al-Shuqayri

Muhammad al-Shuqayri (d. after 1352 AH / 1934 CE) was an Egyptian Salafi scholar and preacher, best known for founding the Salafi Society in al-Hawamdiya and authoring works on religious innovations and prophetic practices Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla….

Biography and Scholarly Activity

Muhammad ibn Ahmad ‘Abd al-Salam Khidr al-Shuqayri al-Hawamdi was based in al-Hawamdiya, located in the Giza Governorate of Egypt Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…. Active during the early fourteenth century AH, he established al-Jam‘iyyah al-Salafiyyah (The Salafi Society) in al-Hawamdiya to promote adherence to the prophetic Sunnah and combat prevalent innovations and superstitious practices Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…+1. He also cooperated with Jama'at Ansar al-Sunnah al-Muhammadiyyah, the reform movement established by Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi in Egypt Majallat al-Bayan.

Al-Shuqayri dedicated his scholarship to clarifying normative Islamic practices and criticizing customary innovations. He began compiling his major treatise, al-Sunan wa-al-Mubtada‘at al-Muta‘alliqah bi-al-Adhkar wa-al-Salawat ("Prophetic Traditions and Innovations Regarding Invocations and Prayers"), after the night prayer on 29 Rajab 1351 AH and completed its arrangement before sunset on Saturday, 29 Dhu al-Hijjah 1352 AH Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…. The exact year and circumstances of his death are not documented in biographical records, though he was alive at the completion of his treatise at the end of 1352 AH Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla….

Reception

Contemporary reformist scholars commended al-Shuqayri for his educational and reformatory efforts. In his introduction to al-Sunan wa-al-Mubtada‘at, Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi described him as a righteous, striving, patient, and conscientious scholar Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla…. Muhammad Rashid Rida also praised the treatise, characterizing its author as a caller to the Sunnah and an opponent of religious innovation Fatawa al-Shabaka al-Isla….