Muhammad Habib Ahmad Mukhtar
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Muhammad Habib Ahmad Mukhtar is a contemporary Saudi researcher and educator specializing in Qur'anic studies and institutional rehabilitation, best known for his monograph Tadris al-Qur'an al-Karim fi al-Sujun wa Dawr al-Mulahaza al-Ijtimaiyya (Teaching the Noble Qur'an in Prisons and Social Observation Homes) . He is also recorded among the students of contemporary Qur'anic reciters in Saudi biographical literature .
Research on Correctional Qur'anic Education
Mukhtar's scholarly work examines the role of Qur'anic education and memorization circles (halaqat) within correctional facilities and juvenile observation homes across Saudi Arabia . In Tadris al-Qur'an al-Karim fi al-Sujun wa Dawr al-Mulahaza al-Ijtimaiyya, he documented the institutional history and regulatory framework governing religious education in prisons, dividing the development of prison memorization programs into the period prior to 1408 AH and the period following the royal decrees of 1408 AH and 1411 AH . These royal orders granted sentence reductions—up to half of the total prison term—proportional to the amount of the Qur'an memorized by inmates .
Mukhtar conducted field research and compiled empirical data on rehabilitation centers, noting that formal literature on juvenile observation homes was scarce . He focused particularly on the Social Observation Home in Medina as a case study, conducting interviews and gathering records with its administration, including the center's director Tariq al-Maghamsi and Qur'an instructor Rashid al-Mutarrifi, as well as conducting a field study at the Medina general prison .
His analysis highlighted the collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, and charitable Qur'an memorization societies in providing certified teachers, educational curricula, and motivational stipends . Alongside positive outcomes, he identified pedagogical challenges, such as the reliance on oral repetition rather than basic literacy instruction for illiterate juvenile detainees and variations in teacher competency across facilities .
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List of Works
Tadris al-Quran al-Karim fi al-Sujun wa Dawr al-Mulahaza al-Ijtimaiyya (Teaching the Noble Qur'an in Prisons and Social Observation Homes) is an applied treatise on the role of Quranic education and memorization programs within correctional facilities and juvenile observation homes in Saudi Arabia.