Dr. Muhammad Taqī-ud-Dīn al-Hilālī (Abū Shakīb)
Translator of The Noble Qur'an

Life: 1311–1408 AH (1893–1987 CE) • Origin: Morocco • School: Ahl al-Sunnah (Salafī/Atharī)

Overview

Dr. Muhammad Taqī-ud-Dīn al-Hilālī was a Moroccan-born Sunni scholar renowned for his teaching, writings, daʿwah, and translations. Raised in a scholarly household in the Maghrib, he memorized the Qur’an at a young age, studied classical Arabic and Mālikī fiqh, and learned tajwīd with local scholars. He later pursued higher learning across North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe, combining traditional scholarship with university teaching and authorship.

Early Life and Education

Al-Hilālī memorized the Qur’an by about age twelve and studied with his father and Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ. He completed foundational studies in Qur’an, Arabic, and Mālikī jurisprudence, then studied extensively with Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣayyidī ibn Ḥabīb Allāh ash-Shinqīṭī, mastering Arabic grammar and fiqh to the level that he was permitted to teach on his behalf.

He attended al-Qarāwiyyīn University in Fez and later continued studies at al-Azhar in Cairo, where he sat with scholars such as Shaykh ʿAbduz-Zāhir Abū as-Samh, Shaykh Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā, and Shaykh Muḥammad ar-Ramālī. In Egypt he actively called to the creed of the Salaf (Ahl al-Sunnah) and cautioned against innovations.

Journeys for Knowledge and Teaching

During the 1920s–1930s, after Hajj, he traveled widely. In India (Hyderabad and Lucknow) he studied ḥadīth with scholars including Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakfūrī (author of Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī) and Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-Ḥudaydī al-Anṣārī al-Yamanī, receiving ijāzahs in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and the Six Books. He taught Arabic and helped publish the journal al-Ḍiyāʾ at the invitation of Maulānā Sulaymān al-Nadwī.

He then moved to Basra (Iraq), studying ḥadīth and fiqh with Shaykh Muḥammad al-Amīn ash-Shinqīṭī. With a letter of recommendation from Rashīd Riḍā to King ʿAbdul-ʿAzīz, he served as supervisor of lessons at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, and later taught at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and at the Saudi Educational Institute.

Europe and Academic Career

In the late 1930s he went to Germany, teaching Arabic at the University of Bonn and later studying and lecturing at Humboldt University in Berlin. In 1940 he completed a doctorate in Arabic literature focusing on orientalist critiques. After World War II he taught in Baghdad (including at Queen ʿĀliyyah College). Following political upheaval in 1958, he returned to Morocco and was appointed professor of Arabic literature at Mohammed V University (Rabat and later Fez).

In 1968, at the invitation of Shaykh ʿAbdul-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz, he joined the Islamic University of Madinah as professor of comparative fiqh, serving there until 1974. He then returned to Morocco (Meknès) to focus on daʿwah, delivering public lessons and authoring works that emphasized adherence to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Teachers and Scholarly Influences

• Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ (Morocco) — Qur’an recitation and tajwīd.
• Shaykh Muḥammad Ṣayyidī ibn Ḥabīb Allāh ash-Shinqīṭī — Mālikī fiqh and Arabic grammar.
• Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakfūrī — ḥadīth in India.
• Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al-Ḥudaydī al-Anṣārī al-Yamanī — ḥadīth sciences.
• Shaykh Muḥammad al-Amīn ash-Shinqīṭī — ḥadīth and fiqh (Basra).
• Shaykh Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā — Salafī creed and reformist scholarship.

Areas of Scholarship and Selected Works

Al-Hilālī wrote and taught in ḥadīth, tafsīr, ʿaqīdah, Arabic literature, and comparative fiqh. His Arabic works include commentaries and treatises on Tawḥīd, Sunnah, and refutation of bidʿah, along with editions of earlier Sunni texts. Notable themes across his writings are the affirmation of pure monotheism, adherence to the evidences of Qur’an and Sunnah upon the understanding of the Salaf, and careful authentication in ḥadīth.

Qur’an and Ḥadīth Translations

While at the Islamic University of Madinah, he collaborated with Dr. Muḥammad Muḥsin Khān on English translations of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an and portions of ḥadīth literature. These translations became widely circulated in the English-speaking Muslim world and remain influential.

Creed and Standing Among Ahl al-Sunnah

Al-Hilālī was recognized among Sunni scholars as a Salafī (Atharī) scholar. He emphasized Tawḥīd, opposed practices associated with shirk and unlawful innovations, and consistently called for adherence to the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah with the understanding of the early generations. He was connected with and respected by leading Sunni scholars of his era, including in Saudi Arabia and North Africa.

Legacy and Passing

Dr. al-Hilālī passed away on 25 Shawwāl 1407 AH (June 22, 1987 CE) in Casablanca, Morocco. He left behind students, writings, and translations that continue to benefit Muslims. His life reflects a blend of traditional study, global daʿwah, and academic engagement, all in service of preserving and spreading the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.