Mahmud Shaltut

Mahmud Shaltut ibn Ahmad al-Azhari was the Grand Imam and Rector of al-Azhar University in Egypt from 1958-1963. He was one of the leading modernist-reformist scholars who sought to make Islamic law responsive to contemporary conditions. He issued the famous (and controversial among Sunnis) fatwa in 1959 declaring that teaching the Ja'fari (Twelver Shia) school of jurisprudence is permissible for Sunnis — intended to promote Muslim unity. He also worked on Quranic tafsir and wrote al-Islam 'Aqidah wa-Shari'ah. He died in 1383 AH.