Ibrahim al-Bajuri

Burhan ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Bajuri (1198-1276 AH / 1784-1860 CE) was the Grand Sheikh (Grand Imam) of al-Azhar from 1847 until his death, and one of the most influential Egyptian scholars of the 19th century. Born in Bajur, Monufia Governorate, he studied at al-Azhar and became one of its most eminent scholars. He was a Shafi'i jurist and Ash'ari theologian.

Al-Bajuri authored numerous works that became standard texts in al-Azhar's curriculum. His most widely used work is Hashiyat al-Bajuri ala Matn Abi Shuja', a commentary on Abu Shuja' al-Isfahani's al-Ghayah wat-Taqrib (the famous primer in Shafi'i jurisprudence) that became the most authoritative annotation of that text and is still used as a teaching text in al-Azhar and traditional Islamic schools worldwide. He also authored Tuhfat al-Murid ala Jawharat at-Tawhid, a comprehensive commentary on al-Laqqani's Jawharat at-Tawhid (the standard Ash'ari creed poem), which became the most important commentary on that work.

His other important works include Hashiyah ala Sharh al-Sanusiyyah (a commentary on as-Sanusi's creed text) and al-Mawahibul Laduniyyah ala ash-Sham'il al-Muhammadiyyah (on the Prophet's ﷺ character). His works demonstrate the high level of traditional Shafi'i and Ash'ari scholarship maintained at al-Azhar in the 19th century.

Al-Bajuri passed away in Cairo in 1860. As Grand Imam of al-Azhar during the early period of the Egyptian modernization drive under Muhammad Ali's dynasty, he represents the continuity of traditional Islamic scholarship during a period of significant social transformation.