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He was born in the city of Fas in 1273 H. and grew up there, acquiring
knowledge from its greatest scholars. He then travelled to different
countries and received ijazat from scholars of West and East. He was
given ijaza to guide and instruct in over forty sufi turuq, amongst
them the Kattani, Darqawi, Tijani, Ba'Alawi and Rifa'i Paths. He had a
leading position in the Qarawiyin University and other mosques and
zawias in Fas, teaching various of the twelve Shari`i sciences,
especially fiqh and hadith, until he obtained the highest rank and
became a professor with his own dedicated chair.
He contributed to the social reform movement under the reign of Mawla
Hasan I by issuing several important fatawa about trade with foreign
countries and buying their comodities. During the time of Mawla `Abd al
Aziz he wrote the book "Advice to the People of Islam about what will
push away the blameworthy desease of kufr", in which he described
the situation of the countries, the reasons for their decline and the
ways of remedy. He went to visit the Sultan, explained the book and
gifted it to him.
He went for his first hajj in 1321. On his way he visited Egypt, Hijaz,
al-Quds and Damascus, and was well received by its people and notables,
and exchanged knowledge with its scholars.
In 1325, he again went for hajj, and settled with his family in
al-Medina al-Munawwara, after the decline of Maghrib and the fear of
foreign coloization. The following year, he was informed of the
uprising of the movement of resistance and social reform that was
headed by Ibn `Amta and his student Imam Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Kabir
al-Kettani 1, and returned to Maghrib. He found the country
in a position
of weakness. Ibn `Amta was tortured and martyred, and he interceded for
his cousin who was imprsisoned in 1327. He was
favourably received by Mawla `Abd al-Hafizh, who made him the
chairman of the great scholars of Maghrib who were reciting
hadith in the royal court, and gave him the final word in scholarly
matters. The sultan asked his du`a in favour of his army upon its
encounter with the great insurgent al-Zarhuni (known as Abu Hamira)
which he did, whereupon Abu Hamira was brought to Fas in shackles. This
increased the Sultan's trust in him.
Desillusioned once more about the state of Maghrib, he returned to
Medina in 1328, and stayed there until 1336, raising the banner of
scholarly revival in al-Haramayn. He was teaching many different books,
and delving into the fiqh of all four madhahib, and many great scholars
in Hijaz, residents as well as visitors, were among his students and
followers. Among his students were also the minister of warfare and
leader of the forth division of the Ottoman army, general Ahmad Jamal
Pasha, who followed him in suluk and had the utmost respect for him.
Also, the Ottoman caliph showed the greatest respect for him and for
his family, ad so did the Sharifs of Hijaz and their representatives,
in particular al-Sharif Husayn. whose sons, king Faysal and king
`Abd Allah, and cousin Haydar were among his students. In 1336 [= 1918
CE], upon the revolt of the Sharifs against the ottoman caliphate, the
latter appointed him as a a mediator between it and the Sharifs.
As a consequence of the fitna in Hijaz, he left upon the request of the
Ottoman government, and went to settle in Damascus in 1336. He was well
received by its notables and commoners, and began the work on the
religious and social reform, educating and raising the elite of the
country, giving religious instruction, ethical guidance and sufi
training to its notables, especially the leaders of social and religous
reform, such as `Ali Daqar, Hashim al-Khatib and `Abd al-Qadir
al-Maghribi. [He exchanged knowledge with Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani,
and he was teaching Imam Ahmad's musnad in the Umawi mosque.] At the
same time he was influential in the political field: He was a
mediator between the Othoman government and the syrian nobility. The
Sharif Faysal ibn Husayn, who became the governer of Syrian in 1336,
used to visit him in his home, and entrusted to him the establishment
of Syrian board of muftis.
In 1338, the Syria was colonized by the French, members of the
nationalist movement were detained, and many of the mujahidin of Sham
were sentenced to death. In this situation, the notables of Damascus
made him their spokesman in front of the French generals, to negociate
the release of insurgents, and to ease the pressure that was imposed on
the country and its people.
In this period - from 1340 to 1444 - occurred the rural revolt in
Maghrib under the leadership of one of the students of Imam a-Kettani,
by name Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Karim al-Khatabi, as well as the uprising
in Lybia against the itaian colonizers, uner the leadership of his
friend and student, Ahmad al-Sharif al-Sanusi and his leader,
`Umar al-Mukhtar. Imam al-Kettani supported them with money and
weapons, that he was able to supply through special channels. The
uprising in the rural areas of Maghrib and the Atlas mountains were
inspired by his book "Advice to the People of Islam", which was
being preached in the gatherings and in the armed movements. He also
assisted them with valuable advice by correspondence written with
ink in secret chiffer, and the news of jihad were conveyed in the same
way, and therefter publicized in Eastern newspapers.
In 1341, he was invited by the Ottoman government to visit Istania in
Turkey. He stayed there for two weeks, and visited may places and met
many contemporary Muslim personalities, including Ahmad al-Sharif
al-Sanusi, Kemal Attaturk (before his revolt), and king `Abd al-`Aziz
of
the saudi family, whom he adviced to strictly follow the Shari` a in
his rule, and to show leniency to his subjects. 2, 3
In 1345, he returned to Fas, and resumed his religious activities in
the Qarawiyin University, teaching the Musnad of Ima Ahmad ibn Hanbal
for the first time ever in the history of Maghrib. He commented hadith
as a critical hafizh, and gave fatwa based on absolute ijtihad, quoting
fatawa and texts of the four madhhabs, and them giving the reliable
opinion. In all this he would not neglect to command the good and
forbid the evil, and to give guidance and advice, in a way that led to
a spiritual uprising in Fas. People from all social layers attended his
classes in al-Qarawiyyin, which was filled to the brim with people, as
many as 10.000 persons. His classes had an enormous inpact, the fact
that they lasted only for two months, after which he fell ill and
passed away.
Imam Muhammad ibn Ja`far al-Kettani was one of the greatest scholars of
his time. The greatest scholars of Hind, Sham, Hijaz, Misr, Maghrib,
Algeria and Mauretania are counted among his students. Even western
orientalists attended his lectures.
His knowledge encompassed all the religious sciences. [He took
hadith and `ulum from his father and from over 30 shuyukh, the most
famous of them being Sheikh Muhammad al-Madini b. `Ali b. Julun.] [He
travelled extenseively East and West and met the best hadith and fiqh
scholars of his age.] He was one of the greatest hadith scholars
of his time, deeply immersed in the sciences of hadith, knowing their
mutun and theirs isnads by heart, and able to critically assess their
status, and coment about them. His isnads are valuable and his ijaza
was sought by scholars from the east and west.
He authored a great number of books, amongs them "Sulwatu al-Anfas"
on the history of Fas is an unsurpassed reference work, quoted and
relied upon till this day, unique in its style, containing not only
precise details but also analysis and fiqhi considerations.
And he was an able politician - despite the great calamities of his
time, he opposed the colonial powers with such determination that a
Parisian newspaper Le Temps wrote on the day of his passing (19 of
March 1927): "The greatest enemy of France has died today in
Maghrib."
He passed away i Fas on the 16th of Ramadan 1345 and was buried in the
section of Kettani family grave in the outskirts of Fas. 100.000
people from all social layers of Fas attended his funeral. Two
years later, his body was moved to a special burial place inside the
city of Fas. This was done at midnight, in the presence of 10.000
people. The body was found unaltered, and the smell of perfumed
emanating from his grave when it was opened, spread over the whole
grave yard.
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