edition, 1404 AH / 1984 CE, printed page 534. The printed genealogy identifies Abdullah al-Faradi as the ancestor of the Auhaj line in Lahj and Khanfar. Its note distinguishes the generations explicitly: the earlier Abdullah al-Faradi was born in Aden and died there in 903 AH, while Abdullah bin Abd al-Qadir was born in Aden, excelled in fiqh, hadith, arithmetic, timekeeping and inheritance law, benefited the people of Aden, and died there in 979 AH.
This independent witness matches Abdullah’s immediate identity, Aden setting, specialist fields and 979 AH death while confirming that 903 AH belongs to the earlier Abdullah al-Faradi. The two dates refer to different generations.
Scholarly connections
The primary biography states that Abdullah kept company with senior Sufi teachers and benefited from them, but it does not name them precisely enough in this section to support a structured teacher-student link.