Muhammad al-Yaqoubi

Muhammad Abu al-Huda al-Yaqoubi (b. 1383 AH / 1963 CE) is a Syrian Islamic scholar from one of the most prominent scholarly families of Damascus. His father, Ibrahim al-Yaqoubi, was a leading scholar and Sufi master, and the family's scholarly lineage traces back through centuries of Islamic scholarship. He studied the Islamic sciences under his father from childhood, receiving ijazahs in numerous disciplines including Shafi'i jurisprudence, hadith, and Arabic sciences.

Al-Yaqoubi studied under major Syrian scholars including Shaykh Abd al-Razzaq al-Halabi and received ijazahs from scholars across the Muslim world. He became one of the most widely traveled traditional Islamic scholars of his generation, teaching and lecturing in dozens of countries. He follows the Shadhili-Yashrutiyyah Sufi path.

He authored numerous works on Islamic jurisprudence, hadith, and spirituality. His works include Refuting ISIS: A Rebuttal of Its Religious and Ideological Foundations, which became one of the most widely distributed scholarly refutations of the ideology of that group, translated into multiple languages. He also authored Huda al-Murshidin (Guidance for Spiritual Directors) and numerous treatises on Shafi'i jurisprudence and spiritual matters.

Al-Yaqoubi left Syria following the outbreak of the Syrian conflict and has since been based in various countries, continuing his teaching and engagement with Muslim communities globally. He is recognized as one of the leading traditional Sunni scholars of the Ash'ari-Shafi'i tradition in the contemporary world.