Abd al-Rahman al-Saqqaf (739/1338 – 819/1416) was one of the great forefathers of the Bâ Alawi tradition in Tarim, regarded as founder of the Saqqaf (Al Saqqaf) branch and called "al-Muqaddam al-thani" for his closeness to al-Faqih al-Muqaddam. He earned the epithet "al-Saqqaf" (the roofer) because he veiled his spiritual states beneath humility as under a roof. He taught the classics such as al-Ghazali's Ihya, al-Qushayri's Risala and al-Suhrawardi's Awarif al-Maarif, and built ten mosques in Hadramaut. His thirteen sons, including Umar al-Muhdar and Abu Bakr al-Sakran, all became scholars; he was buried beside his father in the Zanbal Cemetery of Tarim.