Muhammad al-Amin al-Herari

Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Amin al-Harari al-Habashi (1929-2020 CE / 1348-1442 AH) was an Ethiopian-born Shafi'i scholar who settled in Mecca and became a respected authority in Shafi'i jurisprudence and Ash'ari theology. Born in the city of Harar in eastern Ethiopia, he received a thorough traditional education in Islamic sciences before emigrating to pursue advanced studies in the Hijaz.

Al-Harari studied under major scholars of the Arabian Peninsula and became deeply rooted in the Shafi'i legal tradition and Ash'ari theological school. He is best known for his monumental multi-volume Quranic commentary Hadaiq ar-Rawh war-Rayhan fi Rawabi Ulum al-Quran, which runs to over thirty volumes and combines tafsir, linguistic analysis, legal rulings, and Ash'ari theological explanations. He also authored detailed legal works in the Shafi'i tradition.

Beyond tafsir, al-Harari wrote extensively on Ash'ari theology, producing works that systematically explained and defended the Ash'ari position on divine attributes, the nature of faith, and related theological questions. His works reflect deep engagement with the classical Ash'ari and Maturidi tradition alongside mastery of the Shafi'i madhhab.

He taught for decades in Mecca, training students from across the Muslim world. His scholarly output was enormous, running to dozens of volumes. Al-Harari is particularly esteemed within Ash'ari and Shafi'i scholarly circles in East Africa and the broader Muslim world. He passed away in 2020, having lived to a very advanced age, and is regarded as one of the major authorities of the Shafi'i-Ash'ari tradition in the modern era.