Mustafa al-Khin

Mustafa Sa'id al-Khin (1346-1429 AH / 1927-2008 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i scholar and professor of Islamic jurisprudence at the University of Damascus. Born in Damascus, he studied under the scholars of the city and at al-Azhar University before returning to teach at Damascus University.

Al-Khin is best known as the lead co-author of al-Fiqh al-Manhaji ala Madhhab al-Imam ash-Shafi'i (Systematic Jurisprudence According to the School of Imam ash-Shafi'i), a five-volume systematic presentation of Shafi'i jurisprudence co-authored with Mustafa al-Bugha and Ali ash-Sharbaji. This work was designed as a modern academic textbook for university students, presenting the Shafi'i madhhab in a clear, organized format with evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. It became one of the most widely used Shafi'i fiqh textbooks in the Arab world and in Southeast Asian Islamic universities, including those in Malaysia and Indonesia.

He also authored Athar al-Ikhtilaf fi al-Qawa'id al-Usuliyyah fi Ikhtilaf al-Fuqaha (The Effect of Differences in Legal Methodology Principles on Juristic Differences), a scholarly study of the relationship between usul al-fiqh (legal methodology principles) and the differences between legal schools. This work is a valuable contribution to the study of comparative Islamic legal theory.

Al-Khin taught at Damascus University for many decades, contributing to the education of generations of Syrian scholars in Shafi'i jurisprudence. He passed away in Damascus in 2008. His al-Fiqh al-Manhaji remains his most widely known and used contribution.