| Religion: | Islam (secular) |
| Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi | |
| Birth Name: | Muhammad bin Hassan Wadi bin Ali bin Khuzam al-Sayyadi |
| Birth Date: | 1849 |
| Birth Place: | Khan Shaykhun, Idlib Governorate, Syria |
| Death Date: | 1909 |
| Death Place: | Büyükada, Princes' Islands, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Resting Place: | His shrine, near Khan Shaykhun in Idlib Governorate, Syria |
| Ethnicity: | Syrian |
| Occupation: | Islamic scholar and poet |
| Creed: | Ash'ari |
| Movement: | Liberalism |
| Sufi Order: | Rifa'i |
Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi (Arabic: أبو الهدى الصيادي), full name Muhammad bin Hassan Wadi bin Ali bin Khuzam al-Sayyadi, was a Syrian Islamic scholar and poet, who held the title Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire in the 20th century. He is the father of Hasan Abu Al-Huda, the fourth Prime Minister of Transjordan (r. 1923–1931).
Sayyadi was born in 1849 in Khan Shaykhun, now modern day Syria.[1] His lineage goes back to both Ahmad al-Rifa'i and even further back to Muhammad, hence making him a Sayyid.[2] [3] Due to his ancestry, he was put in charge of the Naqib al-Ashraf Association, which consisted of other Sayyids.[4]
Sayyadi met with prominent reformists like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani. In 1895, he established a library next to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Ottoman Sultan of the time, Abdul Hamid II, met Sayyadi[5] and made him Sheikh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire.[6] After Abdul Hamid II was deposed, Sayyadi was exiled to Büyükada where he died in 1909.[7] He is buried next to his father in Aleppo.
Sayyadi was a supporter of Sufism. He was part of the Rifa'i tariqa, and wrote poems and books with Sufi themes.[8] [9] Sayyadi was also very anti-Salafi in his views. He encouraged the Ottoman Empire to issue a crackdown on Wahhabism. This resulted in Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, a Sufi scholar with Salafist-influenced beliefs to be sent into exile.[10] [11]