Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf
- Died
- 1375 AH
- Born in
- -
Abd al-Wahhab Khallaf (1305–1375 AH / 1888–1956 CE; another report gives 1306 AH) was an Egyptian jurist, legal theorist, judge, and professor of Islamic law at Cairo University, best known for his modern textbook Ilm Usul al-Fiqh (The Science of Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence).
Early life and education
Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Wahid Khallaf was born in March 1888 in Kafr al-Zayyat in the Gharbia Governorate of Egypt. He memorized the Quran in a local village school (kuttab) and entered al-Azhar in 1900, where he attended the lessons of scholars such as Abd Allah Diraz and Muhammad Abduh.
He later enrolled in the School of Sharia Judiciary (Madrasat al-Qada al-Shar'i) in Cairo, where he earned a reputation as the institution's most eloquent student orator. Sources differ on his graduation date: one account places it in 1912, while another records that he graduated in 1915 and was immediately appointed as an instructor there. During the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, his oratorical and writing activities brought him prominence, leading to his departure—or forced removal—from the school and his entry into the Sharia judicial system.
Judicial and academic career
Khallaf was appointed a judge in the Sharia courts in 1920. In 1924, he became director of mosques at the Ministry of Awqaf, a position he held until mid-1931, when he was named an inspector of Sharia courts. In early 1934 (or 1935 according to another report), he joined the Faculty of Law at Cairo University as a lecturer and assistant professor of Islamic Sharia, eventually attaining the chair of Islamic law. Although he formally retired in 1948, his service was extended, and he continued delivering university lectures until illness forced him to stop around 1955–1956.
Khallaf was elected a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, where he supervised the compilation of its Quranic dictionary (Mu'jam al-Qur'an). He traveled widely across Arab countries to deliver lectures and examine rare manuscripts. He also engaged the public through broadcasts on Egyptian radio and regular public lectures at Dar al-Hikma in Cairo. In addition to his primary treatise on legal theory, his influential legal writings include al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya (Sharia Governance), examining public and constitutional law, and Ahkam al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyya (Rulings on Personal Status).
Death
Khallaf died in Cairo and was buried in the al-Ghafir cemetery on the morning of Friday, 20 January 1956 (7 Jumada al-Thaniyya 1375 AH).
Answer updated
List of Works
Ilm Usul al-Fiqh wa Khulasat Tarikh al-Tashri al-Madani (The Science of Principles of Jurisprudence and the Summary of the History of Legislation) is a treatise on legal theory and the historical development of Islamic law. Designed to make classical jurisprudence accessible to modern law and religious studies students, the book synthesizes the foundational sources and interpretative maxims of Islamic legal theory alongside a concise historical narrative of legislation across Islamic history.
Ilm Usul al-Fiqh (The Science of the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence) is a modern Arabic textbook on Islamic legal theory. Composed to present Islamic legal methodology in a clear, concise, and accessible style, it frames theoretical questions into universal maxims, draws examples from classical texts and modern statutory legislation, and compares Islamic legal theory with general modern jurisprudence.
Ahkam al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyya fi al-Sharia al-Islamiyya (Rulings on Personal Status in Islamic Law) is a legal treatise on Islamic personal status and family law. Completed in Rajab 1355 AH (October 1936 CE), it combines authoritative Hanafi doctrine with rulings from other legal schools adopted in Egyptian Sharia court practice, presenting each ruling with its textual evidence, underlying legislative wisdom, and relevant modern statutory enactments.
al-Siyasa al-Shar'iyya fi al-Shu'un al-Dusturiyya wa al-Kharijiyya wa al-Maliyya (Sharia Governance in Constitutional, Foreign, and Financial Affairs) is a legal treatise on Islamic public law and state governance. It examines the administrative institutions, legal principles, and regulatory frameworks governing the Islamic state across constitutional, international, and fiscal spheres, organizing the subject into a systematized modern curriculum.