Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda

Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda (1336–1417 AH / 1917–1997 CE) was a Syrian Hanafi jurist, Hadith scholar, and editor of classical Islamic texts from Aleppo Lisan al-Mizan+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu Zahid and Abu al-Futuh Abd al-Fattah ibn Muhammad ibn Bashir ibn Hasan Abu Ghudda Lisan al-Mizan. His family traced its paternal lineage through an established genealogical tree back to the Companion Khalid ibn al-Walid Lisan al-Mizan+1. He was born in Aleppo in mid-Rajab 1336 AH (1917 CE), with another report specifying 17 Rajab 1336 AH (9 May 1917 CE), into a religious household Lisan al-Mizan+1. His father, Muhammad, was a textile merchant, continuing a trade practiced by his grandfather Bashir, and his mother was Fatima Mazaktali (d. 1376 AH / 1956 CE) al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. He was the youngest of his brothers al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj….

Education and Teachers

Abu Ghudda received his early religious training in Aleppo and graduated from its Shar'iyya Secondary School (al-Thanawiyya al-Shar'iyya) al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. Among his principal teachers in Aleppo were Muhammad Raghib al-Tabbakh, Isa al-Bayanuni, Mustafa al-Zarqa, Ahmad al-Kurdi, Muhammad As'ad Abaji, and Muhammad al-Hakim al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1.

In 1364 AH (1944 CE), he traveled to Cairo to study at Al-Azhar, where he entered the Faculty of Shariah and graduated in 1368 AH (1948 CE) al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. He subsequently completed a specialized program in psychology and teaching methodology at Al-Azhar's Faculty of Arabic Language, obtaining his diploma in 1370 AH (1950 CE) al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. During his period in Egypt, his teachers included Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari, Muhammad Abu Zahra, Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn, and Yusuf al-Dajawi al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…+1.

Teaching Career and Students

After completing his studies in Egypt, Abu Ghudda returned to Syria in 1370 AH, where he placed first in the national examination administered by the Ministry of Education for instructors of Islamic education al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…. He taught Islamic education in secondary schools in Aleppo for eleven years, while also lecturing at al-Madrasa al-Sha'baniyya and al-Thanawiyya al-Shar'iyya, delivering Friday sermons and public lessons at Jami' al-Hamawi and other venues al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar….

He later moved to Saudi Arabia, where he served for approximately twenty-three years as a professor at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, teaching in the faculties of Shariah and Usul al-Din Lisan al-Mizan. His students included Muhammad Awwama, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Al Rashid, Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Muhammad Rafi Usmani, Salih al-Atram, and Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil al-Zahiri al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1.

Scholarly Contributions and Reception

Abu Ghudda was a specialist in Hanafi jurisprudence and had wide familiarity with the Shafi'i school al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…. He dedicated much of his scholarly career to editing classical works of Hadith and Islamic biographical literature, producing critical editions notable for extensive pedagogical and explanatory annotations al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. His first major publication was the critical edition of Abd al-Hayy al-Lakhnawi's al-Raf' wa-l-takmil fi al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil (Raising and Completing in Hadith Criticism) al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. He also authored several independent works, including Safahat min sabr al-'ulama' (Pages from the Patience of the Scholars) and Qimat al-zaman 'inda al-'ulama' (The Value of Time According to the Scholars) Lisan al-Mizan+1.

He received praise from contemporary scholars; Mustafa al-Zarqa described him as an unmatched researcher in critical editing and nominated him for the Sultan of Brunei International Prize in Hadith Lisan al-Mizan. His doctrinal and methodological positions, however, placed him in sharp controversy with Salafi figures; Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani composed a dedicated treatise, Kashf al-niqab, to refute statements made by Abu Ghudda Kashf al-Niqab Amma fi "K…+1.

Death

In Sha'ban 1417 AH (December 1996 CE), Abu Ghudda experienced visual deterioration and severe headaches, followed by an internal hemorrhage caused by an inflammatory illness late in Ramadan al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj…. He died at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh at dawn on Sunday, 9 Shawwal 1417 AH (16 February 1997 CE), aged eighty-one Lisan al-Mizan+1. A funeral prayer was held in Riyadh at the Rajhi Mosque after the Zuhr prayer, after which his body was transported by plane to Medina Lisan al-Mizan+1. Following an additional prayer after the Isha prayer at the Prophet's Mosque, he was buried in the Al-Baqi cemetery Lisan al-Mizan+1.