Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Turki
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Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Turki (b. 1359 AH / 1940 CE) is a Saudi scholar of Islamic jurisprudence and legal theory (usul al-fiqh), university administrator, and public official who served as the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah, and Guidance and as Secretary General of the Muslim World League.
Early Life and Education
Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muhsin ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Turki was born in 1359 AH (1940 CE) in the town of Hurmah, Saudi Arabia. He pursued his higher education in Riyadh, completing his undergraduate degree at the College of Sharia in 1382 AH. He obtained a master's degree from the Higher Institute of Judiciary at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in 1389 AH with a thesis examining the grounds of disagreement among Muslim jurists. During his studies at both the College of Sharia and the Higher Institute of Judiciary, he studied under Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz. Al-Turki subsequently earned his doctorate in legal theory from Al-Azhar University's Faculty of Sharia and Law, focusing on the jurisprudential principles of the Hanbali school of law.
Academic and Administrative Career
Al-Turki began his career in 1382 AH as an instructor in religious secondary institutes before joining the faculty of the College of Sharia as an assistant professor. In 1388 AH, he was appointed dean of the College of Arabic Language in Riyadh. He became vice-rector of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in 1394 AH and was elevated to rector of the university in 1396 AH.
In 1414 AH, al-Turki was appointed Saudi Arabia's Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah, and Guidance. He later served as Secretary General of the Muslim World League. Alongside these roles, he was appointed to several major advisory councils and international bodies, including the Council of Senior Scholars, the Supreme Council of Universities, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the Supreme Information Council. Internationally, he was a founding member of the International Islamic Charitable Organization in Kuwait, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Dawa Organization in Sudan, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for the History of Arabic Heritage in Frankfurt.
Scholarly Contributions
Al-Turki's scholarly work has centered on Islamic jurisprudence, legal methodology, and the editing of classical heritage texts. In legal history and methodology, he authored al-Madhhab al-Hanbali: Dirasah fi Tarikhihi wa Simatihi, providing a comprehensive survey of the development and biographical heritage of the Hanbali school. He also directed and produced critical editions of major classical Islamic texts, co-editing Ibn Qudamah's multi-volume Hanbali legal compendium al-Mughni alongside Abd al-Fattah Muhammad al-Hulw, and editing al-Tabari's foundational Quranic commentary Jami' al-Bayan.
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List of Works
This doctrinal treatise compiles textual statements from early Sunni authorities on the foundational tenets of Islamic theology.
This treatise examines the Islamic concept of moderation (wasatiyyah) and its practical application in Islamic propagation (da'wah).
This analytical treatise examines the eighteenth-century reformist movement of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE).
This contemporary treatise examines the modern discourse surrounding human rights, contrasting secular Western frameworks with the principles established in Islamic law.
First published in 1423 AH (2002 CE), this two-volume reference work on the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence provides a systematic historical, doctrinal, and bibliographical survey of the madhhab from its inception through modern times.
al-Amn fi Hayat al-Nas wa Ahammiyatuhu fi al-Islam (Security in the Lives of People and Its Importance in Islam) is a treatise examining the religious, social, and political dimensions of security in Islamic thought and governance. Published in Riyadh in 1417 AH (ca. 1996–1997 CE), the work combines a theoretical exploration grounded in the Quran and the Sunnah with an examination of practical implementation, referencing historical precedent and contemporary governance in Saudi Arabia.