Abu al-Ghayth b. Jamil al-Yamani

أبو الغيث بن جميل اليمني

c. 1254 CE · c. 652 AH

Yemen

Shaykh of Yemen's shaykhs (d. ~652) — a highwayman in his beginnings, turned by a voice heard while lying in wait for a caravan; disciple of Ali b. Aflah al-Zabidi then Ali al-Ahdal; unlettered, yet with speech on the realities and a treatise on tasawwuf written for him 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
mystic
Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Arabia
Review
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Life in time

1150117512001225125012751300 c. c. c. c. c. c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era Contemporaries: Abagha Khan · Abu al-Abbas al-Qurti · Abu al-Hajjaj al-Biyasi · Abu Ali b. Duwayra al-Basri · Abu Bakr ibn Qawam al-Balisi

Place in the story

    Sunni (transmitted)

    Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.

    Overview

    Abu'l-Ghayth Ibn Jamil, shaykh of Yemen's shaykhs; at the start of his affair he was a knavish highwayman — while lying in wait for a caravan he heard a voice cry "keeper of the eye, an eye upon you," which fell on him with a fall that shook him; he turned to God and sincerity of purpose showed on him. 1

    His company

    He kept first to Shaykh 'Ali b. Aflah al-Zubaydi then Shaykh 'Ali al-Ahdal; illiterate, he has speech on the realities, dazzling states and manifest wonders, and a book on tasawwuf was written about him. 1

    Connections

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    Lived in
    Yemen

    People and things also explored

    Christianity in Arabia before Islam· Judaism in Arabia before Islam· The Second Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen· Ali ibn Abi Talib's expeditions to Yemen (twice)· Ali's judgment on the men who fell into a lion pit in Yemen· Ali's judgment on three men who lay with one woman in one purity· The First Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen· The sending of Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen and the Prophet's charge to him

    Sources

    1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 264-265
    Cite this page

    islam.museum contributors. “Abu al-Ghayth b. Jamil al-Yamani”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abu-al-ghayth-ibn-jamil/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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    Wing

    People

    Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story.
    Related

    Christianity in Arabia before Islam

    Christianity came to Arabia through the Abyssinian and Roman occupations in al-Raheeq al-Makhtum's account: Christian missions entered Yemen during the first Abyssinian occupation, Najran was converted by the ascetic Faymiyun, Abraha spread it vigorously and built the Yemeni Kaaba to divert the Arabs' pilgrimage, and the Ghassanids, Taghlib, Tayy and some kings of al-Hira adopted it from their proximity to the Romans.