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Knowledge – Practice – Realisation

Like clouds that clear

Navigating Life’s Hardships with Patience and Trust 

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Focused on Imam al-Haddad’s poem ‘O patient one, rejoice in glad tidings…’


Trials, uncertainty, and periods of hardship are an inevitable part of the human experience. Yet within every difficulty lies an opportunity to deepen one’s trust in Allah, cultivate patience, and discover the wisdom hidden within Divine decree.

Drawing upon Imam al-Haddad’s beautiful ode “O Patient One, Rejoice in Glad Tidings”, this gathering will explore the spiritual path of navigating life’s challenges with steadfastness and faith. Through the poem’s timeless verses, we will reflect on the nature of trials, the dangers of anxiety and restlessness, the transformative power of contentment, and the certainty that relief follows hardship.

Imam al-Haddad reminds us that misfortunes are “like clouds that soon clear away,” and that what appears to be prolonged difficulty may in fact be the herald of long-awaited ease. By contemplating these profound teachings, participants will gain practical and spiritual insights into meeting life’s hardships with patience (sabr), trust (tawakkul), gratitude (shukr), and contentment (rida).

Join us for an evening of reflection and renewal as we reconnect with a prophetic way of responding to adversity—one that anchors the heart in hope, serenity, and confidence in Allah’s promise.

Habib Ali Zain Al Abideen Al Hamid

Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin Al-Hamid is a renowned Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah scholar and preacher. He began his studies in Hadhramaut, Yemen, under the guidance of Al-‘Allamah Habib Umar bin Hafidz, founder of Dar al-Mustafa in Tarim, before continuing his studies at Al-Azhar University, Egypt, for five years in Islamic Legislation and Law.

He later completed his Bachelor’s degree in Al-Quran and As-Sunnah at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Al-Quran and As-Sunnah. In recognition of his contributions to education and scholarship, he was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor.

Habib Ali is widely known for disseminating Islamic knowledge to the community through Majlis Ta‘lim Darul Murtaza since 2004, which is now centred at Masjid Muadz bin Jabal, Setiawangsa, attracting thousands of seekers of knowledge every Friday night.

To date, numerous educational and religious initiatives are personally managed by Habib Ali, including the establishment of Yayasan Ar-Ri’ayah together with Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar. The foundation was officially incorporated on 5 December 2017 under the Trustees (Incorporation) Act 1952 (Act 258) under the Legal Affairs Division, Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia.

Among the educational programmes under the auspices of Yayasan Ar-Ri’ayah is Majlis Ta‘lim Darul Murtadza, an Islamic learning institute that utilises authoritative classical Islamic texts widely influential in Malaysia. Besides teaching in mosques, Habib Ali is also regularly invited to deliver lectures and appear on radio and television programmes.

Among the formal educational institutions under Yayasan Ar-Ri’ayah and managed by Habib Ali is Madrasah At-Tazkiyah, which currently accommodates approximately 100 secondary-level students specialising in Islamic studies.

•⁠ ⁠His leadership and contribution in the field of dakwah were formally recognised when he was appointed as a Panel Member of the Islamic Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Islam, MPI) by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2016. Shaykh Dr Ahmed Saad

Location

Inperson: Challney High School for Boys, Stoneygate Rd, Luton LU4 9TJ.

Date/Time

Wednesday – July 8th 2026
7.00pm to 9.00pm

Knowledge

Knowledge is understanding that every choice and view one forms is framed in the guidance presented in the Quran and the Prophetic way as understood by Ahle Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah.

Practice

Practice seeks to implement that knowledge in all aspects of our lives. Sincerely applying knowledge facilitates the soul to acquire virtuous characteristics and move beyond its vices and capricious element

Realisation

The soul becomes receptive to realisations concerning God’s oneness, majesty, beauty, and how creation is an ongoing sign of Divine favour. This witnessing is highlighted in the Prophetic statement,‘Excellence is to worship Allah as though you see Him. If you do not see Him, He sees you.

Shaykh Dr Ahmed Saad

Shaykh Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Saad Al-Azhari was born in Ramadan 1398 (August 1978) in the northern Egyptian governorate of  Menoufiyyah in the Nile Delta to a scholarly family with a Prophetic lineage through Imam al-Hasan. After completing the memorisation of the Quran at the age of 10 under his father’s teaching and finishing his primary education, he joined Al-Azhar prep and secondary institute in a neighbouring village for 7 years. Having completed his secondary certificate, he joined Al-Azhar University graduating with a BA in Islamic Studies in English in 2001. He also completed postgraduate studies in 2004, attended academic programs at the University of Erfurt, Germany, and as a Fulbright scholar attended the University of California Santa Barbara in 2005. Dr. Saad completed his PhD in the School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK. In his PhD, Dr. Saad specialises in engagements between traditional Muslim scholars and modernity in the colonial and post-colonial Muslim world with a special focus on the project of Habib Abu Bakr al-Mashhūr.

In his early career, Shaykh Saad worked in several institutions including the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs and travelled to Canada, Malaysia, and the UK as an Imam. He settled in the UK at the beginning of 2007 as an Imam in North London while actively engaged with local and international faith organizations including appearances in BBC and France 24/7. His impact was recognised by the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, the Islington Faith Forum, and other institutions. After this successful tenure, he established Ihsan Institute UK, an educational enterprise with a focus on making traditional knowledge relevant and meaningful. Ihsan Institute UK has its sister organisation Ihsan Institute Singapore also under the supervision of Shaykh Saad. In teaching and speaking capacities, Shaykh Dr Saad worked with many communities across the world travelling to Argentina, Austria, Australia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Qatar, Morocco, Gambia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay, Canada, USA, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Germany. This wide experience enriched his ability to deal with people from different backgrounds and cultures and see the human experience beyond the limitations of location and language.

In his traditional studies, Shaykh Saad started studying Arabic language sciences like grammar, morphology, rhetoric, literature, and prosody with his father from a very early age. He also studied modes of recitation (qirā’āt), Ash’ari theology (kalam and ‘aqīdah), tajwīd, Islamic astronomy and prayer timing (falak and tawqīt), Maliki jurisprudence (fiqh), logic (mantiq), Hadīth terminology (mustalah), Quranic hermeneutics (tafsīr), Tasawwuf, legal theory (usul al-fiqh) with a wide circle of teachers from Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Mauritania, Madīnah and Ahsā. This included memorising mutūn (at least one main text) in these respective sciences in addition to thousands of lines of poetry from pre-Islamic to modern poetry including the mu’allaqāt.

Shaykh Saad has traditional ijazāt with an unbroken chain of riwāyah in the six Hadith books, Muwatta, Shama’il, Shifā, Alfiyat al-Iraqi in Sīrah and musalsal hadith collections. His sanad in the Quran is one of the shortest among his peers in the narration of Hafs. In his secondary certificate, he was one of the top ten students in Egypt and was honoured by the governor of Menoufiyyah. In his university years, Shaykh Saad always topped his class and was hosted, in his last year in university, by King Fahad and the Ministry of Hajj alongside 100 students from 10 Muslim countries as the King’s guest.

Besides his late father Shaykh Mohamed Saad, his teachership includes; Habib Dr. Abu Bakr al-‘Adni b. Ali al-Mashhūr, Shaykh Shibl Matar, Shaykh Dr. Ali Gomah, Shaykh Dr. Abdel-Hamīd Al-Mubarak,  Shaykh Ahmad Mawlūd b. Muhammad al-Mustafa al-Yaqūbi al-Shinqīti, Shaykh Dr. Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Abdul-Fattah Madkour, Shaykh Ali Tawfīq al-Nahhas, Shaykh Abdul-Rahman al-Kittani, Habib Zayn b. Sumayt, Shaykh Abdel-Basit Hashim, Shaykh Yahya al-Ghawthani, Shaykh Ahmad al-Surti, Shaykh Yahya al-Mulla, Shaykh Dr. Ahmad Sharīf al-Manbiji, Shaykh Muhammad al-Baqqāli and others who including Shyūkh of riwāyah exceed 85 teachers.

Shaykh Ahmad has a special interest in Maliki Fiqh, Arabic grammar, rhetoric and literature, Tafsīr, and qirā’āt. He has authored a number of books in Arabic and English including Contemplating the Quran and Forty Parables from the Quran in addition to two anthologies of poetry and some didactic poems. He lives in the UK and teaches and travels internationally.

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