Location: Courtyard of the noble Masjid al-Azhar

Left: Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari (d. 1979): Qutb of his time, Imam and teacher at the Azhar Mosque. Spiritual teacher of a whole generation of great ulama from all over the world. He lived for 50  years inside the Azhar Mosque, only leaving it for Hajj, Umra, and visits to the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam and the Ahlul Bayt, so that he became equated with the Azhar itself. Loved by all, his Friday lessons were among the greatest and most popular in the history of the Azhar, filling the Mosque’s courtyard with people from all walks of life and all strata of society, so that his teachings became a beacon of light and a fortress for Islam at a time when Communist ideology was deeply entrenched in Egyptian  society. He was a descendant of Jaafar bin Muhammad (al-Sadiq), descendant of sayyidna al-Husayn. To read more  about him (in Arabic): www.algaafary.com/ar/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=27

Right: Shaykh Abd al-Halim Mahmoud (d. 1978): After becoming the Grand Imam (Al-Imam al-Akbar) and Shaykh of the Azhar, Shaykh Abd al-Halim Mahmoud is credited with restoring to the Azhar its glory, dignity, and respect in the eyes of Muslims all over the world, after it had been stripped of its authority and power because of political reasons. Thought of as the “leader in sincerity”, his tireless efforts in da’wa made him the pioneer of Islamic thought in the modern age. He also became known as the “Father of Tasawwuf of the modern age” and the “Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili of the 20th Century.” To read more about him (in Arabic): www.jabhaonline.org/viewpage.php?Id=772

In the words of Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari:

وكم من عابد يمشي * مع الأقطاب والخضر

And how many are the worshipers  that walk * with the Qutbs and with Al-Khadir.

 The next generation:

Left: Shaykh Abd al-Ghani al-Jaafari (may Allah preserve him in good health): Son of shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari and shaykh of the Tariqa Jaafariyya Ahmadiyya Muhammadiyya, which has become the paragon and exemplar for Sufi orders in Egypt and abroad, stressing and practicing love of the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam and close following (mutaba’a) of his sunna.

Right: Shaykh Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki (d. 2004):  Known as “The Scholar of the Hijaz” and “The Hadith Scholar of the Two Sanctuaries (Mecca and Medina)”. He came from a line of great ulama who have taught in the Sacred Mosque of Mecca for centuries. He obtained his PhD at the Azhar where his father Al-Sayyid Alawi al-Maliki, who was one of the greatest ulama of Mecca of his time, had told him to seek “the Meezan al-Ulama Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari”. His books are treasured by Muslims in all corners of the world.