Notable people
10th–17th centuries
Sibt al-Maridini (1423–1495/1506, aged c. 72–83) Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer
Abd al-'Aziz al-Wafa'i (1408–1471, aged 63), Arab physicist, mathematician and astronomer
Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi (1620–1682, aged c. 62) author, philologist, grammarian, magistrate, bibliophile and a leading literary figure of the Ottoman era.
Nimr ibn Adwan (1735–1823, aged c. 88) Jordanian poet and chieftain.
19th – early 20th centuries
Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905, aged 56), Egyptian activist and Grand Mufti, co-founder of Islamic Modernism.
Sayd Jamal edin Afghani (1838/1839–1897, aged 58), Afghan or Iranian activist, co-founder of Islamic Modernism.
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam (1882–1935, aged 52), Syrian anti-Zionist, founder and leader of Black Hand.
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni (c. 1897–1974, 76/77), Mufti of Jerusalem.
Ahmed Urabi (1841–1911, aged 70), Egyptian nationalist and army brigadier general who led the Urabi Revolt against Khedive Tewfik.
1910s–1950s
Hassan al-Banna (1906–1949, aged 42), Egyptian schoolteacher, imam, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, assassinated by State Security Investigations Service. (He graduated from Dar al-Ulum which is an affiliate of Cairo University)
Syed Mujtaba Ali (1904–1974, aged 69), Bangladeshi author, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist; studied at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo during 1934–1935.
Dr. Ayub Ali (1919–1995, aged 75/76), Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and educationist.
Mehmed Handžić (1906–1944, aged 37), a leader of Bosnian revivalists, one of authors of Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims, and chairman of the Committee of National Salvation.
Omar Abdel Rahman (1938–2017, aged 78), leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, which has been designated a terrorist group by the governments of the United States and Egypt; died while serving a life term for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani (1914–1977, aged 62/63), the leader and founder of The Islamic Political Party, Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Party of Liberation).
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (1936–2004, aged 67), Palestinian politician, imam, co-founder and leader of Hamas, assassinated by Israel Defense Force.
Saad Zaghlul (1857/1859–1927, aged 66/68) Egyptian revolutionary and statesman, leader of 1919 Egyptian revolution and Wafd Party.
Taha Hussein (1889–1973, aged 83), Egyptian writer and intellectual.
Muhammad Ma Jian (1906–1978, aged 72), Hui Chinese translator of the Qur'an into the Chinese language.
Ahmad Meshari Al-Adwani (1923–1990, aged 67), Kuwaiti poet and writer of Kuwait's national anthem Al-Nasheed Al-Watani.
Ahmad al-Ghumari (1902–1961, aged c. 59), Moroccan cleric, enrolled in 1921, dropped out due to a death in the family.
Abdullah al-Ghumari (1910–1993, aged c. 83), Moroccan cleric, graduated from Azhar in 1931.
Abu Turab al-Zahiri (1923–2002, aged 79), Indian-born Saudi Arabian linguist, jurist, theologian, and journalist.
1950–present
Aliko Dangote (b. 1957), Nigerian business mogul, studied business at Al-Azhar.
Akhtar Raza Khan (1943–2018, aged 74), Indian scholar, former Grand Mufti of India, founder of the Barelvi movement.
Gholam Mohammad Niazi (1932–1979, aged c. 47), Afghan professor, father of Political Islam in Afghanistan, killed in prisoner massacre on promised day of release.
Sayyid Abdurahman Imbichikoya Thangal (1922–2015, aged 93), Indian politician, former president of Samastha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema (1995–2004), author of [Al Arab Wal Arabiyya(Arabs And Arabic Language)(Arabic: العرب والعربية )]
Abdulla Saeed, Maldivian lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of the Maldives (2008–2010; 2014–2018), Justice of the Supreme Court of the Maldives (2010–2014).
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah (1918–2000, aged 81), Pakistani feminist and journalist who in 1955 became the first woman to give a speech at the university.
Mohammed Burhanuddin (1915–2014, aged 98), 52nd Dā'ī al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras. Bohra researched and rediscovered Al-Azhar University's past history, awarded PhD from Al-Azhar University.
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941–1989, aged 48), Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar, theologian, founder of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, assassinated in unsolved car bombing.
Shire Jama Ahmed (1936–1999, aged 62/63), Somali linguist who devised a Latin script for the Somali language.
Mahmud Shaltut (1893–1963, aged 70), Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, issued in 1959 a Fatwa, declaring that Al-Azhar recognizes Shi'ism as a valid branch of Islam.
Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary (1917–1980, aged 63), Egyptian qāriʾ and Qur'anic scholar.
Abdel-Halim Mahmoud (1901–1978, aged 77), Egyptian philosopher and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, introduced the study of Sufism as a science through his writings and lectures on the matter.
Ahmed Subhy Mansour (b. 1949), Egyptian Islamic scholar, cleric, and founder of Quranism, who was exiled from Egypt, lived in the United States as a political refugee.
Taha Jabir Alalwani (1935–2016, aged c. 86), Iraqi scholar, president of Cordoba University (Ashburn, VA, USA), founder and chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, and the president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia (USA)
Abdurrahman Wahid (1940–2009, aged 69), Indonesian politician, fourth President of Indonesia (1999–2001).
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy (1928–2010, aged 81), Egyptian scholar, Grand Mufti of Egypt (1986–1996), Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (1996–death).
Ahmed el-Tayeb (b. 1946), Egyptian Islamic scholar, President of Al-Azhar University (2003–2010), Grand Imam of Al-Azhar (2010–present).
Muhammad Metwally Al Shaarawy (1911–1998, aged 87), Egyptian Muslim jurist, Minister of Awqaf (1976–1978).
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (b. 1937), Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat, and scholar, 3rd President of the Maldives (1978–2008).
Abdulla Mohamed (b. 1966), Maldivian judge, Chief Judge of Criminal Court of the Maldives (2008–present).
Salamat P. Hashim (1939–2003, aged 64), Filipino militant, co-founder and leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines.
Sheikh Khalifa Usman Nando (1940/1941–2023, aged 81), co-founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines and Wa'lī of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Fathulla Jameel (1942–2012, aged 69), Maldivian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives (1978–2005).
Burhanuddin Rabbani (1940–2011, aged 71), Afghan politician, teacher, Soviet–Afghan War Mujahideen leader, 6th President of Afghanistan.
Mohamed Jameel Didi (1915–1989, aged 73), Maldivian author and writer.
Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (1931–2015, aged 84), Malaysian politician and Muslim cleric, Mursyidul Am of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS, 1991–death), Menteri Besar of Kelantan (1990–2013).
Abdul Hadi Awang (b. 1947), Malaysian politician and religious teacher, 7th President of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS, 2002–present) and former Menteri Besar of Terengganu (1999–2004).
Omar Maute (1980–2017, aged 37), Filipino Islamist militant, co-founder and leader of the Maute terrorist organization, killed in Siege of Marawi.
Muhammad Ali Shihab Tangal (1936–2009, aged 73), Indian community leader, Islamic religious leader and scholar, politician. President of the Kerala state committee of the Indian Union Muslim League (1975-death).
Saeed-ur-Rahman Azmi Nadvi (b. 1934), Indian Islamic scholar, 10th Principal of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (2000–present) and chancellor of Integral University.
Timothy Winter (b. 1960), English academic, theologian and Islamic scholar. Founder of the Cambridge Muslim College, Aziz Foundation Professor of Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College and Ebrahim College, director of studies (theology and religious studies) at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and Shaykh Zayed Lecturer in Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge.
Mahmud Saedon (1943–2002, aged 58), Bruneian Muslim scholar.
Mustafa Khattab, Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, author, youth mentor, public speaker, imam, and university chaplain. English translator of the Qur'an and author of 'The Clear Quran' Series.
Tariq Najm (b. 1945), Iraqi politician, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Iraq (2006–2010), senior advisor.
Quraish Shihab (b. 1944), Indonesian Muslim scholar in the sciences of Quran and Minister of Religious Affairs (1998).
Alwi Shihab (b. 1946), Indonesian professor of religion and politician, 14th Minister of Foreign Affairs (1999–2001), Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare (2004–2005).
Norarfan Zainal (b. 1973), Bruneian academician and educator, rector of Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (UNISSA, 2014–present) since 2014
