His Eminence Dr. Hj Japar Hj Mat Dain

6 January، 2022

His Eminence Dr. Haji Jaffar bin Haji Mat Daud Maidin was born in the Sultanate of Brunei in 1961. He completed his secondary education at Hassanal Bolkiah Arab Religious Secondary School for Boys (1972-1978) and continued his studies at Al-Junied Islamic School in Singapore (1979-1982). He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree (Al-Ijazah Al-‘Aliyah) from the Faculty of Usul al-Din, Al-Azhar University in 1987. He later earned a Diploma in Islamic Jurisprudential Studies from the Institute of Islamic Studies of Brunei Darussalam in 1994, a Master’s Degree from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2000, and a Doctorate (Ph.D.) from the same university in 2011.

His Eminence was appointed as a designated member of the Council of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), representing the Sultanate of Brunei on 14 March 2017. Throughout his career, he has held numerous prominent positions. He served as a Religious Officer at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (1988-1992), a Judge in the Brunei-Muara District Court (1992-1994), Senior Fatwa Research Officer at the State Mufti’s Office of Brunei Darussalam (1994-2001), and Head of the Fatwa Research Department in the same institution (2002-2015). Since 2015, he has served as Deputy State Mufti of Brunei Darussalam.

In addition, His Eminence currently serves as:

Member of the Islamic Religious Council of Brunei Darussalam;
Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council for Qur’an Recitation Assessment;
Member of the Zakat Committee of the Islamic Religious Council;
Member of the Halal Certification and Halal Label Inspection Committee;
Member of the Committee of Scholars for the Review and Interpretation of the Brunei Darussalam Mushaf;
Member of the Mosque Construction Fund Committee;
Member of the Board of Directors of the Brunei Darussalam Monetary Authority; and
Member of the National Council of the Shariah Financial Supervisory Authority under the Ministry of Finance of Brunei Darussalam.

His Eminence has also participated extensively in numerous local and international conferences, presenting scholarly papers at several of them.

Academic and Professional Experience

Religious Officer, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Brunei Darussalam (1988-1992).
Judge, Brunei-Muara District Court, Brunei Darussalam (1992-1994).
Senior Fatwa Research Officer, State Mufti’s Office, Brunei Darussalam (1994-2001).
Head of the Fatwa Research Department, State Mufti’s Office, Brunei Darussalam (2002-2015).
Deputy State Mufti, State Mufti’s Office, Brunei Darussalam (since 2015).

Professional Memberships

Representative Member, International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA).
Member, Islamic Religious Council of Brunei Darussalam (present).
Vice Chairman, Supreme Council for Qur’an Recitation Assessment of Brunei Darussalam (present).
Member, Zakat Committee of the Islamic Religious Council (present).
Member, Halal Certification and Halal Label Inspection Committee (present).
Member, Committee of Scholars for the Review and Interpretation of the Brunei Darussalam Mushaf (present).
Member, Mosque Construction Fund Committee (present).
Member, Board of Directors of the Brunei Darussalam Monetary Authority (present).
Member, National Council of the Shariah Financial Supervisory Authority, Ministry of Finance, Brunei Darussalam (present).
Member, Public Prosecution Council (1994).
Member, Steering Committee for the Establishment of Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (2005-2007).
Member, Shariah Advisory Council for Islamic Banks in Brunei (2006-2008).