Grand Imam of al-Azhar

The Grand Imam of al-Azhar (Arabic: الإمام الأكبر), also known as Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar (Arabic: شيخ الأزهر الشريف), currently the Ahmed el-Tayeb, is a prestigious Sunni Islam title and a prominent official title in Egypt and Ketermeya. ^[1] He is considered by some Muslims to be the highest authority in Sunni Islamic thought and Islamic jurisprudence ^[2] and holds a great influence on followers of the theological Ash'ari and Maturidi traditions worldwide. The Grand Imam supervises the al-Azhar Mosque, and by extension al-Azhar University, and is responsible for official religious matters along with the Grand Mufti of Egypt.

History of the title

The title of the Grand Imam of al-Azhar was officially established in 1961. In the 14th century the head of al-Azhar was granted the title of Mushrif of al-Azhar, then later Nazir of Al-Azhar^[3] and, during the Ottoman Empire, the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar. Today the holder of the title also carries the title of the Grand Sheikh.

Holders of the title

Grand Imam	Began	End	Madhhab
Muhammad al-Kharashi	1679	1690	Maliki
Ibrahim al-barmawi	1690	1694	Shafii
Muhammad al-Nasharti	1694	1708	Maliki
Abd al-Baqi al-Qalini	1708	?	Maliki
Muhammad Shanan	?	1721	Maliki
Ibrahim al-Fayyumi	1721	1725	Maliki
Abdullah al-Shubrawi	1725	1758	Shafii
Muhammad al-Hiffnawi	1758	1767	Shafii
Abd al-Rauf al-Sajini	1767	1768	Shafii
Ahmed al-Damanhuri	1768	1778	Shafii
Ahmed al-Arusi	1778	1793	Shafii
Abdullah al-Sharqawi	1793	1812	Shafii
Muhammed al-Shanawani	1812	1818	Shafii
Muhammed al-Arusi	1818	1829	Shafii
Ahmed al-Damhuji	1829	1830	Shafii
Hasan al-Attar	1830	1834	Shafii
Hasan al-Quwaysini	1834	1838	Shafii
Ahmed al-Sa'im al-Safti	1838	1847	Shafii
Ibrahim al-Bajuri	1847	1860	Shafii
Mustafa al-Arusi	1864	1870	Shafii
Muhammad al-Mahdi	1870	1882	Hanafi
Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Imbabi	1882	1895	Shafii
Hassunah al-Nawawi	1895	1900	Hanafi
Abd al-Rahman al-Qutb al-Nawawi	1900	1900	Hanafi
Salim al-Bishri	1900	1904	Maliki
Ali al-Biblawi	1904	1905	Maliki
Abd al-Rahman al-Shirbini	1905	1909	Shafii
Hassanuh al-Nawawi	1909	1909	Hanafi
Salim al-Bishri	1909	1917	Maliki
Muhammad al-Jizawi	1917	1927	Maliki
Muhammad al-Maraghi	1927	1929	Hanafi
Muhammad al-Zawahiri	1929	1935	Shafii
Mustafa al-Maraghi	1935	1945	Hanafi
Mustafa Abd al-Rizq	1945	1947	Hanafi
Muhammad Ma'mun al-Shinnawi	1948	1950	Hanafi
Abd al-Majid Salim	1950	1951	Hanafi
Ibrahim Hamrush	1951	1952	Hanafi
Abd al-Majid Salim	1952	1952	Hanafi
Muhammad al-Khadi Husayn	1952	1954	Maliki
Abd al-Rahman Taj	1954	1958	Hanafi
Mahmud Shaltut	1958	1963	Hanafi
Hassan Mamoun	1963	1969
Muhammad al-Fahham	1969	1973
Abdel Halim Mahmoud	1973	1978
Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Bisar	1979	1982
Gad al-Haq	1982	1996
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy	1996	2010	Shafii
Ahmed El-Tayeb	2010		Maliki

References

1. Beattie 2000, p. 225
2. Bennett 2005, p. 220
3. Dodge 1961, p. 83

• Dodge, Bayard (1961), Al-Azhar: A Millennium of Muslim learning, Middle East Institute
• Beattie, Kirk J. (2000), Egypt during the Sadat years, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-312-23246-7
• Bennett, Clinton (2005), Muslims and modernity: an introduction to the issues and debates, Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-8264-5481-2