Mostafa al-Adawi

Mustafa ibn al-Adawi ibn Ahmad Shalabaya, known by the kunya Abu Abdullah, is an Egyptian hadith scholar and preacher, born in 1954 (1374 AH) in the village of Minya Samannud in Dakahlia Governorate. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Mansoura University's Faculty of Engineering in 1977, then travelled to Yemen to study hadith under Sheikh Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi'i in Dammaj. Back in his village he founded a mosque, a sharia school and a large library, and he has written many books on hadith, exegesis and jurisprudence. ^{1 2}

He was born in the village of Minya Samannud. He memorised the Quran while in secondary school, under the village's sheikhs, having begun in its kuttab, and passed through the governorate's schools to secondary level before entering the Faculty of Engineering, mechanical engineering department, graduating in 1977. ¹

The sources disagree on his birth year: his official website, Arabic Wikipedia and Wikidata give 1954, corresponding to 1374 AH, while the biography printed with his books, as carried by al-Maktaba al-Shamela, gives 1945. This record adopts 1954, on which his own site and the encyclopedias agree, with the discrepancy recorded. ^{2 3 4}

After graduating he travelled to Yemen to study under Sheikh Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi'i at Dar al-Hadith in Dammaj. The Arabic article says he attended his lessons between 1400 and 1404 AH; his official website says he took the science of hadith from him over seven years. ^{1 2}

His website adds that he began his studies with Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, who — being too busy — directed him to three specialists in hadith, and that Sheikh Nasir al-Din al-Albani was the closest to him in approach (manhaj), though he was unable to reach him. ²

He returned to Egypt, built a small mosque in his village and began teaching the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, exegesis and jurisprudence. As his students grew in number, from inside Egypt and abroad, he built a larger mosque housing a large library, and also a school for teaching the sharia sciences and hadith. He gives weekly lessons in several Egyptian governorates, and his lessons and fatwas are broadcast through his official website, satellite channels and internet platforms. ^{1 2 4}

Among his largest scholarly projects is a commentary on the Quran in question-and-answer form, "al-Tashil li-Ta'wil al-Tanzil", of which about fourteen volumes have appeared, with an abridgement in three volumes and a further one-volume abridgement, "Tashil al-Tashil". ^{1 4}

He founded in his village a large scholarly library sought out by students of knowledge, and a sharia school for teaching the religious sciences and hadith. ²

This section sets out different positions as reported in the sources. It is not a verdict by the museum.

His orientation and standing. Egyptian news reports describe him as "the Salafi preacher", and academic studies of scientific Salafism in Egypt list him among its best-known sheikhs; he is a student of Muqbil al-Wadi'i, one of that current's leading figures. The Egyptian Arabic Wikipedia gives his creed as "Sunni Muslim", while Arabic Wikipedia and Wikidata give only "Islam"; the museum therefore records what each source says and assigns him no school in the faith field. ^{5 6 1}

The 2025 complaint and the State Security referral. In June 2025 the Attorney General referred a complaint by the lawyer Hani Sameh to the Supreme State Security Prosecution. According to Cairo 24's report, the complaint accused al-Adawi of threatening US President Donald Trump in a video posted on Facebook on 15 May 2025, after Trump's Gulf visit, in which he addressed him with the words "Embrace Islam and you will be safe" and followed it with a warning of death; the complaint also accused him of incitement, of unlicensed dawah activity, and of founding entities including a "Shura Council of Scholars". These are allegations in a complaint, presented here attributed to their source; they are not court findings. ⁵

The November 2025 arrest. On Monday 3 November 2025, security forces in Dakahlia arrested al-Adawi over a video in which he spoke about the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, describing the antiquities gathered in it as "idols of the pharaohs" and urging that it be entered "for admonition, not for pride". He was brought before the public prosecution at the Mansoura courts complex and released the same evening on bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds after his statement was heard. His lawyer, Khaled al-Masry, said he denied intending any offence and affirmed his respect for the symbols of the state and its antiquities. RT Arabic and Al-Youm al-Sabi' (Youm7), among others, reported the story. ⁷

He has written books on jurisprudence, hadith, hadith terminology and exegesis. The sources list among them: "al-Tashil li-Ta'wil al-Tanzil" (a question-and-answer commentary); "Tafsir al-Rabbaniyyin li-'Umum al-Mu'minin"; "al-Nur al-Sari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari"; "al-Jami' al-'Amm fi'l-Fiqh wa'l-Ahkam"; "al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Nisa'" in five volumes; "al-Sahih al-Musnad min al-Ahadith al-Qudsiyya"; "al-Sahih al-Musnad min Adhkar al-Yawm wa'l-Layla"; "al-Sahih al-Musnad min Fada'il al-Sahaba"; "al-Bayan fi Ma'ani Kalimat al-Quran"; "Rawdat al-Muhibbin fi Fada'il Sahabat al-Nabi al-Amin"; "Fiqh al-Ta'amul ma'a al-Walidayn"; "Rudud 'ala Shubuhat hawl al-Islam"; "Tahdhib Sharh al-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya"; "al-Jalis al-Salih wa-Jalis al-Su'"; and "Qabas Mukhtar min Sahih al-Adhkar". ^{1 4}

His editions of earlier works include: the "Muntakhab" of Abd ibn Humayd; Ibn Taymiyya's "al-Furqan bayn Awliya' al-Rahman wa-Awliya' al-Shaytan"; Ibn al-Qayyim's "al-Wabil al-Sayyib"; Ibn Abi al-Izz's "Sharh al-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya"; and Ibn Kathir's "Tafsir al-Quran al-'Azim". ¹

Al-Adawi is among Egypt's most prominent contemporary hadith scholars; students from inside Egypt and abroad attend his lessons, and his lessons and fatwas circulate through his official website, satellite channels and internet platforms. Wikidata records two YouTube channels for him and identifiers in international library databases. ^{1 3} His own lessons channel on YouTube is published under the handle @mostafaaladwy and is named as his official channel in his own videos; it was verified in a channel harvest checked on 25 October 2026. ⁸

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