Video: Sheikh Idrees Watts – Hadith Jibreel at Leeds Isoc

Born and raised in Kent, Muhammad Idris Watts accepted Islam in 1998 in the first year of his Arabic Language Degree at the University of Leeds. In the second year of the degree programme, he set off to the ancient city of Fez, Morocco to further his Arabic Language studies. During this period he attended circles of knowledge and zawiyahs around Fez. He also sat with many prestigious singers of Fez such as Sidi Muhammad Bennis. Shaykh Idris graduated in 2002 from the University with First Class Honours and also received an award of excellence for his language skills. He moved back to Fez to embark on an intensive period of study. He attended classes at the Qarawiyeen University in the Old City for the next four years studying with the likes of the adept grammarian Shaykh Abdel-Hayy al-‘Amrıw+ and many other teachers.

He studied classical texts including the Ajrumiyah, Lımiyat al-Af’ıl, Matn az-Zanjın, Alfiyah in Grammar and Morphology, Ibn ‘Ashir, al-Akhdar+, Risılah of Ibn Ab Zayd and sections of the ‘Asimiyyah in Mılik Fiqh, as well as Jawharat at-Tawhd in Creed. He also had the opportunity of sitting with the students of the late Shaykh Makk bin Krın, (may God bless his soul), who was a master of the ten variant recitations of the Qurın and studied Tajwd and four of the variant recitations with them. After his studies, he travelled Morocco in order to benefit from the Shaykhs of Tarqah. He mainly stayed in the company of the teachers of the Alaw Darqawi Shıdhil Order and eventually pledged allegiance to Shaykh al-Buzayd Bujrıf of the Reef region of Morocco in 2006. He returned to England in 2007, and recently took up the full-time post of Resident Scholar at the Abu Zahra Foundation.

More info:

Radical Middle Way Profile – Shaykh Idris Watts

More Than A Feeling – Radical Middle Way Presentation

Praise Him! – Radical Middle Way Presentation