Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani

For other people named Ibn Hajar, see Ibn Hajar (disambiguation).
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Title Shaykh Al-Islam/ Hafidh
Born 18 February 1372
Cairo, Bahri dynasty, now Egypt
Died 2. February 1449 (1449-02-03) (aged 76)[1]
Cairo, Burji dynasty, now Egypt
Resting place City of the Dead (Cairo), Cairo, Egypt
Era Medieval era
Region Egypt
Religion Islam
Denomination Sunni
Jurisprudence Shafi'i
Creed Ash'ari

Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his family origin (Arabic: ابن حجر العسقلاني) (18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449, 852 A.H.[1]), was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith, also known as Shaykh al Islam. He authored some 50 works on hadith, history, biography, tafsir, poetry, and Shafi'ite jurisprudence, the most valued of which being his commentary of the Sahih of Bukhari, titled Fath al-Bari.[3]

Early life

He was born in Cairo in 1372, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali. Both of his parents died in his infancy, and he and his sister, Sitt al-Rakb, became wards of his father's first wife's brother, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who enrolled Ibn Hajar in Quranic studies when he was five years old. Here he excelled, learning Surah Maryam in a single day and memorising the entire Qur'an by the age of 9.[4] He progressed to the memorization of texts such as the abridged version of Ibn al-Hajib's work on the foundations of fiqh.

Education

When he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Mecca at the age of 12, he was considered competent to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan. When his guardian died in 1386, Ibn Hajar's education in Egypt was entrusted to hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by al-Bulqini (d. 1404) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 1402) in Shafi'i fiqh, and Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husain al-'Iraqi (d. 1404) in hadith, after which he travelled to Damascus and Jerusalem, to study under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d. 1407), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d. 1401), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d. 1401). After a further visit to Mecca, Medina, and Yemen, he returned to Egypt. Al-Suyuti said: “It is said that he drank Zamzam water in order to reach the level of al-Dhahabi in memorization—which he succeeded in doing, even surpassing him.”[5]

Personal life

In 1397, at the age of twenty-five, he married Anas Khatun. She was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Hafiz al-Iraqi. Khatun gave celebrated public lectures to crowds of ulema, including al-Sakhawi.

Positions

Ibn Hajar went on to be appointed to the position of Egyptian chief-judge (Qadi) several times.

Death

Ibn Hajar died after Isha prayers on February 2, 1449 at the age of 79. His funeral in Cairo was said to have been attended by an estimated 50,000 people, including the sultan and the caliph.[3]

Works

Ibn Hajar authored more than fifty works on hadith, hadith terminology, biographical evaluation, history, Quranic exegesis, poetry and Shafi'i jurisprudence.

References

  1. 1 2 "USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts". Usc.edu. Retrieved 2010-03-21.
  2. Salmān, Mashhūr Ḥasan Maḥmūd & Shuqayrāt, Aḥmad Ṣidqī (1998). "Tarjamat al-musannif". Muʼallafāt al-Sakhāwī : al-ʻAllāmah al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī, 831-902 H. Dār Ibn Ḥazm. p. 18.
  3. 1 2 Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p.136. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810861615.
  4. Lewis, B.; Menage, V.L.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1971]. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition). Volume III (H-Iram). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 776. ISBN 9004081186.
  5. Thail Tabaqaat al-Huffaath, pg. 251.
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