Ahmad Umar Hashim
- Died
- 1447 AH
- Born in
- -
Ahmad Umar Hashim is an Egyptian scholar of Hadith and former president of al-Azhar University .
Education and Academic Career
Hashim memorized the Quran in approximately three years, completing it by the age of thirteen . He pursued his formal education within the al-Azhar institute system, earning his preparatory certificate in 1954 CE and his secondary certificate in 1961 CE . He then enrolled in the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion (Kulliyyat Usul al-Din) at al-Azhar University, graduating from the Department of Exegesis and Hadith (Tafsir and Hadith) in 1966 CE . His decision to specialize in Hadith rather than theology was guided by Abd al-Halim Mahmud, who served as dean of the faculty at the time and encouraged students toward Hadith and Dawah . Hashim subsequently earned a master's degree in Hadith in 1969–1970 CE and completed his doctorate in 1978 CE .
In his scholarly output, he addressed foundational topics in Hadith transmission and preservation, including his treatise Kitabat al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi 'Ahd al-Nabi wa-al-Sahaba wa-Atharuha fi Hifz al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya ("The Writing of the Prophetic Sunna in the Era of the Prophet and the Companions and Its Impact on Preserving the Prophetic Sunna"), which examines the early written recording of traditions during the lifetime of the Prophet and the Companions.
Public Roles and Engagements
Hashim went on to serve as the president of al-Azhar University, representing the institution in academic and inter-institutional affairs . In public and intellectual debates, he actively engaged in discussions defending Islamic traditions against secularist critiques . Around 1977 CE, he was invited by Father Georges Anawati to participate in the Islamic–Christian Fellowship Society, but declined following the counsel of Dr. Muhammad al-Bahi, the former Egyptian Minister of Awqaf .
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List of Works
Kitabat al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi Ahd al-Nabi wa al-Sahaba wa Atharuha fi Hifz al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya (The Writing of the Prophetic Sunna in the Era of the Prophet and the Companions and Its Impact on Preserving the Prophetic Sunna) is a research treatise examining the early recording of hadith during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. The work demonstrates how these early writings preserved the Sunna and paved the way for later formal codification.