Entering the Protection of Non-Muslims & its Ramifications According to Islamic Law: Shaykh Abd al-Haqq Turkmani was born in Kirkuk, Iraq in 196g where his father, Mulla Haqqi ‘Ali Turkmani, was a well-known imam and khatib. He studied in Thänawiyyah Islamiyyah in Kirkuk before moving on to higher studies at the Faculty of Sharia in Baghdad University. Due to the situation in Iraq at the time and health concerns, the Shaykh was unable to complete his studies. He then sought knowledge directly from scholars in the traditional manner, and his teachers included the Kurdish scholar Shaykh Muhammad Amin al-Zankanah (d. 1997), the hadith specialists Shaykh Hamdi b. ‘Abd al-Majid al-Salafi al-Kurdi (d. 2012) and Subhi al-Samirä Tal-Baghdadi (d. 2013), and Professor, Dr Bashär ‘Awad Ma’rüf, from whom he obtained the skill of editing manuscripts. The Shaykh also obtained hadith licences (ijazät) from a number of scholars including the hadith specialist Shaykh ‘Abd al-Ghafar b. Hasan al-Rahmäni (d. 2007) of Pakistan. The Shaykh migrated to Turkey following the deteriorating conditions in Iraq and continuing health complications, before moving on to Sweden and then, the United Kingdom, where he established the Centre for Studies in the Interpretation of Islam. The Shaykh regularly participates in Islamic conferences in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc., and continues to share a strong connection with many respected scholars in the Islamic World. In 2010, the Shaykh was awarded the Naif Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud International Prize for his contribution to a research paper entitled Interaction with Non-Muslims According to the Prophetic Summah; the Shaykh authored the first part of the paper consisting of 450 pages of topical hadiths and narrations with critical references and explanation. Aside from several other books and research papers covering creed, hadith and contemporary Islamic issues, the Shaykh has also worked tirelessly in publishing the entire corpus of the famous Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm al-Qurtubi (d. 1064) and to date, has published over seven critical editions of Ibn Hazm’s books.
