Imam `Abdul Qadir Ibn Badran Ad-Dumi

1265-1346 AH

One of the Maraji` of Sham

Known to his contemporaries as the teacher of the scholars, the `alim, the scholar
of the principles of fiqh, the scholar of fiqh, the grammarian, he is `Abdul Qadir
ibn Ahmad ibn Mustafa ibn `Abdur-Rahim ibn Muhammad ibn `Abdur-Rahim Ibn
Badran As-Sa`di Ad-Dumi Ad-Dimashqi Al-Hanbali.
Born in the year 1265 AH to a righteous family, his father Shaikh Ahmad ad-
Dumi (d. 1317 AH) was known to the people as a pious man while the
grandfather of the Imam was a marja` in his own right, the scholar, Imam
Mustafa ad-Dumi (d. 1322 AH). Imam `Abdul Qadir Ibn Badran ad-Dumi learned
the Quran from his father and moved quickly to increase his knowledge.
He learned Ad-Dalil ut-Talib from his grandfather along with a number of other
texts. His next teacher was Imam Muhammad ibn `Uthman ibn `Abbas Al-Khatib
Ad-Dumi (d. 1308 AH). Again Ad-Dalil ut-Talib was gone through as well as its
commentaries. Then they went and read Mukhtasar ul-Ifadat by Imam Al-
Balbani (d. 1033 AH).
Imam Ad-Dumi then headed to Damascus after he completed his work with his
teacher in Duma and studied with one of the maraji` of the period, Imam Ahmad
Ibn Hasan Ash-Shatti (d. 1306 AH), completing work in fiqh and also focusing on
inheritance.
His work also took him to study higher math as well as some portions of
theoretical math. He also filled his time with studying the six books of ahadith
with teachers and memorising them.
After some six years in Damascus, he suffered the loss of his teacher, his father
and then his grandfather. He returned to Duma and taught in one of the larger
masjids but attracted attention and criticism due to his rare positions and
rulings that he was giving.
This led to his leaving Duma and heading to Damascus.
Scholars of the Ummayad Family Central Masjid approached him and asked him
to teach and upon his tacit approval, he became the first permanent non-Ash`ari
scholar to teach there in perhaps one century or more. He taught fiqh, tafsir and
also math and inheritance.
In addition to this, the Imam taught in other areas in the city and drew a good
number of students who came to benefit and also obtain blessings. Also during
this time, the King of Arabia, after the Salafi takeover of the Peninsula, asked the
Imam to become the marja` over Arabia.
After some convincing the Imam agreed. The reason for this is twofold. One is
that Salafis murdered so many scholars after the takeover that the people
needed further enquiries to be answered from abroad. Secondly, the maraji` of
the Hanbali school have always exclusively been from Iraq/Sham and then Egypt.
This had been established in writing atleast since 1100 AH.

Notable Rulings
The Imam ruled that all Sufi groups today are phoney and part of Satanic secret
societies to undermine Islam and Muslim Orthodoxy. [Al-Mawahib ur-
Rabbaniyyah: fil Ajwibati `an Asilat il-Qazaniyyah, pp. 195-197]
A very strong position was taken against bank notes that are referred to as
money. The Imam rightly diagnosed this money as debt notes and stated that
the true nature of money is that of stale or dead. [Al-`Uqud ul-Yaqutiyyah, pp.
209-256]
If there are numerous jumu`ah prayers occurring in one place, this is permitted
in so far as there is valid reason for them such as in the case of overcrowding or
uneven distribution of population throughout the different masjids. [Al-`Uqud ul-
Yaqutiyyah, pp. 159-162]
Only three people are required for Jumu`ah prayer to be valid. This was
especially novel as the position of the school was always that it was forty men.
[Al-`Uqud ul-Yaqutiyyah, pp. 159-162]
It is impermissible for Muslims except under pain of death, loss of limb or
lifetime incarceration to transact with banks on a regular basis with things
such as loans, usurious gain and such. [Al-Mawahib ur-Rabbaniyyah: fil Ajwibati
`an Asilat il-Qazaniyyah, pp. 183-187]
Imam `Abdul Qadir Ibn Badran may Allah have mercy on him was one of the
first maraji` to allow family photos or portraits in order to establish family
lineage and also keep evidence or record of family. [Al-Mawahib ur-Rabbaniyyah:
fil Ajwibati `an Asilat il-Qazaniyyah, pp. 203-205]
It was also stated by the marja` that it was valid for men to wear silver jewellery,
such as rings but even necklaces (this was a rare and minority ruling while most
were of the opinion that such things are effeminate). [Al-`Uqud ul-Yaqutiyyah, pp.
167-179]
As was the case with Imam Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki, Imam ad-Dumi
despised the beliefs of the movement built by Muhammad ibn `Abdul Wahhab,
undermined its beliefs and affirmed Orthodoxy but often believed that the
founder was either separate to or innocent of the false beliefs in the movement.
[Al-Madkhal ila Madhhab il-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, pp. 446-447]
Both he and Imam Al-`Alawi al-Maliki came out of the time period in which many
of the salafi theology books were not openly shown and the regime claimed to
foster togetherness.
It was wrongly attributed to the Imam that he denied the Second Coming of the
Messiah and that of Al-Imam Mahdi, based upon statements he made about
hadith in that regard and verses. [Al-Mawahib ur-Rabbaniyyah: fil Ajwibati `an
Asilat il-Qazaniyyah, pp. 47-103; Al-`Uqud ul-Yaqutiyyah, pp. 63-86 ]
However such an attribution can be shown to be mistaken when someone reads
through all the Imams books and especially cross references with one of his final
texts, Al-Madkhal, where it can be read that that he considers both doctrines part
of Muslim theology and whoever denies them as being gravely astray. [Al-
Madkhal ila Madhhab il-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, pp. 49-80]

Later Life and Death

He died on Sunday 29 Rabi` ul-Awwal 1346 AH after a long illness and left
behind no children. Unfortunately after his death, his library in Duma was gutted
and destroyed by vandals and devastated. The same thing happened in
Damascus in an annexed library he owned.
This was due to the continued friction between Sunnis and `Alawis as well as the
widespread unrest in the area as the French pulled out of Sham.