Al-Sanhuri Biographical sketch

As requested, here is a brief sketch of `Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Sanhuri's life, based on the entry in Encyclopedia of Islam. I will only include basic information in bullet form, to avoid infringing on Brill's copyrights. However, I will include some short quotations from their text:

`Abd Al-Razzaq Al-Sanhuri

• Born 11 August 1895 in Alexandria, Egypt, died 1971 in Cairo.
  
• "The Arab world's most distinguished scholar of modern jurisprudence, with the regeneration of Islamic law figuring prominently in his work".
  
• Drafted civil codes for Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Libya.
  
• Obained License en droit in 1917 from the Khedival School of Law (top of his class).
  
• Started carrer in Mansura:
  
  
  
  • Wakil niyaba (assistant attorney general) in mixed courts.
    
  • Teacher in the school for Shari`a judges.
    
  
  
• Went to France in 1921, to study at U. Lyon with E. Lambert.
  
  
  
  • Wrote thesis on English law, which won first prize.
    
  • Wrote a second thesis on the Caliphate (1926), calling for re-establishing the Caliphate and reforming Arab legal systems.
    
  
  
• Returned to Cairo in 1926, appointed at National (Cairo) University Faculty of Law.
  
• Wrote many treatises merging Egyptian and Islamic Law, including:
  
  
  
  • `Aqd al-Ijar (lease contract).
    
  • Nazariyyat al-`Aqd (Contract theory).
    
  
  
• In 1935, went to Baghdad as Professor and Dean of the newly established Law School.
  
• In 1936, published Majallat al-Qada', comparing Islamic codifications in Majallat al-Ahkam and Murshid al-Hayran on the one hand, and European codes on the other.
  
• Returned to Egypt in 1936 as Dean of Faculty of Law, started revising Egyptian civil law, making it fully compliant (in his opinion) with Islamic Law.
  
• Deputy Minister of Justice in 1944.
  
• Minister of Education 1945-6, 1947.
  
• Defended the new civil code in 1948 before parliament. His critics "wanted a completely Islamic code", and he argued that his proposed code "included all the Islamic law it was then possible to adopt" taking into consideration "sound principles of modern legislation".
  
• Chief justice of Majlis al-Dawlah in 1949.
  
• Supported the revolution early on, but was attacked physically by demagogues and demonstrators in 1954.
  
• Best publications came after retiring from public life, including his magnum opus:
  
  
  
  • Masadir al-Haqq fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Sources of Justice in Islamic Jurisprudence), 1954-9 (6 parts in 2 volumes).