In Memoriam

The passing away of the erudite Shaykh Mohammad Mukhtar al-Sallami, on Monday 19 August 2019, was a great loss - to the Muslim nation in general, and Tunisia in particular - of an eminent scholar, endowed with patience, vision, and foresight; one who dedicated all his life to serving Islam and Muslims. The late Shaykh Mohammad Mukhtar al-Sallami was born in Sfax, in 1925. He memorised the Noble Qur’ān in primary school, then gained the qualification certificate from Ez-Zitouna University, followed by award of scholar certification (al-‘ālimiyyah) from the Uṣūl al-Dīn (Islamic legal theory) Faculty at the same university. After graduation, he was employed as a teacher at Ez-Zitouna University, subsequently joining the Higher Institute for Uṣūl al-Dīn as a teacher of Qur’ānic studies, jurisprudence (fiqh), and legislative principles. In addition, he worked as Chief Inspector for Secondary Education. The deceased was a member of the Founding Board for the Centre for the Study of the Philosophy of Islamic Law at Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation. He was also member of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah, and was considered one of its most influential persons. He was appointed President of the International Shariah Board for Zakat. He also held the position of Mufti of the Republic for 14 years, between 1984 and 1998, during which time he headed the Higher Islamic Council, between 1989 and 1993. During his life journey, the erudite scholar AlSallami received several prizes and medals, including Grand Cordon of the Order of the Tunisian Republic, Prize of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and Prize of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences.

Shaykh Mohammad Mukhtar al-Sallami authored many works, exceeding twenty books, among these: 1. Madkhal ilā maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah 2. Naẓariyyat al-maqāṣid ‘inda al-Imām al-Shāṭibī 3. Naẓariyyat al-taqrīb wa al-taghlīb wa taṭbīqātuhā fī al-‘ulūm al-Islāmiyyah 4. Huqūq al-insān miḥwar maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, wa alijtihād wa al-tajdīd 5. Al-Ta‘līm al-Zaytūnī wa wasā’il iṣlāḥih 6. Al-Usrah wa al-mujtama‘ We ask Allāh, Most Exalted, to accept the deceased in His Manifest Mercy and Pardon, and grant him generous reward and abode in the Gardens of Paradise.

Professor Mohammad Haytham al-Khayyat, esteemed scholar, brilliant physician, prodigious linguist, grand jurist, exegesis scholar, thinker, and one of the Muslim nation’s sincere scholars, passed away in Cairo, on Saturday evening, 5 September 2020, at the age of 83. The erudite Mohammad Haytham al-Khayyat, was born in the Damascus neighbourhood of al-Muhajirin in 1937. He studied the Islamic sciences at the hands of the Syrian capital’s scholars. Moreover, he gained his doctoral degree in Medicine from Damascus University in 1959, and was a top student. Subsequently, he gained a higher education qualification certificate in Biochemical Sciences from Brussels University, Belgium in 1969. The late Dr Mohammad Haytham al-Khayyat was a member of the Advisory Board at the Centre for the Study of the Philosophy of Islamic Law at Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, and member of its Board of Experts. He served as a Trustee on the Boards of the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, and the Arab Center for Medical Literature. He was a member of the Arabic Language Academies of Damascus, Baghdad, Amman, and Cairo. Furthermore, he was a member of over twenty scientific associations across the world, including the New York Academy for Sciences, the Indian Scientific Academy, and others. Dr Mohammad Haytham al-Khayyat occupied the post of senior adviser to the Director of the World Health Organisation Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, where previously, he served as its Deputy Director. He was Rapporteur for the “Unified Medical Dictionary (al-Mu‘jam al-ṭibbī al-muwaḥḥad)” project, and one of the eminent personalities involved in Arabicising medical terms. He also worked as Chief Editor of the Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, and participated in writing the curricula and textbooks in medicine for Damascus and Aleppo universities. Dr Mohammad Haytham al-Khayyat authored over twenty books in medicine, health, chemistry, botany, Arabic language, and Islamic ethics, in Arabic, French, and English. His most prominent books in Arabic are: 1. Al-Ma‘idah bayt al-dā’ wa al-ḥimyah hiya aldawā’ 2. Al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah wa qaḍāyā al-‘aṣr 3. Fī sabīl al-‘Arabiyyah 4. Fiqh al-ṭabīb… Nadawāt ḥiwāriah – tafā‘uliyyah 5. Al-Ṣiḥah ḥaqqan min ḥuqūq al-insān fī al-Islām, Ma‘ālim al-‘ibādāt 6. Al-Mu‘jam al-ṭibī al-muwaḥḥad Hundreds of his articles in the different domains were published in Arabic, French, English, German, and Italian. May Allāh, the Exalted, bestow His Infinite Mercy on the late Mohammad Haytham alKhayyat, and grant him pardon and abode in the Gardens of Paradise.

Dr Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam—esteemed scholar, jurist, legal theorist, and Professor of Islamic Law at the Faculty of Law, Alexandria University, died on Thursday evening, 8 October 2020, at the age of 74. With his passing, the Muslim nation lost one of the most eminent Islamic law scholars in present times. Dr Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam was born in 1946 in the city of Esna. He obtained the degree of Bachelor in Law in 1969, followed by the Higher Studies Diploma in Islamic Law in 1973, from Alexandria University. He then obtained the Higher Studies Diploma in General Public Law in 1976, from Ain Shams University, followed by a Doctorate in Law, , from Alexandria University in 1982. The late Dr Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam held the position of Head of the Islamic Law (Sharī‘ah) Department at the Faculty of Law, Alexandria University, then Head of the Islamic Law Department at Minya University. He was employed as Associate Professor at Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. He worked at Egyptian Radio, reaching the position of chief presenter, and Executive Manager at alQur’ān al-Karīm Radio. He served as Chief Editor at “al-Muslim al-Mu‘āṣir” magazine over the span of twenty years, and he was also a member of the National Legislative Reform Committee. He participated in numerous local, regional, and international conferences. Dr Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam was a member of the Advisory Board at the Centre for the Study of the Philosophy of Islamic Law at AlFurqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, and member of its Board of Experts. The late Dr Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam enriched the Islamic library and Islamic thought with numerous reference works on jurisprudence (fiqh), and key recognised compendia, including: 1. Al-Waṣāyā wa al-awqāf: Maqāṣid wa qawā‘id 2. Uṣūl al-ḥisbah fī al-Islām: Dirāsah ta’ṣīliyyah muqarinah 3. Muqaddimah li dirāsat al-fiqh al-Islāmī 4. Uṣūl al-fiqh al- Islāmī 5. Al-Naẓrah al-Islāmiyyah li al-i‘lām: Muḥāwalah manhajiyyah 6. Aḥkām al-usrah fī al-Islām 7. Tanẓīr al-quwwah: Dirāsah fī fiqh al-‘ilāqāt aldawliyyah 8. Al-Insān wa al-dawlah: Dirāsah fī fiqh tanẓīm al-siyāsah 9. Al-Dalīl al-irshādī ilā maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah al- Islāmiyyah We ask Allāh, the Almighty to accept the late Mohammad Kamal al-Din Imam in His Manifest Mercy, and grant him pardon and abode in the Gardens of Paradise.