Ṣafī al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlwān (d. 665 AH / 1267 CE) was a prominent Yemeni Sufi scholar, jurist, and preacher. His lineage traces back to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (RA) through al-Ḥasan al-Sibṭ. His father, ʿAlwān ibn ʿAṭāf, was a well-known scribe in Yemen at the turn of the 6th–7th centuries AH, originally from the village of Khaw (east of present-day Ibb). Sources differ on his birthplace—some say Dhī al-Janān in Jabal Dhakhar, others say the village of ʿAqāqah in the Ṣabr region. His birth likely occurred between the late 6th and early 7th centuries AH. He grew up in an educated and refined environment, studying under leading scholars of his time. He mastered writing, grammar, language, Sufism, Qur’anic recitation, tafsīr, fiqh, ḥadīth, philosophy, logic, literature, and history. His writings reflect this broad knowledge. He adhered to the Shāfiʿī school of law, common in southern and eastern Yemen. Ibn ʿAlwān studied Sufism under Shaykh ʿUmar ibn al-Musan (al-Ṭayyār), whose method followed the Qādirī order of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī. This order entered Yemen through notable figures who had met al-Jīlānī in Makkah. He sought to renew the call to God through the path of spiritual knowledge (ʿirfān), practicing a form of Sufism rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah. He was critical of corrupt or superficial Sufi practices and emphasized that true spiritual poverty (faqr) meant knowledge, adherence to truth, faith, and righteous action—not external displays or unlawful innovations. Ibn ʿAlwān passed away on the night of Saturday, 20th Rajab 665 AH, and was buried in the village of Yafris (Jabal Ḥabashī, Taiz province), where his mosque still stands. Only four of his works survive, all focused on Sufism, conduct, knowledge, and creed: al-Tawḥīd al-Aʿẓam al-Futūḥ al-Mahrajan al-Baḥr al-Mushkil al-Gharīb These works have been published by the Yemeni Center for Studies and Research in Ṣanʿāʾ.