Luthfi is a descendant of the group of the prominent
Hadhrami Arab family Ba 'Alawi sada which is considered can be traced back to the
Islamic prophet Muhammad. He received his first education from the father of the prominent local sheikh Habib al-Hafidz 'Ali al-Ghalib, and then continued his secondary education at the Madrasah Salafiah for three years. He learned the science of
Islamic mysticism (
tasawwuf) among
Naqshbandi and
Shadhili tariqas, and obtained the certificate of ''
bay'ah (oath) and the qualification for murshid'' (educator) under the supervision of
Muhammadiyah ulamas. Subsequently, in 1959, he continued his study at the
pesantren in Benda Kerep,
Cirebon. Following this, he moved to
Mecca and
Medina, receiving the diploma for several fields of Islamic science including
sharia,
tariqa,
tasawwuf,
tafsir and
hadith studies. ==Views==