A Tunisian scholar is one of the most prominent interpreters of the Holy Qur’an in the modern era. He contributed to the reform of educational curricula at the Zaytuna Mosque. He was known for his harshness in truth and daring against the sultan. He was influenced by his famous saying, “God is true and Bourguiba lies.” 

Birth and upbringing

Mohamed Taher Ben Achour was born in September 1879 in the Marsa suburb of the capital, Tunis, two years before the entry of the French colonizer, and he grew up in a long-standing scientific and political family whose origins extend to the country of Andalusia. The origins of religion at a very young age.

Study and training

He memorized the Qur’an at the age of six and took knowledge from the notables of Tunisian scholars and the sheikhs of the Zaytuna Mosque, which he joined in 1893 and studied the sciences of the Qur’an, readings, hadith, Maliki jurisprudence and its origins, statutes, biography, history, grammar, language, literature, rhetoric and logic. He also learned French at the hands of his private teacher Ahmed Ibn Wanas al-Mahmoudi.

Among the most famous of his sheikhs are Sheikh Muhammad Al-Najjar, Sheikh Salem Buhajeb, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Nakhli, Sheikh Muhammad bin Youssef, Sheikh Omar bin Ashour, and Sheikh Saleh Al-Sharif.

Functions and Responsibilities

Ibn Ashour was initially appointed as a first-class teacher at the Zaytuna Mosque and the Sadiqiyah School. His early experience in teaching at the Zaytuna Mosque with the traditional curriculum and the Sadiqiyah School with modern education played a major role in his awareness of the need to bridge the gap between authenticity and modernity and to initiate planning for education reform in Tunisia.

He became a first deputy at the Scientific Council in Al-Zaytoonah in 1907, then joined the judiciary in 1911 as a member of the Real Estate Court, then became a royal mufti in 1923, and became chief mufti in 1924.

Ibn Ashour was chosen in the first education reform committee in Zaytuna in 1910, as well as in the second reform committee in 1924, and he was appointed sheikh of the Zaytuna Mosque, but he quickly resigned due to the objection of some sheikhs to his education reforms.

He was appointed to the position of Sheikh al-Islam of the Maliki school of thought in 1932, and was reappointed in 1945 as Sheikh of the Zaytuna Mosque, and this time he introduced major reforms in his educational system.

After independence in 1956, he was appointed Sheikh Dean of the Olivet College of Sharia and Fundamentals of Religion until 1960, when he was retired due to his rejection of the campaign launched by the late President Habib Bourguiba.

the scientific track

Sheikh Al-Taher was known for his great desire to reform education, renew its curricula, fight stagnation, backwardness, moral and civilized decay, and resist colonialism.

He believed that the Muslims' abandonment of ijtihad made them lazy and hindered the realization of reason to find solutions to the issues that exist in their lives.

His relationship with Bourguiba worsened due to his categorical refusal to issue a fatwa on the radio permitting the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, which came in the summer.

literature

Khalaf Al-Taher bin Achour has important and qualitative works in the Arabic language and literature, Islamic thought and religious sciences;

She revealed the extent of his scientific mastery and his innovative horizons, so he composed in the interpretation of "Liberation and Enlightenment", which is one of the most important references specialized in understanding and interpreting the Qur'an.

In Usul al-Fiqh, he authored the book “The Purposes of Islamic Law”, which combined clarity of thought, accuracy of expression, soundness of method and spirit of renewal, as he paved in his book “Is the morning not near?”

For his reform project for education by talking about the emergence of Arab education and its phases before and after Islam.

Among his books are also "The Waqf and Its Effects in Islam", "Clarification and Correction in Usul al-Fiqh", "The Fundamentals of Advancement in Islam", "A Note to the Revision of Al-Qarafi", "The Fundamentals of Social Science in Islam", and "Scientific Criticism of the Book of Usul al-Hakam". "," Uncovering what is covered in the hadiths of al-Muwatta', and "Mujjaz al-Balaghah".

In addition to his manuscript writings, his writings were characterized by depth of analysis, scientific treatment, and eloquence of style.

Awards and Honors

He was the first to receive the State Appreciation Award, and the Order of Cultural Merit in 1968.

Death

Sheikh Mohamed Taher Ben Achour died on August 12, 1973, at the age of 94 in the city of La Marsa in the capital, Tunis.