Ṣalaḥ al-Irānī
September 1, 2016
10 mins read
The life and scholarship of Shaykh Zayd ibn Muḥammad al-Madkhalī, a devoted scholar of Sunnah and creed, known for his clarity, sincerity, and steadfast adherence to the methodology of the Salaf.

His Name, Lineage and Agnomen:
He is the illustrious scholar, the expert in Islamic jurisprudence, the remnant of the salaf, our shaykh, Abū Muḥammad Zayd ibn Muḥammed ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī of the renowned al-Madākhilah tribe located in the province of Jizān in the southern part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the tribes of Banī Shabīl and Shabīl was Ibn Yashjub ibn Yaʾrib ibn Qaḥṭān.
His Birth:
He was born in the year 1357 AH corresponding to the Gregorian year of 1938 in the town of al-Rukūbah, officially affiliated with the town of Ṣāmiṭah in the province of Jizān. It is located east of Ṣāmiṭah, approximately 3 kilometers away from the town today.
His Upbringing:
The Shaykh was raised in his village at the service of his parents. Before he reached maturity, his mother passed away when he was 7 years of age. She was known for her commitment to the religion and righteousness. His father passed when the Shaykh was 30 years old, he used to encourage Shaykh Zayd with seeking knowledge during his youth and likewise his relative, Shaykh Aḥmād ibn Aḥmad Ulūsh al-Madkhalī.
He joined the circles of knowledge in his village wherein he learnt how to read and write, studied the rules related to the recitation of the Qu’ran and other subjects pertaining to tawḥīd (monotheism). He started to read the Qurʾān and memorised al-Baqarah, Aal-Imrām and others chapters of the Qu’ran.
He then joined the lessons in al-Rukūbah when he was approximately 7 years old. Shaykh Zayd subsequently resided near al-Dighārī and then transferred to the city of Ṣāmiṭah, where he enrolled at the Salafīyaah al-Ẓāhir School, which was founded by the reviver, Imām ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad al-Qarʿāwī. At that time it was under the supervision of Shaykh Nāṣīr ibn Kulūf Tīyash Mubārikī who protected it with his knowledge and favour for the students of knowledge. It was at this school where the shaykh studied Kitāb al-Tawḥīd, Bulūgh al-Marām, laws of inheritance, rules pertaining to Qurʾānic Recitation, Arabic grammar and morphology.
In the year 1368 AH he joined Shaykh Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥakamī in the city of Bīsh where he, along with other students read and studied with him for a period of three months. He then returned to the Salafī School to be assigned as a teacher over some of the students of knowledge, he also taught in the circles of knowledge in his village. He was then allocated as a teacher in the village of al-Rukūbah in the school of al-Qarʿāwī in the year 1372 AH at the age of 15, and became its director with the assistance of Shaykh Jābir ibn Muḥammad al-Madkhalī – the director of the Institute of Islamic Recognition of Ḥajj. Subsequently, when the al-Qarʿāwī School united with Wazarah al-Maʿrifah to establish the Maʿḥad al-ʿ Ilmī in the town of Ṣāmiṭah in the year 1374 AH, the Shaykh enrolled at the secondary level in the year 1375 [AH] following the advice of Shaykh ʿAbdullāh’ ibn Muḥammad al-Qarʿāwī and Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥakamī. He graduated in the year of 1379/1380AH having studied many subjects under a number of scholars at the institute.
Shaykh Zayd al-Madkhalī thereafter enrolled at the Islamic University of Imām Muḥammad ibn Saʿūd in the faculty of Sharī’ah for period of two years; within the second year of his studies he completed the memorisation of the Qurʾān. He was then assigned as a teacher at the Maḥad al-ʿIlmī – this was before he graduated from Muḥammad ibn Saʿūd University, at the request of the director at that time – Shaykh Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥakamī without him seeking (the position). He shortly after completed his education receiving a certificate in the year of 1382 AH
The Shaykh entered the age of retirement after 35 years of serving knowledge. He retired in the year 1417 AH.
His Pursuit of Knowledge:
Those who know the Shaykh are witness to his great abstention from worldly pleasures, of which he does not seek (worldly pleasures) nor ask for. Rather he surrendered himself to knowledge, spreading it, teaching it, issuing Islamic verdicts and authoring.
His Previous and Current Work Positions:
His Scholars:
His Students:
From the blessings of Allāh upon our scholar – Shaykh Zayd ibn Muḥammad ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī, is that he devoted many years teaching, which has extending over 50 years. He has many students attend from various cities and countries. There are many intelligent people amongst his students, who are from the major callers to Allāh. Many of whom hold high positions in education institutes and government bodies, especially those who sought knowledge from him during his position at the Maʿḥad al-ʿIlmī. His students extend from various countries, most of them are predominantly from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Indonesia, and other countries from Europe and America which attended his lessons by way of the Internet.
His Writings:
The virtuous Shaykh first began authoring before he reached the age of 40. His wrote his first book at the age of 37. His writings exceed over 60 books and still continues to write – may Allāh preserve him, he has a strong desire for writing and authoring books.
Many of his writings evolve around the following
Some of His Books Currently in Print:
Some of the Book under Production:
Scholars Who Have Praised Him:
May Allāh protect the Shaykh from every evil and raise his rank.