Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghanī
al-Jaʿfarī

Birth & Early Upbringing

Shaykh Abd al-Ghani was born in Dongola, the capital of the Northern State in the Sudan, and was the only son of shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari. His father left to Egypt and left him and his family in the care of his grandfather Muhammad Salih al-Ja’fari. Shaykh Abd al-Ghani was still very young then, not having yet entered the Quran school. Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari went to Egypt to study at the Azhar Mosque, and having to leave behind his home, only son, and family did not stop him from pursuing his goal. He combined between the seeking of knowledge and between calling to Allah by way of sermons, lessons, and counsel, as a service for the religion, and continued upon that path, not returning to Sudan except as a visitor until his death.

And the care of Allah surrounded his only son who he had left for the sake of the struggle to spread the Shari’a of Islam and to guide those who needed guidance. And so his son was raised in the house of his grandfather where his mother took care of him.

His Education

When he reached the age of learning he entered the Qur’an school near Dongola’s grand mosque where he memorized the noble Qur’an and learned the basics of the Arabic language and grammar. He then moved on to primary school and the scientific institute in the Dongola mosque. While learning in the scientific institute he used to teach in the Qur’an school as an assistant to his shaykh.

Coming to Egypt

In 1943, his father asked him to come to Egypt, so he came with his mother and two sisters and stayed for one year, during which he studied in the third year of the general studies department in the Azhar.

Return to Sudan & Teaching

Then he traveled back to Sudan at the end of 1943 at the command of his father, to take care of his family’s affairs and to continue his studies at the scientific institute. He began teaching at the private primary school that was opened by the Egyptian Abbas Mahir, and continued teaching at the Qur’an school until the teaching inspector Hassan Abu Dirq appointed him as an official teacher. When the famous shaykh of the school, shaykh Ahmad Najjar, died, he was replaced by shaykh Ahmad al-Bashkateb, and shaykh Abd al-Ghani continued teaching with him. Then the school expanded and became two classes, and shaykh Abd al-Ghani named it “The Dongola’s Children’s School.” Then it became a small private school and he named it “Al-Sa’ada Model School.”

Rise in the Education Sector

He continued upon that path and was promoted from teacher to head teacher, then to school principal, until he reached the position of Education Supervisor. Then he became the Technical Supervisor for Teaching in the Middle Region. The shaykh then held many important positions, such as Secretary of the Dongola Department, and then the Executive Director of the Department of the Northern State.

Continuing the Tariqa

When he heard the news of his father’s death, he requested to go into retirement so that he could move to Egypt and continue the work that his father had begun in the raising of the followers of the Ja’fariyya Tariqa that he had established in the noble Azhar Mosque. This tariqa was not one of the official tariqas so the first thing that he did was to get an official recognition of the Tariqa Ja’fariyya Ahmadiyya Muhammadiyya from the Supreme Council of the Sufi Tariqas in Egypt.

He then exerted all his effort into spreading the tariqa and the preservation of the tradition and heritage of his father, establishing more than sixty mosques and centers for the tariqa across Egypt from Alexandria to Aswan. These mosques and centers have even went beyond the borders of Egypt by the grace of Allah, and include the Islamic Ja’fari Center in Libya and the Islamic Ja’fari Center in Malaysia. The shaykh also edited and published all the works of his father.

The shaykh always worked hard to raise and elevate the banner of Islam by spreading the real Sufism that is free from all myths, superstitions, and acts of hypocrisy, ignorance or show. We ask Allah Most High to shower him with His mercy and reward him the greatest of rewards.