Bakhit studied at al-Azhar and taught there from 1875 to 1880, when he was appointed qadi (Muslim judge) of Qalyubiyya, after which he served as a judge in various provincial centers, Alexandria, and Cairo. He was appointed Egypt's chief mufti on 21 December 1914, serving until 1921. He opposed Muhammad 'Abduh's reforms at al-Azhar, issued a fatwa (Muslim legal opinion) to warn Muslims against bolshevism (presumably meaning politically inspired violence) in the midst of the 1919 Revolution, and took conservative stands on such issues as the translation of the Quran, women's rights, and the abolition of family awqaf. After he ceased to be the chief mufti, he attacked severely 'Ali 'Abd al-Raziq's al-Islam wa Usul al-Hukm (Islam and the Principles of Rule).