Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi was an Egyptian Qur'an commentator, religious scholar and former Minister of Endowments, born on 15 April 1911 (17 Rabi' al-awwal 1329 AH) in the village of Daqadus, in the Mit Ghamr district of Dakahlia Governorate, and he died on 17 June 1998 (22 Safar 1419 AH). ^{1 2}

Al-Sha'rawi became famous for his reflections (khawatir) in which he explained the Qur'an in simplified ways, reaching a large audience of Muslims across the Arab and Islamic world, and some called him the "Imam of the Preachers". ¹ The English article describes him as one of Egypt's most popular and successful Islamic preachers, "one of the most prominent symbols of popular Egyptian culture" in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and says he was given the title "preacher of the century". ³

His first appearance on Egyptian television was in 1973, on the programme "Nur ala Nur" (Light upon Light), presented by Ahmad Farraj. After an introduction to Qur'an commentary he began with Surah al-Fatiha and reached the end of Surah al-Mumtahana and the beginning of Surah al-Saff; his death prevented him from completing the whole Qur'an. ¹ The English article notes that he hosted a successful Friday afternoon television programme themed around preaching Islam. ³

Al-Sha'rawi was born in the village of Daqadus in Dakahlia Governorate, and he had memorised the Qur'an completely by the age of eleven. ^{1 3}

He joined the al-Azhar elementary institute in Zagazig in 1922, earned his al-Azhar elementary certificate in 1923, then entered the al-Azhar secondary institute. His interest in poetry and literature grew, and his fellow students chose him as head of the student union and head of the Zagazig literary society. ¹

The turning point in his life came when his father wanted to send him to al-Azhar in Cairo, while he wished to stay with his brothers to cultivate the land. He set his father what seemed an impossible condition: to buy him a large set of the great books of heritage, language, Qur'an sciences, commentaries and hadith collections, hoping this would make his father relent. His father saw through the trick and bought everything he asked for, saying: "I know, my son, that none of these books are prescribed for you, but I preferred to buy them to provide you with the means of knowledge." Al-Sha'rawi told this story in an interview with the journalist Tariq Habib. ¹

He joined the College of Arabic Language in 1937 and became active in the nationalist movement and the al-Azhar movement, going with his colleagues to al-Azhar's courtyards to give speeches, which led to his arrest more than once. ¹ He graduated from the college in 1940 (the English article gives 1941), and in 1943 he received the 'alimiyya degree with a teaching licence. ^{1 3}

After graduating, al-Sha'rawi was appointed to the religious institute in Tanta, then moved to the religious institute in Zagazig and then to the one in Alexandria. ^{1 3}

In 1950 he moved to Saudi Arabia to work as a professor of sharia at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca. He was required to teach the subject of creed ('aqa'id) although his own specialisation was language, and he proved so successful at it that he won everyone's praise. ^{1 3 2}

On his return he rose through al-Azhar and preaching posts: deputy head of the Tanta al-Azhar institute in 1960, director of Islamic preaching (da'wa) at the Ministry of Awqaf in 1961, and inspector of Arabic sciences at al-Azhar in 1962. ¹

In 1963 a dispute broke out between President Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Saud, and Nasser prevented al-Sha'rawi from returning to Saudi Arabia. He was appointed in Cairo as director of the office of the Grand Imam, Shaykh al-Azhar Hasan Ma'mun (the Arabic article's list of posts dates this appointment to 1964). ^{1 3}

In 1966 al-Sha'rawi travelled to Algeria as head of the al-Azhar mission there, and spent about seven years teaching. ^{1 3}

When he returned to Cairo he was appointed director of endowments for Gharbia Governorate for a time, then deputy for preaching and thought, then deputy head (wakil) of al-Azhar. He then returned to Saudi Arabia to teach at King Abdulaziz University, as a visiting professor at the Faculty of Sharia in Mecca in 1970 and as president of the university's Department of Graduate Studies in 1972. ^{1 3}

In November 1976, Prime Minister Mamdouh Salem chose al-Sha'rawi as Minister of Endowments and al-Azhar Affairs, until October 1978. ^{1 3}

He is counted the first to issue a ministerial decision establishing the first Islamic bank in Egypt, the Faisal Islamic Bank, acting on delegated authority from the finance minister of the period, Dr Hamid al-Sayih, and with the approval of the People's Assembly. ¹ The English article adds that the law he issued helped establish the bank in 1979. ³

He was appointed a member of the Islamic Research Academy in 1980 and chosen as a member of the Shura Council in the same year, and he was offered the Shaykhdom of al-Azhar and posts in a number of Islamic countries but refused them, preferring to devote himself to preaching. ¹

In 1987 he was chosen as a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language (the Academy of the Immortals). ^{1 3}

He returned to teach at King Abdulaziz University for one year in 1981. ³

Al-Sha'rawi explained his method in his own words: "My reflections on the Noble Qur'an do not amount to a commentary (tafsir) of the Qur'an; they are pure-hearted gifts that occur to a believer's heart over a verse or a few verses." ¹

His reflections rested on several elements, among them: language as the starting point for understanding the Qur'anic text; uncovering the Qur'an's eloquence and the secret of its composition; social reform; answering the Orientalists' objections; drawing at times on his own life experiences; combining depth with simplicity through the Egyptian colloquial dialect; well-told parables; thematic digression; a Sufi breath; and a logical, dialectical style. ¹

In the last parts of his commentary he preferred brevity because of his illness, so that he could complete his reflections, and he apologised on television for the abbreviation. ¹ He also left an audio recording containing his commentary on the thirtieth part of the Qur'an (Juz' 'Amma). ¹

The English article describes al-Sha'rawi as exceptionally talented in explaining the meanings of the Qur'an, showing his real talent when he explained in simple words the meanings behind the most difficult verses, and as the only non-Saudi to deliver the Arafat sermon, the sermon of central importance during the Hajj pilgrimage. ³

Al-Sha'rawi loved the Arabic language and was known for eloquence joined to simplicity of style and beauty of expression. He was a poet who expressed himself in verse on different occasions, and he also used poetry in explaining the Qur'an; when he remembered his poetry he would say: "They knew me as a poet." ¹

This section should be read as a report of attributed positions carried by the sources, not as the museum's verdict. The articles carry these positions, and not all of the principals' original statements have been checked.

The relocation of Maqam Ibrahim (1954). In 1954 the idea was raised of moving Maqam Ibrahim backwards to widen the circumambulation area, and a day was set for King Saud to carry it out. Al-Sha'rawi, then a professor at the Faculty of Sharia in Mecca, considered the move contrary to the sharia, and when other scholars told him the matter was settled he sent the king a five-page telegram setting out the question from the legal and historical sides. ¹ After the telegram arrived, the king gathered the scholars and asked them to study it; they agreed with everything in it, and the king ordered that the Maqam not be moved and directed that al-Sha'rawi's proposals for widening the mataf be studied, among them placing the stone in a small dome of unbreakable glass. ¹

The June 1967 setback. While al-Sha'rawi was in Algeria, the June 1967 setback occurred, and he prostrated in gratitude for the harshest military defeat Egypt had suffered. He justified this by saying that "Egypt did not win while in the embrace of communism, so the Egyptians were not tempted away from their religion". ^{1 3}

Organ transplantation. The English article reports that the Egyptian parliament repeatedly blocked legislation permitting organ transplants after al-Sha'rawi issued a fatwa declaring such operations forbidden where organs were sold rather than merely donated, on the basis that "a human being does not own his body". ³

The Muslim Brotherhood. The English article reports that al-Sha'rawi was initially close to the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, but later criticised the group for its rushed behaviour and its resort to violence. ³

A telegram to President Sadat. The Arabic article relates that al-Sha'rawi tendered his resignation after President Sadat insulted Shaykh Ahmad al-Mahlawi, and sent the president a telegram saying: "Al-Azhar al-Sharif does not produce dogs; it produces venerable shaykhs and illustrious scholars." ¹

Al-Sha'rawi wrote a number of books, several of which his admirers collected and prepared for publication; the best known and greatest of them is his commentary on the Qur'an, Tafsir al-Sha'rawi, the printed form of his televised reflections. ^{1 4}

Among his books is the treatise Qadiyat al-Sunna (The Question of the Sunna), published in the scholarly series of al-Azhar's Islamic Research Academy, in which he states the obligation of following the Sunna. ⁵ Another of his books is Al-Isra wa'l-Mi'raj (The Night Journey and Ascension), published in editions including one by Dar al-Jeel. ^{6 7}

The English article lists further works, in the translations it gives there, including: "Miracles of the Qur'an", "This is Islam", "Islam: Creed and Legislation", "Questions and Answers in Islamic Jurisprudence", "Women in Islam", "The Story of the Creation from Adam to Muhammad", "Jinn and Devils", "Repentance", "Prayer and the Pillars of Islam", "The Permitted Hajj", "The Envious and Envy", "Anger", and "The Path to God". ³

Al-Sha'rawi married while still in secondary school, at his father's wish, his father having chosen his wife for him, and he agreed to the choice. He had three sons and two daughters. ^{1 3} The museum publishes no more of his family detail than his work requires.

Al-Sha'rawi died on 17 June 1998. Not much detail is known about his death: some media reported that he died of a heart attack, while other sources said the cause was complications of asthma for which he was being treated in hospital. Reportedly more than a million mourners filled the streets of Cairo in a scene of grief. ³

He received the Order of Merit, first class, on reaching retirement age on 15 April 1976, before his appointment as minister, and the Order of the Republic, first class, in 1983 and 1988, as well as honorary doctorates in literature from the universities of Mansoura and Monufia. ^{1 2} Dakahlia Governorate made him the personality of its cultural festival in 1989, and the Dubai International Holy Qur'an Award chose him as its Islamic Personality of the Year in its first edition, in 1418 AH, corresponding to 1998. ¹

Studies and books were written about him, among them Mahmoud Fawzi's "Shaykh al-Sha'rawi and the Fatwas of the Age" and "Shaykh al-Sha'rawi and Perplexing Islamic Questions in Search of Solutions". ¹

A television series about his life, "Imam al-Du'at" (The Imam of the Preachers), was produced — the English article gives 2002 and the Arabic article 2003 — starring Hassan Youssef and Afaf Shoaib. It follows his life from his birth in Daqadus, memorising the Qur'an in the village kuttab, joining al-Azhar, travelling to Saudi Arabia, and holding the Ministry of Endowments, until his death. ^{3 1}

His lessons and reflections remain in circulation after his death: he has an official website, recorded in Wikidata, and Islamic websites host audio recordings of his lessons. ^{2 3}

• The defined sources cited above, recorded in data/source/.
• Later translations and revisions of the article need periodic re-checking with clear update dates.

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy mentions Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi in two places. He tells a story of Sheikh al-Sha'rawi stopping on the Algerian road for a man who was seeking justice from a provincial governor, and taking him along (needs_source) ⁸.

He says that al-Sha'rawi and al-Ghazali were among the scholars he was close to, and that these scholars asked after him whenever they met him ⁹.