Sheikh Abdelmouhsin Al-Abbad Al-Badr

Sheikh Abdelmouhsin al-Abbad al-Badr: Key Facts

• Full Name: Abdelmouhsin ibn Hamad ibn Abdelmouhsin al-Abbad al-Badr (عبد المحسن بن حمد بن عبد المحسن العباد البدر).
• Birth: in 1353 AH (1934 CE) in az-Zulfi, north of Riyadh. He is now in his nineties.
• Education: elementary school in Az-Zulfi, followed by the Riyadh Scientific Institute and the Riyadh Faculty of Sharia.
• Early career: Teacher at the Scientific Institute in Buraydah in 1379, then at the Scientific Institute in Riyadh in 1380.
• Islamic University of Medina: He has taught there since its founding in 1381 and served as vice-chancellor for six years beginning in 1393.
• The Prophet’s Mosque ﷺ: He has been lecturing there since the beginning of the year 1406, without interruption to this day.
• Specialization: Hadith and the sciences of Hadith, which earned him the title of “Muhaddith of Medina,” with works in Aqidah, Fiqh, and Adab.
• Major work: شرح سنن أبي داود, his commentary on the Sunan of Abu Dawud, and the collection of his writings published under the title كتب ورسائل عبد المحسن العباد.

Sixty-five Years in the Same Classroom

There are few comparable careers in contemporary religious education. Sheikh Abdelmouhsin al-Abbad al-Badr has been teaching at the Islamic University of Medina since its founding in 1381 AH, and he has never left the institution. He served as its vice-chancellor for six years beginning in 1393, before returning to what has occupied him since day one: the oral transmission of the texts.

Beginning in the year 1406, he supplemented his university teaching with a daily study circle held within the grounds of the Prophet’s Mosque ﷺ. This circle has continued uninterrupted ever since. Students from Nigeria, Indonesia, Morocco, France, and Dagestan have sat in on it one after another, often for several years, and many teachers who are well-known today gave their first lectures there.

This longevity largely accounts for his authority. A scholar who has been commenting on the same corpus for six decades does not read a text like someone discovering it for the first time: he knows its difficult passages, the classic objections, and the points where students stumble. This is evident when reading his books, whose apparent simplicity is the result of a very long process.

Education and Career Path

Born in 1353 AH in az-Zulfi, in northern Najd, the sheikh completed his primary education there before moving to Riyadh, where he attended the scientific institute and then the Sharia faculty. He began teaching at a very young age: as early as 1379 at the scientific institute in Buraydah, then in 1380 at the one in Riyadh.

The following year marked a turning point in his life. The Islamic University of Medina opened its doors in 1381, and he was among its very first faculty members. He then settled in Medina, where he has lived ever since.

The Al Badr family, to which he belongs, is descended from the Jalas clan of the Anaza tribe. The nickname al-Abbad comes from his great-grandfather Abdallah, whose name has been borne by several of his descendants. His son, Sheikh Abderrazzaq al-Badr—who holds a doctorate in aqida and teaches at the same university—bears this same name: a common source of confusion in catalogs, which we will address below.

A Body of Work Composed of Risalas

The most distinctive feature of his written work lies in its format. Whereas other scholars publish comprehensive treatises, Sheikh Abdelmouhsin al-Abbad has primarily written risalas: brief treatises, ranging from forty to one hundred fifty pages, each devoted to a single topic and covered from start to finish. This economy of means is not a flaw in his methodology; it is a pedagogical choice, and it makes his work particularly accessible to readers who are not native Arabic speakers.

Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud

His commentary on the Sunan of Abu Dawud, derived from his teaching circles and published in several volumes. It is the magnum opus of his life as a muhaddith, and the work to which advanced students of hadith sciences turn.

Fath al-Qawi al-Matin fi Sharh al-Arba’in wa Tatma’ al-Khamsin

A commentary on an-Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths, supplemented by those of Ibn Rajab. A commentary of moderate length, neither dry nor verbose: the sheikh explains the hadiths one by one, then distills the main lessons. This is the work through which most readers are introduced to his body of work.

رفقا أهل السنة بأهل السنة

A risala published in 2003, undoubtedly the most discussed of all, devoted to the excesses of criticism among those committed to the Sunnah. A short text, with a measured tone and arguments grounded in the texts.

*Qatf al-Jani al-Dani: Commentary on the Introduction to the Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani*

A commentary on the introduction to the famous treatise by Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani. A text on creed that is widely studied in the Maghreb and West Africa, explained here sentence by sentence.

How to Benefit from the Six Major Hadith Collections

How to benefit from the six major hadith collections. A methodological guide that explains the structure of each work and how to consult it. Useful even long before one is able to read them in their entirety.

The Virtues of Medina and the Etiquette of Living There and Visiting It

On the virtues of Medina and the customs associated with living there and visiting it. The subject is written by a man who has lived in this city for over sixty years, which lends the text a special accuracy.

Books and Letters of ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-‘Abbad

A collection of his writings, organized by subject: the Qur’an, hadith, aqidah, fiqh, and adab. This edition is the best choice for building a coherent collection, rather than searching for each risala separately.

In addition, there are numerous shorter works: Twenty Hadiths from Sahih al-Bukhari and its counterpart on Sahih Muslim, Explanation of the Hadith of Jibril on Teaching Religion, *Encouragement to Follow the Sunnah*, *The Creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah Regarding the Noble Companions*, *From the Character of the Noble Messenger*, and *Verses with Similar Wording in the Noble Qur’an*, a study of verses with similar phrasing and how to distinguish between them.

Separate treatises or a complete collection: which to choose

This is the question most buyers ask themselves, and it deserves a clear answer rather than a sales pitch.

Risalas sold individually are lightweight, inexpensive, easy to carry, and easy to annotate. They’re ideal when you’re focusing on a specific topic, or when you want to test how comfortable you are reading them before investing more. Their drawback is practical: as the collection grows, formats and publishers vary, and the set doesn’t stack neatly on a shelf.

The collection *Kutub wa Rasail*, published in bound volumes and organized by discipline, solves this problem. It costs more upfront but works out cheaper per title, features durable binding, and has continuous pagination that makes it easy to cross-reference texts. This is the best choice if you are building a working library or a collection for an institute.

There is only one exception to this rule: the commentary on Abu Dawud’s *Sunan*, published separately in several volumes, follows a different purchasing logic and is intended for readers already well-versed in the sciences of hadith.

Don’t Confuse Father and Son

Both men share the same last name, teach at the same university, and live in the same city. The confusion is so c