The Grand Imams of Al-Azhar Shuyukhul Azhar

Al-Azhar Mosque

Al-Azhar is the world's oldest university, older than Cambridge or Oxford. Situated at the heart of Cairo, Egypt's capital, Al-Azhar has been the greatest learning centre for Muslims since it was first built by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10^th century AD.

The Fatimids were of Shiah belief. They erected Al-Azhar as an institution to propagate the teachings of the Isma'iliya madhhab. When the Ayyubids took over Egypt, they turned Al-Azhar into a school that taught the Sunni understanding of Islam.

Rich in tradition and knowledge, Al-Azhar had produced brilliant ulama throughout history. Examples of Imam Suyuti, Imam Ibn Hajar 'Asqalani and Imam Ibn Hajar Al-Haitami bejeweled its glorious past. Contemporary ulama produced by this university include Shaykh Ghazali and Shaykh Sha`rawi. With thousands of others, these giants of Islamic knowledge became the symbol of Al-Azhar supreme position among Muslims, something unrivalled thus far.

Today, Al-Azhar is not just a university, but an institution that vanguard the teachings of Sunni Islam, and an umbrella body to which thousands of ulama affiliate themselves with. The Head of Al-Azhar, called the Grand Imam (Imamul Akbar Shaykhul Azhar), was previously appointed by a committee of Azharian top scholars (shuyukh). But now it is under the appointment from the Egyptian President from the advice of the committee. Recently however, the Egyptian government is getting inclined to leave the matter of appointment purely in the hands of the Azharian ulama.

The Shuyukh of Al-Azhar (The Grand Imams)

1. [ ???? - 1690 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Kharashi 2. [ 1690 - 1694 ] Shaykh Ibrahim al-Baramawi 3. [ 1694 - 1708 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Nasharti 4. [ 1708 - 1711 ] Shaykh Abd al-Baqi al-Qillini 5. [ 1711 - 1720 ] Shaykh Muhammad Shannan 6. [ 1720 - 1724 ] Shaykh Ibrahim al-Fayyumi 7. [ 1724 - 1757 ] Shaykh Abd-Allah al-Shabrawi 8. [ 1757 - 1767 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Hifni 9. [ 1767 - 1768 ] Shaykh Abd al-Ra'uf al-Sijjini 10. [ 1768 - 1776 ] Shaykh Ahmad al-Damanhuri 11. [ 1778 - 1793 ] Shaykh Ahmad al-Arousi 12. [ 1793 - 1812 ] Shaykh Abd-Allah al-Sharqawi 13. [ 1812 - 1818 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Shanawani 14. [ 1818 - 1829 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Arousi 15. [ 1829 - 1830 ] Shaykh Ahmad al-Damhugi 16. [ 1830 - 1834 ] Shaykh Hassan al-Attar 17. [ 1834 - 1838 ] Shaykh Hassan al-Quwaisni 18. [ 1838 - 1847 ] Shaykh Ahmad Abd al-Jawwad 19. [ 1847 - 1860 ] Shaykh Ibrahim al-Bayguri 20. [ 1864 - 1870 ] Shaykh Mustafa al-Arousi 21. [ 1870 - 1882 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Abbasi 22. [ 1882 - 1882 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Inbabi 23. [ 1882 - 1886 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Abbasi 24. [ 1886 - 1895 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Inbabi 25. [ 1896 - 1900 ] Shaykh Hassouna al-Nawawi 26. [ 1900 - 1900 ] Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Nawawi 27. [ 1900 - 1904 ] Shaykh Selim al-Bishri 28. [ 1904 - 1905 ] Shaykh Ali al-Biblawi 29. [ 1905 - 1909 ] Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Shirbini

30. [ 1909 - 1909 ] Shaykh Hassouna al-Nawawi 31. [ 1909 - 1916 ] Shaykh Selim al-Bishri 32. [ 1916 - 1927 ] Shaykh Muhammad Abu al-Fadl al-Gizawi 33. [ 1928 - 1929 ] Shaykh Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi 34. [ 1929 - 1935 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Ahmadi al-Zawahri 35. [ 1935 - 1945 ] Shaykh Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi 36. [ 1945 - 1947 ] Shaykh Mustafa Abd al-Raziq 37. [ 1948 - 1950 ] Shaykh Muhammad Ma'moon al-Shinnawi 38. [ 1950 - 1951 ] Shaykh Abd al-Majid Selim 39. [ 1951 - 1952 ] Shaykh Ibrahim Hamrush 40. [ 1952 - 1952 ] Shaykh Abd al-Majid Selim 41. [ 1952 - 1954 ] Shaykh Muhammad al-Khidr Husayn 42. [ 1954 - 1958 ] Shaykh Abd al-Rahman Taj 43. [ 1958 - 1963 ] Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut 44. [ 1963 - 1969 ] Shaykh Hassan Ma'moon 45. [ 1969 - 1973 ] Shaykh Muhammad Muhammad al-Fahham 46. [ 1973 - 1978 ] Shaykh Abd al-Halim Mahmud 47. [ 1979 - 1982 ] Shaykh Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Bisar 48. [ 1982 - 1996 ] Shaykh Jadul-Haqq Ali Jadul-Haqq 49. [ 1996 - Currently ] Shaykh Muhammad Sayid Tantawi