Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Mukarramah fi Khidmat al-Sunnah wa al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah

Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Mukarramah fi Khidmat al-Sunnah wa al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (The Role of the Scholars of Mecca in Serving the Sunnah and Prophetic Biography) is an academic treatise by Rida bin Muhammad Safi al-Din al-Sanusi that examines the scholarly contributions of Meccan scholars to Hadith and the Prophet’s biography during the fourteenth century AH Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.

Background and Purpose

The work was originally composed as a research contribution for the scholarly symposium organized by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah, and Guidance titled ʿInāyat al-Mamlakah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Saʿūdiyyah bi al-Sunnah wa al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah (The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Care for the Sunnah and Prophetic Biography) Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…. Al-Sanusi sought to shed light on the intellectual vitality of Mecca during the fourteenth Islamic century, documenting how its scholars preserved, taught, and authored works on the Sunnah and the Prophetic biography (sīrah), and how their efforts influenced educational networks across the broader Islamic world, including Southeast Asia Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.

Structure and Contents

The author organized the treatise into an introduction, one comprehensive chapter divided into four thematic sections (mabāḥith), and a conclusion Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…:

• Introduction (al-Muqaddimah): Presents the occasion for the study and the reasons for selecting the topic Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.
• Section 1: Scientific Life in Mecca during the Fourteenth Century AH: Explores the historical background of learning in Mecca, detailing the central role of study circles (ḥalaqāt) in the Grand Mosque, traditional elementary schools (katātīb), and early community educational initiatives Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.
• Section 2: Meccan Scholars in Service of the Sunnah and Sirah through Institutions: Analyzes the institutional settings of Islamic learning, beginning with the study circles of the Grand Mosque—which numbered up to 120 per day—followed by schools established in the first half of the fourteenth century AH such as Madrasah al-Sawlatiyyah and Madrasat al-Falah Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+2. It then covers institutions founded in the second half of the century, including Ma'had al-Haram al-Makki, Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyyah, and the Mecca branch of King Abdulaziz University (later Umm al-Qura University) Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka….
• Section 3: Meccan Scholars Serving the Sunnah through Teaching and Authorship: Provides biographical profiles and surveys of scholars who taught and wrote works in the field of Hadith, covering seventy-five figures such as Mazhar Husayn al-Ansari and Nur ibn Isma'il al-Khālidi al-Jawi Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.
• Section 4: Meccan Scholars Serving the Sirah through Teaching and Authorship: Highlights prominent scholars dedicated to the Prophetic biography and their texts, including Abu Bakr ibn Ahmad al-Habashi and his didactic poem Khulāṣat al-Siyar li-Sayyid al-Bashar Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.
• Conclusion (al-Khātimah): Summarizes the study’s core findings, noting the flourishing of scientific circles in Mecca, the integration of traditional mosque circles with modern schools and universities, and the international reach of Mecca's graduates across Muslim lands Dawr Ulama Makkah al-Muka…+1.