Early Life

Hadrat Sayyid Ahmad ar- Rifâi learned the Qur’an from Shaykh Abd as-Semi el-Hurbuni in Hasen, where he was born, and by the age of seven he had committed it all to memory. (The title Shaykh before a name indicates a sufi teacher.) That same year, after Hadrat Sayyid Ahmad ar- Rifâi ’s father passed away, his maternal uncle Mansur el-Betaihi moved with his family to the region of Dikla. There he sent his nephew to Ebul Fadl Ali el-Vasiti, who was an expert in the canon law of Islam, a commentator on the Qur’an, and a great preacher.

In addition to attending the dhikr meetings of his uncle, Shaykh Mansur ar-Rabbani, Hadrat Sayyid Ahmad ar- Rifâi also attended the courses of his other uncle, Shaykh Ebubekir, who was a great scientist of his era and the sultan of scientists. He eventually memorized the book Tenbih, which deals with the fikih (Muslim canonical jurisprudence) of Safi according to Imam Ebu Ishak Sirazi, and wrote an explanation about the book. (This explanation was lost in the Mongol invasion.)

He occupied all his time with acquiring religious knowledge, and indeed Allah bestowed on him beautiful knowledge. Eventually even his own teachers and the people who taught him respect learned the essence of respect when they were in his presence.