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About
Muhammad Abu Zahra rahimahullah (March 29, 1898 - 1974) was a preeminent Egyptian scholar of Islamic law and public intellectual, rooted entirely in traditional Azharite education. Born in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, the second largest city in the Nile Delta, he completed high school in 1913 and enrolled in the Ahmadi Madrasa in Tanta. In 1916 he scored highest on the entry examination for the judiciary institute in the Gharbia Governorate, a notable achievement given his youth relative to fellow candidates. Having never studied in Europe or Westernized Egyptian institutions, his scholarship remained firmly grounded in the classical Islamic tradition. He taught at al-Azhar's faculty of theology and subsequently served as Professor of Islamic Law at Cairo University. Between 1933 and 1942 he taught courses on the history of religions, denominations and sects at al-Azhar. He was a member of al-Azhar's Academy of Islamic Research. His works include The Four Imams: Their Lives, Works and their Schools of Thought.
