Professor Mohamad Mustafa Al-A’Azami
King Faisal Prize in Islamic Studies 1980 Laureate
Topic: "Studies of the Prophet’s Hadith"
The dangers of the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of texts lead to deform the Islamic pure vision, and hinders the desired Islamic renaissance
Mohammad Al-A’zami was educated at Dar Al-Ulum College in Deoband (India) and Al-Azhar University in Cairo; he obtained his Ph.D. from Cambridge University (UK). Al-A’zami started his career as a teacher of Arabic for non-Arabic speakers and a Curator of the National Public Library in Qatar. After receiving his Ph.D., he moved to Saudi Arabia, teaching first at the Sharia College in Makkah, then at King Saud University (College of Education) in Riyadh. Professor Al-A’zami was one of the world’s most accomplished scholars of Hadith.
Professor Al-A’zami authored numerous keynote books, editions, book chapters and scholarly articles in Arabic and English. One of his books, Studies in Early Hadith Literature, is a classic; originally written in English and then translated into other languages and has been used as a teaching text in many universities worldwide. Al-A’zami’s list of major books includes: Kitab Al-Nabi, Manhaj Al-Naqd ind Aal-Muhaddithĩn, Hadĩth Methodology and Literature, and Dirasat fi Al-Hadith Al-Nabawi wa Tarikh Tadwinih. His critical editing include: Sunan Sahih Ibn Khuzaimah and Al-ilal of Ibn Al-Madini. Al-A’zami had also discovered and reviewed authentic ancient manuscripts of Hadith.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.
- He held many positions including:
- Chair of the Department of Islamic Studies at King Saud University.
- Visiting Fellow of St. Cross College at Oxford University.
- Honorary Professor at the University of Wales.
- Visiting Scholar at the University of Michigan in 1981.
- Professor of King Faisal Chair at Princeton University in 1991.
- Visiting Scholar at the University of Colorado in 1997.
- He authored many books including:
- On Schacht’s Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, (Islamic Texts Society), (1985).
- The History of the Qurʾanic Text from Revelation to Compilation (UK Islamic Academy), (2003).
- 65 Sekretaris Nabi (Gema Insani), (2008).
- The Isnad System: Its Origins and Authenticity (2015).
- The Qur’anic Challenge: A Promise Fulfilled (2015).
- He edited Kitāb al-Tāmĩz of Imām Muslim (1982), Sunan Ibn Maja (1983), Maghazi Rasulullah of Urwah ibn Zubayr (1986), and Muwatta Al-Imam Malik (2004).
- Professor Mohamad Mustafa Al-A’azami passed away in Riyadh on December 20, 2017.