Egypt: Leading Muslim cleric Rayan dies of COVID-19
Late scholar praised as an authority in Islamic jurisprudence
Cairo: Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Ahmed Taha Rayan, a member of the Council of Senior Clerics at Al Azhar, who had died Wednesday, Egyptian media reported.
Rayan, a prominent professor of Islamic jurisprudence, was 82. He passed away due to complications from COVID-19 that he had contracted days earlier, according to media reports.
Hundreds of devotees had gathered in the courtyard of Al Azhar Mosque in Cairo to attend a funeral prayer before his burial.
Sheikh of Al Azhar Ahmed Al Tayyeb mourned Rayan, calling him a “scholarly lamp”.
“The late scholar spared no effort in serving Islam and Muslims, leaving behind for the Azhar and Islamic libraries a big legacy in the field of Islamic jurisprudence,” Al Azhar Sheikh added in a statement.
Scholary efforts
Egypt’s Mufti Shawqi Allam said that Rayan was the mentor of hundreds of students in Egypt and abroad. “His scholarly efforts are innumerable,” Allam added.
Rayan had taught at several Egyptian and Islamic universities, and overseen hundreds of theses for master’s and doctorate’s degrees.
He also headed a committee of Islamic jurisprudence at the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf and represented Al Azhar at several conferences.
He had been a member of Al Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars since 2012.