Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn

Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn (1293–1377 AH / 1876–1958 CE; also reported as 1378 AH) was a Tunisian-born Islamic scholar, jurist of the Maliki school, writer, and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar al-Muwafaqat+1. He was the only scholar of Maghrebi origin to hold the leadership of al-Azhar, and he was known for his scholarly polemics against contemporary intellectual trends Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

Lineage and early life

He was Muhammad al-Khidr ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Umar al-Hasani; his given name was originally Muhammad al-Akhdar before he changed it to al-Khidr al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. His family traced its lineage to the prophetic household and originated from the town of Tolga near Biskra in southern Algeria Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…. Following the French conquest of Algeria, his father migrated to the town of Nefta in the Djerid region of south-western Tunisia alongside his brother-in-law, Mustafa ibn Azzuz Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

Al-Khidr Husayn was born in Nefta on 26 Rajab 1293 AH (July 1876 CE; other accounts give 1292 AH, 1873 CE, 1875 CE, or 1877 CE) Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He was raised in a scholarly household: his mother, Halima al-Sa'diyya, was known for learning and piety, and his maternal uncle was the scholar Muhammad al-Makki ibn Azzuz Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…. He memorized the Quran in his youth under Abd al-Hafidh al-Lammushi and began composing poetry at the age of twelve Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

Education and early career in Tunisia

In late 1306 AH (c. 1888–1889 CE), he moved with his family to Tunis, where he enrolled at the University of Ez-Zitouna in 1307 AH Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He studied Islamic sciences and Arabic literature under prominent scholars, including Salim Buhajib, who taught Sahih al-Bukhari, as well as Umar ibn al-Shaykh and Muhammad al-Najjar, both of whom taught Quranic exegesis Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He graduated with the tatwi' degree in 1316 AH (1898 CE) Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. During this period, he formed a close lifelong friendship with his fellow student Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

In 1321 AH (1904 CE), he founded the scientific and literary periodical al-Sa'ada al-Uzma, regarded as the first magazine of its kind in Tunisia Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. In 1323 AH (1905 CE), he was appointed as a Maliki judge in Bizerte, but he resigned after several months to return to teaching at Ez-Zitouna, al-Madrasa al-Sadiqiyya, and the Khalduniyya Association al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Travels and years in Damascus

Facing pressure from French colonial authorities over charges of anti-colonial agitation, he left Tunisia in 1329 AH (1911 CE) for Istanbul and subsequently settled in Damascus Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. In Damascus, he taught at al-Madrasa al-Sultaniyya prior to World War I al-Alam lil-Zirikli. During the war, he worked as an editor in the Arabic bureau of the Ottoman Ministry of War in Istanbul and was dispatched by the Ottoman government on a mission to Berlin alongside Abd al-Aziz Jawish al-Muwafaqat+1. Upon returning to Damascus, he was imprisoned for several months by the Ottoman governor Jamal Pasha Mujam al-Muallifin. French colonial authorities later sentenced him to death in absentia in 1921 CE for inciting North Africans against colonial rule Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil….

Life in Egypt and Grand Imamate

Following the French occupation of Syria, he relocated to Cairo in 1338 AH (1920 CE), where he initially worked as a proofreader in the literary department of the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub) Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He sat for the Azhari Alimiyya examination, passed it with distinction, obtained Egyptian citizenship, and was appointed to teach in al-Azhar’s secondary institutes and higher divisions of Sharia and Usul al-Din Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

In Cairo, he was active in civic and journalistic life. In 1928 CE, he founded Jam'iyyat al-Hidaya al-Islamiyya and directed its journal, and he co-founded the Young Men's Muslim Association alongside Ahmad Taymur Pasha Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…. He also served as editor-in-chief of the Azharite magazine Nur al-Islam (later Majallat al-Azhar) and Liwa' al-Islam Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He was elected a corresponding member of the Arab Academy of Damascus and a founding member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo in 1932 CE, and he was appointed to al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars in 1951 CE Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

He engaged in major intellectual controversies of the 1920s, authoring Naqd Kitab al-Islam wa-Usul al-Hukm (Refutation of the Book "Islam and the Foundations of Governance") to rebut Ali Abd al-Raziq, and Naqd Kitab Fi al-Shi'r al-Jahili (Refutation of the Book "On Pre-Islamic Poetry") in response to Taha Husayn Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil….

In September 1952 CE (27 Dhu al-Hijjah 1371 AH; another report gives 27 Jumada al-Ula 1371 AH), following the Egyptian Revolution, he was appointed Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. He resigned from the post in Jumada al-Ula 1373 AH (January 1954 CE), officially citing health grounds, amid disagreements regarding proposed government reforms to Sharia courts and al-Azhar's administrative autonomy Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1.

Death

Al-Khidr Husayn died in Cairo on 12 Rajab 1377 AH (February 1958 CE; his funeral was held on 14 Rajab / 3 February 1958 CE) Mawsuat al-Amaal al-Kamil…+1. Following funeral prayers at al-Azhar, he was buried, in accordance with his will, in the Taymur family burial grounds near the shrine of al-Shafi'i in Cairo, beside Ahmad Taymur Pasha Mujam al-Muallifin+1.