By lineage, he is a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) from both of his parents and both of his paternal and
maternal grandparents. In addition to this, from his maternal side, the
Sayyid is a twenty-sixth generation direct great grandson of Ghawth al
Adham Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, the Cardinal Sufi Saint of Sunni
Islam.
Family Background
Sayyid Ahmed hails from an internationally acclaimed Sunni Muslim family with Arab roots which settled in Hyderabad , Deccan. His family has had a history of ties with Palestinian President H.E. Yassir Arafat and the Arab League. The head of Sayyid Ahmed’s family in Hyderabad was a personal guest of three Saudi Kings, including Fahad ibn Abd al Aziz ,and was given official recognition by H.R.H. King Mohammed VI ; the Hashemite King of Morocco.
Prominent dignitaries and leaders from the Islamic world who have personally visited his family home in Hyderabad include the late Grand Mufti of Jerusalem H.E. al-Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Amin al-Husayni, the Imam of the Ka'ba in Makkah. H.E. Shaykh Abd al-Halim Mahmood; the Grand Imam of Sunni Islam’s foremost seat of learning; Al Azhar, Palestinian President H.E. Yassir Arafat, the Grand Mufti of Palestine and Jerusalem H.E. Shaykh Ikramah Sabri and the Spiritual Head of Iraq's Sunni Muslims; the Custodian of the Mosque and Tomb of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad; Naqib al Ashraaf H.E. Sayed Ahmed al-Jilani.
Religious Training
Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin was personally trained and commissioned by H.E.
Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani to spread the message of peace and spirituality
throughout the world, and as such was granted multiple Ijazah’s (licenses)
in the Naqshbandi Tariqa to initiate and teach its Dhikr to seekers, and was
granted the ‘Cloak, Khilafa, and Ijazah Mutlaqa’ (successorship and complete
license) in two different chains of spiritual transmission in the Qadiri
Tariqa of his maternal ancestor Ghawth al Adham Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani;
who declared, “My foot is upon the necks of all Saints”.
Work
Shaykh Ahmed has established the ASFC (Al Sunnah Foundation of Canada), an organization dedicated to perserve the moderate message of traditional Sunni Islam and convey it to the second generation of Canadian Muslims. He has been approved and recognized not only by his own Shaykh in Cyprus, but also by H.E. Naqib-al-Ashraaf of Baghdad, the Spiritual Head of Iraq's Sunni Muslims, and by the' Jamiat ul- Mashaikh Kul Hind', the All India Council of Mashaikh (Religious leaders).
Additionally, Shaykh Ahmed was personally invited by the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper, and has spoken at conferences the attendees of which include former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Deputy Prime Ministers of Canada Anne McLellan (MP), and the Hon. John Manley (MP), Bill Graham (MP), Justin Trudeau, Dr. Keith Martin (MP), Senator Art Eggleton, and Alison McDermott (Chief of Fiscal Policy Analysis Division of Canada).
In the Media
Shaykh Ahmed has appeared in the following national and international media: PBS, Toronto Star, CBC, CBC Fifth Estate, CTV, CP24, Yahoo! Canada News, Vancouver Star, Mississauga News, Globe and Mail, The Washington Post, Cross Country Check Up With Rex Murphy, The New York Times, National Post, CHQR 770AM, MacLeans, Western Standard, and The Pluralism Project.
Published Works
Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin is an author of three books on the Islamic faith and spirituality, the following two of which have already been published: