Who Was Abd al-Razzaq al-Sanhuri?

Abd al-Razzaq Ahmad al-Sanhuri (1895–1971) stands as one of the most influential jurists in the modern Arab world. Born in Alexandria to a modest family, he lost his father at a young age and pursued his education with determination. He earned his law degree from the Cairo School of Law in 1917 while working as a government employee. Later, he studied in France, obtaining two doctorates from the University of Lyon in 1926—one in legal science and another in economics and political science—along with a diploma in international law from the University of Paris.

Upon returning to Egypt, al-Sanhuri taught civil law at the Faculty of Law, eventually becoming its dean. He also held key public positions, including Minister of Education and President of the Council of State from 1949 to 1954.

What Was His Greatest Legislative Achievement?

Al-Sanhuri’s most enduring contribution is the Egyptian Civil Code of 1948, which contains 1,149 articles and remains the foundation of Egyptian private law. He drafted the code largely single-handedly between 1938 and 1945, drawing on three main sources: principles of Islamic Sharia (without restricting himself to one school of thought), Egyptian judicial practice and custom, and modern comparative law—especially the French model. The code deliberately excluded family law and inheritance, focusing instead on obligations, contracts, property, and commercial relations.

This Egyptian code became a model for several other Arab countries. Al-Sanhuri later helped draft the civil codes of Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Kuwait, often working without financial compensation.

What Are His Most Important Scholarly Works?

Al-Sanhuri’s monumental multi-volume treatise Al-Wasit fi Sharh al-Qanun al-Madani (The Intermediate Commentary on the Civil Code) remains the standard reference for students, judges, and lawyers across the Arab world. He also wrote influential books such as Masadir al-Haqq fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (Sources of Right in Islamic Jurisprudence) and Nazariyat al-Aqd fi al-Fiqh al-Islami (The Theory of Contract in Islamic Jurisprudence). As a member of the Arabic Language Academy from 1946, he contributed significantly to modern Arabic legal terminology.

Why Does al-Sanhuri Remain Relevant Today?

Al-Sanhuri successfully bridged classical Islamic legal thought and contemporary Western legal techniques. He believed that a modern Arab legal system should respect the spirit of Sharia while meeting the practical needs of a modern state. His civil codes helped many newly independent Arab nations establish coherent national legal systems free from colonial influence. Even decades after his death in 1971, his writings continue to shape legal education and judicial reasoning throughout the Middle East and North Africa.