He then moved to Damascus where he studied for about 10 years under many Islamic scholars such as Dr. Nur al-Din`Itr, Shaykh Adib Kallas, Shaykh Wahbi Sulayman al-Ghawji, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, Dr. Samer al-Nass, Dr. Wahba Zuhayli, Shaykh Abd al-Hadi Kharsa, Shaykh Muhammad Muti al-Hafiz, Shaykh Bassam al-Hamzawi and Shaykh Munir al-Hayek.

During his time in Damascus, Shaykh Haddad met Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani at his home in Cyprus as well as in Damascus. He is a mureed of the great shaykh and practices the Naqshabndi Taria in Lebanon. In Mecca, he studied under Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki. In Morocco he studied under Sidi Mustafa Bassir and in Beirut, he studied under Shaykh Husayn Usayran, the last of the close students of Qadi Shaykh Yusuf al-Nabhani.

Shaykh Haddad initially followed the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence after his conversion to Islam but later adopted the Shafi’i school of Sunni jurisprudence.

In terms of Islamic Studies, Shaykh Gibril is recognised as a hadith expert and a leading authority on the Shari’ah. He was formerly a teacher of Fiqh at SunniPath, an online Islamic Academy, and now runs the Living Islam (livingislam.org) website.

Shaykh Gibril has published a complete translation of Qadi Ibn Jahbal al-Dimashqi’s refutation of Ibn Taymiyya’s Al-`Aqidat al-Hamawiyat al-Kubra (“The creed of the great people of Hama”) as well as a primer on contemporary Salafism titled Albani and his Friends. He has criticized the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth for promoting Salafism. He has also written a critique of Deobandi scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani’s fatwa against the celebration of Muhammad’s birthday (Mawlid).

Books and Articles

• Baydawi – The Lights of Revelation & the Secrets of Interpretation
• 40 Hadiths on Sham 2nd ed.
• Musnad Ahl al-Bayt (Arabic)
• Incineration of Persons
• Encyclopedia of Hadith Forgeries by Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari: Sayings Misattributed to the Prophet Muhammad.
• Introduction, Translation and Notes (740 pages including seven indexes).
• At Al-Qur’an wal-Sunna Association (AQSA), Birmingham, UK:
• Albani and His Friends: A Concise Guide to the “Salafi” Movement. 2nd edition.
• Mawlid: Celebrating the Birth of the Holy Prophet, upon him blessings and peace. (Refutation of anti-mawlid fatwa by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani)
• Al-Jifri, Ḥabib Ali. Jesus Christ the Son of Mary & His Most Blessed Mother, upon them peace.
• Al-Maliki, Muḥammad ibn `Alawi. The Prophet’s Night Journey and Heavenly Ascent. 4th ed.
• Ibn Jahbal. Refutation of Ibn Taymiyya Who Attributes Direction to Allah.
• Al-Maliki. The Life of the Prophets in Their Graves, upon them peace. Bilingual, forthcoming.
• Introduction and glossary for Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti’s Defending the Transgressed, a fatwa on the prohibition of the military targeting of civilians. [Defending the Transgressed: Mudafi’ al-Mazlum]
• Sunna Notes I: Hadith History and Principles. With Ibn Hajar’s Nukhbat al-Fikar.
• Sunna Notes II: The Excellent Innovation in the Qur’an and Ḥadith. Foreword by Shaykh Wahbi
• Sulayman Ghawji. With Ibn Rajab’s The Sunna of the Caliphs.
• Sunna Notes III: The Binding Proof of the Sunna. Foreword by Dr. Muhammad Sa’id al-Buti. With Ibn Hajar’s The Hadith of Gibril.
• At Maktabat al-Aḥbab, Damascus (all bilingual works):
• Afdalu al-Khalqi Sayyiduna Muhammad (On the Prophetic Attribute “Best of Creation”).
• The Excellence of Syro-Palestine—al-Shaam—and Its People: Forty Hadiths [Video presentation].
• Mawlana’s Open Door in Johore and Singapore.
• Qubrus al-Tarab fi Suhbati Rajab (“The Joy of Cyprus in the Association of Rajab”): Discourses of Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani.
• Al-Rifa’i, Yusuf Hashim. Advice to Our Brethren the Scholars of Najd (Nasiha li-Ikhwanina ‘Ulama’ Najd). Introduction by Muhammad Sa’id al-Buti. With the full introduction of ‘Alawi al-Haddad’s 1802 Misbah al-Anam fi Radd Shubuhat al-Najdi al-Lati Adalla biha al-‘Awamm.
• Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radya Allahu ‘anh.
• At Dar Taybat al-Gharra’, Damascus (in Arabic):
• Tuhfat al-Labib bi-Nusrat al-Habib ‘Ali al-Jufri wa-Munaqashat al-Mukhalifin fil-Masa’il al-Sufiyya.
• Al-Arba’un fi Fadl al-Sham wa-Ahlih wal-Hijrati ila Allah wa-Rasulih Salla Allah wa-Sallama ‘alayhi wa-‘ala Alih.
• From the Two Holy Sanctuaries: A Hajj Journal. With historical illustrations.
• Revision, introduction, notes, and appendices for Miryam Poswal’s translation of al-Suyuti’s Sibahat al-Fikr fil-Jahri bil-Dhikr.
• Taqriz for Dr. Afifi al-Akiti’s Moonrises and the Meeting of Hearts concerning the Harmony between Islamic Jurisprudence and Astronomy and the Correlation of Computation and Sighting. (Unpublished)
• At Muslim Academic Trust (MAT), Oxford:
• The Four Imams and Their Schools: Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi’i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Foreword by Sayyid Yusuf Hashim al-Rifa‘i.
• Ibn ‘Abd al-Salam’s Doctrine of the People of Truth (al-Mulha fi I’tiqad Ahl al-Haqq).
• Al-Bayhaqi’s Divine Names and Attributes (al-Asma’ wal-Sifat). Excerpts.
• Ibn Khafif’s Correct Islamic Doctrine. With Ibn ‘Arabi’s Doctrine of the Muslims.
• At Institute for Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (ISCA) (US) and Centre for Spirituality and Cultural Advancement (CSCA) (UK):
• The Muhammadan Light in the Qur’an, Sunna, and Companion-Reports.
• Fayd al-Salam bi-Suhbat al-Shaykh Hisham wa-Minnat Mawlana al-Shaykh Nazim ala al-Khass wal-Amm.

Trivia

• He holds ijazas from over 150 scholars across the Muslim world.
• Haddad initially followed the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence after his conversion to Islam but later adopted the Shafi’i school of Sunni jurisprudence. He stated he did so because 1. He found it easier to study due to Shaykh Nuh Keller’s Reliance of the Traveler; 2. He found it more logical to practice because it is the main school of jurisprudence in Lebanon and because it is the school his wife follows and; 3. The founder of the school, Imam Shafi’i, was a member of the Quraysh tribe (the tribe of Muhammad) and Muhammad had told his followers to hold fast to the Quran and the members of his household.

Sources

Shaykh GH Facebook
Living Islam