Ilorin-raised young scholar tops graduating class at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University
A 27-year-old Nigerian scholar, Muhammadul-Awwal Babatunde, an alumnus of Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin, has emerged the 2025 overall best graduating student at the prestigious Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Muhammadul-Awwal, who gained admission into Al-Azhar in 2020 through a full scholarship offered by Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah, studied Arabic at the Language Development Centre, Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies.
Findings confirmed that he graduated with the highest academic honour awarded by the institution, which is Excellent First Class with Highest Honours— topping both Egyptian and international students across all faculties.
Founded nearly three decades ago by the Ubandoma of Ilorin Emirate and National Mosque Imam, Sheikh Dr Abdulkadir As-Salman Oba Sholagberu, Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah has long produced notable Islamic scholars. Muhammadul-Awwal’s feat, the school says, further underscores its global academic impact.
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Speaking with reporters, the Osun State–born young scholar traced his journey from Kaduna, where he was born, to Ilorin, where he completed his basic education as best graduating student at every level.
After spending over two years studying Food Science at the University of Ilorin, he left upon securing the Al-Azhar scholarship.
He described his academic rise as unexpected, noting that he entered Al-Azhar “simply wanting to learn,” but soon discovered his potential after earning top results in his first year.
He dedicated the achievement to his late mother, his father, and his teachers at Darul-Kitab Wa Sunnah.
Calling the honour “a responsibility,” Muhammadul-Awwal said his success reflects the strength of Nigerian scholarship, promising to contribute to Islamic knowledge and uplift his community on global platforms.
