Biografi Syek Ahmad Muftaro

sheikh ahmad kuftaro, the grand mufti of syria, is actively striving to unite the human family. since 1940 he has been working to achieve better understanding and cooperation amongst the people of the heavenly religions. as a teacher of islam, sheikh ahmad kuftaro uses spiritual and rational education to develop righteous human beings. his message is dedicated to helping to build a civilization on our planet based on the principles of peace, balance and prosperity. the biography of sheikh ahmad kuftaro his eminence, sheikh ahmad muhammad amin kuftaro, the grand mufti of syria, head of the supreme council of fatwa, was born in damascus in 1915, son of muhammad amin kuftaro (1875-1938), a great muslim scholar of his day. sheikh ahmad kuftaro studied privately with the most renowned jurists and scholars in damascus, and holds several honorary doctorates in the principles and teaching of islam, granted to his eminence by universities throughout the islamic world. since 1938, at the death of his father, he has been, teaching in abunour mosque, preaching and calling for the pursuit of the universal knowledge, freedom of religion, moral rearmament among the muslims of the world, interfaith cooperation, and, more recently, for protection of the global environment and for american moral leadership in the world. in 1946, at the age of 31, he was a founding member of the league of muslim scholars, and in 1951 was appointed mufti of damascus. in 1958, he was appointed first mufti of damascus and a member of the supreme council of fatwa. in 1964, he was elected grand mufti of syria and head of the supreme council of fatwa as well as of the supreme council of waqf (religious endowments). in 1968 he was awarded the sitaret pakistan medal. medal of justice by the padistany president ayoub khann in 1968, he was awarded his first honorary ph.d. in the science of islamic da'wa by the indonesian university of jakarta. he gives the friday jumu'a address in damascus at his abu-nour mosque, which is regularly attended by 15.000 men and women click to listen. life goals the selection of lectures in the site were made, in part, to reflect sheikh ahmad kuftaro's life goals apparent in the thousands of talks he has given, most of them recorded, during the past half century of his life. these goals and the titles of representative talks supporting each are arranged by thematic emphasis or priority. one of his most recent priority is on developing american moral leadership to make the twenty-first century an era of universal justice, in accordance with the quranic promise in surah al rahman (god most gracious) verse 46. but for those who are in awe of the majesty of their lord, there are two gardens of paradise (the here and the hereafter). education: the foundation principle underlying all of sheikh ahmad kuftaro's work is the obligation of every person to pursue in balance and harmony the three kinds of knowledge inherent in the classical arabic word for education: thaqafa. these are: 1) knowledge of the world gained through the scientific method, known as 'ain al yaqin', which was a pillar of the classic islamic civilization of a millennium ago

and the principal contribution of islam to european civilization; 2) knowledge of the purpose of everything in creation, known as 'haqq al yaqin', including the history of mankind, which is gained primarily through the divine revelation that has been granted by the creator through messengers to all human civilization, and which was the dynamo of the islamic civilization flowering in the early islamic period of global history before reverence for truth and purpose declined; and 3) indirect knowledge gained through the use of the human intellect, largely in the form of the maqasid or universal principles of shari'ah thought, in processing the first two direct sources of knowledge. this third source of knowledge, known as 'ilm al yaqin' in turn, is critically important for increasing our knowledge of the universe gained through scientific observation, as well as our understanding of true knowledge at the highest level, which is ultimate meaning and purpose, granted by allah through the "eye of the heart". after leaving this world, every person's knowledge will proceed from intellectual understanding, 'ilm al yaqin', to direct spiritual vision, 'ain al yaqin', of reality and truth, as promised in surah al takathur of the quran. in the world, the product of all three of these kinds of knowledge is akhlaq or the development of virtuous character, which should be the core of all education. the mission of sheikh ahmad kuftaro in pursuing this primary goal is reflected in his life-long organizational activism in the field of education. in 1971, he established the abu nour islamic foundation, which opened the four-year kulliya da'wa al islamiya (islamic call college) in 1982, with branches of lebanon alouzai college of islamic studies, and pakistan islamic studies university, both started in 1989, as well as a branch, granting the m.a. degree, in 1992 at the umdurman college of sudan. in 1992, the foundation also started the four-year kulliya usul al-din college in damascus, which now has more than one hundred students studying for the m.a. degree and the first ones now studying for a ph.d. in islamic law. in 1994 sheikh ahmad kuftaro opened the an nour institute for islamic studies and arabic languages in baltimore, maryland. sheikh ahmad kuftaro has received honorary doctorates for both his academic and organizational work over the years, the most recent one in islamic jurisprudence from the islamic university of um-durman during a visit in july 1994. of fatwa as well as of the supreme council of waqf (religious endowments). in 1968 he was awarded the sitaret pakistan medal. medal of justice by the padistany president ayoub khann in 1968, he was awarded his first honorary ph.d. in the science of islamic da'wa by the indonesian university of jakarta. he gives the friday jumu'a address in damascus at his abu-nour mosque, which is regularly attended by 15.000 men and women click to listen. life goals the selection of lectures in the site were made, in part, to reflect sheikh ahmad kuftaro's life goals apparent in the thousands of talks he has given, most of them recorded, during the past half century of his life. these goals and the titles of

representative talks supporting each are arranged by thematic emphasis or priority. one of his most recent priority is on developing american moral leadership to make the twenty-first century an era of universal justice, in accordance with the quranic promise in surah al rahman (god most gracious) verse 46. but for those who are in awe of the majesty of their lord, there are two gardens of paradise (the here and the hereafter). education: the foundation principle underlying all of sheikh ahmad kuftaro's work is the obligation of every person to pursue in balance and harmony the three kinds of knowledge inherent in the classical arabic word for education: thaqafa. these are: 1) knowledge of the world gained through the scientific method, known as 'ain al yaqin', which was a pillar of the classic islamic civilization of a millennium ago and the principal contribution of islam to european civilization; 2) knowledge of the purpose of everything in creation, known as 'haqq al yaqin', including the history of mankind, which is gained primarily through the divine revelation that has been granted by the creator through messengers to all human civilization, and which was the dynamo of the islamic civilization flowering in the early islamic period of global history before reverence for truth and purpose declined; and 3) indirect knowledge gained through the use of the human intellect, largely in the form of the maqasid or universal principles of shari'ah thought, in processing the first two direct sources of knowledge. this third source of knowledge, known as 'ilm al yaqin' in turn, is critically important for increasing our knowledge of the universe gained through scientific observation,