Ahmad an-Najmi

He is the ‘Allamāh, the Muhaddith, the Carrier of the Flag of the Sunnah, the Subduer of Innovations Shaikh Ahmad bin Yahyah bin Muhammad bin Shubair an-Najmi رحمه الله. He was born on the 22nd of Sha’ban, 1346H in the village of Najāmiyyah and raised as the only child of two righteous parents. رحمهما الله

In 1358H al-‘Allammātush-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahīm Aal ush-Shaikh, رحمه الله who at that time was Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, ordered Shaikh Abdullah al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله to settle in the district of Jaazaan. This was a monumental event in his life because Shaikh al-Qar’aawi refuted and exiled from town his teacher Shaikh Yahyah Faqīh ‘Abasee, who was from Yemen and was an ‘asharee. In 1359H Shaikh al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله opened Madrasatul-Salafiyyah, Shaikh Ahmad visited the school but did not officially join the school until Safar, 1360H, along with his two uncles Shaikh Hussain bin Muhammad an-Najmi and Shaikh Hasan bin Muhammad an-Najmi رحمهما الله.

There at the direction of Shaikh al-Qar’aawi, رحمه الله, he recited the entire Qur’an to Shaikh ‘Uthmān bin Uthmān Hamlī رحمه الله and then sat with and studied under Shaikh al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله himself reading and memorizing various works with him, among them:

📘 al-Usūl uth-Thalātha

📘 Kitāb ut-Tawhīd

📘al-‘Aqīdatul-Tahawiyyah with Shaikh al-Qar’āwi’s explanation

📘Bulūgh al-Marā

📘 al-Bayqūniyya

📘Nukhbatul-Fikr and its explanation

📘Nuzhatul-Nadh

📘 ad-Durur ul-Bahiyyah and its explanation

📘and more

Shaikh al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله gave him ijāzah (permission) to report from the six collections of Hadith in 1364H and he continued studying under Shaikh al-Qar’āwi and his students until 1384H. He attended the lessons of Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahīm Aal ush-Shaikh رحمه الله for nearly two months and also attended the lessons of Shaikh Bin Bāz رحمه الله in the same year for a month and a half.

It was in 1365H when Shaikh al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله assigned Shaikh Ahmad رحمه الله to teach in his schools and made him an official salaried teacher in Madrasatul-Nājamiyyah in 1367H. Then in 1372H Shaikh al-Qar’āwi رحمه الله appointed him to be a teacher and Imām of Masjid Abu Subaylah in Baalharruth till the end of 1373H. Then the educational institute in Sāmitah was opened on the 1st day of 1374H he was to teach there alongside Shaikh al-Hāfidh al-Hakamī. رحمه الله

He taught at this institute for 10 years, then resigned on the 11th of Rabi’ ul-Awwal, 1384H in hopes of acquiring a teaching position at the Islamic University of al-Madinah due to Shaikh Muhammad Nāsir ud-dīn al-Albanī and Shaikh Bin Bāz teaching there. رحمهما الله However Allah did not decree this to happen for him so he returned to Jāzan and was assigned to the Center for Propagation and Direction as a teacher and religious guide for the areas of Sāmitah, al-Mawsim, al-Musārah and Abu Arīsh.

After spending the next 3 years travelling back and forth, calling to Allah, he requested to return to the educational institutes so in 1387H he returned to teaching at the institute in Jāzān, then went back to the institute in Sāmitah in 1389H, where he remained until the age of retirement in 1410H. However he continued answering questions and holding weekly lessons in his home and the mosques until his death.

He died in the King Fahd Hospital in Riyadh at approximately 10 a.m. Thursday, 20th of Rajab, 1429. This was after an extended stay in hospice due to illness, for he had underwent a number of surgeries to his head and stomach. He remained in hospice for 8 months and Allah made that an expiation for his sins and may He make it an elevation of his station in Jannatul-Firdaws.

Per order of Prince Sultan bin ‘Abdul-Aziz Āali Sa’ud رحمهما الله his body was transferred by private plane to Jāzān where he was prayed over and buried on Friday afternoon, the 21st of Rajab 1429H in his birthplace of Nājamiyyah.

His funeral procession was accompanied by a huge amount of people who came from all over, inside and outside of Saudi Arabia, which included his sons, relatives, friends and students. The funeral assembly was awe inspiring and attended by a gathering so large the town has not seen the likes of before. The news of his death resulted in an outpouring of pain, grief and sadness to all who loved him, those who knew him or drank from his pristine knowledge.

The Shaikh was well-known for his piety, worship, asceticism, humility and manners with his students. Likewise he was a thorn in the side of the people of innovation and spoke the truth without fearing the blame of those who blame. His lessons were filled with correct creed and refutations of what opposes it. The scholars praise of him and the universal acceptance of his scholarship is unquestionable.

His teachers include:

Shaikh ‘Abduh bin Muhammad ‘Aqīl an-Najmi (رحمه الله)

Shaikh ‘Abdullah al-Qar’aawi (رحمه الله)

Shaikh Uthmān Hamlī (رحمه الله)

Shaikh al-Hāfidh al-Hakamī (رحمه الله) d.1377H

Shaikh Muhammad bin Ibrahīm Aal ush-Shaikh (رحمه الله)

Shaikh ‘Abdul-Aziz Bin Bāz (رحمه الله)

and more

His students include:

Shaikh Rabi’ ibn Hadi al-Madkhali

Shaikh Zaid ibn Hadi al-Madkhali (رحمه الله)

Shaikh ‘Alī bin Nāsir al-Faqīhī (رحمه الله)

and many more

Books by him available in English¹:

• The Success Granted by the Oft-Forgiving Lord in Explanation of the Obligatory Matters That Every Muslim Should Know: al-Wājibāt

• Commentary on Al-Muzani’s Sharh us-Sunnah

• The Precise Verdicts Regarding the Deviant Methodologies

• Fifteen Points Concerning the Call and the Caller

• Explanation of the Poem Al-Lamiyah by Shaikh al- Islam Ibn Taymiyyah

• The Biography of the Eminent Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal

• The Aqidah of the Victorious Group

• Explanation of the Four Rules Regarding Shirk

¹ He also authored many books not yet available in English, may Allah facilitate their translation and publishing.