The Ba 'Alawi sadah or Sadah Ba 'Alawi (Arabic: السادة آل باعلوي, al-sādatu al-bā'alawiy) are a group of Hadhrami Sayyid families and social group originating in Hadhramaut in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. They trace their lineage to al-Imam Ahmad al-Muhajir bin Isa ar-Rumi (a descendant of Shia imam Ja'far as-Sadiq) born in 873 (260H), who emigrated from Basra to Hadhramaut in 931 (320H) to avoid sectarian violence, including the invasion of the Qaramite forces into the Abbasid Caliphate. Ja'far was a direct descendant of the daughter of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
The word Sadah or Sadat (Arabic: سادة) is a plural form of word Arabic: سيد (Sayyid), while the word Ba 'Alawi or Bani 'Alawi means descendants of Alwi (Bā is a Hadhramaut dialect form of Bani). In sum, Ba'alawi are Sayyids people who have a blood descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Alawi bin Ubaidullah bin Ahmad al-Muhajir. Meanwhile, Alawiyyin (Arabic: العلويّن; al-`alawiyyin) Sayyid term is used to describe descendants of Ali bin Abi Thalib from Husain ibn Ali (Sayyids) and Hasan ibn Ali (Sharifs). All people of Ba 'Alawi are Alawiyyin Sayyids through Husain ibn Ali, but not all people of Alawiyyin family are of Ba 'Alawi.
The Ba 'Alawi tariqa is a sufi order founded by one of Ahmad al-Muhajir's descendant, Muhammad al-Faqih Muqaddam and named after and closely tied to the Ba 'Alawi family.
Imam al-Muhajir's grandson Alawi was the first Sayyid to be born in Hadhramaut, and the only one of Imam al-Muhajir's descendants to produce a continued line; the lineages of Imam al-Muhajir's other grandsons, Basri and Jadid, were cut off after several generations. Accordingly, Imam Al-Muhajir's descendants in Hadhramaut hold the name Bā 'Alawi ("descendants of Alawi").
The Ba 'Alawi Sadah have since been living in Hadhramaut in Southern Yemen, maintaining the Sunni Creed in the fiqh school of Shafii. In the beginning, a descendant of Imam Ahmad Muhajir who became scholar in Islamic studies was called Imam, then Sheikh, but later called Habib.
It was only since 1700 AD they began to migrate [1] in large numbers out of Hadhramaut across all over the globe, often to practice da'wah (Islamic missionary work). Among their areas of destination include northern states of Western India of like Ahmadabad and Surat in Gujarat, also the Malabar coasts. Their travels had also brought them to the Southeast Asia. These hadhrami immigrants blended with their local societies unusual in the history of diasporas. For example, the House of Jamalullail of Perlis is descended from the Ba 'Alawi. Habib Salih of Lamu, Kenya was also descended from the Ba 'Alawi. In Indonesia, quite a few of these immigrants married local women, sometimes women of nobility or even royal families, and their descendants then became sultans or kings, such as in Sultanate of Pontianak or in Sultanate of Siak Indrapura.
Some other prominent figures from this family are:
Abd Al-Rahman Ali al-Jufri, a Yemeni opposition politicianAbdulaziz al-Saqqaf, a Yemeni human-rights activist, economist, and journalistAbdullah AbdulGhaffar Al Alawi, an Emirati Engineer and Businessman.Abdul-Wasa al-Saqqaf, a Yemeni writer, poet, researcher, analyst and translatorAbu Bakar bin Taha al-Saqqaf, a well-known Islamic educator in SingaporeAhmad al-Aỳdarūs, a Major General and Commander-in-Chief of Hyderabat State ArmyAli Alatas, former Foreign Minister of IndonesiaAli al-Habshi, an Omani professional footballerDr. Alwi Shihab, Ph.D, former foreign minister of Indonesia and Special Envoy to Middle-EastFadel Muhammad al-Haddar, former minister of maritime affairs and fisheries of IndonesiaHabib Abdullah ibn Alawi al-Haddad, a sufi saintHabib Abu Bakr al-Aydarus, a sufi saintAbu al-Hassan al-Kabir bin Ahmad Jamal al-Layl (Mwinyi Bahassan), a scholar from Grande ComoreAhmed Abdallah Abderemane bin Sheikh Abi Bakr bin Salim al-Alawi, President of the State of ComorosHabib Abdoe'r Rahman al-Zahir, a Muslim leader during Aceh WarHabib Umar bin Hafiz al-Shāīkh ābū Bakr, an Islamic scholar, a cleric and founder of Darul Mustafa SeminaryHabib Ali Al-Jufri, a cleric and scholar in UAEHabib Ali al-Habshi of Kwitang, a preacher and cleric in JakartaHabib Alwi bin Thohir al-Haddad, Mufti of JohorHabib Munzir al-Musawa, Islamic clericHabib Nuh bin Muhammad al-Habshi, a famous cleric in SingaporeHabib Salih bin Alawi Jamalullail, religious scholar in Lamu, KenyaHabib Usman bin Yahya, Mufti of BataviaHaddad Alwi al-Saqqaf, an Indonesian nasheed singer.Huda al-Attas, Yemeni journalist and authorJai al-Attas, co-founder and co-owner of Australian independent label Below Par RecordsHaidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, former prime minister of YemenDr. Haidar Bagir al-Habshi, a scholar, founder and CEO of Mizan Publishing CompanyMashhur bin Muhammad Shahab, a Malaysian WarriorDr. Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, founder of FPIDr. Quraish Shihab, former Minister of Religious Affars of IndonesiaRaden Saleh bin Yahya, a famous painter in Dutch IndiesSunan Ampel Aẓamāt Khān, Sufi saint and famous preacher in JavaSunan Gresik Azmatkhan, Sufi saint and famous preacher in JavaSunan Bonang Aẓamāt Khān, Sufi saint and famous preacher in JavaSunan Gunung Jati Aẓamāt Khān, Sufi saint and famous preacher in JavaSayyid Abdullah Aỳdarūs, religious leaderSyed Sheikh Hassan Barakbah, a prominent judge in MalaysiaSyed Hamid al-Bar, politician and former Malaysian Minister of Home AffairsSyed Haroon Putra ibni Syed Hassan Jamalullail, a Sultan of Perlis State in MalaysiaSyed Hussein Alatas, a Malaysian academician, sociologist, founder of social science organisationsSyed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Muslim scholarSyed Hussein al-Alatas, Malaysian academician, sociologist and politician and the older brother of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-AttasSyed Mohamed al-Saqqaf, a Singaporean merchantSyed Mohamed Syed Ahmad al-Saqqaf, major-general of Singapore militarySyed Farid al-Attas, Malaysian sociologist and the son of Syed Hussein AlatasSyarif Kasim II Banahsan, Sultan of Siak Indrapura in SumatraSyed Mohammed bin Sheikh Ahmed al-Maarouf, a sufi saintPrince Syed Ibrahim bin Sultan Syed Ali al-Maceli, politician and son of Sultan of Grande ComoreSultan Syed Ali bin Syed Omar, Sultan of Grande ComoreSyed Mohamed Djohar bin Sheikh Abi Bakr bin Salim, President of the Comoros during the 1990s.Syed Mohammed Ar-Rayyan ibni Syed Abu Bakar Al Yaman, Arab-Malay conglomerateSyed Azhar Ar-Rayyan, Arab-Chinese-Malay mixed born in North Yemen Republic and a Korean neurosurgeonSyed Uzair Ar-Rayyan, stockholder and investorSayyidah Aisyah binti Syed Uzair Ar-RayyanSyed Rayyan Ar-RayyanSyed Ezizi Rayyan Ar-RayyanSyed Afifi Rayyan Ar-Rayyan, the youngest son of Syed Mohammed Ar-RayyanSyed Ja'afari bin Syed Mashor, the father-in-law of Princess Majeedah Bolkiah of Brunei and father of Khairul KhalilSome of the family names are as follows:
