The appointment came upon a nomination from the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, according to a statement by Al-Azhar Sheikhdom on Sunday.

Ayyad is succeeding Shawki Allam, who has held the post since March 2013.

Dar Al-Ifta is the Egyptian authority responsible for issuing religious edicts.

Egypt new mufti
 

Ayyad previously served as the secretary-general of Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Academy.

He also worked as a professor of Creed and Philosophy and vice dean of the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Girls in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate.

Ayyad earned his bachelor’s degree in Fundamentals of Religion, specializing in Creed and Philosophy in 1995.

Later, he obtained a master’s degree in the same field in 2000 and completed his PhD with first-class honours in 2003.

Ayyad started his academic life as a teaching assistant and progressed to an assistant lecturer, then a lecturer, and eventually an associate professor at the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion in Mansoura.

After that, he joined the staff of the Faculty of Islamic and Arabic Studies for Girls in Kafr El-Sheikh as an associate professor in the Department of Creed and Philosophy, and then a full professor in 2016.

In addition, Ayyad has been actively involved in various professional and community roles.

Currently, he serves as a member of the World Association for Al-Azhar Graduates, the Egyptian Family House, and the Environment Protection and Addiction Control Team at the Ministry of Youth.