Subhi al-Salih
- Died
- 1407 AH
- Born in
- Tripoli, Levant
Subhi al-Salih (1345–1407 AH / 1926–1986 CE) was a Lebanese Islamic scholar, philologist, and academic who served as a professor of Islamic studies and Arabic philology at the Lebanese University .
Early life and education
Subhi Ibrahim al-Salih was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, where he completed his secondary civil and religious education at Dar al-Tarbiyah wa-l-Ta'lim . He pursued higher Islamic studies at the Faculty of Usul al-Din, earning his ijazah degree in 1947 and the alamiyyah degree in 1949 . In 1950, he traveled to France to continue his academic education, obtaining a State Doctorate (Doctorat d'État) in literature in 1954 .
Academic career and public offices
Al-Salih taught Islamic studies and philology at the Lebanese University and engaged in scholarly debates analyzing classical traditions alongside modern European Orientalist studies, addressing these themes in works such as Ulum al-Hadith wa-Mustalahuh (Hadith Sciences and Its Terminology) and Mabahith fi Ulum al-Quran (Studies in the Quranic Sciences) . He also published critical editions of classical texts, including Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimmah (Legal Rulings Concerning Protected Non-Muslims) .
In addition to university teaching, he held several religious and administrative positions in Lebanon, serving as vice president of the Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, secretary-general of the Association of Lebanese Scholars, and head of the Supreme Committee for the Fifteenth Hijri Century . He held memberships in scholarly academies, including the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, the Iraqi Scientific Academy in Baghdad, the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, and the supervisory board of the Great Arabic Encyclopedia . He was awarded the Prize for Ijtihadic Thought in Islam by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) .
Assassination
Al-Salih was assassinated in Beirut on October 7, 1986 .
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List of Works
Dirasat fi Fiqh al-Lugha (Studies in Arabic Philology) is a modern treatise on Arabic philology and linguistics. The work combines classical Arabic philological heritage with modern comparative and descriptive linguistic methodologies to examine the origins, phonetic structure, morphology, semantics, and historical development of the Arabic language.
Mabahith fi Ulum al-Quran (Studies in the Quranic Sciences) is a modern treatise on Quranic studies. Arranged for modern academic study, the work presents classical disciplines of Quranic learning by combining traditional Sunni scholarship with analytical engagement and refutations of Orientalist perspectives.
Ulum al-Hadith wa Mustalahuh (Hadith Sciences and Its Terminology) is a comprehensive manual devoted to the methodology and terminology of Prophetic tradition. Subtitled Ard wa-Dirasah (A Presentation and Study), the work systematically presents hadith nomenclature, classification standards, and historical transmission.