Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi
- Died
- 1431 AH
- Born in
- Egypt
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (1347–1431 AH / 1928–2010 CE) was an Egyptian Islamic scholar who served as the Grand Mufti of Egypt and subsequently as the Grand Imam of al-Azhar.
Early Life and Education
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi was born on 28 October 1928 in the village of Sulaym al-Sharqiyya, located in the Tama district of the Sohag Governorate in Egypt. After memorizing the Quran and completing his primary education, he entered the Alexandria Religious Institute in 1944. Another report notes that he studied and memorized the Quran in Alexandria. Following the completion of his secondary education, he joined the Faculty of Usul al-Din (Fundamentals of Religion) at al-Azhar University, graduating in 1958. He attained a teaching specialization qualification in 1959 and earned a doctorate with distinction in exegesis (Tafsir) and Hadith on 5 September 1966.
Academic and Official Career
In 1968, Tantawi was appointed as a lecturer in the Faculty of Usul al-Din. He was subsequently seconded to teach in Libya for four years, and later served as the dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah. In Egypt, he became the dean of the Faculty of Usul al-Din in Asyut in 1976 and the dean of the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Men in 1985.
Tantawi was appointed Grand Mufti of Egypt on 28 October 1986. A decade later, on 8 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1416 AH (27 March 1996 CE), he was appointed Grand Imam (Shaykh al-Azhar), leading the institution until his death. During his scholarly career, he authored al-Tafsir al-Wasit li-l-Qur'an al-Karim (The Intermediate Exegesis of the Noble Quran), an expansive Quranic commentary spanning fifteen volumes and over seven thousand pages.
Positions and Public Standing
Tantawi's tenure in religious leadership generated substantial public debate and criticism over several legal and political stances. Critics accused him of aligning his legal rulings with state policies, highlighting opinions such as permitting women to join military academies, allowing sex reassignment under strict medical necessity, and commenting on the French school ban on the headscarf as an internal French legal matter. At the same time, Tantawi took strong public stances against defamation of religious figures; he condemned independent newspapers that criticized the Prophet's Companions, deeming reverence for the Companions fundamental and referring insulting publications to judicial authorities for prosecution.
Death
Tantawi died in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from a sudden heart attack in Rabi' al-Awwal 1431 AH (March 2010 CE). He had traveled there to attend the award ceremony for the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.
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List of Works
al-Quran Yatahadda ("The Quran Challenges") is an exegetical treatise that examines the Quranic challenge (al-tahaddi) issued to skeptics, presenting proofs of the Quran's divine origin and inimitability (i'jaz).
al-Tafsir al-Wasit li-l-Qur'an al-Karim (The Intermediate Exegesis of the Noble Quran) is a comprehensive twentieth-century Quranic commentary spanning fifteen volumes and over 7,000 pages.