Death Shaykh Nuh Ali Salman al-Qudat, former Mufti of Jordan and distinguished scholar, on December 19, 2010
In the Name of Allah, the Benevolent, the Merciful
Shaykh Nuh Ali Salman al-Qudat, former Mufti of Jordan, died on Sunday, December 19th, in Jordan. Shaykh Nuh al-Qudat was a distinguished Shafi`i jurist, internationally recognized mufti known for his keen insight, caution, piety, balanced understanding, and deep knowledge.
In the West, his knowledge was transmitted through Shaykh Nuh Keller, who studied Reliance of the Traveller under him–and he is quoted extensively in the work. (Allah have mercy upon him)
Shaykh Nuh al-Qudat was born in 1358 AH (1939), in the Ajlun region in Northern Jordan, in a family known for knowledge & piety. His father, Shaykh Ali Salman, was a scholar who had studied and gained ijaza (scholarly permission) from some of the foremost scholars of Damascus, including Shaykh Ali Daqar. His son, Shaykh Nuh, followed his father’s footsteps and studied in Damascus from 1954 for seven years.
He combined study with leading traditional scholars with academic study. He gained an undergraduate degree from the University of Damascus in 1965, a Masters in Islamic Law (on “Making Up Acts of Worship”) from Al-Azhar in Cairo in 1980 where he studied with the likes of Shaykh Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Khaliq and attended the lessons of Shaykh al-Azhar Abd al-Halim Mahmoud in Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf); and a PhD from the Islamic University in Riyad, Saudi Arabia in 1986.
He served as a religious teacher in the Jordanian Army, and was appointed Mufti of the Armed Forces in 1972. He remained in this position until 1992, when we was appointed the Qadi al-Qudat (Chief Islamic Justice) of Jordan. He resigned from this position a year later, to focus on teaching circles of knowledge at his mosque, and at nearby universities.
In 1996, he was appointed the Jordanian ambassador to Iran, a position he held until 2001. Between 2004 and 2007, he served as the director of the Fatwa Council for the United Arab Emirates, and an advisor to the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.
In 2007, he returned to Jordan, and was appointed the Mufti of Jordan. [Ref: Biography of Shaykh Nuh Ali Salman al-Qudat in Arabic]
He was known to be a true faqih (jurist) and a scholar who acted on his knowledge (`alim `amil). Among his sayings was, “The fatwa of someone who doesn’t recite two juz’ of Qur’an is of no consequence.” When asked why that was the case, he explained that such a person hasn’t truly realized the first point of knowledge: “And the Next Life is surely better for you than this life.” [Qur’an, 93.4]
May Allah have mercy upon him, accept his works, and continue their benefit, and grant his family, students, and others steadfastness and the success to continue on his noble example, on the footsteps of the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him & his folk).
His son, Shaykh Muhammad Nuh, is a respected Jordanian scholar, continuing his father’s way of balanced scholarship, Masha’ Allah.
