Muhammad al-Makki al-Nasiri
- Died
- 1414 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad al-Makki al-Nasiri (1324–1414 AH / 1906–1994 CE) was a Moroccan scholar, Quranic commentator, statesman, and nationalist leader, best known for his multi-volume Quranic commentary al-Taysir fi Ahadith al-Tafsir ("Facilitation in Commentary Discourses") .
Lineage and Education
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Makki ibn al-Yamani ibn Sa'id al-Nasiri was born in Rabat on 14 Shawwal 1324 AH . He received his early religious education in Morocco under several prominent scholars, including Abu Shu'ayb al-Dukkali, al-Madani ibn al-Hasani, Muhammad al-Sa'ih, Muhammad al-Hajwi al-Tha'alibi, and his elder brother Muhammad al-Nasiri .
In the early 1930s, he traveled to Egypt to pursue higher education at Cairo University in the Faculty of Arts, specializing in Islamic culture, where he studied under eastern scholars such as Mustafa Abd al-Raziq, Mansur Fahmi, Yusuf Karam, and Abd al-Wahhab Azzam . He then moved to Paris, where he studied educational sciences, and subsequently to the University of Geneva, where he studied public international law .
Political Activity and Anti-Colonial Struggle
Al-Nasiri was an active figure in the Moroccan national movement against French and Spanish colonial rule . In December 1931, he participated in the General Islamic Congress in Jerusalem, delivering an address that came to be regarded as a foundational document of the Moroccan national movement and its reformist orientation . He served as the representative in Morocco for the Association of North African Muslim Students .
In 1938, he founded the Moroccan Unity Party (Hizb al-Wahdah al-Maghribiyyah) and led it until dissolving the party in 1960 following Moroccan independence . Due to his anti-colonial activities, French authorities exiled him multiple times, including an exile to the Spanish-occupied northern zone of Morocco . In Cairo, he was also a founding and active member of the Committee for the Liberation of the Arab Maghreb established by Muhammad Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi .
Scholarly Career and Public Offices
Alongside his political involvement, al-Nasiri preached as a khatib in major mosques across Morocco and taught Quranic commentary in Rabat and Tetouan during the 1920s and 1930s, later holding regular commentary circles at the Grand Mosque in Tangier as well as the Muhammadi and Atiq mosques in Casablanca during the 1940s . In the 1960s, Moroccan national radio invited him to broadcast daily commentary lectures according to the recitation of Warsh from Nafi', which were later collected and published as his major six-volume work al-Taysir fi Ahadith al-Tafsir . His earliest writing, Izhar al-Haqiqah wa-Ilaj al-Khaliqah ("Demonstrating the Truth and Remedying Creation"), addressed and critiqued Sufi orders and practices deemed superstitious, provoking written rejoinders from contemporary zawiya leaders . He also authored a study on religious endowments titled al-Ahbas al-Islamiyyah fi al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyyah ("Islamic Endowments in the Kingdom of Morocco") .
Al-Nasiri held several high offices in post-independence Morocco, serving as Minister of Endowments, Islamic Affairs, and Culture, as head of the Scholarly Council of Rabat and Salé, and as a member of both the Regency Council and the Royal Academy of Morocco . In 1989, he was elected Secretary-General of the League of Moroccan Scholars (Rabitat Ulama al-Maghrib) .
Death
Al-Nasiri died in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah 1414 AH (May–June 1994 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Taysir fi Ahadith al-Tafsir (Facilitation in Commentary Discourses) is a modern Quranic commentary originally prepared and delivered as daily radio lectures. Belonging to the genre of holistic commentary (al-tafsir al-ijmali), the work aims to make the Quran's guidance accessible to a broad audience as an active daily moral guide, explaining the general meanings and practical intents of the text using a clear, simplified style of Arabic that avoids excessive technical detail and sectarian disputes.