INTRODUCTION:

Praise and Glory be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Mohammed ibn Abdullah, his descendent, companions and followers.

Introduced herein is a brief account of Al Azhar,presented to those who find neither time nor an opportunity to be apprised of its functioning or its long history.

This brief account gives an idea about the institutions and departments of the present Al-Azhar, located on the good soil of Egypt, radiating learning and knowledge to all parts of the world, calling to the way of Allah with a certain perception an erudition, through the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. It is Al-Azhar that is preserving the Holy Book about which Allah says: " Surely We have revealed the Reminder, and We are its Guardian."

This account, however, is prepared for the participants in the fourth International Conference on the Seerat and the Sunnah, held under the auspices of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, as reference and guidance.

We pray to Allah to guide us to the proper path so that we could serve Islam and the Muslims appropriately and suitably.

    AL-AZHAR AT A GLANCE

Al-Azhar is a momentous mosque, whose foundation was laid by gohar Al-Siqilli, the army commander of Al- Mu'iz Lidinallah, the Fatimid, during his building of the city of Cairo in 358 A.H., 969 A.D., following his conquest of Egypt. The Mosque was built in two-years time, and prayers were performed inside it for the first time on 7th Ramadan, 361,A.H.
With the passage of ages, the Mosque earned a great reputation. Besides being a mosque, it also became a university for religious, Arabic and metaphysical sciences.

Al-Azhar ( in Arabic: the most flourished and shining) was so called either because it was surrounded by great glittering places, or as a hopeful disposition, or after the name of Sayeda Fatima Al-Zahra', daughter of the Prophet Mohammed may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, following the conqueror's usage of ascribing themselves to her

Studies. began in Al-Azhar in Ramadan, 365,A.R., October,975,A.D., when Chief Justice Abul Hasan Ali ibn Al-No'man started teaching the book "Al-Ikhtisar",on the Shiite Jurisprudence. Other studies followed, and these studies advanced in the days of Al-Aziz., the Patimid, when university-pattern Studies took their first step. In Al-Azhar Mosque, Minister Yacoub ibn Kalas, taught his book "Al-Risalah Al-Aziziyah" on Sh.iite Jurisprudence. Thirty seven scholars were also appointed to help teach the students, on monthly salary basis. Hostels were constructed for their accommodation adjacent to Al-Azhar.
Later, and with the passage of time, the studies advanced further and varied in subject, comprising the four schools of Islamic Creed. The Shiite sect was overshadowed, leaving Al-Azhar as the principal seat for The Sunni sect. It was attended by students from all Muslim Countries.

During the reign of Khedive Ismail, the first statute for Al-Azhar was promulgated in 1822,A.D., whereby the steps for procurement of "Al-Alamiyah" Certificate and the relevant subjects to be studied were specified. Then, other laws regulating education at Al-Azhar foll- owed, most important of which was the 1950 law, which divided education there into three categories, and introduced the faculty-education system, Faculty Of Shariat (Islamic Jurisprudence), Faculty of Theology ( Osoul Al- Been ), and Faculty of the Arabic Language.

By law of 1961, Al-Azhar Faculties increased in number, and beside the theoritical faculties, other practical and technical faculties were established, such as that of Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture. Other theoretical and technical faculties were founded for girls, all of which are affiliated to the Al-Azhar university.

It is worth mentioning that all the theoretical sciences were taught at Al-Azhar in the olden times, and the Muslim woman had attended the tuition circles that were held at the Mosque. The last law has in fact regulated and modernized these studies, and established several and different departments ant sections as it is the case at the modern universities of the world. Al-Azhar's main departments: According to the 1961 Law, Al-Azhar is divided into the following Departments:

SupremeCouncil of Al-Azhar. Academy of Islamic Researches. Al-Azhar University. Institutions Directorate.

Some other departments has also been established after the promulgation of Law l03 of 1961, most important of which are: Higher Committee for Islamic Call, and Muslim Foreign Missions City. Each department will be dealt with independently.