Volume Four
Sayyida Fatima Al-Yashrutiyya: Daughter of Akka by Karim Lahham
Pre-orders of the 9-Volume Boxset ship at the end of June
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Sayyida Fatima Al Yashrutiyya (1891-1979) was the
spiritual heir of her father, Sayyid ‘Ali Nurad’din Al-
Yashruti who was born in 1791 and died in 1899 at the
age of 108. She was taught in her father’s zawiya
(dervish lodge) in Akka, Palestine, imbibing the
spiritual teachings of her father and his closest
followers until his death. After the 1948 war, Sayyida
Fatima and many of the residents of Akka were made
refugees and ended up in Beirut where she resided for
the remainder of her life. The Yashrutiyya of Akka
reconstituted themselves there with the help of its
well-established adherents in the zawiyas of Lebanon
and Syria. This led to a spiritual renaissance in the
order, aided and abetted by the remarkable books that
were penned by Sayyida Fatima beginning in 1954.
Murids that came from far and wide to seek the
teachings of the shaykh of the tariqa, namely her
nephew, invariably, on landing in Beirut, first made
their way to her home. She would turn them away,
requiring her callers to visit the shaykh before visiting
her. Sayyida Fatima was a spiritual guide who had the
authority to give the path to those that sought it. Her
company was illuminating, marked by a devotional
gentility that enveloped all those who met her. She
devoted her life to the pursuit of knowledge and
teaching, but above all to prayer and invocation. As
the heir to her father’s secret, her story spans the
history of two tempestuous centuries, marked by world
wars, the fall of the Ottoman empire, the catastrophe
of 1948, and the civil war in Lebanon. Her biography,
illustrated with rare photographs from private
collections, is authored by Karim Lahham whose family
has held a deep and abiding connection to Sayyida
Fatima and her father’s teaching for generations.
“The scholar Sayyida Fatima called upon [to teach her
grammar] was no less than the venerable Shaykh
‘Abdallah al-Jazzar, seeking his help in identifying a
student of knowledge who might be able to teach her.
Shaykh ‘Abdallah al-Jazzar (1855-1939) was the mufti
of Akka and principal of the Ahmadiyya Madrasa, a
graduate also of the Azhar in Cairo, his family having
originally come from Alexandria to Palestine in the
early 19th century. A majestic figure to behold, he had
the temperament of the faqir, the humility and
magnanimity of the scholar, and the subtlety and
grace of a spiritual master. He was also known to have
a sweet and pleasant voice, put to much use in his
early life as a munshid. Shaykh Abdallah arranged to
present himself to the zawiya every morning to teach
his charge. Sayyida Fatima pleaded with him to allow
her to at least come to him, given his age. His reply
was characteristic of such men: ‘That would never do,
for even were I to be in India and you were to call for
me, I would come to you walking. You are the daughter
of my shaykh and spiritual guide to God, glory be to
Him, the Exalted.’”
From Sayyida Fatima Al-Yashrutiyya: Daughter of Akka
Karim Lahham
