Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim as-Samman al-Madani (born in Medina in 1718 AD-1775 AD) was a scholar descended from the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. He was a
Sunni with
Ash'ari
Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in t ...
understanding in the field of
Aqeedah (creed), and a
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
principle in the field of
fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
, and adheres to
Junayd al-Baghdadi
Junayd of Baghdad (; 830–910) was a Persian mystic and one of the most famous of the early Islamic saints. He is a central figure in the spiritual lineage of many Sufi orders.
Junayd taught in Baghdad throughout his lifetime and was an impo ...
in the field of Sufism.
He was a
Faqih,
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
expert, and historian of his time, and was the caretaker of the city of
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
and guardian of the
tomb of Muhammad. He initially studied at the
Khalwatiyya
The Khalwati order (also known as Khalwatiyya, Khalwatiya, or Halveti, as it is known in Turkey) is an Islamic Sufi brotherhood (''tariqa''). Along with the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, and Shadhili orders, it is among the most famous Sufi orders. Th ...
Sufi order in Damascus, but he devised a new way of approaching Allah which was eventually referred to as the Sammaniyya Tariqa. This order became prominent in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, especially in
Palembang, due to his returning students and the later financing by the Sultan of Palembang of a Sammaniyya lodge in
Jeddah.
Birth and genealogy
Sheikh Samman was born in Medina in 1718 AD and was a descendant of Muhammad from the line of
Hasan bin Ali, son of
Fatimah ''az-Zahra'' bint Muhammad His family came from the tribe of Quraish.
Life
Sheikh Samman initially studied in the
Khalwatiyyah Order in
Damascus. His teacher was
Sheikh Mustafa Bakri, a great saint from Syria. Eventually, he began to open studies that contain
dhikr
''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remem ...
techniques,
Wazifa
In Sufism
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic ...
, and other teachings of
Sufism. He devised a way of approaching Allah which was eventually referred to as the Sammaniyah Order. Some consider that the Sammaniyah Order is a branch of the Khalwatiyyah Order. In order to acquire knowledge, he spent his life on various journeys. Some of the places he once visited to study include
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Syria,
Hijaz
The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provi ...
, and
Transoxania
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of ...
.
The reach of the Sammaniyya order reached Indonesia through some of his students, and its validity is recognized under the auspices of the
Nahdlatul Ulama
Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...
.
Works
His most famous work is the book Al-Insab. He also authored other books, such as Mu'jamul Mashayekh, Tazyilul Tarikh Baghdad, and Tarikh Marv.
Death
Sheikh Samman died in Medina on Wednesday, 24 January 1776 and was buried in
Al-Baqi'.
References
{{Authority control
1718 births
1776 deaths
18th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Burials at Jannat al-Baqī
Hasanids
Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam