Tuesday 06/January/2026 – 04:04 AM
celebrates The Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, on January 6, 2024, on his 80th birthday, as Imam Al-Tayeb was born in the village of Qurna, west of the city of Luxor, on the third of Safar, 1365 AH, the sixth of January, 1946 AD.
Imam Al-Tayeb…a role model for renewal and a path of tolerance and peace
Cairo 24 presents the most important stations and information about the Grand Imam, according to what was published by the Al-Azhar International Center for Electronic Fatwa:
– His birth and upbringing:
– Imam Ahmed Muhammad Ahmad Al-Tayeb Al-Hassani was born in the village of Qurna, west of the city of Luxor, on the third of Safar, 1365 AH, corresponding to the sixth of January, 1946 AD, to an ancient and honorable family famous for knowledge and righteousness, whose lineage goes back to our master, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him.
He was raised in the courtyard of his father, Sheikh Muhammad al-Tayeb – may God have mercy on him. He memorized the Holy Qur’an when he was young, and mastered many scientific texts in the authentic Al-Azhar style.
He then joined the Esna Religious Institute, then the Qena Religious Institute, then the Department of Doctrine and Philosophy at the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion in Cairo, from which he graduated with distinction in 1969 AD, and was then appointed as a teaching assistant at the college.
– His scientific and practical career:
– The Sheikh of Al-Azhar obtained a master’s degree in the Department of Doctrine and Philosophy, in 1971 AD.
He obtained a doctorate from the same department in 1977.
He traveled on a scientific mission to the University of Paris, France, in 1977 AD, and remained there for six months. His Eminence is completely fluent in the French language, and translates from it into Arabic.
– He obtained the degree of professor at the college, in 1988 AD.
– He was appointed Dean of the College of Islamic and Arab Studies for Boys in Qena Governorate, in 1990 AD.
– He was appointed Dean of the College of Islamic Studies for Boys in Aswan, in 1995 AD.
His Eminence taught at a number of universities in the Islamic world in Riyadh, Doha, Al Ain, and Islamabad.
– He was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at the International Islamic University in Pakistan, in the academic year 1999/2000 AD.
He was appointed Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt from March 2002 until September 2003.
– He was appointed President of Al-Azhar University, from September 2003 until March 2010.
– In March 2010 AD, His Eminence assumed the Imamate of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif.
– The Grand Imam holds the presidency of the Council of Senior Scholars of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the Supreme Council of Al-Azhar, the Religious Committee of the Radio and Television Union, the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Zakat and Charity House, and other memberships in academies, councils, associations, institutions and committees. Which there is not room to mention.
– His classifications and translations:
– The Sheikh of Al-Azhar has many books, including: (Constituents of Islam – Etiquette and Values - The Search for Peace – The Critical Side in the Philosophy of Abu Al-Barakat Al-Baghdadi – Investigations of Existence and Essence from the Book of Positions, Presentation and Study – An Introduction to the Study of Ancient Logic – Research in Islamic Philosophy, in collaboration with others – A Commentary on the Theology Section from the Book of Tahdhib Al-Kalam).
He also has research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, including: (Foundations of the science of dialectics according to Al-Ash’ari – Heritage and renewal, discussions and responses – The origins of the theory of science according to Al-Ash’ari – The concept of movement between Islamic philosophy and Marxist philosophy).
In addition to his investigations, including: an investigation of the treatise “Sahih Evidence of Transmission on the Essence of Reason” by Abu al-Barakat al-Baghdadi, with an introduction in French, published in the journal of the French Scientific Institute in Cairo.
The Sheikh of Al-Azhar has many translators from French to Arabic, including: (Translation of the French introductions to the Indexed Dictionary of the Words of the Prophet’s Hadith – Translation of the book: Osman Yahya, Histoire et classification de l’oeuvre d’Ibn Arabi from French to Arabic, entitled: “The Works of Ibn Arabi, Their History and Classification”).
He and research presented at conferences and seminars, including: (Considerations on the issue of distortion of the Qur’an attributed to the Imami Shiites – The necessity of renewal – Sheikh Mustafa Abdel Razzaq, the slandered one).
– Imam Al-Tayeb and renewal:
For more than a thousand years, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif has been the renewal of the sciences of the Islamic nation, and the bearer of the standard of moderation and facilitation. What benefits people and achieves their interests; Without denying religion and its postulates, this is a difficult craft that requires distinguished, established scholars. The honorable Al-Azhar was full of them throughout this period, and the good Imam – may God protect him – belongs to one of the men of this art, who are interested in it and who are distinguished in it, and among the most prominent efforts of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar in this regard:
- Developing Al-Azhar Al-Sharif’s curricula in a way that suits the spirit of the times, and combines the originality of the text with the contemporary application of it in people’s reality, through the establishment of the “Higher Committee for Education Reform” and the “Curriculum Preparation and Development Committee,” which is a committee that includes specialized scholars and educational experts.
- Restoring the pioneering role of the Council of Senior Scholars in renewing religious discourse and preserving Islamic constants in many societal and cultural issues, through research, writings, and youth intellectual forums.
- Establishing the “Al-Azhar International Center for Monitoring and Electronic Fatwa”; Following up on developments in contemporary reality, and renewing the legal vision of many emerging jurisprudential issues.
- Establishing the Al-Azhar Center for Heritage and Renewal, which is a specialized center concerned with researching issues and issues of Islamic jurisprudence and renewing the legal outlook on them. In a way that preserves the originality of the text, and keeps pace with developments in contemporary reality. According to the terms of renewal, its reasons, and controls, and the stability of some provisions of Sharia, and the change of others.
- Developing the “Al-Azhari Corridor” programs at Al-Azhar Mosque and its branches in the governorates of the Republic; To perform its educational and advocacy role for Egyptians and foreigners who speak English, French, and German; According to Al-Azhar’s moderate and enlightened approach.
- Launching the “Scientific Writing” project of the Al-Azhar International Center for Electronic Fatwa, which is managed by a higher committee at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, within the framework of its comprehensive plan to keep pace with contemporary developments, keep pace with the pace of progress, and continue its process of renewal; Especially in the fatwa industry.
