Ibn al-Mulaqqin
Sirāj al-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ ʿUmar b. ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-Shāfiʿī al-Miṣrī (Arabic: ابن الملقن), commonly known as Ibn al-Mulaqqin (723–804/1323–1401), was a Sunni Egyptian scholar of Andalusian origin who was one of the leading Shafi'i jurists and hadith scholars of his time and known for his voluminous scholarship on Hadith and Fiqh. He was a prolific writer and an expert in the Arabic language.[3][4]
Ibn Mulaqqib | |
|---|---|
| Title | Shaykh al-Islām[1] Siraj al-Din Al-Ḥāfiẓ |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1323 |
| Died | 1401 (aged 77–78) |
| Religion | Islam |
| Region | Egypt |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Creed | Ash'ari[2] |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh, Hadith, Arabic |
| Notable work(s) | Umdat Ul-Muhtaj Ila Sharh Al-Minhaj, Al-I'lam Bi Fawaid Umdat Ul-Ahkam |
| Muslim leader | |
Biography Edit
Born Edit
He was born 723 A.H which corresponds to the year 1323 in Andalous (now known as modern-day Spain). His father called Nur al-Din Ali was an Andalusian by origin and was from a village called Wadi Ash in the province of Granada in southern Spain, where he was a famous scholar in Arabic Grammar and then moved to West Africa where he taught Qu'ran until he had accumulated enough income to immigrate to Cairo and he studied under al-Isnawiy. His father then passed away when Ibn Mulaqqin was young so he was raised and taken care by Shaykh 'Isa al-Maghribi who was requested by his father to look after his family after his death. Al-Maghribi who was a Qu'ran teacher married ibn al-Mulaqqin's mother and therefore raised him to which he became known as Ibn al-Mulaqqin.[3]
Education Edit
He memorised the whole Quran at a young age and studied famous books like Umdatul Ahkam in hadith and al-Minhaj in fiqh. Whilst he was still young, he also heard over a thousand small books or compilations on hadith alone. Ibn al-mulaqqin's stepfather decided he should study the Maliki jurisprudence, but his friends and colleagues advised him that he to be educated in the Shafi'i jurisprudence due to the fact that there were greater opportunities for employment in the Mamluk Sultanate.[5]
He travelled to Cairo, Alexandria, Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Hejaz (Mecca & Medina) and Yemen studying under numerous scholars and most prominently Shaykh al-Islam Taqi al-Din al-Subki and Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi.[4]
Teaching Edit
Ibn Al-Mulaqqin was appointed as the Shafi'i judge in the eastern district of Egypt and deputy chief judge in Cairo. He became a teacher at the mausoleum of al-Salih and taught Shafi'i jurisprudence there. He was given several preaching positions where he undertook them including at the al-Hakim mosque: and he taught hadith briefly in Dar al-Hadith (college of Hadith) in the Kaliliyya madrasa. But Ibn al-Mulaqqin dream was to become the Shafi'i chief judge of Egypt and he found connections through his friends and the future Sultan Barquq but that eventually caused him serious problems with his rival scholars who plotted against him, resulting in his brief imprisonment.[5]
Students Edit
He produced numerous scholars and some of his famous students include:
- Wali al-Din al-'Iraqi the son of Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi
- Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani
- Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli
- Al-Maqrizi
- Ibn Nasir al-Dimishqi
- Ibn al-'Ajmi
Mysticism Edit
Ibn Mulaqqin was a practising Sufi who transmitted the khirqa (a cloak placed on the head from master to disciple which indicates a spiritual lineage of Sufi tradition) and Ibn Mulaqqin claimed to have met the famous immortal saint called Al-Khadir.[5]
Controversy over Ibn Mulaqqin Edit
Despite being highly popular and respected by his contemporaries for his superb commentaries on legal sciences and due to his sheer volume of his writing skills, this sparked attention and led to some major criticism. The Syrian scholar, Ibn Hijji called him a sloppy scholar and accused him for plagiarism. Other Syrian scholars were also very critical of him dismissing him as a "copyist who makes many mistakes". Although such allegations were shut down by many major scholars of his time and those that came after him had defended his honour.[6]
Downfall and Death Edit
Ibn Mulaqqin had a passion for writing and absolutely loved books. By the end of his life, he wrote and accumulated a huge collection but unfortunately, lost them due to a fire breaking out which severely broke him down mentally and leaving him despondent and isolated. Ibn Hajar wrote that "Ibn Mulaqqin was of sound mind before his books burned, but afterwards his son had to hide him." He passed away on a Friday evening on the 15th of October in the year of 1401. He was buried in the Sufi cemetery near his father outside of the Bab al-Nasr, in Cairo.[6]
Legacy Edit
Ibn Mulaqqin stated that God gifted him with love for legal sciences especially in Hadith where he devoted most of his literary efforts. This love is quite evident based on his remarkable literary output. It is said he wrote over 300 unique works which most have not survived. He earned his spot as "one of the three great marvels of his age" the other two being Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini who was the greatest Shafi'i jurist, Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi who was the greatest hadith scholar and Ibn al-Mulaqqin being known for as the greatest prolific writer.[5]
Works Edit
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani said: "He was splendid in character and manners, looked and dressed well, he wrote extensively."[7]
- Muqaddimah al-Badr al-Munir
- Umdat Ul-Muhtaj Ila Sharh Al-Minhaj
- Al-Mu'in Ala Tafahhum Il-Arba'in
- The Specifications Of The Messenger
- Al-I'lam Bi Fawaid Umdat Ul-Ahkam
- Al-Balghat fi Ahadith al-Ahkam
- Hada'iq al-Haqa'iq
- Tabaqat al-Muhadithin
- Al-'Uddah fi Ma'rifat rijal al-'Umdah
- Al-I'lam bi Fawa'id 'Umdat al-Ahkam
- Shawahid al-Tawdhih fi Sharh al-Jami' al-Sahih
- Sharh al-Arba'in al-Nawawiyah
- Sharh Zawa'id Muslim ibn al-hajjaj
- Sharh Zawa'id Abi Dawud 'Ala al-Sahih
- Al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhrij al-Ahadith wal Athar al-Waqi'at fi al-Sharh al-Kabir
- Khulasat al-Badr al-Munir
- Al-Muntaqa min Khulasat al-Badr al-Munir
See also Edit
Citations Edit
- ^ Haddad 2015, p. 291
- ^ "Some of the names of scholars of the Ash'ari nation". alsunna.org.
- ^ a b Fleet et al. 2019, p. 93
- ^ a b Necmettin Kızılkaya 2021, p. 123
- ^ a b c d Fleet et al. 2019, p. 94
- ^ a b Fleet et al. 2019, p. 95
- ^ "List of works of Ibn al-Mulaqqin". islam786books.com.
References Edit
- Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (2019). Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Yearbook 2018. pp. 91–95. ISBN 978-90-04-39877-1.
- Necmettin Kızılkaya (2021). Legal Maxims in Islamic Law Concept, History and Application of Axioms of Juristic Accumulation. Brill Nijhoff. p. 123. ISBN 9789004444669.
- Al-Bayhaqi (1999). Allah's Names and Attributes. Vol. 4 of Islamic Doctrines & Beliefs. Translated by Gibril Fouad Haddad. Islamic Supreme Council of America. p. 221. ISBN 9781930409033.
- "Ibn al-Mulaqqin — Brill". referenceworks.brillonline.com. Brill Online Reference Works. 2018.
- Aftab Ahmad Rahmani (2000). The Life and Works of Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani. Islamic Foundation Bangladesh. pp. 75–79. ISBN 9789840690183.
- Khaled Abou El Fadl (2006). The Search for Beauty in Islam A Conference of the Books. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 6. ISBN 9780742550940.
- Haddad, Gibril (2015). The biographies of the elite lives of the scholars, imams & hadith masters. Zulfiqar Ayub.
External links Edit
- (PDF) Ibn al-Mulaqqin | Nathan Hofer on Academia.edu
- Ibn al-Mulaqqin's page on Goodreads
- Mulaqqin's al-Tadhkirah by Mohammad Zahid on InkofFaith.com