Muhammad Sulayman al-Ashqar
- Died
- 1430 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Sulayman al-Ashqar (1349–1430 AH / 1930–2009 CE) was a Palestinian scholar of legal theory (usul al-fiqh) and Islamic jurisprudence, known for his work Af'al al-Rasul wa-Dalalatuha 'ala al-Ahkam al-Shar'iyya.
Lineage and early life
He was Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (known as al-Ashqar) ibn Sulayman Daghlas. He was born on 16 September 1930 CE in the village of Burqa, located about sixteen kilometers north of Nablus in Palestine. His family, the Al Daghlas, belonged to the Hufah clan, a branch of the Ruqah section of the 'Utaybah tribe. He was raised by his parents in Burqa; his father, who worked primarily in agriculture and was illiterate, was devoted to religious knowledge and encouraged his children toward virtue, and al-Ashqar read the Quran without an instructor during his childhood.
Education and career
Between 1378 and 1383 AH, al-Ashqar engaged in scholarly study and teaching before joining the faculty of the Islamic University of Madinah, where he taught for two years. He then moved to Kuwait, where he served as the head librarian at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs for twelve years, from 1385 to 1397 AH. During his residence in Kuwait, he joined the state Sharia Fatwa Committee in 1969 CE and was later assigned to work on the team of the Mawsu'at al-Fiqh (Kuwait Jurisprudential Encyclopedia) project.
Al-Ashqar pursued graduate studies at the Faculty of Sharia at al-Azhar University in Cairo, where he obtained both his master's degree and doctorate. He defended his doctoral dissertation, Af'al al-Rasul wa-Dalalatuha 'ala al-Ahkam al-Shar'iyya (The Prophet's Actions and Their Legal Significance for Sharia Rulings), in legal theory on 25 October 1976 CE; the examination committee included his supervisor Shaykh Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Khaliq alongside Shaykh Muhammad Anis Ubadah and Dr. Muhammad al-Sa'id Abd Rabbih, and he was awarded the degree with first-class honors. In addition to his theoretical writings, he was active in text editing, producing a scholarly edition of Nayl al-Mararib bi-Sharh Dalil al-Talib by Ibn Abi Taghlib.
Scholarly debates and death
Later in his career, al-Ashqar authored an article addressing the permissibility of women assuming public authority and evaluating the narrations transmitted by the companion Abu Bakrah. His positions provoked scholarly refutations from contemporary jurists, including a detailed rebuttal by Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad defending the reliability of Abu Bakrah and upholding the classical consensus against female general guardianship. Al-Ashqar died in 1430 AH (2009 CE).
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List of Works
Af'al al-Rasul wa-Dalalatuha 'ala al-Ahkam al-Shar'iyya (The Prophet's Actions and Their Legal Significance for Sharia Rulings) is a modern work on legal theory (usul al-fiqh) that examines the derivation of Islamic legal rulings from the non-verbal acts and conduct of the Prophet.