Habib Omar bin Hafiz was born on 27 May 1963 CE or 4 Muharram 1383 AH in Tarim, Hadhramaut, Yemen, and raised in a household that possessed a tradition and lineage of Islamic scholarship and righteousness by his father.

[4] The surname "Hafiz" comes from his great grandfather's name, a branch of the family of "Shaykh Abubakr bin Salim", which is also the name of his paternal thirteenth generation progenitor.

Habib travels regularly to meet with students and leaders, deliver talks and media interviews, and participate in official and private functions.

Among the places he has been include: the Persian Gulf states, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan, Mali, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, the Comoros Islands, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and Spain.

[9][10][11] In July 2008, he partnered with Muslim Aid Australia as founder of Yemen-based NGO Al-Rafah Charitable Society to address issues of poverty and hunger and lack of sufficient health care that affect areas of Tarim.

[12][13][14] Habib was listed at number 3 in The 500 Most Influential Muslims for 2024,[15] an annual ranking compiled by Georgetown University's Prince Al-Waleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding and the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.