He was born in 1263 H. in Beirut, during his family’s migration from Algeria to Sham – this was the first migration, led by his maternal grandfather Sheikh Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Saklawi. From Beirut, they moved on to Damascus, where he grew up.

He memorized the Holy Quran perfectly with tajwid, and began to study various sciences. He had a sharp memory – it took him only fifty days to memorize “Al-Maqamat al-Hariri” (a famous piece of classical Arabic literature). He studied the sciences of tafsir, hadith, sira, and he excelled in the the Arabic language and literature. Like his forefathers, he was devoted to tasawwuf. He studied under Sheikh Tahir al-Jaza’iri, until reached his level. When his brother, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib, passed away, he became his sucessor in the Zawiya of the Khaydariyya Madrasa, and led the dhikr and hadras there, as well as in his own home [1].

He was attached to al-Amir `Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri, whom excluseively he praised with wrote poetry – none else enjoyed this favor. al-Amir `Abd al-Qadir entrusted to him his children, so that he would teach then to recite the Quran in the qira’a of Warsh, which is predominant in Algeria. However, since Sheikh al-Mubarak had studied the Qur’an with a different qira’a, he himself began to take the Warsh qira’a from the expert damascene reciter Sheikh Ahmad al-Halwani al-Kabir, until he mastered it.

He was an example of uprightness, reliance upon Allah, contentment and generosity. Many times he gave all that was with him to the Masjid, without knowing if he would have anything to eat in the evening.

Shadhili silsila
He ws the khalifa of his brother,Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayyib (rahimahu Allah) in the Shadhili silsila. Upon his passing he conveyd his secrets to Sheikh Sharif al-Yaqoubi (rahimahu Allah), whio passed it on to Sheikh Isma’il al-Yaqoubi [4].

Poetry in his praise
Among those who praised him with their poetry is `Abd al-Rahman al-Qassar, who said about him:

His passing and place of burial
He passed away on a Tuesday, the 5th of Jumada al-Thani year 1330. He was buried – in accordance with his last wish, wihtout turban or mantle – in his father’s grave.