Muhammad Ilaysh

1802 - 1882

Egyptian religious leader and writer.

Muhammad Ilaysh was an important conservative religious figure and a prolific writer of traditional religious texts. He was first a student at al-Azhar University, then a professor there, eventually rising to become the mufti and head shaykh of the Maliki Law School (1854 - 1882). Of a stern ascetic tendency, Ilaysh also was a shaykh in the sober Shadhili Sufi order, where he upheld the tradition of the earlier Maliki al-Amir al-Kabir (1742 - 1817). Ilaysh's asceticism extended to his dealings with the government, from which he became increasingly aloof, even though the khedive Ismaʿil provided him with 42 hectares of land as an emolument, apparently to placate him. Ilaysh opposed the introduction of examinations at al-Azhar in 1872, opposed the increasing European influence in the late 1870s, and participated in the Urabi movement of 1881 and 1882. During this time, he supported the removal of the khedive Tawfiq's supporter, Muhammad alAbbasi al-Mahdi, as the shaykh of al-Azhar; was appointed to advise the new shaykh, Muhammad alImbabi; sought to declare a jihad (holy war) to fight the British invasion; and signed a fatwa (legal opinion) declaring the khedive an apostate from Islam - an act of open rebellion. As a result, when the British conquered Cairo for the khedive, Ilaysh was arrested and roughly handled, and died in detention.

Ilaysh's writings amount to over 12,000 pages, mostly dealing with fiqh, although some deal with grammar and aqida. Some remain unpublished, but others have had an abiding influence. One of the most influential is his enormous commentary on Khalil titled Minah al-Jalil, published in 1877, which may be the last work of fiqh composed in Egypt that is free of modern influence and thus represents a final summation of the Maliki school. Another work of lasting influence is his collection of fatwas, Fath al-Ali al-Malik, published in 1883, immediately after his death.

Bibliography

Gesink, Indira Falk. "'Chaos on the Earth': Subjective Truths versus Communal Unity in Islamic Law and the Rise of Militant Islam." The American Historical Review 108, no. 3 (2003): 1 - 59.

— KHALID BLANKINSHIP