Al-Maraghi

Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi (; 5 March 1881 – 22 August 1945) was an Egyptian reformer and rector of Al-Azhar from

El Maragha El Maragha (, ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate in Upper Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile. Etymology The name of the city is a corruption of . This claim is also supported by a Coptic translation of this toponym (). His ...

Sohag Governorate Sohag () is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the southern part of the country (Upper Egypt), and covers a stretch of the Nile Valley. Since 1960, its capital has been the city of Sohag. Prior to that, the capital was the city ...

. Al-Maraghi was active in encouraging reforms within legal and social contexts as well as within education where he notably campaigned for the introduction of modern sciences to the curriculum. He was a proponent of

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

—a process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources, the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

and the

Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

—and the integration of the separate schools of law. He was active on an international level with regard to religious conferences and was also open about his wish to see clergy take a more prominent role in government. In the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

, he was made an Honorary Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

as Grand

Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...

of the Sudan. In March 1924 al-Jizawi formed the Greater Committee for Religious Knowledge in direct response to the

collapse of the Caliphate The Ottoman Caliphate, the world's last widely recognized caliphate, was abolished on 3 March 1924 ( R.C. 1340) by decree of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The process was one of Atatürk's reforms following the replacement of the Ottom ...

and the issue of preaching in such an environment. Al-Maraghi was included as a member. Al-Maraghi met the English translator

Marmaduke Pickthall Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (born Marmaduke William Pickthall; 7 April 187519 May 1936) was an English Islamic scholar noted for his 1930 English translation of the Quran, called '' The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''. His translation of the Q ...

, who wished his translation of the Qur'an authorized by the

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

Loyal Enemy Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (born Marmaduke William Pickthall; 7 April 187519 May 1936) was an English Islamic scholar noted for his 1930 English translation of the Quran, called '' The Meaning of the Glorious Koran''. His translation of the Q ...

Anne Fremantle Anne Fremantle (born Anne Marie Huth Jackson; 1909–2002) was an English-American journalist, translator, poet, novelist and biographer.Mujaddid 1881 births 1945 deaths Grand Imams of al-Azhar Honorary officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Sohag Governorate Members of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo {{Islamic-scholar-stub