Wahba Zuhayli
Encyclopedia
Dr. Professor Sheikh Wahba Mustafa al-Zuhayli (born 1932) born in Dair Atiah
Dair Atiah
Dair Atiah , is a city in Syria, located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon Mountains Series, north of the capital Damascus and on the road to the city of Homs...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 is a prominent yet somewhat controversial Syrian professor and Islamic scholar specializing in Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 and legal philosophy. He is also currently a preacher at Badr Mosque in Dair Atiah. He is the author of scores of books on Islamic and secular law, many of which have been translated to English. He is chairman of Islamic jurisprudence in the College of Sharia at Damascus University. He is also a signatory to the Amman Message
Amman Message
The Amman Message is a statement which was issued on 9 November 2004 by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world...

 and A Common Word documents.

Biography

Dr. Zuhayli was born in the Syrian town of Dair Atiah
Dair Atiah
Dair Atiah , is a city in Syria, located between the Qalamoun Mountains and the Eastern Lebanon Mountains Series, north of the capital Damascus and on the road to the city of Homs...

, north of Damascus, to a father who was a farmer by occupation. Zuhayli studied sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...

 in the University of Damascus
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine and the Institute of Law , also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria...

 for six years, graduating in 1952 at the top of his class. Zuhayli furthered his Islamic education at the prestigious Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...

 where he again graduated at the top of his class in 1956. After graduating in 1956, Dr. Zuhayli also received an ijaza in teaching Arabic from Al-Azhar.

While studying in al-Azhar, Dr. Zuhayli studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 in Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University is an institute of higher education located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.-History:...

 in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt where he received a bachelors degree magna cum laude in 1957. In 1959, he received a masters degree in law from Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...

's College of Law. In 1963, he received his doctorate with honors in law with a major in Islamic sharia, his thesis was "The Influences of War on Islamic Jurisprudence: A comparative study including the eight schools of Islamic law and secular international law."

Since 1963 he has taught at Damascus University where he has been professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 since 1975. He lectures in both the colleges of sharia and law and he specializes in Islamic law, Islamic legal philosophy, and comparative legal systems. He has also taught as a visiting professor at the faculty of law at University of Benghazi in Libya (1972–1974), the faculty of sharia law at the University of the United Arab Emirates (1984–1989), the University of Khartoum
University of Khartoum
The University of Khartoum ia a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Khartoum. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independence...

, Sudan, and the Islamic University of Riyadh. Dr. Zuhayli has also taught the principles of Islamic legal writing and evidence for graduate students in Sudan, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Dr. Zuhayli's erudite understanding of Islamic law caused him to be chosen to design the curriculum of Damascus University's College of Sharia in the late 1960s.

He is a member of the Royal Society for Research on Islamic Civilization of the Aal al-Bayt Foundation in Amman Jordan as well as many other worldwide Islamic legal bodies including the Syrian Majis al-Ifta, Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Fiqh Academies of the United States, India, and Sudan. He is also Chairman of the Research Institute for Islamic Financial Institutions. Many of his books and writings also concern secular legal systems, such as international law or the law of the United Arab Emirates.

He also serves as Islamic legal consultant to Islamic financial companies and institutions including the International Islamic Bank. He is also a well known religious preacher in the Islamic world, appearing frequently on television and radio programs; he also frequently appears in the Arab press. He was a former imam and preacher at the Othman Mosque in Damascus and currently is summer preacher at the Badr Mosque in Dair Atiah.

Zuhayli's Edicts

Dr. Zuhayli is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on Islamic law and legal theory in the world as well as a public intellectual and popular preacher. In his position on the Syrian Majis al-Ifta he is responsible for issuing fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...

 or religious edicts. Many of Dr. Zuhayli's edicts can be seen as very moderate - including his support for what he calls Islamic democracy
Islamic democracy
Islamic democracy refers to two kinds of democratic states that can be recognized in the Islamic countries. The basis of this distinction has to do with how comprehensively Islam is incorporated into the affairs of the state....

, human rights, and freedom.

Positions and Views on Theological/Doctrinal Matters

Zuhayli has defended the Ashari and Maturidi
Maturidi
In Islam, a Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidi's theology, which is a close variant of the Ash'ari theology . The Maturidis, Ash'aris and Atharis are all part of Sunni Islam, which makes up the overwhelming majority of Muslims...

 schools of belief to be orthodox and defending the option of lay Muslims to follow a madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...

 or school of Islamic jurisprudence in their everyday lives. His works on Islamic legal theory establish that traditional Sunni Islamic orthodoxy is defined by that which complies to one of the four valid Sunni madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...

, however he has also stated that following one of the four madhhab is not obligatory - what is religiously obligatory is for the layman, defined as one who has not achieved the ability of independent legal reasoning, is to follow a competent valid orthodox Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...

. He has stated that "the truth is that the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah were of the opinion that one should follow one of the four madhhab, yet others who disagreed with them, and they are also from Ahl al-Sunnah had a different opinion and proofs and this is a place of recorded debate; it is the duty of the Muslim to obey what the scholars agreed upon (ijma
Ijma
Ijmāʿ is an Arabic term referring to the consensus of the Muslim community. Various schools of thought within Islamic jurisprudence may define this consensus as that of the first generation of Muslims only; the consensus of the first three generations of Muslims; the consensus of the jurists...

) and this is the majority of legal questions, yet he does not have to obey the opinions of any particular group or sect, and we do not establish a ruling of disbelief nor do we argue with such people due to the fact that each group has their proofs, scholars, and teachers." He states that the layman has no madhhab
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...

 and may simply rely on a valid Mufti with a proper ijaza in one of the madhhab to establish legal rulings. He also defends the right of Muslims to follow different madhhab in different legal questions, as long as this is done with certain conditions such as not doing so to follow the easiest position in every school - although looking for an easier position in another school occasionally is allowed under certain conditions.

His position on celebrating the Prophet Muhammad's birthday or mawlid
Mawlid
Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...

 is that it is permitted and even encouraged as long as it is not believed to be a religious obligation or an act of worship and is free of sin. He has also defended the Qaṣīdah al-Burda poem of Busiri
Busiri
Būsīrī was an Egyptian poet who was a follower of Imam Shadhili by enrolling himself in the Shadhiliyya Sufi order. He lived in Egypt, where he wrote under the patronage of Ibn Hinna, the vizier. His poems seem to have been wholly on religious subjects...

 from attacks by some puritanical Muslim groups.

Dr. Zuhayli's position Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 is considered by some as being moderate while by others as being too harsh and even some as being partially Wahhabi influenced. In many ways he has been critical of what he sees as heretical innovation (bid'ah) and even in some cases what he considers disbelief (kufr) committed by some Sufi groups which he calls "unaccepted" and "blameworthy" such he has opposed is the calling upon pious saints or the Prophet Muhammad to answer one's prayer - believing such possessed omnipotence or power independent of God, which has caused him to be derided by some as being Wahhabi influenced or at least as a modernist . However, al-Zuhayli has defended the practice of beseeching God through the intercession of the Prophet and saints (tawassul
Tawassul
Tawassul is the Islamic understanding of intercession. It is a religious practice in which a Muslim seeks nearness to Allah. A rough translation would be: "To draw near to what one seeks after and to approach that which one desires." The exact definition and method of tawassul is a matter of...

) saying this has been "absolutely permitted by the people of the sunnah, whether in life or after death, by many proofs from our scholars who wrote about it in the books of theology and jurisprudence." He has also affirmed that the best litanies are those set down in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

 and hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

. Yet he has also said that joining a Sufi order (tariqa) would be "acceptable" if such an order was learned and in complete compliance to the sharia and orthodox Sunni Islamic theology.

In one fatwa, Zuhayli clarified what he saw as two types of Sufism:

"There are two types of Sufism: praiseworthy Sufism and blameworthy Sufism. The praised is that which is in agreement with the Qur'an and sunnah. It means the healing of the soul and excellence in directing oneself to God as well as connecting with God which cannot happen without litanies based in the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

The blamed is that which is in excess of this with its formalities and exaggerations such as the drum and the horn - which fall under deviant innovations. This is what (classical) Islamic legal scholars such as al-Qurtubi
Al-Qurtubi
Imam Abu 'Abdullah Al-Qurtubi or Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abu Bakr al-Ansari al-Qurtubi was a famous mufassir, muhaddith and faqih scholar from Cordoba of maliki origin. He is most famous for his commentary of the Quran, Tafsir al-Qurtubi....

 stated and it is also my position.

With deep regret, drums and horns have entered into our mosques during mawlid
Mawlid
Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...

 ceremonies, and this is what many scholars had called deviant and without sound foundation (in Islamic law), and this is my position. I love the people of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

 who are moderate, those who are committed to the Qur'an and sunnah; and I hate (the Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...

) of heretical innovations and that which is alien to Islam, this is my methodology."

Dr. Zuhayli has also been partially critical of Wahhabism
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...

 or Salafism, using both terms to describe the sect in his edicts. Salafis who fall into anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...

 due to their literal interpretation of certain verses of the Qur'an are said to be in "manifest error." He has also condemned certain groups of Salafis who have advocated violence. Yet he has also stated numerous times his dislike for argumentation with Salafis and has stated that "the Wahhabis are not disbelievers," although he has strongly disagreed with many of their views. In addition, it has been noted that Zuhayli at certain points has defended the Wahhabis and supported them and has agreed with their positions.

Islamic International Law

Dr. Zuhayli is one of the world's leading experts on Islamic international law. His works have been quoted in western scholarly works such as Sohail Hashimi's Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular and Reuven Firestone's Disparity and Resolution in the Qurʾānic Teachings on War: A Reevaluation of a Traditional Problem. In a scholarly article presented in 2005 to the International Committee of the Red Cross entitled Islam and International Law al-Zuhayli argued that the basis between Muslims and non-Muslim countries under Islamic law is one of peace and not war, and that war must be avoided and a last resort to be considered jus ad bellum
Jus ad bellum
Jus ad bellum is a set of criteria that are to be consulted before engaging in war, in order to determine whether entering into war is permissible; that is, whether it is a just war....

. Moreover, al-Zuhayli established that combative jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...

 was only permissible in three specific situations:
  1. (1) "aggression against Muslims, either individually or collectively, as preachers for Islam, or attempts to make Muslims apostates or the launching of war against Muslims".
  2. (2) "assistance for the victims of injustice, whether individuals or groups".
  3. (3) "self-defence and to ward off attacks on one’s homeland."


al-Zuhayli also argues that Islamic law maintains that non-combatants must not be killed during a war and that property damage is prohibited unless it is limited to that which directly relates to military combat. He also argues that war must never be waged to force non-Muslims to convert to Islam or for account of their religion, but only in relation to aggression. He bewails the thesis of Samuel Huntington
Samuel Huntington
Samuel Huntington may refer to:* Samuel Huntington , American jurist, statesman, and revolutionary leader* Samuel H. Huntington , American jurist* Samuel P. Huntington , American political scientist...

 relating to the clash of civilizations
Clash of Civilizations
The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world....

 and instead affirms that the Qur'an praises the diversity of humanity.

Teachers and Students

Some of Dr. Zuhayli's religious teachers include:
  • Sheikh Ahmed Sumaq in the Qur'an
    Qur'an
    The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

  • Sheikh Mahmoud Yassin, in Hadith
    Hadith
    The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

  • Sheikh Mahmoud Alrnkusi in speculative theology
    Theology
    Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

     (kalam
    Kalam
    ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...

    )
  • Sheikh Hashem al-Khatib in Shafii jurisprudence
  • Sheikh Abu Kassab Hassan in Arabic grammar
  • Sheikh Saleh Alverwor in Arabic language and literature
  • Professor Jawdat al-Mardini in rhetoric
  • Sheikh Hassan Al-Khatib in ethics
  • Sheikh Issa Menon, Dean of the Faculty of Sharia at al-Azhar, in Comparative Jurisprudence
  • Sheikh Mohammad Ali Zoubi in the jurisprudence of worship
  • Dr. Mohamed Salam, and Sheikh Faraj Alnohori in graduate studies in comparative jurisprudence


His teachers at Ain Shams University Law School include:

Sheikh Ahmed Issawiya, Sheikh Zaki Din Sha'ban, Dr. Abdel Munim al-Badrawi, Dr. sman and Dr. Khalil Suleiman Tamawi, Dr. Ali Rashid, Dr. Helmi Murad, Dr. Yahya al-Jamal, Dr. Ali Younis, Dr. Mohamed Ali Imam, and Dr. Aktham Khouli.

His students include:

Dr. Mohamed Al Zoheily his brother, Dr. Mohamed Farouk Hamada, Dr. Muhammad Naeem Yassin, Dr. Abdel-Sattar Abu Ghuddah, Dr. Abdul-Latif Erfurt, Dr. Mohammed Abu Leil, Dr. Abdul Salam Abbadi, Dr. Mohammad Shurbaji, Dr. Majed Abu Sergio,Dr. Hamza Hamza, and other university professors in the Faculty of Sharia, and hundreds of teachers of religious education at the Syrian Education Ministry. As well as over forty who have graduated a generation on its hands in Syria, some in Libya, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and thousands of people in the Orient, Morocco, the United States, Malaysia, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.

Works

Dr. Zuhayli has written numerous extremely detailed works mostly about Islamic law and legal theory. In total, Dr. al-Zuhayli has written over one hundred and sixty books. Among them are:
  • Athar al-Harb fi al-Fiqh al-Islami: Dirasa Muqarin ("The Influences of War in Islamic Jurisprudence: A comparative study"). It has been translated into French.
  • al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adilataha ("Islamic Jurisprudence and its Proofs") a very long eight volume summary of the different schools of Islamic jurisprudence and their debates on various legal questions. It has been translated into Turkish, Urdu, Malay, and Farisi and is currently being translated into English.
  • Usul al-Fiqh al-Islami ("The Roots of Islamic Jurisprudence") a two volume treatise on Islamic legal theory and philosophy.
  • al-Fiqh al-Shafi'i al-Muyasir ("Easy Shafi'i
    Shafi'i
    The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...

     Islamic Jurisprudence")
  • al-Fiqh al-Islami `ala Madhhab al-Maliki ("Islamic Jurisprudence according to the Maliki
    Maliki
    The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...

     madhhab
    Madhhab
    is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...

    ")
  • Financial Transactions in Islamic Jurisprudence, a detailed two volume treatise on modern Islamic business law.
  • al-'Alaqat al-Dawali fi al-Islam ("International Relations in Islam"), a detailed treatise on Islamic international law.
  • al-Huquq al-Insan fi al-Fiqh al-Islami bi al-Ishtirak ma` al-Akhireen ("Human Rights in Islamic Jurisprudence concerning dealings with others")
  • al-Islam Din Shura wa Dimuqratiyah ("Islam: A Religion of Consultation and Democracy")
  • Haqq al-Huriyah fi al-'Alam ("The Right to Freedom in the World")
  • Asl Muqaranit al-Adyan ("The Foundations of Comparative Religions) which has been translated into English
  • Al-`Uqud al-Musama fi al-Qanun al-Mu`amilat al-Madani al-Emirati ("Named Contracts in the Civil Law of the United Arab Emirates")
  • Tafsir al-Muneer ("The Enlightened Exegesis") an exegesis of the Qur'an which is 17 volumes long.


.

External links

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