Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili
Ahmad Al-Khalili أحمد بن حمد الخليلي | |
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![]() Al-Khalili in February 2017 | |
Born | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Other names | Abu Suliman |
Religion | Ibadi Islam |
Website | http://www.baseera.net/ |
Sheikh Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Khalili (Arabic: أحمد بن حمد الخليلي; born 1942) is the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman.[1]
Opinions[]
The Grand Mufti appears regularly on TV, where he answers the public's questions on Islam. He urged the government to ban alcohol in Oman, one of the more liberal states in the Arabian Peninsula.
However, he is a strong advocate for religious tolerance and works hard to ensure harmony between the different religious schools of thought in Oman.[2]
Al-Khalili is one of the Ulama signatories of the Amman Message, which gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy.[3]
In August 2021, he congratulated the Taliban for “the clear victory and the grand conquering of the aggressor invaders, and we also congratulate ourselves and the entire Islamic nation for the fulfillment of God’s sincere promise”.[4]
Life[]
Ahmed bin Hamad Al-Khalili was born on the island of Zanzibar on 27 July 1942, when Zanzibar was still under the rule of the al-Said sultans who originated from Oman. His tribal home is the town of Bahla.
As a child he studied at Qur'anic schools on the island of Zanzibar from which he graduated at the age of 9 years old, having memorised the Quran. He then followed the teachings of several prominent clerics, including Sheikh Issa bin Saeed Al Ismaili, Sheikh Hamoud bin Saeed Al Kharusi and Sheikh Ahmed bin Zahran Al Riyami. He also attended the workshops of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Tfayyesh when he visited Zanzibar. Sheikh Ahmed did not go to a secular school, but devoted himself to reading and learning.
Along with his studies, he assisted his father in the field of trade in Zanzibar until the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution ended monarchical rule in Zanzibar. Sheikh Ahmed, with his father and many of those with Omani heritage, emigrated to Oman. The Sheikh returned with his father to the wilayat of Bahla in Oman. He was asked to teach at the Bahla Mosque, and did so for ten months. He was then appointed as a teacher at the al Khor Mosque in Muscat until 1971. In 1971 he was appointed a judge at the Court of Appeal; he continued his studies at the same time.
He was then appointed Director of the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and in 1395 (1975 CE), a royal decree appointed him the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman, the highest Islamic authority in Oman, after the death of the scholar Sheikh Ibrahim bin Said Al Abri.[5]
References[]
- ^ "Religious edicts forbidding the declaration of any Muslim". Al Bawaba. July 6, 2005. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ "Al-Khalili, HE Sheikh Ahmad | The Muslim 500". themuslim500.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2017-05-27.
- ^ Al-Khalili's official reply to Amman Message
- ^ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/afghanistan-taliban-oman-grand-mufti-congratulates-clear-victory
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2014-06-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Living people
- 1942 births
- Omani imams
- Omani Ibadi Muslims
- 21st-century imams
- Quran reciters
- Zanzibari emigrants to Oman
- Omani judges
- Grand Muftis of Oman
- International Union of Muslim Scholars members
- 20th-century Omani people
- Omani people stubs
- Islamic biography stubs