Ahmad Farid

Life

He was born in July 1952 in Minya al-Qamh, in Sharqia Governorate, into a modest family; his father worked for the agrarian reform administration. After secondary school in Sinbillawayn he studied medicine, completing the preparatory year in Mansoura before moving to Alexandria University, where he graduated as a physician.

At university he co-founded an Islamic student group with Ibrahim al-Zaafarani, then met Sheikh Muhammad Ismail al-Muqaddim and turned to Salafism. Together with al-Muqaddim, Said Abd al-Azim, Muhammad Abd al-Fattah Abu Idris and Yasser Borhami, he belonged to the core of students who started the Alexandria Salafi movement in the 1970s. He was detained several times, notably in 1987 and 2002. After the January 2011 revolution, which allowed the movement to resume its activities in full, he became a member of the Salafi Call's board of trustees.

Works

His books include Tadhkirat al-Abrar bil-Janna wal-Nar, Al-Bahr al-Ra'iq fil-Zuhd wal-Raqa'iq on asceticism and softening the heart, Al-Thamarat al-Zakiyya fil-Aqa'id al-Salafiyya and Al-Udhr bil-Jahl, a refutation of takfir. His lessons and sermons are widely circulated in audio and video.