The renowned scholar and exegete, Muhammad at-Tahir bin Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him), was born in Tunisia in 1296 AH / 1879. He was a follower of the Maliki school and his family's origins can be traced back to the Idrisi Sharifs of Morocco. He excelled in various fields of knowledge such as Sharia (Islamic law) and language, and was proficient in both French and Arabic. He held prominent academic and administrative positions such as teaching, issuing religious edicts (fatwas), and was appointed as the Shaykh of the Zaytuna mosque. Among his many valuable and notable works is his commentary on the Quran titled "At-Tahrir wat Tanwir". He passed away in Tunisia in 1394 AH / 1973 at the age of almost one hundred.