Dean's Message

Dean’s Message

Praise be to Allah, the Sustainer of the universe, the One who knows what is best for His servants, grants success in all that is good, and guides to the straight path. He sent His messengers and prophets with noble divine laws so that the universe may proceed according to them and life may be established for all creatures in accordance with a sound and well-ordered system of justice.

May peace and blessings be upon our Master, role model, and leader Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, who left us upon the clear path, whose night is as bright as its day, and from which none deviates except one doomed to destruction. May peace and blessings also be upon his family and Companions, the ships of salvation and heirs of the Prophet, and upon all who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.

New and ever-growing needs arise in every place and every era, requiring scholars who are firmly grounded in the understanding of the inherited body of knowledge, conscious of the demands of their time, and committed—as a binding religious duty—to addressing its challenges, whatever they may be, in ways that do not contradict Islamic Sharia.

The Faculty of Sharia and Law at Al-Ahgaff University has played an active role in shouldering this great responsibility for nearly thirty years. It was one of the university’s pioneering faculties, established alongside the Faculty of Administration and Economics on sound Islamic foundations derived from the two primary sources of legislation: the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah. The Faculty seeks to fulfill the objectives of Sharia in accordance with the principles established by Islamic law, guided by a clear vision, mission, and objectives, and supported by a modern academic system and rigorous curricula that meet the needs of the contemporary era while taking into consideration the particularities of Muslim countries.

The Faculty emphasizes pride in Islam and its values, affirming that the wellbeing of this world and the Hereafter can only be achieved through adherence to it. It also recognizes that much of the disorder in today’s world, in which some people have been overcome by a new form of blind ignorance, stems fundamentally from distancing oneself from the guidance of Allah and the message of the best of messengers, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

The Faculty’s impact and achievements are evident both within Yemen and abroad. Its graduates have been entrusted with significant and diverse responsibilities in education and spiritual development, at various educational levels, as well as in the judiciary, public prosecution, and rigorous academic research.

The Faculty seeks to develop its students’ intellectual capacities away from doctrinal or sectarian fanaticism, while strengthening within them the values of justice and genuine freedom, disciplined by the principles and teachings of Sharia. It also strives to strengthen their spiritual and academic resilience so that they can confront the challenges of the contemporary world that undermine fundamental human values and threaten the cohesion of the Islamic family, in pursuit of a global order that fails to uphold just rights.

The Faculty continues to develop day by day, both in its infrastructure—including buildings and various facilities—and in its academic and educational framework. It currently offers three programs: Sharia; Sharia and Law; and Sunnah and Its Sciences. It also plans, God willing, to introduce two new programs soon: the Qur’an and Its Sciences and Islamic Finance.

The Faculty also places considerable emphasis on higher education, currently offering master’s and doctoral programs, with plans for further expansion in the future. In addition, it is moving steadily and thoughtfully toward distance education, adopting a gradual and systematic approach that preserves the academic and educational foundations of students enrolled through this mode of learning.

None of these achievements would have been possible without the grace and guidance of Allah Almighty, the generous support of the University Presidency and the Board of Trustees, and the dedicated efforts of the university’s academic and administrative staff. They are also the result of the sustained efforts of all members of the Faculty across its academic, research, and administrative departments, as well as its students, whose trust—and that of their families, both within Yemen and abroad—in the Faculty, its methodology, and its approach to educating future generations has been a source of great encouragement.

Praise be to Allah, first and last.

Dr. Abdullah Awadh Omar bin Sumait
Dean of the Faculty