Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Khayr al-Ghalayini was a distinguished Damascene scholar, spiritual teacher and community leader. Born in the al-ʿUqaybah quarter…
Shaykh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Khayr al-Ghalayini was a distinguished Damascene scholar, spiritual teacher and community leader. Born in the al-ʿUqaybah quarter of Damascus around 1882, he studied the Islamic sciences under several leading scholars of the city, including Shaykh Badr al-Din al-Hasani, Shaykh ʿAta al-Kasm and Shaykh Mahmud al-ʿAttar. He also received spiritual training from Shaykh ʿIsa al-Kurdi and became one of his recognised representatives in the Naqshbandi path. In 1912, Shaykh Ibrahim was appointed mufti, imam, preacher and teacher for the district of Qatana, where he served for nearly fifty years. He travelled throughout the surrounding villages to teach the Qur’an and Islamic law, reconcile disputes, support religious education and assist in establishing mosques in communities that lacked them. He was also involved in the founding of Syrian scholarly associations and later served as a deputy head of the League of Scholars. Shaykh Ibrahim was remembered for his humility, courage, devotion to the Sunnah and dedication to guiding the public. He died in 1958 and was buried in Bāb al-Ṣaghīr Graveyard in Damascus, close to the grave of his teacher, Shaykh Badr al-Din al-Hasani.