At a glance
- Roles
- Scholar · Jurist
- Region
- Egypt & Nile
- Identifiers
- Wikidata
- Review
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Place in the story
Unknown (unknown)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Summary
Hassanein Muhammad Makhlouf (1890–1990) was an Egyptian Azhari scholar who twice held the office of Grand Mufti of Egypt, headed al-Azhar's fatwa committee, and became known for two works explaining the meanings of the Qur'an, Kalimat al-Qur'an Tafsir wa-Bayan and Safwat al-Bayan li-Ma'ani al-Qur'an.1
Early life and education
He was born in the Bab al-Futuh quarter of Cairo on 16 Ramadan 1307 AH / 6 May 1890; his family came from the town of Bani Adi in Upper Egypt, near Manfalut in Asyut province.1 He completed memorisation of the Qur'an at the age of ten under Shaykh Muhammad Ali Khalaf al-Husayni, the head of Egypt's Qur'an reciters.1 He entered al-Azhar at eleven and studied under its senior scholars, among them his father Shaykh Muhammad Hassanein Makhlouf, Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i, Yusuf al-Dijwi and Abdullah Draz.1 He then entered the School of Sharia Judiciary and graduated with its 'alimiyya degree in 1914.1
Career
After graduating he taught at al-Azhar as a volunteer, was appointed a judge in the sharia courts in 1916, was seconded to teach in the specialisation section of the School of Sharia Judiciary, and became deputy of the Supreme Sharia Court and, in 1948, a member of al-Azhar's body of senior scholars.1 He founded the Azhar library, gathering for it the books scattered through the mosques and cataloguing them, and was the first inspector of sciences for al-Azhar and the religious institutes, the youngest member of al-Azhar's Supreme Council, and deputy of al-Azhar.1
Grand Mufti
He served as Grand Mufti of Egypt from 5 January 1946 to 7 May 1950, and was appointed to the office a second time from March 1952 to December 1954.1 After leaving the office he headed al-Azhar's fatwa committee for a long period.1 The fatwas he issued in office and published in the press were collected in two large volumes.1
Works
His works include Kalimat al-Qur'an Tafsir wa-Bayan, an explanation of the meanings of Qur'anic words, and the larger Safwat al-Bayan li-Ma'ani al-Qur'an.1 He also wrote on the names of God, on the etiquette of reciting and hearing the Qur'an, on inheritance in Islamic law, a commentary on the Bayquniyya poem on hadith terminology, and a treatise arguing that the fortieth-day mourning gathering for the dead is an innovation without basis.1
Death
References
Connections
- Born in
- Cairo
- Died in
- Cairo
- Studied under
- Muhammad Bakhit Mutii
People and things also explored
Al-Azhar Mosque· The Dar al-Hikma of Cairo· Baybars takes the sultanate, 658 AH· Capture of Cairo· death of Asad al-Dīn Shīrkūh — Saladin chosen vizier in his place· The great earthquake of Egypt, 608 AH· Egypt's famine and epidemic, 695· Four madhhab qadis appointed in Egypt, 663
Sources
- Hassanein Muhammad Makhlouf — Arabic Wikipedia
- Hassanein Makhlouf — Wikidata Q12208062
- Hassanein Muhammad Makhlouf — Urdu Wikipedia
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Hassanein Muhammad Makhlouf”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/hassanein-makhlouf/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.