Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

Muhammad Abul Huda al-Yaqoubi (born 7 May 1963) is a Syrian Islamic scholar. A descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, al-Yaqoubi is a follower of the Maliki and Hanafi schools of thought.

He has opposed former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Early life and background Al-Yaqoubi was born in Damascus, Syria. His father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi (d. 1985) was a scholar. His paternal grandfather Ismail Al-Yaqoubi (d. 1960) was a scholar and Sufi master. His father's maternal uncle was Arabi al-Yaqoubi (d. 1965), and his paternal uncle was Sharif al-Yaqoubi (d. 1943). Amongst al-Yaqoubi's predecessors three have held the post of Maliki Imam at the Grand Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. tracing his lineage through Mawlay Idris II, who was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.

Al-Yaqoubi also received training from his father in Sufism, until he attained qualification as a murshid (guide) of the Shadhili Order and the rank of a spiritual master in the Sufi tradition. He then studied philosophy for two years at the Beirut Arab University.

In 1991, he joined the PhD program of linguistics in the Oriental Studies Department of the University of Gothenburg. and sacred knowledge organisation states that he has trained several hundreds of scholars, imams and preachers and The Moroccan Revelations .

Al-Yaqoubi is currently writing, publishing new works and continuing to teach under Sacred Knowledge, an initiative dedicated to the spreading of orthodox Islam.

Involvement in the Syrian Civil War 2011–present

In April 2011, al-Yaqoubi was one of the first Sunni clerics to express his support for the Syrian uprising and condemn the Syrian government's response to peaceful demonstrations. In August 2011, the BBC reported that al-Yaqoubi had called for more international pressure on the government of Syria after Government forces renewed their crackdown on protesters. He was forced into exile in 2011.

Despite other leading scholars initially calling for minor reforms, al-Yaqoubi was early to demand the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.

Al-Yaqoubi initially fully supported Kofi Annan's "Six-point plan" urging for "international pressure on Russia and China" to force the end of the conflict in Syria.

As the conflict has protracted, al-Yaqoubi publicly urged Jordan and Turkey to intervene militarily in Syria "to save the Syrian people", voicing frustration at the failure of the international community to intervene.

Al-Yaqoubi has been an active participant in the political process to form a credible political alternative to the Assad government. However, due to political intrigue, his appointment to be a full member of the Syrian National Council was blocked almost as soon as it was to be formally confirmed.

Since the start of the Syrian uprising, al-Yaqoubi has campaigned internationally to provide humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees. In December 2012, he led a convoy for the delivery of "vast quantities of food, baby food and blankets" to displaced Syrians in Turkey.

Consequently, he fled the country after the Syrian regime tried to silence him after he publicly criticised the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, calling on the president to step down and supporting the Syrian uprising. and to "lift the siege" on Syria in an interview with Sky News. In 2015, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi refuted Ahmed al-Sharaa following his interview with Al Jazeera Media Network. However, after the ouster of al-Assad in 2024, al-Yaqoubi congratulated al-Sharaa on becoming the president of Syria in January 2025.

Views On 24 January 2010, al-Yaqoubi refuted the comments made by Mufti of Syria Ahmad Bader Hassoun on 19 January 2010 about Muhammad. Al-Ya'qoubi explained the necessity to obey the Messenger in every command including the news about the Qur'an and the names of the prophets. Al-Ya'qoubi asserted, "we know that Moses and Jesus are prophets only because our Prophet Muhammad told us so. Had he told us otherwise, we would have had to believe him...believing in Moses and Jesus does not imply the validity of Judaism and Christianity of today." He also asked Mufti Hassoun to resign his job out of embarrassment and to protect the dignity of Islam and the integrity of the Islamic scholars of Syria. The following day al-Yaqoubi was dismissed as Friday public speaker of al-Hasan Masjid in Abu Rummaneh, Damascus by the government. Six months later he was re-instated.

On 18 August 2011, al-Yaqoubi led prayers from a stage in Summerfield Park, Winson Green, Birmingham to some 20,000 people who gathered to remember three men killed while attempting to protect their neighbourhood from rioters and looters during the England riots. At the ceremony he said that "they made themselves an example of what a Muslim should be and what Islam is" and that "these three people are martyrs and the best we can do for them is to pray for them and for ourselves - to pray for our community." He asked for 18 August to be made a "day not of mourning and sadness but a day of bravery."

Al-Yaqoubi had been a critic of Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti's stance of supporting the Syrian government. However, after Al-Bouti's assassination on 21 March 2013, al-Yaqoubi claimed that Al-Bouti was a martyr and that he had been privately readying to defect from the Syrian government. as well as being listed in the honourable mentions in both 2015 and 2016

Personal life In 1985, al-Yaqoubi's father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, died. He has 6 children.

Selected bibliography Books Al-Lum’atul Mārdiniyah fī sharhil Yāsaminiyah: A study The Shimmer of Al-Māridinī in the Explanation of the Treatise by al-Yāsamīn, (Arabic), Dār Ibn ‘Ābidīn, 1985 Al-Anwar fi Shama'il al-Nabiy al-Mukhtar, by al-Baghawi, preface and indices, Al-Maktabu publishing House Ahkam al-Tas'ir fil: Fiqh al-Islamic Rulings on Price-fixing in Islamic Law, Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah, Beirut, 2000 ’' Husn al-Fahm li Mas'alati al-Qadā'i fil 'Ilm: Understanding Court procedures according to Magistrates' knowledge, Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah, Beirut, 2000 ’' Refuting ISIS: A Rebuttal Of Its Religious And Ideological Foundations Refuting ISIS: A rebuttal of its religious and ideological foundations (Arabic copy) Foreword, Lights of Yearning: In Praise of the Most Praised ﷺ, by Walid Lounès Bouzerar, Dar al-Habib, 2015 Al-Anwar Al-Muhammadiyyah: The Prophetic Lights Refuting ISIS, Second Edition, Sacred Knowledge, 2016 Inqādh Al-Ummah إنقاذ الأمة the Arabic of Refuting ISIS, Second Edition The Manners Of Debate (Arabic Edition) (Arabic) Paperback – 25 April 2016’' Judgement of Hadith Narrators (Arabic Edition) Paperback – 26 June 2016 In the Shade of the Levant, Arabic edition, Publisher Sacred Knowledge Seeking Knowledge: The Principles & Etiquette (Arabic), Sacred Knowledge 2016 Celebrating Love and Theology: Refutation of the Mu'tazilites (Arabic Edition), Sacred Knowledge, Beirut, 2017, A Compendium of the Prophet Muhammad's Noble Names, Rabat, 2017 ’' Shamā´il al-Ḥabib al-Muṣṭafā شمائل الحبيب المصطفى ﷺ (The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - His Beauty and Perfection) (Arabic), First Edition, Sacred Knowledge 2017 Sahih al-Bukhari (Edition Facsimile Of Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s Publication of Sahih Al-Bukhari Al-Shareef), Signatora 2019 Madhkal: The introduction to the Sahih (Arabic), Signatora 2019 Saḥā´ib an-Nadā سحائب الندى (The Raining Clouds) (Arabic), Signatora 2019 Shamā´il al-Ḥabib al-Muṣṭafā شمائل الحبيب المصطفى ﷺ (The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - His Beauty and Perfection) (Arabic), Second Edition, Signatora, 2019 Al-Futūḥāt Al-Maghribiyyah الفتوحات المغربية (The Moroccan Revelations) (Arabic), First Edition, Signatora, 2020 The Moroccan Revelations (English), First Edition, Signatora, 2020

Audio CDs Invocations of the Heart (Volume 6) Love and Marriage The Book of Knowledge: Imam al-Ghazali Yasin: The Heart of the Qur'an Invocations of the Heart The Miracle of the Fig The Champion of Truth: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Islam: The Religion of Love Light upon Light Dream Interpretation Unbroken Chain Ignorance the Disease of our Time Sacrifices in Being a Muslim (Group CD) The Divine Power, 2002 The Miracles of the Prophet (PBUH) In the Footsteps of the Beloved Visiting the Messenger of Allah Where Then are you Going? Anger: The Door to all Evil Yearning for the Beloved In Need of Allah Remembering Allah The Information Age Islam and Democracy The Key to know Him is to know him Landmarks in the Life of the Prophet (PBUH) Pearls of Wisdom (with Dr. Nazeer Ahmed) The Perfect Mirror - Seeing the Prophet in your Dreams The Rightly Guided Caliphs Seekers of Knowledge The Sublime Love