Hamad bin Nasir Al Muammar
- Died
- 1225 AH
- Born in
- Al-Uyaynah
Hamad bin Nasir Al Muammar (1160–1225 AH / 1747–1810 CE) was a Najdi Hanbali jurist, theologian, and judge who served as the chief judge of Mecca and is known for his theological polemic al-Fawakih al-Adhab.
Lineage and Early Life
His full genealogy is Hamad bin Nasir bin Uthman bin Hamad bin Abd Allah bin Muhammad bin Hamad bin Hasan bin Tawq Al Muammar, belonging to the Anaqir branch of Banu Sa'd from the tribe of Banu Tamim. His father was the maternal uncle of the Saudi ruler Saud bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud.
Al Muammar was born in al-Uyayna in 1160 AH (1747 CE) during the rule of his grandfather, Emir Uthman bin Hamad. He began his primary studies there until his grandfather was killed in 1173 AH (1759/1760 CE), after which he moved with his father to Dir'iyyah at approximately fourteen years of age.
Education and Teaching
In Dir'iyyah, Al Muammar studied under several prominent scholars, closely studying under Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab. His teachers also included Husayn bin Ghannam—from whom he acquired his training in Arabic—Sulayman bin Abd al-Wahhab, Hamad bin Mani', and Muhammad bin Ali bin Gharib.
After completing his education, he held teaching circles in Dir'iyyah and served as one of its judges, attracting numerous students from Dir'iyyah and across Najd. His prominent students included his son Abd al-Aziz bin Hamad Al Muammar, Sulayman bin Abd Allah Al ash-Sheikh, Abd al-Rahman bin Hasan Al ash-Sheikh, Abd Allah bin Abd al-Rahman Aba Butayn, Ibrahim bin Sayf al-Dawsari, and Sa'id bin Hijji.
Public Career and Debate in Mecca
In Rajab 1211 AH (1797 CE), the Sharif of Mecca, Ghalib bin Musa'id, requested that the Saudi ruler Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud send scholars to debate the scholars of the Holy Sanctuary regarding creedal and legal issues. Abd al-Aziz dispatched a delegation led by Al Muammar. In the presence of Sharif Ghalib and Meccan residents, Al Muammar engaged in extensive debates with Meccan scholars across several sessions, debating their lead interlocutor, the Hanafi jurist Abd al-Malik al-Qal'i. His responses during these sessions—centered on invoking prophets and saints, abandoning prayer and zakat, and building over graves—formed the basis of his treatise al-Fawakih al-Adhab fi al-Radd ala man lam yuhakkim al-Sunna wa al-Kitab.
In 1221 AH (1806 CE), following the Saudi expansion into the Hijaz, Imam Saud bin Abd al-Aziz appointed Al Muammar chief judge of Mecca, placing him in charge of overseeing judicial affairs across the city and its surrounding regions.
Standing
The Yemeni scholar Muhammad bin Ali al-Shawkani recorded the debate in Mecca in his biographical work al-Badr al-Tali', stating that Al Muammar demonstrated firm footing in religion, did not restrict himself to a single legal school or blind imitation, and exercised legal reasoning based on scriptural texts. In addition to his polemical writings, he composed legal treatises and responsa on topics of jurisprudence and legal imitation, such as Hukm al-Taqlid.
Death
Al Muammar died in Mecca at the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah 1225 AH (late December 1810 CE) after serving approximately four years as judge there. The funeral prayer was initially performed for him beneath the Kaaba, after which he was taken to the district of al-Bayadiyya, where Imam Saud bin Abd al-Aziz joined a large congregation to pray over him a second time before his burial in the al-Bayadiyya cemetery.
Answer updated
List of Works
This work is a collection of theological treatises, legal responsa, and letters published as the second section of the second volume of the multi-author compendium Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Masail al-Najdiyya. The collection brings together writings covering creedal theology—including expositions on the formula of sincere monotheism—alongside jurisprudential treatises that address ritual prayer, purity, financial matters, and other practical legal inquiries.
This collection brings together thirteen legal treatises and responsum letters addressing diverse practical questions in Islamic jurisprudence and theology. Published within the second volume of Majmūʿat al-Rasāʾil wa-l-Masāʾil al-Najdiyya, the work examines topics such as family law, commercial transactions, ritual worship, communal disputes, and doctrinal matters, drawing upon Hanbali texts while comparing rulings across the other Sunni legal schools.
This theological treatise documents a debate held against Meccan scholars concerning core tenets of Islamic monotheism and ritual practice. Structured around three main questions—supplication and intercession, the status of someone who abandons obligatory prayer and zakat, and the prohibition of erecting structures over graves—the work supports its arguments with proofs from the Quran, the Sunna, and classical juristic positions from the four Sunni legal schools.
Also titled Risalat al-Ijtihad wa-l-Taqlid, this legal treatise examines the jurisprudence of legal reasoning and imitation. Composed in reply to a formal inquiry, it explores the obligations of law students and laypeople regarding textual evidence, outlines the categories of individuals deriving or following legal rulings, and addresses reports concerning adherence to the four Sunni legal schools.
This volume is a compendium of theological treatises, polemical writings, and legal responsa originally circulated as independent epistles or dispersed across earlier anthologies. It brings together major doctrinal texts, including debates on monotheism and treatises on legal imitation, along with a wide range of practical legal inquiries and fatwas concerning marriage, ritual worship, and financial rulings.
al-Tuhfa al-Madaniyya fi al-Aqida al-Salafiyya is a theological treatise focusing on the divine names and attributes. Composed in response to a formal inquiry regarding scriptural texts on divine attributes, it addresses whether these texts should be affirmed while maintaining divine transcendence or interpreted figuratively, clarifying the doctrinal stances of the early generations of Muslims and foundational imams.