Muhammad ibn Abdullah Daraz

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Daraz (1894–1958 CE / d. 1377 AH) was an Egyptian Azhari jurist, scholar of Islamic ethics, and Quranic scholar who served on al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Early Life

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Daraz was born in 1894 in the village of Mahallat Diyay, located in the Desouk district of the Kafr El-Sheikh governorate in the northern Nile Delta of Egypt Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He was raised in a scholarly household under his father, Sheikh Abdullah Daraz (d. 1932 CE), a legal theorist who had studied under scholars such as Muhammad Abduh, Salim al-Bishri, and Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i al-Muwafaqat+1. Daraz memorized the Quran in his youth and memorized foundational texts before continuing his formal religious education al-Muwafaqat.

Education and Career

Daraz entered the Alexandria Religious Institute, where he obtained his Azhari secondary certificate, followed by the higher 'Alamiyya degree in 1916 CE Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Upon graduation, he was appointed to teach at al-Azhar and mastered the French language in three years al-Muwafaqat. During political unrest in Cairo, he contributed summaries of political speeches delivered at the al-Azhar Mosque to the French-language newspaper Le Phare, on the recommendation of his cousin Muhammad Abd al-Latif Daraz al-Muwafaqat.

He subsequently resumed teaching in the higher division of al-Azhar and the Faculty of Usul al-Din, and he supervised the publication of Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's al-Muwafaqat with his father's commentary Mujam al-Muallifin+1. In 1936, he was dispatched on an academic mission to France to study at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) Mujam al-Muallifin+1. During his time in Europe, he was delegated by al-Azhar to represent the institution at the Congress of Religions in Paris in 1939 (reported in another account as 1937) al-Muwafaqat+1. He earned his doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1947, submitting his primary dissertation on the moral philosophy of the Quran, later published in Arabic as Dustur al-Akhlaq fi al-Quran (The Moral Code of the Quran) Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.

Following his return to Egypt, Daraz taught at Cairo University, Dar al-Ulum, the Faculty of Arabic Language at al-Azhar University, and the Police College Mujam al-Muallifin+1. In 1949, he attained membership in al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …. He also served on the Supreme Committee for Educational Policy, the Broadcasting Council, and the Cultural Advisory Committee at al-Azhar Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Scholarly Standing

Daraz was regarded among contemporary scholars as a leading authority combining traditional Islamic disciplines with philosophical and ethical inquiry Jamharat Maqalat Ahmad Sh…. The hadith scholar Ahmad Muhammad Shakir described him as an eminent scholar and distinguished man of letters, though he engaged in critical exchanges regarding some of Daraz's published articles on religions and philosophies Jamharat Maqalat Ahmad Sh…. In the field of Quranic studies, he authored al-Naba al-Azim (The Great News), an analytical work aimed at demonstrating the literary and rational inimitability of the Quran and establishing its divine provenance al-Mawsua al-Quraniyya al….

Death

Daraz died suddenly on 16 Jumada al-Akhirah 1377 AH (January 1958 CE; another report gives January 1957 CE) in Lahore, Pakistan Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He was attending the International Islamic Conference as a representative of Egypt and al-Azhar, where he had prepared a research paper on Islam's stance toward other religions, which was read on his behalf following his death during the proceedings Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.