Khalid al-Sabt
- Died
- -
- Born in
- Al-Zulfi
Khalid al-Sabt (b. 1384 AH / 1964 CE) is a Saudi scholar, university professor, and specialist in Quranic exegesis (tafsir) and Quranic sciences, best known for his comprehensive study Qawa'id al-Tafsir (Principles of Quranic Exegesis) .
Early life and education
Khalid ibn Uthman ibn Ali al-Sabt was born in the region of al-Zulfi in 1384 AH (1964 CE) . He moved with his parents to the city of Dammam, where he completed his primary, intermediate, and secondary education . Eager to pursue religious learning, he relocated to Riyadh to seek knowledge under senior scholars, notably Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, and enrolled in the Department of Sunnah at the College of Usul al-Din at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University . Among the prominent instructors who taught him at the university was Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr .
Due to personal circumstances, al-Sabt did not remain long in Riyadh and moved to al-Ahsa . During this period, he dedicated most of his time to intensive reading and independent scholarly formation, focusing closely on the works of Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim, as well as studying available audio recordings of contemporary scholars . Following his university graduation, he returned to Dammam, where he taught for two years at al-Shati Secondary School while continuing his self-directed studies, giving special attention to the recorded commentaries and expositions of Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin .
Career and teaching
Al-Sabt began delivering formal public lessons in Dammam in 1413 AH, teaching foundational texts in jurisprudence, legal theory, and creed to groups of students . In 1418 AH, he returned to academic posts in Dammam, serving as a professor at the Teachers' College and later as dean of the College of Quranic Studies .
His teaching activities expanded markedly around his regular gatherings at the al-Qadi Mosque in the al-Muraykabat neighborhood of Dammam . There, he held regular lessons covering hadith, legal theory, and creed, in addition to a major systematic exegesis course moving through the entire Quran . In his Quranic commentary, he took particular interest in the interpretive method of the Mauritanian exegete Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti, whose recorded lectures he later compiled and edited under the title al-Adhb al-Numayr min Majalis al-Shanqiti fi al-Tafsir (The Sweet Spring from al-Shanqiti's Sessions in Exegesis) .
Scholarly contribution
Al-Sabt is noted for his focus on systematizing the interpretive rules of Quranic exegesis and promoting contemplative reading (tadabbur) of the Quran . His major treatise Qawa'id al-Tafsir jam'an wa dirasah (Compiling and Studying the Principles of Exegesis), published in 1417 AH, gathered nearly 380 fundamental and subsidiary interpretive canons extracted from roughly 225 classical and modern sources across twenty-eight thematic chapters, establishing a unified reference framework for hermeneutical rules in Islamic scholarship . In 1418 AH, he also published a critical study and evaluation of the modern Quranic sciences manual Manahil al-Irfan by Muhammad Abd al-Azim al-Zarqani .
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List of Works
al-Khulasa fi Tadabbur al-Quran al-Karim (The Summary in the Contemplation of the Noble Quran) is a treatise on the principles and theory of Quranic contemplation (tadabbur). It serves as an exhortation to reflection and a foundational guide outlining the theoretical dimensions of engaging with the Quran.
Mukhtasar fi Qawaid al-Tafsir (Abridgment of the Principles of Quranic Exegesis) is a work on the universal rules and principles governing Quranic interpretation. Derived from an extensive two-volume doctoral dissertation, it compiles and organizes core and subsidiary interpretive rules across twenty-eight distinct chapters or objectives.
Mukhtasar Akhlaq Hamalat al-Quran (Abridgment of the Morals of the Bearers of the Quran) is an abridged edition of Abu Bakr al-Ajurri's classical work Akhlaq Hamalat al-Quran. It presents the refined substance of the original text by detailing the virtues, morals, and etiquettes expected of the people of the Quran while omitting chains of transmission, repetitions, and weak narrations.
al-Qawaid wal-Usul wa Tatbiqat al-Tadabbur (Principles, Foundations, and Applications of Quranic Contemplation) is a treatise on Quranic exegesis and reflection. Serving as an applied manual, the work outlines foundational rules, semantic modes, and linguistic mechanisms to extract meanings, guidances, and rulings from the Quran.