Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Khaliq
- Died
- 1403 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Khaliq (1326–1403 AH / 1908–1983 CE) was an Egyptian scholar of usul al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence) and a professor at al-Azhar University, best known for his foundational treatise on the legal authority of the prophetic tradition, Hujjiyyat al-Sunnah (The Authority of the Sunnah).
Early Life and Education
Abd al-Ghani Muhammad Abd al-Khaliq was born in Cairo into a scholarly family; his father was a prominent scholar of al-Azhar who served as the head (shaykh) of the Mosque of Sayyidah Nafisah. He memorized the Quran during his childhood and subsequently pursued his education through the religious institutes of al-Azhar. In 1359 AH, he earned his doctoral degree in usul al-fiqh with his dissertation titled Hujjiyyat al-Sunnah.
Academic Career and Scholarly Contributions
Abd al-Khaliq dedicated more than forty-two years to teaching the Islamic legal sciences at al-Azhar. He rose through the academic ranks to become a professor and the head of the Department of Usul al-Fiqh. Throughout his tenure, he supervised approximately five hundred master's and doctoral theses in jurisprudence and legal theory across al-Azhar University and various Sharia faculties elsewhere, mentoring generations of scholars from around the world who later held high academic offices.
In legal theory, his scholarship focused on establishing the binding authority (hujjiyyah) of the prophetic Sunnah as an independent source of Islamic legislation and defending it against modern skeptical arguments, including the claims raised by contemporary writers such as Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi in the journal al-Manar. A dedicated section of this research was also published under the title al-Radd 'ala man yunkir Hujjiyyat al-Sunnah (Refutation of Those Who Deny the Authority of the Sunnah).
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List of Works
al-Radd ala man yunkir Hujjiyat al-Sunnah (Refutation of Those Who Deny the Authority of the Sunnah) is a polemical and jurisprudential treatise written to refute arguments challenging the binding legal authority (hujjiyyah) of the prophetic Sunnah. Excerpted from the larger foundational work Hujjiyat al-Sunnah, the text addresses contemporary skepticism regarding the necessity of prophetic traditions in Islamic legislation.