Talib al-Habib is a vocalist, teacher, author and a Consultant Psychiatrist. He was born in London and grew up in Manchester, before emigrating to South Africa with his family for a ten year stay. It was here that he met his spiritual guide, Shah Ghulam Muhyi ad-Din Kazi, and began traversing the path of traditional Islam - the methodology of uniting the practical, intellectual and experiential facets of religion - under his instruction. He later returned to the UK in early 2002. All his songs are written with vocal harmonies and daff percussion only. His distinctive style is influenced by the mystical poetry of the Chishti spiritual order, as well as his ten year childhood association with the Manchester Boy’s Choir, where he received vocal and technical training. He began composing spiritual poetry and songs at the age of sixteen, and has continued to do so ever since. In early 2004, he was encouraged to compile an album of English-language spiritual songs, which culminated in ‘Songs of Innocence,’ an intensely personal journey into the experiential dimensions of Islam. This was followed by Rahma, a collection of nasheeds based around the wisdom of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad (s). There followed Song of the Wayfarer, in many ways an answer to Songs of Innocence, covering many of the same themes from a different perspective. He has received twenty years of rigorous theological training at the hands of masters of Islamic law and spirituality, and has been granted Ijazat (formal authorization) to instruct students in the arts and sciences of Islamic thought by scholars from four continents. He is the founder and director of the Islamic Ethics and Global Citizenship Initiative as well as the Path to Salvation course in classical Islamic Studies, one of the largest Muslim grassroots teaching organisations in the UK. He serves on both the professional and scholarly advisory panels of the Centre for Islam and Medicine, as well as in an advisory capacity to a number of community initiatives and charities. He has authored four books on diverse aspects of Islam, with a focus on spirituality. As a Psychiatrist he has a special interest in Islamic Spirituality and Mental Health. He has delivered lectures on this subject at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Cardiff University and other locations around the country. Talib al-Habib is a pen-name given to him by his teacher meaning, ‘seeker of the beloved.’ Currently, he lives in the West Midlands with his wife, two daughters and two cats.
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