Shaykh Professor Dr. Fāris al-Khazrajī
Fāris ibn Fāliḥ ibn Ḥasan al-Khazrajī al-Anṣārī al-Mawṣilī al-Ḥanbalī
From Mosul, Iraq, Shaykh Fāris has combined traditional study with scholars, academic education, teaching, research, and authorship, with particular attention to the sciences of the Hanbalī school.
Early study and specialization
The Shaykh began seeking knowledge in Iraq, studying the Islamic sciences with scholars in mosques and traditional institutes before continuing his academic education. He initially studied the Shāfiʿī school, then moved to the Hanbalī school and specialized in its jurisprudence and legal theory.
His scholarly life combines teaching, research, and authorship. He has delivered lessons and lectures and produced research across several Islamic disciplines, with particular attention to the Hanbalī school and its authoritative works.
He also maintains a scholarly Telegram channel, where he shares beneficial material, answers followers’ questions, and provides legal responses on a daily basis.
Scholars from whom he studied
He studied with a number of scholars in Iraq and Greater Syria, among whom are:
- Shaykh Usāmah ibn Jāsim al-Ḥamdānī al-Mawṣilī al-Ḥanbalī
- Shaykh Ṣubḥī al-Sāmarrāʾī
- Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Shāmī
- Shaykh Saʿd ʿAbd Allāh al-Jubūrī al-Mawṣilī
- Shaykh Ḥāzim ibn Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Razzāq
Appointments and responsibilities
- Head of the Iraqi Hanbalī School and supervisor of its academic programs.
- Dean of the College of Hanbalī Fiqh at the Islamic University of Minnesota.
- Founder of the Imam al-Aʿẓam Center for Islamic Education in Türkiye.
- Formerly taught postgraduate students in the field of Uṣūl al-Fiqh.
- Taught at the al-Arqam Institute in Türkiye.
The Iraqi Hanbalī School
Shaykh Fāris heads the Iraqi Hanbalī School, an institution devoted to teaching the sciences of the Hanbalī school according to the methodology of its established authorities and the relied-upon positions found in its texts.
Subjects of study include:
- ʿAqīdah
- Fiqh and Uṣūl al-Fiqh
- Legal maxims
- Ḥadīth terminology
- Tafsīr and its principles
- Sulūk and zuhd
A four-year program of study
The school offers a fully free, four-year distance-learning program. Upon completing the program and fulfilling its requirements, students receive an ijāzah to teach the Hanbalī school.
The international institute
Among the school’s projects is the Imam Abdul Qadir al-Jili International Institute, now in development to offer scholarly programs in Arabic and English for students in Western countries.
Selected writings and scholarly works
The Shaykh has authored works and research in Hanbalī jurisprudence, legal theory, ʿaqīdah, and ḥadīth, including:
- 01al-Muhadhdhab al-Muʿtamad min Kutub Uṣūl al-MadhhabThe relied-upon refinement from works on the school’s legal theory
- 02Takhrīj al-Muʿtamad min al-Furūʿ al-Ḥanbaliyyah ʿalā Qawāʿid al-Madhhab al-UṣūliyyahRelating relied-upon Hanbalī subsidiary rulings to the school’s legal-theoretical principles
- 03Ittibāʿ al-Athar fī Sharḥ al-ʿAyn wa-l-AtharFollowing the transmitted tradition: a commentary on al-ʿAyn wa-l-Athar
- 04al-Muzawwadah fī Iṣṭilāḥ al-ḤadīthA work on ḥadīth terminology
- 05Risālah fī Iʿtiqād Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-JamāʿahA treatise on the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah
- 06Zād al-Mubtadī fī Fiqh al-Imām Aḥmad ibn ḤanbalProvisions for the beginner in the fiqh of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
- 07al-Kāfī fī al-Muʿtamad fī Fiqh al-Imām Aḥmad ibn ḤanbalA sufficient guide to the relied-upon fiqh of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
- 08Sabīl al-Sadād: Sharḥ Lumʿat al-IʿtiqādThe path of right guidance: commentary on Lumʿat al-Iʿtiqād
- 09Muʿīn al-Wuṣūl: Sharḥ Zād al-WuṣūlAn aid to attainment: commentary on Zād al-Wuṣūl
- 10Rafʿ al-Malām ʿan al-Dārisīn li-Madhāhib al-Aʾimmah al-AʿlāmRemoving blame from students of the schools of the eminent Imāms
- 11al-Ījāz fī Ikhtiṣār Ghāyat al-SūlAn abridgment of Ghāyat al-Sūl
- 12Zād al-Wuṣūl ilā ʿIlm al-UṣūlProvisions for attaining the science of legal theory
He also has a number of published research papers, lessons, and scholarly commentaries.
His scholarly methodology
In his teaching and research, the Shaykh relies on the authoritative works of the Hanbalī school. He emphasizes establishing its relied-upon positions and verifying reports of the views of Imām Aḥmad and the school's scholars. He also gives special attention to Iraqi Hanbalī heritage, progressive instruction for students, and combining traditional study with scholars and academic education.
His fatwā discussion groups
Follow scholarly discussions and submit questions through the following groups: