Jaridat al-Sharia al-Nabawiya al-Muhammadiya
- Author died
- 1359 AH
- Editions
- Al-Uqbi and Al-Zahiri
Jaridat al-Sharia al-Nabawiya al-Muhammadiya (The Muhammadan Prophetic Law Newspaper, commonly known as al-Sharia) was an Arabic weekly newspaper founded in 1352 AH (1933 CE) as the official organ of the Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars (جمعية العلماء المسلمين الجزائريين), published under the direction of the association's president, Abd al-Hamid ibn Badis (1308–1359 AH / 1889–1940 CE) .
Background and Editorial Leadership
The newspaper was established in Constantine to replace the Association's preceding periodical, Jaridat al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya, after the French colonial administration and the Ministry of the Interior issued an order banning al-Sunna . In the inaugural issue's editorial, titled Ta'til al-Sunna wa-Iasdar al-Sharia ("The Suspension of al-Sunna and the Launch of al-Sharia"), Ibn Badis addressed the public dismay regarding the suspension of al-Sunna, noting that the periodical was entirely religious and educational rather than political .
While published under the general supervision of Ibn Badis, its editors-in-chief were the reformist scholars al-Tayyib al-Uqbi and Muhammad al-Sa'id al-Zahiri . The periodical formed part of an ongoing succession of short-lived newspapers founded by Ibn Badis and the Association under colonial pressure, which included al-Muntaqid, al-Shihab, al-Sunna, al-Sirat, and later al-Basa'ir .
Structure and Publication History
Jaridat al-Sharia appeared weekly on Mondays, formatted across eight pages per issue . Its masthead featured both a Quranic verse and a prophetic hadith as foundational epigraphs:
- ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَى شَرِيعَةٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ فَاتَّبِعْهَا ("Then We put you on a clear law of the matter, so follow it") .
- مَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ سُنَّتِي فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي ("Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me") .
The newspaper released its first issue on 24 Rabi' al-Awwal 1352 AH (17 July 1933 CE) . Its run was cut short after colonial authorities issued an order on 9 August 1933 CE banning the periodical . In total, only seven issues were printed, with the final issue appearing on 7 Jumada al-Ula 1352 AH (28 August 1933 CE) .
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