His Eminence, the Grand Mufti of Zahle and Bekaa, Sheikh Khalil Al-Mays, may he rest in peace.

Name and Lineage: Sheikh Khalil bin Muhiyy al-Din bin Hasan Al-Mays.

Birth and Upbringing: Born in 1941 in the town of Mekseh in Bekaa, Zahle district. He grew up in a rural environment, received his elementary education in his village's school, then moved to the official school in Qabb Elias. He obtained his fifth-grade certificate in 1955. Even after his religious studies, he would assist his family in the fields during summer vacations.

Pursuit of Knowledge: After completing his elementary studies and obtaining a certification, his father registered him at the religious college, currently Al-Azhar in Beirut. He stayed in the college's internal department for five years, acquiring knowledge until his graduation in 1961. This led him to study at Al-Azhar University in Egypt after obtaining his religious high school diploma.

Motivations for Seeking Religious Knowledge:

1. His rural environment: Sheikh Khalil emphasized the religious nature of the old rural environment and the direct connection of rural life with divine elements in nature.
2. Influence of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ajouz, who, along with his brothers, worked on building and renovating mosques in Beirut. Sheikh Ahmed introduced Sheikh Khalil to religious studies in Beirut and facilitated his journey to Al-Azhar University in Egypt in 1961.

Positions Held:

• Upon his return from Al-Azhar, he was appointed by the late Mufti Hassan Khaled to manage Al-Azhar in Lebanon, a position he held until 2009.
• Appointed as the Mufti of Zahle and Bekaa in 1985, a position he held until his passing.
• As the Mufti of Zahle and Bekaa, he served as the head of the board of trustees of Bekaa's endowments.
• Represented Bekaa in the Higher Islamic Sharia Council for over 25 years.
• Director of Al-Azhar in Bekaa since its establishment in 1985 until his passing.
• Representative of Lebanon in the Islamic Fiqh Council in Mecca since 1980.
• Member of the Sharia Scholars Council in America since 2000.
• Instructor at the Faculty of Sharia at Dar al-Fatwa, Al-Azhar in Bekaa, and the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies - Postgraduate Studies Department affiliated with the Maqasid Association in Beirut.

Achievements and Works: After being assigned to issue fatwas, he obtained permission from Sheikh Hassan Khaled, the Mufti of the Republic, to establish an Al-Azhar branch in Bekaa for preparatory studies. He initiated the construction of Al-Azhar, which now includes preparatory, secondary, and university levels with 600 male and female students. Sheikh Khalil aimed to make Al-Azhar in Bekaa a multi-disciplinary university, similar to Al-Azhar in Egypt, a beacon of Islamic knowledge, and to integrate Islamic culture into all scientific disciplines.

On the scientific and advocacy level:

• During his tenure at Al-Azhar Lebanon, he contributed to the publication of several scientific books even before assuming the position of Mufti.
• Participated in numerous scientific conferences, delivered various scientific, intellectual, and advocacy lectures, and wrote many articles.
• Supervised many master's theses in Sharia faculties in Beirut and Tripoli and also participated in the defense of many university theses.
• Visited several Arab and foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, pre-occupation Iraq, Oman, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Venezuela, Canada, and the United States.
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Published Works:

1. Book on the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence.
2. Memoir on the history of legislation.
3. Research on the jurisprudence of zakat.
4. Discussions on contemporary intellectual and jurisprudential issues.
5. Al-Wafi in Islamic jurisprudence.
6. Al-Wafi in the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence. He has several research papers presented at jurisprudential conferences.

Research Contributions:

1. Authored the "Al-Mu'tamid in the fundamentals of jurisprudence" by Imam Abu al-Husayn al-Basri.
2. Extracted scattered flowers in the recurrent news by Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti.
3. Introduction of Al-Ghaznavi by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad Al-Ghaznavi.
4. The Journey of Happiness by Imam Muhammad al-Shirazi.
5. Evaluation of Evidence in the fundamentals of jurisprudence by Imam Abu Zaid al-Dabousi.
6. The Criterion between Truth and Falsehood by Imam Ibn Taymiyyah.
7. The Goodness of Virtues in the Biographies of Imam Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man by Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haythami.