Aqil bin Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Aqil bin Ahmad was a Ba Alawi scholar of Tarim. Al-Mashra al-Rawi records that he was born in Tarim, memorised the Qur’an and devoted himself to learning under the guidance of his father and other scholars of his time.
His father directed him toward jurisprudence with the qadi Ahmad bin Husayn and toward tasawwuf with Muhammad al-Hadi bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din. The source says that Aqil did not ultimately take from the first of those teachers, but studied jurisprudence with Fadl bin Abd al-Rahman Bafadl and attended Muhammad al-Hadi’s lessons. It also names Shaykh Abdullah bin Shaykh al-Aydarus and Zayn al-Abidin among those from whom he benefited.
Aqil became especially accomplished in hadith and tasawwuf while also participating in jurisprudence and Arabic. Al-Mashra al-Rawi describes him as devoted to study and reading and preserves Muhammad al-Hadi’s praise of his understanding and discernment.
The biography names several people who benefited from Aqil, including Muhammad bin Alawi, later resident in the Haramain, Abdullah bin Ali Bahusayn and others from Al Bagharib. Muhammad bin Abi Bakr al-Shilli also writes in the first person that he stayed with Aqil for a short period and benefited from him.
Aqil remained in Tarim until his death, but the subject’s own source section does not give a death year. The 1022 AH death in the following biography belongs to a different Aqil bin Abdullah bin Aqil bin Shaykh and is not assigned to him.
Attributed traditions
Al-Mashra al-Rawi preserves karamat traditions about Aqil. Al-Shilli transmits one account from Aqil’s disciple Abdullah bin Muhammad Bagharib concerning a man named Muhammad Bamisbah, and another report in which Aqil is said to have foretold that the same disciple would later leave Tarim and settle in Mecca. These are presented as attributed traditions transmitted in the biographical source, not as independently verified events.
Scholarly connections
Father and teacher: Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Aqil bin Ahmad. Shams al-Zahirah independently identifies this exact paternal chain and explicitly states that his son Aqil was among those who graduated under him. The father’s own death is given there as 1011 AH; that date belongs to the father, not to Aqil.
The primary biography also names Fadl bin Abd al-Rahman Bafadl, Muhammad al-Hadi bin Abd al-Rahman bin Shihab al-Din, Shaykh Abdullah bin Shaykh al-Aydarus and Zayn al-Abidin among Aqil’s teachers or scholarly influences. These names are retained in source-grounded prose because exact canonical live profiles have not been resolved for them.
Student and beneficiary: Muhammad bin Abi Bakr al-Shilli states directly that he stayed with Aqil for a short period and benefited from him. This first-person learning relationship supports a structured scholarly connection to his existing BaAlawi profile.
Lineage and source note
The primary source is Al-Mashra al-Rawi fi Manaqib al-Sada al-Kiram Al Abi Alawi, volume 2, printed page 439. Its heading identifies Aqil as son of Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Aqil bin Ahmad, followed in the source by the continuation ibn al-Shaykh Ali. Direct inspection of the printed page corrects earlier OCR defects in the heading. The notice records Aqil’s Tarim origin, Qur’an memorisation, named teachers, scholarly interests, people who learned from him and al-Shilli’s own brief association with him.
Independent genealogical corroboration appears in Shams al-Zahirah fi Nasab Ahl al-Bayt min Bani Alawi, first edition, 1404 AH / 1984 CE, printed pages 188 and 189. The preceding page anchors the Al Aqil bin Ahmad branch. Page 189 identifies Aqil’s father as Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Aqil bin Ahmad and explicitly states that his son Aqil was among those who graduated under him. The same passage gives the father’s death as 1011 AH. That remains a father-only date.
Shams al-Zahirah independently supports the exact father-son identity and learning relationship, but it is not used here to validate every narrative detail in Al-Mashra al-Rawi. The named teachers, al-Shilli’s first-person association and the attributed karamat reports remain tied to the primary biography. No death year is supplied for Aqil.