Dr Hisham Kabbani
The World’s most renowned and respected Muslim scholar, Maulana Shaykh, Dr Hisham Kabbani will soon be visiting Guyana as part of activities organised by the local Muslim community in observance of the Islamic New Year.
The local Muslim community, through The Anna Catherina Islamic Complex and The Guyana United Sadr Islamic Anjuman will host a series of programmes in observance of the commencement of the Islamic New Year 1435AH.
The distinguished scholar will visit Guyana from November 27-29, (after visiting neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago).
Maulana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani has dedicated his life to calling people to increase their love of Prophet Muhammad (May God’s blessings and peace be with him).
For over two decades, he has worked tirelessly to validate expressions of love of Allah’s Messenger through mawlid celebrations (birth of the prophet) and gathering of dhikr (devotional act) in the West and the East.
Shaykh Hisham was born in Beirut, Lebanon to the family of the Beloved Prophet, on both his paternal and maternal sides. He has studied Islamic jurisprudence from an early age and has acquired a proficiency in the major schools of Sunni fiqh. He obtained a degree in chemistry from the American University of Beirut before completing his medical studies in Belgium. His teacher in the science of tasawwuf (Sufism) is Shaykh Nazim Haqqani, the world renowned leader of the Naqshbandi order, known as the “Golden Chain”, who would later became his father-in-law. He also acquired sacred knowledge from his uncles, one was the grand mufti of Lebanon and another was the president of the Association of Islamic Scholars of the Middle East.
Shaykh Hisham has the rare gift of being able to combine the demands of the Shari’ah with the inner certainty of the tariqa (way or path). This characteristic allows him to weave together religious and scientific knowledge and to convey the message of Islam to diverse groups of people in English, French, Arabic, and Turkish.
His message has touched millions of the people all over the world and through his da`wah ( summons), by Allah’s grace, over 15,000 people have accepted Islam in the Americas and Europe.
Peace advocate
Maulana Kabbani advocates an understanding of Islam as fundamentally based on peace, tolerance, interreligious cooperation, respect and love. He has counselled and advised Muslim leaders around the world from Afghanistan to the UK to build community resilience against violent extremism.
In 2012, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named him one of the top 500 most influential Muslims.
Even at his advanced age, the eminent shaykh continues to travel extensively to speak to ordinary people, kings, presidents, prime ministers and even Prince Charles of England. He has published dozens of books on Islam and Sufism, many of which have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic and Urdu.
Shaykh Kabbani presides over the Institute for Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (ISCA), WORDE, the As-Sunnah Foundation and eShaykh.com, which provides online guidance in matters of jurisprudence, theology and responding to requests for prayers.
He is also the founder/ chairman of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), a non-profit, non-governmental educational organisation dedicated to teaching personal moral excellence.
ISCA has spearheaded a number of peace initiatives, hosted notable conferences, actively engages in inter-religious dialogue, and promotes traditional and moderate Islamic views. ISCA has addressed numerous world bodies such as the United Nations and continues to advise the U. S. Department of State on issues regarding Islam, religious tolerance and terrorism.
Lectures
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani has given lectures at many universities, including Yale, Oxford, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, the American University, Howard, McGill, Concordia, the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) and Rutgers.
He has also been active throughout the world in the field of disaster relief and poverty alleviation. In 2010, he developed a series of water supply projects and relief supply centres in drought-affected regions of Kenya. He has also worked with local orphanages in Nairobi to provide funding and material assistance.
In 2001 and 2002, Dr Kabbani was recognised as one of the few Muslim scholars at that time to have warned of the threat of violent extremism. His discourses, presentations and dialogues have earned him the enviable respect of leaders and peoples of all faiths.
For the very first time, the people of Guyana will get the opportunity to meet Shaykh Hisham and listen to his words of love, wisdom and sincerity. The visit of the scholar is expected to attract a wide cross-section of people of various religions in addition to delegations from Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, the U. S. and Suriname.
The main programme will be held on Friday, November 29 at 18: 30h at the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex, West Coast Demerara. His eminence will deliver the Friday Juma sermon at the Queenstown Jama Masjid the same day. Other programmes are slated for Peter’s Hall Jama Masjid, East Bank Demerara as well as paying courtesy calls on several government functionaries, opposition leader and members of the diplomatic corps. Timings of these will be announced shortly.
