Shaykh (Sheik) Mustafa al-Maraghi (1881-1945) was an Egyptian jurist and educator who served twice as rector of al-Azhar University and was responsible for modernizing reforms in that institution.

Al-Maraghi was born in Maraghah, the village after which he is called; the village is headquarters of one of the administrative districts of Egypt. His father, Mustafa, was a shaykh (learned doctor) of al-Azhar and a qadi (judge of a religious court); the family is famous in Egypt for the pursuit of the qadi's profession. Because of his father's position the boy grew up in reasonably comfortable circumstances.

Al-Maraghi began his education in the village school, and he had memorized the Koran by age ten; his father then sent him to a shaykh in a neighboring village to learn the art of Koran recitation (tilawah). Shortly after, he was sent to Cairo to study in al-Azhar, where he excelled in...