Al-Azhar University#Council of Senior Scholars

File:Courtyard of Al-Azhar Mosque Cairo Egypt 2019 (6).jpg, which largely dates to the Fatimid period ]]

Al-Azhar is one of the relics of the Isma'ili Shi'a Fatimid dynasty, which claimed descent from Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad and wife of Ali, son-in-law, and cousin of Muhammad. Fatimah was called al-Zahra (the luminous), and the institution was named in her honor.Halm, Heinz. The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning. London: The Institute of Ismaili Studies and I.B. Tauris. 1997. It was founded as a mosque by the Fatimid commander Jawhar al-Siqilli at the orders of the Caliph and Imam Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah as he founded the city for Cairo. It was begun (probably on Saturday) in Jumada al-Awwal in the year AH 359 (March/April 970 CE). Its building was completed on the 9th of Ramadan in AH 361 (24 June 972 CE). Both Caliph al-Aziz Billah and Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah added to its premises. It was further repaired, renovated, and extended by al-Mustansir Billah and al-Hafiz li-Din Allah.

File:Flickr - Gaspa - Cairo, moschea di El-Azhar (5).jpg

The Fatimid caliphs always encouraged scholars and jurists to have their study-circles and gatherings in this mosque and thus it was turned into a madrasa which has the claim to be considered as the oldest such institution still functioning.Shorter Shi'ite Encyclopaedia, By: Hasan al-Amin, http://www.imamreza.net/old/eng/imamreza.php?id=574{{Cite web |date=2022-11-30 |title=The World's Oldest Universities, Some That Have Been Around For More Than A Thousand Years |url=https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/list-of-oldest-universities-in-the-world-586276.html |access-date=2022-12-17 |website=IndiaTimes |language=en-IN}} The mosque provided teaching on a variety of subjects from a variety of scholars.{{Cite book |last=Goddard |first=Hugh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcbBAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |title=A History of Christian-Muslim Relations |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-7486-1009-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/historychristian00godd/page/n111 99] |url-access=limited}} According to Syed Farid Alatas, these subjects included Islamic law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Islamic astronomy, Islamic philosophy, and logic.{{Cite journal |last=Alatas |first=Syed Farid |year=2006 |title=From Jāmi'ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue |url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439 |journal=Current Sociology |volume=54 |issue=1 |page=123 |doi=10.1177/0011392106058837 |s2cid=144509355}} Under the Fatimids, Al-Azhar also notably promoted Shia Islam.{{cite book |last=Hassan |first=S. F. |date=2016 |chapter=Al-Azhar: The Challenge of Reforming Religious Education in Egypt |title=Education and the Arab Spring |publisher=Brill |pages=129–149 |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789463004718/BP000009.xml |isbn=978-94-6300-471-8 |quote="al-Azhar was the center where the Shia ideology of the Fatimids was advocated"}}{{cite journal |last=Abdullayev |first=Z. |date=2023 |title=Al-Azhar Madras |journal=Innovations of Modern Scientific Development in the Age of Globalization: Problems and Solutions |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=39–40 |url=https://uzresearchers.com/index.php/NSNR/article/view/712}}

In the 12th century, following the overthrow of the Isma'ili Fatimid dynasty, Saladin (the founder of the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty) converted Al-Azhar to a Shafi'ite Sunni center of learning.Encyclopædia Britannica p.37 1993 edition {{ISBN|0-85229-571-5}} Therefore, "he had all the treasures of the palace, including the books, sold over a period of ten years. Many were burned, thrown into the Nile, or thrown into a great heap, which was covered with sand, so that a regular "hill of books" was formed and the soldiers used to sole their shoes with the fine bindings. The number of books said to have been disposed of varies from 120,000 to 2,000,000."Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden, 1936, 3rd vol., p. 353[http://www.ismaili.net/histoire/history05/history581.html], End of the Fatimid Caliphate Abd-el-latif delivered lectures on Islamic medicine at Al-Azhar, while according to legend the Jewish philosopher Maimonides delivered lectures on medicine and astronomy there during the time of Saladin though no historical proof has corroborated this.{{Cite book|title=Muqarnas, Volume 13|first=Gulru|last=Necipogulu|publisher=Brill Publishers|year=1996|isbn=90-04-10633-2|page=56}}

Saladin introduced the college system in Egypt, which was also adopted in Al-Azhar. Under this system, the college was a separate institution within the mosque compound, with its own classrooms, dormitories and a library.{{cite book|title=International Dictionary of University Histories|publisher=Taylor & Francis|author=Sina Dubovoy|editor=Carol Summerfield and Mary Elizabeth Devine|page=10}}

Under the Mamluks, Al-Azhar gained influence and rose in prestige.

The Mamluks established salaries for instructors and stipends for the students and gave the institution an endowment. A college was built for the institution in 1340, outside of the mosque. In the late 1400s, the buildings were renovated and new dormitories were built for the students.

During this time Cairo had 70 other institutions of Islamic learning, however, Al-Azhar attracted many scholars due to its prestige. The famed Ibn Khaldun taught at Al-Azhar starting in 1383.{{cite book|editor=Florin Curta, Andrew Holt

|title=Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=561}}

During this time texts were few and much of the learning happened by students memorizing their teachers' lectures and notes. In fact, blind young boys were enrolled at Al-Azhar in the hopes that they could eventually earn a living as teachers.

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During the Ottoman period, Al-Azhar's prestige and influence grew to the point of becoming the preeminent institution for Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world. During this time, the Shaykh Al-Azhar was established, an office given to the leading scholar at the institution; prior to this the head of the institution was not necessarily a scholar.{{sfn|Dodge|1961|page=82}} In 1748, the Ottoman pasha tried to get Al-Azhar to teach astronomy and mathematics, to little avail.

During the time there wasn't a system of academic degrees, instead the shaykh (professor) determined if the student was sufficiently trained to enter a professor (ijazah). The average length of study was 6 years. Despite the lack of bureaucracy, the training remained rigorous and prolonged. Students were loosely organized into riwaq (a sort of fraternity) organized according to their nationality and branch of Islamic law they studied. Each riwaq was supervised by a professor. A rector, usually a senior professor, oversaw the finances.

By the mid 19th century, al-Azhar had surpassed Istanbul and was considered the capital of Sunni legal expertise;Oliver Leaman, ABDU, MUHAMMAD, The Quran: an Encyclopedia Routledge a main centre of power in the Islamic world; and a rival to Damascus, Mecca and Baghdad.

When the Kingdom of Egypt was established in 1923, the signing of the new nation's constitution was delayed because of King Fuad I's insistence that Al-Azhar and other religious institutions were to be subject to him and not the Egyptian parliament.The Times, Egyptian Constitution Delay. 19 April 1923 The King Fuad I Edition of the Qur'anBrill, "[ Supplement II - Qurʾān Concordance]", in: Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, General Editor: Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Georgetown University, Washington DC. Consulted online on 10 July 2020 was first published on 10 July 1924 by a committee from Al-Azhar UniversityStefan Wild, "basmallah" The Quran: an Encyclopedia, Routledge Prominent committee members included Islamic scholar, Muhammad b. 'Ali al-Husayni al-Haddad. Noteworthy Western scholars/academics working in Egypt at the time include Bergsträsser and Jeffery. Methodological differences aside, speculation alludes to a spirit of cooperation. Bergsträsser was certainly impressed with the work.Reynolds, "Quranic studies and its controversies", 2008

In March 1924, Abdülmecid II had been deposed as Caliph, nominally the supreme religious and political leader of all Sunni Muslims across the world.{{sfn|Özcan|1997|pp=45–52}} The Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar repudiated the abolitionThe Times, The Caliphate, 18 March 1924 and was part of a call from Al-Azhar for an Islamic Conference. The unsuccessful "caliphate conference" was held under the presidency of the Grand Chancellor of Azhar in 1926{{sfn|Ardıç|2012|p=85}}{{sfn|Pankhurst|2013|p=59}} but no one was able to gain a consensus for the candidacy across the Islamic world. Candidates proposed for the caliphate included King Fuad.{{sfn|Ardıç|2012|p=85}}{{sfn|Pankhurst|2013|p=59}}

File:Al-Ahmadi Azhar Institute -Tanta - Egypt.JPG]]The pioneering Pakistani journalist Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah became the first woman to address the university in 1955. In 1961, Al-Azhar was re-established as a university under the government of Egypt's second President Gamal Abdel Nasser when a wide range of secular faculties were added for the first time, such as business, economics, science, pharmacy, medicine, engineering and agriculture. Before that date, the Encyclopaedia of Islam classifies the Al-Azhar variously as madrasa, center of higher learning and, since the 19th century, religious university, but not as a university in the full sense, referring to the modern transition process as "from madrasa to university".Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob. "al-Azhar, modern period." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson. Brill, 2010, retrieved 20/03/2010: {{blockquote|Al-Azhar, the historic centre of higher Islamic learning in Cairo, has undergone significant change since the late 19th century, with new regulations and reforms resulting in an expanded role for the university. 1. From madrasa to university}}Jomier, J. "al- Azhar (al-Ḏj̲āmiʿ al-Azhar)." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2010, retrieved 20/03/2010: {{blockquote|This great mosque, the 'brilliant one' ... is one of the principal mosques of present-day Cairo. This seat of learning ... regained all its activity—Sunnī from now on—during the reign of Sultan Baybars. ... Al-Azhar at the beginning of the 19th century could well have been called a religious university; what it was not was a complete university giving instruction in those modern disciplines essential to the awakening of the country.}} Other academic sources also refer to al-Azhar as a madrasa in pre-modern times before its transformation into a university.{{Cite book|last=Lulat, Y. G.-M.|title=A history of African higher education from antiquity to the present: a critical synthesis|date=2005|publisher=Praeger Publishers|isbn=0-313-32061-6|location=Westport, Conn.|page=70|oclc=57243371|quote=As for the nature of its curriculum, it was typical of other major madrasahs such as al-Azhar and Al Quaraouiyine, though many of the texts used at the institution came from Muslim Spain. Al Quaraouiyine began its life as a small mosque constructed in 859 C.E. by means of an endowment bequeathed by a wealthy woman of much piety, Fatima bint Muhammed al-Fahri.}}{{Cite web|date=2020-02-04|title=Al-Azhar University|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/al-azhar-university|access-date=2020-08-28|website=Times Higher Education (THE)|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Qantara - Al-Azhar Mosque|url=https://www.qantara-med.org/public/show_document.php?do_id=1067&lang=en|access-date=2020-08-28|website=www.qantara-med.org}} An Islamic women's faculty was also added in the same year.{{Cite book |last1=Anwar |first1=Zainah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f0_aAAAAMAAJ&q=Islamic+women's |title=Islam, Reproductive Health, and Women's Rights |last2=Abdullah |first2=Rashidah |date=2000 |publisher=Sisters in Islam (SIS Forum Malaysia) |isbn=978-967-947-249-3 |language=en}}

{{Ash'arism}}

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Historically, Al-Azhar had a membership that represented diverse opinions within Islam. The theological schools of al-Ash'ari and al-Maturidi were both represented. It has a long tradition of teaching all four schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi, and Hanbali). The chief mufti of each school of thought acted as the dean, responsible for the teachers and students in that group. During the time of the Ottomans, the Hanafi dean came to hold a position as primus inter pares.{{cite book|author=Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen|title=Defining Islam for the Egyptian State: Muftis and Fatwas of the Dār Al-Iftā|publisher=BRILL|year=1997|page=100}} It also had membership from the seven main Sufi orders.[http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/6638/the-identity-of-al-azhar-and-its-doctrine Jadaliyya: "The Identity of Al-Azhar and Its Doctrine" by Ibrahim El-Houdaiby] July 29, 2012 Al-Azhar has had an antagonistic relationship with Wahhabism.{{Cite web|url=http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/egypt/al-azhar-and-dar-al-ifta/al-azhar%E2%80%99s-relations-other-sunni-groups |website=Islamopedia |title=Al-Azhar's relations with other Sunni groups}} According to a 2011 report issued by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Al Azhar is strongly Sufi in character:

Adherence to a Sufi order has long been standard for both professors and students in the al-Azhar mosque and university system. Although al-Azhar is not monolithic, its identity has been strongly associated with Sufism. The current Shaykh al-Azhar (rector of the school), Ahmed el-Tayeb, is a hereditary Sufi shaykh from Upper Egypt who has recently expressed his support for the formation of a world Sufi league; the former Grand Mufti of Egypt and senior al-Azhar scholar Ali Gomaa is also a highly respected Sufi master.[http://carnegieendowment.org/files/salafis_sufis.pdf Carnegie Endowment for International Peace" "Salafis and Sufis in Egypt" by Jonathon Brown] December 2011, p 12

However, in the early 20th century, enlightened Modernist thinkers such as Muhammad Abduh led a reform of the curriculum, reintroducing a desire for legal reform through ijtihad.Jung, Dietrich. "Islamic Reform and the Global Public Sphere." The Middle East and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2012. 153-169.Gauvain, Richard. "SalafiSm in modern egypt: panacea or peSt?." Political Theology 11.6 (2010): 802-825. Subsequently, disputes were had between modernist intellectuals and traditionalists within al-Azhar.Hatina, Meir. "Historical legacy and the challenge of modernity in the Middle East: the case of Al-Azhar in Egypt." The Muslim World 93.1 (2003): 51. Al-Azhar now maintains a modernist position, advocating "Wasatiyya" (centrism), a reaction against the extreme textualism of many Wahhabi Salafi ideologues. Wasatiyya covers a range of thinkers, some of whom are liberal intellectuals with religious inclinations, preachers such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi and many members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since the 2013 coup however, Al-Azhar has taken a position against the brotherhood.Brown, Nathan J. Post-revolutionary al-Azhar. Vol. 3. New York, NY: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2011.

The nineteenth and current Grand Mufti of Egypt and Al Azhar scholar, is Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam. The university is opposed to overt liberal reform of Islam and issued a fatwa against the liberal Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque in Berlin because it banned face-covering veils such as burqa and niqab on its premises while allowing women and men to pray together. The fatwa encompassed all present and future liberal mosques.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/25/ibn-rushd-goethe-mosque-berlin-seyran-ates-egypt-fatwa-burqa-niqab|title=Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Egypt|last=Oltermann|first=Philip|date=2017-06-25|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-07-16|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

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Al-Azhar University's Council of Senior Scholars was founded in 1911 but was replaced in 1961 by the Center for Islamic Research. In July 2012, after the law restricting Al-Azhar University's autonomy was modified by the incoming president Mohamed Morsi, the council was reformed.Hani Nasira and Saeid al-Sonny, [http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2013/01/10/259734.html Al Aribiya: "Senior scholars and the new Egyptian constitution"], Al Arabiya, January 10, 2013 The Council consists of 40 members and as of February 2013 had 14 vacanciesNathan J. Brown, [http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/12/egypt_s_new_mufti "Egypt's new mufti"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224060054/https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/02/12/egypts-new-mufti/ |date=2021-02-24 }}, Foreign Policy, February 12, 2013 all appointed by the current imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayeb,Issandr El Amrani, [http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/goodbye-pope-hello-mufti "Goodbye Pope, Hello Mufti"], New York Times, February 13, 2013 who was appointed by the prior president, Hosni Mubarak. Once the remaining 14 vacancies are filled, new vacancies will be appointed by the existing Council itself. All four madhahib (schools) of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence are proportionally represented on the council (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali, Maliki) and voting is on a majority basis. In addition to El-Tayeb, other prominent members of the Council include the outgoing Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa.[http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/64550/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-new-Grand-Mufti-elected-for-first-time-ever.aspx "Egypt's new Grand Mufti elected for first time ever"], Ahram Online, February 11, 2013 The council is tasked with nominating the Grand Mufti of Egypt (subject to presidential approval), electing the next Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, and is expected to be the final authority in determining if new legislation is compliant with Islamic law. Although the council's decisions are not binding (absent new legislation), it is expected that it would be difficult for the parliament to pass legislation deemed by the council as against Islamic law.

In January 2013, Al-Tayeb referred a relatively minor issue related to Islamic bonds to the council, for the first time asserting the council's jurisdiction. In 2013, the Council elected Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam to be the next Grand Mufti of Egypt. This marks the first time that the Grand Mufti would be elected by Islamic scholars since the position was created in 1895. Prior to this, the Egyptian head of state made the appointment.

Al-Azhar's muftis have a history of being consulted on political issues. Muhammad Ali Pasha appointed Al-Azhar muftis to the Consultative Council in 1829 and this would be repeated by Abbas I and later Isma'il Pasha. At the same time, there were many cases where the Egyptian ruler would disregard the opinion of Al-Azhar scholars.

Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy noted that among the priorities of Muslims are "to master all knowledge of the world and the hereafter, not least the technology of modern weapons to strengthen and defend the community and faith". He added that "mastery over modern weaponry is important to prepare for any eventuality or prejudices of the others, although Islam is a religion of peace".{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnah.org/history/Scholars/mashaykh_azhar.htm|title=The Grand Imams of Al-Azhar|access-date=2006-06-24|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060619010446/http://sunnah.org/history/Scholars/mashaykh_azhar.htm| archive-date= 19 June 2006 | url-status= live}}

Sheikh Tantawy also reasserted that his is the best faith to follow and that Muslims have the duty of active da'wa. He has made declarations about Muslims interacting with non-Muslims who are not a threat to Muslims. There are non-Muslims living apart from Muslims and who are not enemies of Islam ("Muslims are allowed to undertake exchanges of interests with these non-Muslims so long as these ties do not tarnish the image of the faith"), and there are "the non-Muslims who live in the same country as the Muslims in cooperation and on friendly terms, and are not enemies of the faith" ("in this case, their rights and responsibilities are the same as the Muslims so long as they do not become enemies of Islam"). Shi'a fiqh (according to a fatwa by Al-Azhar)[http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter1b/14.html al-Azhar Verdict on the Shia] – Shi'ite Encyclopedia v2.0, Al-islam is accepted as a fifth school of Islamic thought.

In October 2007, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, then the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, drew allegations of stifling freedom of speech when he asked the Egyptian government to toughen its rules and punishments against journalists. During a Friday sermon in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and a number of ministers, Tantawy was alleged to have stated that journalism which contributes to the spread of false rumours rather than true news deserved to be boycotted, and that it was tantamount to sinning for readers to purchase such newspapers. Tantawy, a supporter of then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, also called for a punishment of eighty lashes to "those who spread rumors" in an indictment of speculation by journalists over Mubarak's ill health and possible death.{{cite web|url=http://www.feedsyndicate.com/articles/7008789310 |title=allheadlinenews |publisher=Feedsyndicate |date=2007-10-10 |access-date=2010-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001040913/http://www.feedsyndicate.com/articles/7008789310 |archive-date=2010-10-01}}[http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E0D3182E-7EC0-4324-AF03-8131972B4522.htm aljazeera.net] ([https://www.qiratulquran.com/intensive-arabic-course-online/ Arabic Online]) This was not the first time that he had criticized the Egyptian press regarding its news coverage nor the first time he in return had been accused by the press of opposing freedom of speech. During a religious celebration in the same month, Tantawy had released comments alluding to "the arrogant and the pretenders who accuse others with the ugliest vice and unsubstantiated charges". In response, Egypt's press union issued a statement suggesting that Tantawy appeared to be involved in inciting and escalating a campaign against journalists and freedom of the press.{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/11/africa/ME-GEN-Egypt-Azhar-Journalists.php |title= International Herald Tribune |date=2009-03-29|access-date=2010-03-21}} Tantawy died in 2010 and was succeeded by Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb.

In 2016 Ahmed el-Tayeb reissued the fatwa on Shia Muslims, calling Shia the fifth school of Islam and seeing no problem with conversions from Sunni to Shia Islam.{{Cite web|url=http://ijtihadnet.com/fatwa-al-azhars-grand-imam-shia/|title=Fatwa of Al-Azhar's Grand Imam on Shia|date=19 October 2016}} However, the NGOs report that violence and propaganda against the country's Shia minority continues. Shia Muslims are frequently denied services in addition to being called derogatory names. Anti-Shia sentiment is spread through education at all levels. Clerics educated at Al-Azhar University publicly promote sectarian beliefs by calling Shia Muslims infidels and encourage isolation and marginalization of Shia Muslims in Egypt.Shia Rights Watch: [http://shiarightswatch.org/egypt-for-the-people-or-against-the-people/ Egypt: For the people or against the people?]Al-Monitor: [http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/anti-shia-al-azhar-essay-competition.html Iranian cleric calls out Egypt's Al-Azhar for anti-Shiite activities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016173855/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/12/anti-shia-al-azhar-essay-competition.html |date=2017-10-16}}

Scholars from Al-Azhar declared the writings to Farag Foda to be blasphemous.{{cite book|title=No God but God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam|author=Geneive Abdo|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=68}} Muhammad al-Ghazali, a member of Al-Azhar, declared Foda to be guilty of apostasy. According to Geneive Abdo, Muhammad al-Ghazali also added that anyone killing an apostate would not be punished, while according to Nathan Brown, Muhammad al-Ghazali stopped just short of condoning Foroda's assassination.

{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Nathan J. |author-link=Nathan J. Brown (political scientist) |title=The Rule of Law in the Arab World: Courts in Egypt and the Gulf |year=1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=114|quote=While he [Muhammad al-Ghazali] stopped just short of condoning Fawda's assassination, his testimony also implied that the government was operating outside the bounds of Islam...}} Foda was assassinated in June 1992,{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Judith|title=God Has Ninety-Nine Names: Reporting from a Militant Middle East|publisher=Simon and Schuster|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tH_ThgVEoAcC&q=foda+kishk&pg=PA26|isbn=978-1-4391-2941-8|date=2011-07-19}}{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde12/022/1998/en/ |title=EGYPT: Human Rights Abuses by Armed Groups |author= |date=September 1998 |work=amnesty.org |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=2 December 2015}} by an Egyptian terrorist group al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, who claimed justification from Al-Azhar's fatwas.{{cite book |last=Bar |first=Shmuel |title=Warrant for Terror: The Fatwas of Radical Islam and the Duty to Jihad |year=2008 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=16, footnote 8}} In response, a scholar at Al-Azhar published Man Qatala Faraj Fawda.{{cite book|last1=de Baets|first1=Antoon|title=Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide, 1945-2000|publisher=Greenwood Publishing|page=196|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DlMSrtOGLIC&q=Farag+Foda&pg=PA196|quote=In December 1992 Foda's collected works were banned|isbn=978-0-313-31193-2|year=2002}}

{{Alumni|date=May 2012}}

10th–17th centuries

• Sibt al-Maridini (1423–1495/1506, aged {{circa|72–83}}) Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=No source provided here or at linked article about relation to al-Azhar}}
• Abd al-'Aziz al-Wafa'i (1408–1471, aged 63), Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=No reliable source provided here or at linked article about relation to al-Azhar}}
• Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi (1620–1682, aged {{circa|62}}) author, philologist, grammarian, magistrate, bibliophile and a leading literary figure of the Ottoman era.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=No source provided here or at linked article about relation to al-Azhar}}
• Nimr ibn Adwan (1735–1823, aged {{circa|88}}) Jordanian poet and chieftain.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=No source provided here or at linked article about relation to al-Azhar}}

19th – early 20th centuries

• Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905, aged 56), Egyptian activist and Grand Mufti, co-founder of Islamic Modernism.
• Sayd Jamal edin Afghani (1838/1839–1897, aged 58), Afghan or Iranian activist, co-founder of Islamic Modernism.
• Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (1882–1935, aged 52), Syrian anti-Zionist, founder and leader of Black Hand.
• Mohammad Amin al-Husayni ({{circa|1897}}–1974, 76/77), Mufti of Jerusalem.
• Ahmed Urabi (1841–1911, aged 70), Egyptian nationalist and army brigadier general who led the Urabi Revolt against Khedive Tewfik.

1910s–1950s

• Hassan al-Banna (1906–1949, aged 42), Egyptian schoolteacher, imam, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, assassinated by State Security Investigations Service. (He graduated from Dar al-Ulum which is an affiliate of Cairo University)
• Syed Mujtaba Ali (1904–1974, aged 69), Bangladeshi author, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist; studied at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo during 1934–1935.
• Dr. Ayub Ali (1919–1995, aged 75/76), Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and educationist.
• Mehmed Handžić (1906–1944, aged 37), a leader of Bosnian revivalists, one of authors of Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims, and chairman of the Committee of National Salvation.
• Omar Abdel Rahman (1938–2017, aged 78), leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, which has been designated a terrorist group by the governments of the United States and Egypt; died while serving a life term for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
• Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani (1914–1977, aged 62/63), the leader and founder of The Islamic Political Party, Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Party of Liberation).
• Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (1936–2004, aged 67), Palestinian politician, imam, co-founder and leader of Hamas, assassinated by Israel Defense Force.
• Saad Zaghlul (1857/1859–1927, aged 66/68) Egyptian revolutionary and statesman, leader of 1919 Egyptian revolution and Wafd Party.
• Taha Hussein (1889–1973, aged 83), Egyptian writer and intellectual.
• Muhammad Ma Jian (1906–1978, aged 72), Hui Chinese translator of the Qur'an into the Chinese language.
• Ahmad Meshari Al-Adwani (1923–1990, aged 67), Kuwaiti poet and writer of Kuwait's national anthem Al-Nasheed Al-Watani.
• Ahmad al-Ghumari (1902–1961, aged {{circa|59}}), Moroccan cleric, enrolled in 1921, dropped out due to a death in the family.
• Abdullah al-Ghumari (1910–1993, aged {{circa|83}}), Moroccan cleric, graduated from Azhar in 1931.
• Abu Turab al-Zahiri (1923–2002, aged 79), Indian-born Saudi Arabian linguist, jurist, theologian, and journalist.

1950–present

• Aliko Dangote ({{born in|1957}}), Nigerian business mogul, studied business at Al-Azhar.
• Akhtar Raza Khan (1943–2018, aged 74), Indian scholar, former Grand Mufti of India, founder of the Barelvi movement.{{cite web |title=THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS 2010 |url=https://rissc.jo/docs/0A-FullVersion-LowRes.pdf |publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre |access-date=30 June 2022}}
• Gholam Mohammad Niazi (1932–1979, aged {{circa|47}}), Afghan professor, father of Political Islam in Afghanistan, killed in prisoner massacre on promised day of release.
• Sayyid Abdurahman Imbichikoya Thangal (1922–2015, aged 93), Indian politician, former president of Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema (1995–2004), author of [Al Arab Wal Arabiyya(Arabs And Arabic Language)(Arabic: العرب والعربية )]
• Abdulla Saeed, Former Chief Justice, and Justice Supreme Court of The Republic of Maldives.[http://supremecourt.gov.mv/di/ Supreme Court of the Government of the Maldives] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910234940/http://www.supremecourt.gov.mv/di/ |date=2010-09-10}}
• Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah (1918–2000, aged 81), Pakistani feminist and journalist who in 1955 became the first woman to give a speech at the university.
• Mohammed Burhanuddin (1915–2014, aged 98), 52nd Dā'ī al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras. Bohra researched and rediscovered Al-Azhar University's past history, awarded PhD from Al-Azhar University.{{cite web|url=http://www.mumineen.org |title=Serving Dawoodi Bohras Worldwide |publisher=Mumineen.org |date=2010-03-04 |access-date=2010-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318053056/http://www.mumineen.org/| archive-date= 18 March 2010 |url-status=live}}
• Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941–1989, aged 48), Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar, theologian, founder of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, assassinated in unsolved car bombing.
• Shire Jama Ahmed (1936–1999, aged 62/63), Somali linguist who devised a Latin script for the Somali language.David D. Laitin, Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience, (University Of Chicago Press: 1977), p. 102
• Mahmud Shaltut (1893–1963, aged 70),{{Cite book |last=ATIGHETCHI |first=DARIUSCH |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tdm9V89lW3IC&dq=Mahmud+Shaltut+Grand+Sheikh+of+Al-Azhar&pg=PA99 |title=Islamic Bioethics: Problems and Perspectives |date=2006-12-02 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-4962-0 |language=en}} Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, issued in 1959 a Fatwa, declaring that Al-Azhar recognizes Shi'ism as a valid branch of Islam.
• Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary (1917–1980, aged 63), Egyptian qāriʾ and Qur'anic scholar.
• Abdel-Halim Mahmoud (1901–1978, aged 77), Egyptian philosopher and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, introduced the study of Sufism as a science through his writings and lectures on the matter.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}
• Ahmed Subhy Mansour ({{born in|1949}}), Egyptian Islamic scholar, cleric, and founder of Quranism, who was exiled from Egypt, lived in the United States as a political refugee.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
• Taha Jabir Alalwani (1935–2016, aged {{circa|86}}), Iraqi scholar, president of Cordoba University (Ashburn, VA, USA), founder and chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, and the president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia (USA){{cite web|url=http://www.cordobauniversity.org/gsiss/faculty/Alalwani.asp |title=Cordoba University |publisher=Cordoba University |access-date=2010-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213011849/http://www.cordobauniversity.org/gsiss/faculty/Alalwani.asp |archive-date=13 February 2010 |url-status=live}}
• Abdurrahman Wahid (1940–2009, aged 69),{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} Indonesian politician, fourth President of Indonesia (1999–2001).
• Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy (1928–2010, aged 81),{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} Egyptian scholar, Grand Mufti of Egypt (1986–1996), Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (1996–death).
• Ahmed el-Tayeb ({{born in|1946}}), Egyptian Islamic scholar, President of Al-Azhar University (2003–2010), Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (2010–present).
• Muhammad Metwally Al Shaarawy (1911–1998, aged 87), Egyptian Muslim jurist, Minister of Awqaf (1976–1978).{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}
• Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ({{born in|1937}}), Maldivian statesman, diplomat, and scholar, 3rd President of The Republic of Maldives (1978–2008).
• Abdulla Mohamed ({{born in|1966}}), Maldivian judge, Chief Judge of Criminal Court of The Republic of Maldives (2008–present).
• Salamat P. Hashim (1939–2003, aged 64), Filipino militant, co-founder and leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines.
• Sheikh Khalifa Usman Nando (1940/1941–2023, aged 81), co-founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines and Wa'lī of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
• Fathulla Jameel (1942–2012, aged 69), Maldavian politician, former Foreign Minister of Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives (1978–2005).
• Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940–2011, aged 71), Afghan politician, teacher, Soviet–Afghan War Mujahideen leader, 6th President of Afghanistan.
• Muhammad Jameel Didi (1915–1989, aged 73), Maldivin author and writer.
• Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (1931–2015, aged 84), Malaysian politician and Muslim cleric, Mursyidul Am of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS, 1991–death), Menteri Besar of Kelantan (1990–2013).
• Abdul Hadi Awang ({{born in|1947}}), Malaysian politician and religious teacher, 7th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS, 2002–present) and former Menteri Besar of Terengganu (1999–2004).
• Omar Maute (1980–2017, aged 37), Filipino Islamist militant, co-founder and leader of the Maute terrorist organization, killed in Siege of Marawi.
• Muhammad Ali Shihab Tangal (1936–2009, aged 73), Indian community leader, Islamic religious leader and scholar, politician. President of the Kerala state committee of the Indian Union Muslim League (1975-death).
• Saeed-ur-Rahman Azmi Nadvi ({{born in|1934}}), Indian Islamic scholar, 10th Principal of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (2000–present) and chancellor of Integral University.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}
• Timothy Winter ({{born in|1960}}), English academic, theologian and Islamic scholar. Founder of the Cambridge Muslim College, Aziz Foundation Professor of Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College and Ebrahim College, director of studies (theology and religious studies) at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.
• Mahmud Saedon (1943–2002, aged 58), Bruneian Muslim scholar.{{Cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313647369 |title=Essays in memory of Vice-Chancellor, UBD 1992-2002 |publisher=Universiti Brunei Darussalam |year=2005}}
• Mustafa Khattab, Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, author, youth mentor, public speaker, imam, and university chaplain. English translator of the Qur'an and author of 'The Clear Quran' Series.
• Tariq Najm ({{born in|1945}}), Iraqi politician, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Iraq (2006–2010), senior advisor.
• Quraish Shihab ({{born in|1944}}), Indonesian Muslim scholar in the sciences of Quran and Minister of Religious Affairs (1998).
• Alwi Shihab ({{born in|1946}}), Indonesian professor of religion and politician, 14th Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999–2001), Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare (2004–2005).
• Norarfan Zainal ({{born in|1973}}), Bruneian academician and educator, rector of Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (UNISSA, 2014–present) since 2014{{Cite news |date=2017 |title=Majlis Ilmu 2017 |url=https://www.mora.gov.bn/Majlis%20Ilmu/Program/Program_Majlis_Ilmu_2017.pdf |access-date=2024-09-10 |work=Ministry of Religious Affairs |page=63 |language=ms}}
• Shamil Alautdinov ({{born in|1974}}), an imam of Moscow's Memorial Mosque, did Russian tafseers of Quran verses and hadiths.

{{Portal|Egypt|Islam}}

• List of Islamic educational institutions
• Faculties of Al-Azhar University
• List of presidents of Al-Azhar University
• List of universities in Egypt

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Al-Azhar: A Millennium of Muslim Learning|author=Bayard Dodge|year=1961|publisher=Middle East Institute|ref = {{sfnRef|Dodge|1961}}}}
• {{cite book|last=Ardıç|first=Nurullah|title=Islam and the Politics of Secularism: The Caliphate and Middle Eastern Modernization in the Early 20th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wql6oCwx1YwC&pg=PA78|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-67166-8}}
• {{cite book|last=Pankhurst|first=Reza|title=The Inevitable Caliphate?: A History of the Struggle for Global Islamic Union, 1924 to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwEqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59|date=12 April 2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-025732-3}}
• {{cite book|last=Özcan|first=Azmi|title=Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain, 1877–1924|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s04pus5jBNwC&pg=PA49|year=1997|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10632-4}}

• {{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/at-al-azhar-mosque-struggle-over-islam-roils-a-revered-egyptian-institution/2012/03/01/gIQAIzmNpR_story.html |title=At al-Azhar Mosque, struggle over Islam roils a revered Egyptian institution |first=Griff |last=Witte |date=March 3, 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

• [https://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Azhar-University al-Azhar University: university, Cairo, Egypt](Subscription), in Encyclopædia Britannica Online, by The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, Laura Etheredge, Neha Parwani and Emily Rodriguez

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.azhar.eg/ Al-Azhar Portal]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040701101509/http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/azhar.html History and organization of Al-Azhar (English)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100901052525/http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-1026/i.html New Grand Sheikh at Al-Azhar University: Fighting Extremism in A Suit and Tie]

{{Universities in Egypt}}

{{Al-Azhar}}

{{Islamic Cairo}}

{{Association of African Universities}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azhar}}

Category:Al-Azhar

Category:Universities in Cairo

Category:Islamic education in Egypt

Category:Madrasas in Egypt

Category:Medieval Cairo

Category:Arabic architecture

Category:Islamic architecture in Egypt

Category:Muizz Street

Category:988 establishments

Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 10th century

Category:Educational institutions established in the 10th century

Category:10th-century establishments in Egypt

Category:Islamic universities and colleges

Category:970s establishments

Category:Cairo under the Fatimid Caliphate