Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī (), also known as al-Siʿdī (1889–1957), was an Islamic Scholar from Saudi Arabia. He was a teacher and an author in Unaizah, Saudi Arabia. He authored more than 40 books in several different fields including tafsir, fiqh, and 'aqidah. al-Sa'di was an influential figure in the field of tafsir and his book of tafsir entitled Taysir al-Kareem al-Rahman has been described as arguably one of the most popular tafsirs written by modern salafi scholars. He served as the imam and khateeb for the largest jami' mosque and director of the religious training school, al-Ma'had al-'Ilmi, of Unayzah.
Early life
Al-Sa'di was born in the city of Unayzah, al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia on 7 September 1889. His father, Nasir al-Sa'di, was an imam and preacher in a mosque in the Unayzah. His mother, Fatimah bint Abdullah al-'Uthaymeen, died when he was four years old, and his father died when he was seven. He was initially cared for by his father's second wife and was later transferred to the guardianship of his oldest brother, Hamad ibn Nasir al-Sa'di. He completed his memorization of the Qur'an by the age of eleven and then pursued religious education from the scholars in his locality. In his teenage years, his fellow students began to refer to him for help in their studies.
Teachers
Al-Sa'di had a number of teachers. These included
Sheikh Muhammad Abdul-Kareem ibn Shibl, under whom he studied fiqh, usool al-fiqh, and the Arabic language Sheikh Abdullah ibn A'idh, under whom he studied fiqh, usool al-fiqh, and the Arabic language Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Hamad ibn Jasir, under whom he studied tafsir, hadeeth and hadeeth sciences Sheikh Sa'b al-Tuwayjiri, undr whom he studied fiqh and usool al-fiqh Sheikh Ali ibn Muhammad al-Nasaa'i, under whom he studied usool al-deen Sheikh Ali ibn Nasir ibn Wadi, under whom he studied hadeeth, tafsir, usool al-tafsir, and usool al-hadeeth, and was also granted ijazah in the six books of hadeeth Sheikh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqiti, under whom he studied tafsir, hadeeth, mustalah al-hadeeth, and the Arabic language Sheikh Salih ibn Uthman Aal al-Qadhi, under whom he studied tawheed, tafsir, fiqh, and the Arabic language Sheikh Muhammad al-Mani', under whom he studied the Arabic language Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Salih ibn Isa, under whom he studied usool al-deen
With each of his primary teachers, he studied their respective fields of expertise, as ibn Shibl, ibn A'idh, al-Tuwayjiri and Salih ibn Uthman were each experts in fiqh and usool al-fiqh; ibn Wadi and ibn Jasir were experts in tafsir, hadeeth and hadeeth sciences; al-Nasaa'i was a specialist in al-tawheed; and al-Shinqiti and al-Mani' were experts in the Arabic language.
al-Sa'di's teachers had studied in a number of different regions including the Hijaz, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, India and Mauritania. In this way, al-Sa'di was exposed to a number of different sources of knowledge outside of his own Najd region without having had to travel.
Out of his teachers, al-Sa'di studied the most under sheikh Salih ibn Uthman Aal al-Qadhi (judge of Unayzah and imam of its Jami' mosque) and remained a regular student of his until al-Qadhi's death in 1932/1351AH.
al-Sa'di studied under sheikh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shinqiti when al-Shinqiti came to teach in Unayzah in 1911/1330AH.
al-Sa'di also showed great interest in the writings of ibn Taymiyah and ibn al-Qayyim and was significantly influenced by their works.
Professional life
Al-Sa'd began formally teaching at the age of 23. He continued attending classes as a student while simultaneously teaching his own classes until 1931/1350AH when he dedicated himself entirely to teaching, writing, and delivering fatawa.
In 1935/1354AH, al-Sa'di completed his 8 volume complete tafsir of the Qur'an, entitled Taysir al-Kareem al-Rahman. Taysir al-Kareem al-Rahman has been described as arguably one of the most popular tafsirs written by modern salafi scholars.
In 1941/1360AH, al-Sa'di established a public library in Unayzah with funds provided by the governor. This library was built as an extension of the city's jami' mosque and was the first public library in all of the Najd region of Saudi Arabia.