Alawi al-Saqqaf
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Alawi ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Saqqaf (kunya: Abu Muhammad) is a contemporary Saudi Islamic scholar and researcher in theology, best known as the founder and general supervisor of the Dorar Saniyyah Foundation (Mu'assasat al-Durar al-Saniyyah).
Scholarly Career and Academic Projects
Based in Dhahran, al-Saqqaf directed the research division of the Dorar Saniyyah Foundation, overseeing the compilation of major collaborative encyclopedias and digital resources. Under his scholarly supervision, teams of researchers produced extensive multi-volume reference compendia, including comprehensive encyclopedias dedicated to Islamic sects (Mawsu'at al-Firaq al-Muntasibah lil-Islam), Islamic moral virtues (Mawsu'at al-Akhlaq al-Islamiyyah), and contemporary intellectual currents. He also supervised bibliographical reference works compiled from pedagogical bulletins, aimed at classifying and guiding students toward authoritative editions across Islamic sciences. Alongside his institutional work, he has authored analyses on contemporary legal, doctrinal, and political developments affecting Muslim societies.
Doctrinal Positions and Critical Studies
Al-Saqqaf adheres to the theological methodology of early Sunni scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah) and has focused extensively on doctrinal verification and refutation. In 1420 AH (1999 CE), he published al-Tawassut wal-Iqtisad (Moderation and Economy), a doctrinal treatise arguing that major disbelief can occur through explicit words or outward deeds in addition to internal conviction; the treatise was reviewed, praised, and recommended for printing by Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz.
In the field of doctrinal critique, he composed Kullu Bid'ah Dalalah (Every Innovation Is Misguidance), written as a critical appraisal of Abd al-Ilah al-Arfaj's work on the juristic classification of religious innovations. He also engaged in textual verification, editing Muhammad Khalil Harras's commentary on Ibn Taymiyyah's creed and authoring an appended supplement (Mulhaq al-Wasitiyyah) to treat doctrinal topics omitted from the original text.
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List of Works
This critical doctrinal treatise evaluates the theological content of al-Busiri's praise poem al-Burda as well as his other verses. It aims to examine the widespread reverence surrounding the ode and demonstrate that theological overreach (ghuluw) is a systematic feature across al-Busiri's poetic corpus rather than an isolated occurrence in a few lines.
This contemporary theological reference work compiles, classifies, and evidences the divine attributes of God according to the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah. Extracting every attribute mentioned in the Quran and primary hadith compendia, the text opens with four introductory studies before presenting an alphabetical dictionary of divine attributes.
This anthology draws key doctrinal, methodological, and legal passages from the printed corpus of Ibn Taymiyyah, primarily from Majmu' al-Fatawa and other published treatises. It gathers over 160 verbatim excerpts across five thematic divisions, focusing on obscure or overlooked topics and principles relevant to modern scholars, callers, and reformers.
First published in 1420 AH (1999 CE), this theological treatise addresses the Sunni definitions of faith and the nullifiers of Islam. It establishes that major disbelief can occur directly through explicit statements or physical deeds alone, compiling supporting passages and legal rulings from over one hundred scholars across all four Sunni schools of jurisprudence.
This work is an abridgment of Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's foundational treatise on religious innovation (bid'ah), Kitab al-I'tisam. It condenses the original text to roughly one-quarter of its size by removing extensive digressions, weak narrations, and complex hypothetical sub-issues while maintaining all original major divisions and foundational arguments.