Biographies

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idriss descended from the Hashimi family of the Quraysh tribe to which the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, belonged. He was born in Gaza, Palestine in 150H / 767CE, and became famous as Imam Ash-Shafi'i.

His father died when he was very young and he was brought up by his mother in a very poor home. Thinking his relatives would help her raise him to be a good Muslim, she took him to Makkah. He spent a lot of his time among the Bedouins as he mastered Arabic and acquired great knowledge of Arabic poetry.

At the age of twenty, he went to Madinah and remained there as a student of Imam Malik till the latter's death in 796CE. He spent a total of nine years with Malik during which he managed to learn everything Malik had to offer. He also came into contact with other learned men from whom he acquired more knowledge of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Imam Ash-Shafi'i possessed a very sharp memory and knew all of Imam Malik's Muwatta by heart.

But, acquiring the knowledge of the scholars in Madinah was only the start for Ash-Shafi'i because he travelled extensively to most of the places known for knowledge at the time. In 187H / 804CE, he visited Syria and from there proceeded to Egypt where he settled. As a student of Imam Malik, he was received with great honour and respect by the people and scholars of Egypt. And, in 810CE he went to Baghdad and there he was surrounded by a large number of students who were eager to acquire knowledge of the faith and practices of Islam from him. One important student there was Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

The Shafi'i school of Fiqh (Jurisprudence) emerged from these students who practised and propagated the views and rulings of Imam Ash-Shafi'i through their writings and preaching.

Imam Ash-Shafi'i wrote several books, the most well known of which is called Al-Umm, which is a collection of writings and lectures of the Imam. A number of his students have also collected his writings, lectures and rulings in the form of books, or quoted him in their books.

Baghdad, Iraq and Cairo, Egypt were the chief centres of Imam Ash-Shafi'i's activities. It is from these two cities that the teachings of the Shafi'i school spread in the 9th century CE. During the time of Sultan Salahuddin, the Shafi'i Madhhab (or school of Jurisprudence) was the most prominent in Egypt, and to this day the Imam of the Al-Azhar Masjid is always a Shafi'i and the Shafi'i Madhhab is industriously studied along with that of the other three schools of the Ahlus-Sunnah.

Imam Ash-Shafi'ee was a man of strong and vigorous mind, better acquainted with the world than Imam Abu Hanifah and Imam Malik. He formed, from the materials furnished by Imam Jafar as-Sadiq, Imam Malik and Imam Abu Hanifah, an eclectic school, which found acceptance chiefly among the middle classes. The Shafi'i Madhhab has followers in Northern Africa, parts of Egypt, in Southern Arabia, and the Malayan Peninsula, and among the Muslims of Ceylon and the Bombay State in India.

During his life Imam Ash-Shafi'ee also suffered from political intrigues. For instance, after studying under Imam Malik in Madinah he was sent to fill an office Yemen, where he was accused of political involvement which resulted in his arrest. He was taken as prisoner to Harun ar-Rashid. The Khalifah, however, found him innocent and the Imam was honourably released. Imam Ash-Shafi'i died in the year 820CE in Egypt.

(s) Al-Jumu'ah Magazine, vol. 12, issue 2, Safar 1421H

Biography I - Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406CE)

Part One

'Abdur-Rahman ibn Muhammad is generally known as Ibn Khaldun after a remote ancestor. His parents, originally Yemenite Arabs, had settled in Spain, but after the fall of Seville, had migrated to Tunisia. He was born in Tunisia in 1332CE, where he received his early education and where, still in his teens, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Sultan Barquq. His thirst for advanced knowledge and a better academic setting soon made him leave this service and migrate to Fez. This was followed by a long period of unrest marked by contemporary political rivalries affecting his career. This turbulent period also included a three year refuge in a small village Qalat Ibn Salama in Algeria, which provided him with the opportunity to write Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world history that won him an immortal place among historians, sociologists and philosophers. The uncertainty of his career still continued, with Egypt becoming his final abode where he spent his last 24 years. Here he lived a life of fame and respect, marked by his appointment as the Chief Malaki Judge and lecturing at the Al-Azhar University, but envy caused his removal from his high judicial office as many as five times.

Ibn Khaldun's chief contribution lies in philosophy of history and sociology. He sought to write a world history preambled by a first volume aimed at an analysis of historical events. This volume, commonly known as Muqaddimah or 'Prolegomena', was based on Ibn Khaldun's unique approach and original contribution and became a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The chief concern of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. In this context, he analysed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, Al-'Asabiyyah, give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and political power and how, later on, its diffusion into a more general civilization invites the advent of a still new 'Asabiyyah in its pristine form. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of rise and fall in human civilization, and analysed factors contributing to it. His contribution to history is marked by the fact that, unlike most earlier writers interpreting history largely in a political context, he emphasised environmental, sociological, psychological and economic factors governing the apparent events. This revolutionised the science of history and also laid the foundation of Umraniyat (Sociology).

Apart from the Muqaddimah that became an important independent book even during the lifetime of the author, the other volumes of his world history Kitab al-I'bar deal with the history of Arabs, contemporary Muslim rulers, contemporary European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, etc., Islamic History, Egyptian history and North-African history, especially that of Berbers and tribes living in the adjoining areas. The last volume deals largely with the events of his own life and is known as At-Tasrif. This was also written in a scientific manner and initiated a new analytical tradition in the art of writing autobiography. A book on mathematics written by him is not extant.

Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy of history, sociology, political science and education has remained paramount ever since his life. His books have been translated into many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired subsequent development of these sciences. For instance, Prof. Gum Ploughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship to Machiavelli's The Prince written a century later, as the former bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and psychological factors.

Part Two

"Whoever takes someone's property, or uses him for forced labor, or presses an unjustified claim upon him. It should be known that this is what the Lawgiver had in mind when he forbade injustice."

Ibn Khaldun, considered the greatest Arab historian, is also known as the father of modern social science and cultural history. Born in Tunis to a politically influential and devout family, his early education was marked by the high intellectual stimulation that such affluence afforded. In 1349CE the Black Death struck Tunis and took away his mother and father, as well as many of his teachers. He was therefore eager to exchange the loneliness of Tunis for a political post in Fez, the current center of political power and cultural life in North Africa. But Ibn Khaldun had a restless spirit, and spent much time traveling from city to city and from political post to political post in the Muslim world.

In 1375CE, craving solitude and exhausted by the business of politics, Ibn Khaldun settled down with his family near what is now the town of Frenda in Algeria and there wrote his masterpiece, the Muqaddimah. What began as a universal history of the Arabs and Berbers, developed into a philosophy of history. The subsequent study of the nature of society and societal change led him to develop what he understood to be a new science of culture.

As part of this new science, Ibn Khaldun aimed to analyze objectively economic issues, and to show the consequences of various policies. He thought that those things mandated by God can be shown scientifically to be the best social policies, and that this is the natural consequence of the fact that economic principles and the foundation of the good life were both created by God. These laws dictated that the state has certain limited functions: the defense of the community against injustice and aggression, the protection of private property, the prevention of fraud in exchanges between citizens, the overseeing of the mint to safeguard the currency, and the wise exercise of political leadership. He denounced high taxation and government competition with the private sphere because they lower productivity, take away the incentive of people to work hard, and ultimately ruin the state.

(s) The Political Economy of the Classical Islamic Society by Imad A. Ahmad, and Ibn Khaldun's Philospohy of History by Mushin Mahdi (University of Chicago Press, 1971).

Biography II

Ibn Khaldun is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology and Sciences of History. He is best known for his famous 'Muqaddimah' (Prolegomena). 'Abdur-Rahman ibn Muhammad, generally known as Ibn Khaldun after a remote ancestor, was born in Tunis in 732H (1332CE) to an upper class family that had migrated from Seville in Muslim Spain. His ancestors were Yemenite Arabs who settled in Spain in the very beginning of Muslim rule in the eighth century.

During his formative years, Ibn Khaldun experienced his family's active participation in the intellectual life of the city, and to a lesser degree, its political life. He was used to frequent visits to his family by the political and intellectual leaders of western Islamic states (i.e., North Africa and Spain), many of whom took refuge there. Ibn Khaldun was educated at Tunis and Fez, and studied the Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad's Traditions and other branches of Islamic studies such as Dialectical theology, Shari'ah (Islamic Law of Jurisprudence, according to the Maliki School). He also studied Arabic literature, philosophy, mathematics and astronomy. While still in his teens, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Sultan Barquq.

Ibn Khaldun led a very active political life before he finally settled down to write his well-known masterpiece on history. He worked for rulers in Tunis and Fez (in Morocco), Granada (in Muslim Spain) and Biaja (in North Africa). In 1375CE, Ibn Khaldun crossed over to Muslim Spain (Granada) as a tired and embittered man solely for the reasons of escaping the turmoil in North Africa. Unfortunately, because of his political past, the ruler of Granada expelled him. He then went back to Algeria to spend four years in seclusion in Qalat Ibn Salama, a small village. It was in Qalat he wrote Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world history that won him an immortal place among historians, sociologists and philosophers. The uncertainty of his career continued because of unrest in North Africa. Finally, he settled in Egypt where he spent his last twenty-four years. Here, he lived a life of fame and respect, marked by his appointment as the Chief Malaki Judge. He also lectured at the Al-Azhar University.

Ibn Khaldun had to move from one court to another, sometimes at his own will, but often forced to do so by plotting rivals or despotic rulers. He learnt much from his encounters with rulers, ambassadors, politicians and scholars from North Africa, Muslim Spain, Egypt and other parts of the Muslim world.

Ibn Khaldun is most famous for his book 'Muqaddimah' (Introduction). It is a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The main theme of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. He analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, Al-'Asabiyyah, produce the ascent of a new civilization and political power. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of the rise and fall in human civilization, and analyzed factors contributing to it.

Ibn Khaldun's revolutionary views have attracted the attention of Muslim scholars as well as many Western thinkers. In his study of history, Ibn Khaldun was a pioneer in subjecting historical reports to the two basic criteria of reason and social and physical laws. He pointed out the following four essential points in the study and analysis of historical reports:

1. relating events to each other through cause and effect,
2. drawing analogy between past and present,
3. taking into consideration the effect of the environment, and
4. taking into consideration the effect of inherited and economic conditions.

Ibn Khaldun's pioneered the critical study of history. He provided an analytical study of human civilization, its beginning, factors contributing to its development and the causes of decline. Thus, he founded a new science: the science of social development or sociology, as we call it today. Ibn Khaldun writes, "I have written on history a book in which I discussed the causes and effects of the development of states and civilizations, and I followed in arranging the material of the book an unfamiliar method, and I followed in writing it a strange and innovative way." By selecting his particular method of analysis, he created two new sciences: Historiology and Sociology simultaneously.

Ibn Khaldun argued that history is subject to universal laws and states the criterion for historical truth: "The rule for distinguishing what is true from what is false in history is based on its possibility or impossibility: That is to say, we must examine human society and discriminate between the characteristics which are essential and inherent in its nature and those which are accidental and need not be taken into account, recognizing further those which cannot possibly belong to it. If we do this, we have a rule for separating historical truth from error by means of demonstrative methods that admits of no doubt. It is a genuine touchstone by which historians may verify whatever they relate."

Because of his emphasis on reason and its necessity in judging history and social events, some scholars have claimed that Ibn Khaldun tried to refute conventional religious knowledge and substitute for it reason and rational philosophy. This claim is unfounded. It is known that some schools teach things which are irrational in nature. But this is not true of Islam which has always encouraged observation and thinking, and reminded the nonbelievers for not using their reason and thinking. An example is the Verse 164, Chapter 2 of the Qur'an: "Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the benefit of mankind; in the rain which God sends down from the skies; and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that he scatters through the earth; in the change of winds and the clouds which they trail like slaves between the sky and the earth; - (here) indeed are signs for people that are wise and think." Qur'an 2:170: "When it is said to them: 'Follow what God hath revealed.' They say, 'Nay: We shall follow the ways of our fathers.' What! even though their fathers were devoid of wisdom or reason and guidance?"

Ibn Khaldun remarked that the role of religion is in unifying the Arabs and bringing progress and development to their society. He pointed out that injustice, despotism, and tyranny are clear signs of the downfall of the state. Ibn Khaldun points out that metaphysical philosophy has one advantage only, which is to sharpen one's wits. He states that the knowledge of the metaphysical world particularly in matters of belief can only be derived from revelation.

He was a pioneer in education. He remarked that suppression and use of force are enemies to learning, and that they lead to laziness, lying and hypocrisy. He also pointed out to the necessity of good models and practice for the command of good linguistic habits. Ibn Khaldun lived in the beginning period of the decline of Muslim civilization. This experience prompted him to spend most of his efforts on collecting, summarizing and memorization of the body of knowledge left by the ancestors. He vehemently attacked those unhealthy practices that created stagnation and stifling of creativity by Muslim scholars.

Ibn Khaldun emphasized the necessity of subjecting both social and historical phenomena to scientific and objective analysis. He noted that those phenomena were not the outcome of chance, but were controlled by laws of their own, laws that had to be discovered and applied in the study of society, civilization and history. He remarked that historians have committed errors in their study of historical events, due to three major factors: (1) Their ignorance of the natures of civilization and people, (2) their bias and prejudice, and (3) their blind acceptance of reports given by others.

Ibn Khaldun pointed out that true progress and development comes through correct understanding of history, and correct understanding can only be achieved by observing the following three main points. First, a historian should not be in any way prejudiced for or against any one or any idea. Second, he needs to conform and scrutinize the reported information. One should learn all one could about the historians whose reports one hears or reads, and one should check their morals and trustworthiness before accepting their reports. Finally, one should not limit history to the study of political and military news or to news about rulers and states. For history should include the study of all social, religious, and economic conditions.

The Muqaddimah was already recognized as an important work during the lifetime of Ibn Khaldun. His other volumes on world history Kitab al-I'bar deal with the history of Arabs, contemporary Muslim rulers, contemporary European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Islamic History, Egyptian history and North-African history, especially that of Berbers and tribes living in the adjoining areas. The last volume deals largely with the events of his own life and is known as At-Tasrif. As with his other books, it was also written from an analytical perspective and initiated a new tradition in the art of writing autobiography. He also wrote a book on mathematics which is not extant.

Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy of history, sociology, political science and education has remained paramount down to our times. He is also recognized as the leader in the art of autobiography, a renovator in the fields of education and educational psychology and in Arabic writing stylistics. His books have been translated into many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired subsequent development of these sciences. Prof. Gum Ploughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship to Machiavelli's The Prince written a century later, as the former bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and psychological factors.

(s) The abridged and edited version of The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, published by the Princeton University Press, Bollingen Series, Fifth Printing, 1981.

The Shaykh's full name was Abu 'Abdullah Hammoud ibn 'Abdullah ibn Hammoud ibn 'Abdur-Rahman at-Tuwayjiri from the the tribe of Bakr ibn Wayl Batn from Rabi'ah in Saudi Arabia. He was born in the city of Al-Majma'ah on Friday 15 of Dhul-Hijjah 1334H (October 15, 1916CE) and his father died in the year 1342H (1924CE) when he was eight years old.

As a boy, Hammoud at-Tuwayjiri began reading at the hand of Shaykh Ahmad as-Sani' in the year 1342H, just days before the death of his father. He learned, at the Shaykh's hand, the fundamentals of reading and writing and he memorized the Qur'an at the age of eleven. He also learned from the book "Al-Usul ath-Thalathah" by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahab (may Allah have mercy upon his soul). He began learning the book "Al-Fiqh al-Akbar" with Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdul-'Aziz al-'Anawi the Judge of Al-Majma'ah and had mastered it at the age of 13. He learned many sciences and arts by his thirties; Tafsir, Hadith, Tawhid, Fiqh, Language, History, Literature and others. He had committed to memory a number of Islamic texts. He earned an Ijaza in narrating the sahih books, and the sunan and the masanid as well as relating the books of Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim, and in teaching the Hanbali madhhab as well as all of the books of authentic narrations (marwiyat li'l-kutub al-athbat).

Additionally, he studied at the hand of the jurist Al-Allamah Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Muhsin al-Khayal, the Judge of Madinah in grammar and Al-Fara'id. He also studied under his Eminence Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Humayd (may Allah have mercy on his soul) a judge of Al-Majma'ah in language and Al-Fara'id.

The Shaykh became a judge in Rahimah and Ra's at-Tanurah in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia in the year 1368H (1949CE) for six months. He then took over a judgeship in Az-Zulfi in 1369H (1950CE) until the end of 1372H (1953CE) until he took an excuse from judging. He was asked to work for many academic associations and was asked to teach in Al-Ma'had Al-'Ilmiyyah Ibban then in the College of Shari'ah, then in the Islamic University in Madinah, then to work for Dar ul-Ifta, but he refused all of that in order to be free to study, do research, and write.

The Shaykh continued in his pursuit of knowledge and in its dissemination through many writings which were widely accepted by scholars and students in his time. His writings were highly acclaimed by scholars such as Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Ali'sh-Shaykh (may Allah grant him mercy) and Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Humayd ibn Humayd (may Allah grant him mercy) and Shaykh 'Abdul-'Aziz ibn 'Abdullah ibn Baz and Shaykh 'Abdur-Razaq 'Afifi and the Shaykh wrote on diverse topics in 'aqidah and ahkam and adab and as-suluk.

He opposed every one of the atheistic modernists and rebutted them with his pen in defense of the sunnah and sound 'aqidah of Ahlus-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah and his refutations were published in booklets, articles and in national and international journals. The Shaykh has over fifty writings, forty of which have been published such as: "Encirclemement of the Jama'ah By What Will Come from Trials, Slaughter, and Signs of the Hour", "The Conclusive Refutation Against the Sinful Criminal" [Rebuttal of those who attack Sahih al-Bukhari], "Severe and Sharp Finish To Those Who Would Oppose The Kitab, the Sunnah, the Consensus and the Traditions" [Rebuttal to those who have permitted interest [riba] in the banks], "Affirmation of Allah Being High Above His Creation", "A Heated Word on Ordering the Good and Forbidding Evil", "The Belief of the People of Faith Regarding the Creation of Adam upon the Image of Ar-Rahman", "Clarification And Explanation Of Those Matters Which Many Fall Into Regarding The Confusions Of The Mushrikin" and this work. The Shaykh also provided commentary to many books.

His students were few because of his involvement in the work previously described. However, some of them were 'Abdullah ar-Rumi, 'Abdullah Muhammad Hammoud, and Nasir Tariri. The Shaykh's sons, 'Abdullah, Muhammad, 'Abdul-'Aziz, 'Abdul-Karim, Saleh and Ibrahim learned from him, continued many of his works, and are versed in all of his works. Many callers to Islam have studied with the Shaykh such as Shaykh Safar al-Hawali, Shaykh Isma'il al-Ansari, Shaykh Salman ibn Fahd al-Awdah, Shaykh 'Abdul-'Aziz ibn Ibrahim ibn Qasim, Judge of the Grand Council in Riyadh, Shaykh Rabi' ibn Hadi al-Madkhali, Shaykh Saleh 'Abdul-'Aziz ibn Muhammad Ali'sh-Shaykh and others. The Shaykh was known for his high and noble character. He spoke softly and with wisdom, and he was not overly talkative but rather, full of ideas and serious thought. He was also gentle, mild-tempered and one who would sit with his children and the members of his household. He was easy with them without making distinctions between them and always applied fairness between male and female. His fairness was such that upon his death none of his children could say which from among them was more beloved. His kindness and compassion to the young and the womenfolk was evident in his speech and behavior.

He loved to offer advice through practical example in speech and deed. He never withheld advice or shunned consultation even with the youngest of his children and many times he changed what he was writing, or left a matter which he was attending to, or took up what he had left off based upon such consultation or advice. He always upheld Allah's limits whenever he found proof from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and never put before them the word of a friend or the opinion of a scholar. He was as was said of Imam Ash-Shafi'i (rahimahullah) - that when he was convinced of a proof from the sunnah of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) he would never leave it for what may have been said by people. He always turned to the truth and stopped at that. He would take every step to rectify what he saw that may have been in error when shown what was correct. The eminent muhaddith Shaykh Muhammad Nasir ud-Din al-Albani mentioned his love of the Shaykh, his admiration for him, and praise for him.

Shaykh At-Tuwayjiri was intense in his anger for the sake of Allah upon learning of anyone openly disobeying Allah and His Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) or opposing the sunnah or spreading innovation. He was very strong for the truth and no amount of disparagement from the people of innovation and vain desires could deter him and he fought them with his tongue and his pen. The shaykh was extremely self-reliant and would not ask for help even from those closest to him.

The Shaykh was always in worship of Allah, spending his days in study and research until the sunset and until the night and he would sometimes stay up after 'Isha completing what he had started during the day. This is how he spent his final days. He would take a light nap after Dhuhr prayer. He would spend the final third of the night in Tahajjud whether traveling or at home and did not leave this practice even during his illness until he was unable to stand and he never left the Witr until his dying day, may Allah have mercy upon his soul!

The Shaykh took to heart the advice of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) to his companions (radiallahu 'anhum) and never neglected fasting three days of each month until the time he was unable to do so due to illness near the end of his life. He regularly fasted during the first ten days in Dhul-Hijjah, six days in Shawwal or 'Ashura and other times. He was also regular in doing Hajj and 'Umrah and indeed would go on 'Umrah every year especially in Ramadhan. He would take half of the year in Makkah with his sons. He would constantly recite the Qur'an in any position until he would do work while reciting and would also complete the Qur'an every seven days except in Ramadhan when he would do so every three days. He would recite nearly four 30ths [Ajza] in his nightly standing in prayer.

His final illness began during the last three years however he concealed this up until the last year when it became more intensified. He was hospitalized three times and the last time just two days before his death. In his final illness he was patient and content with that which Allah had decreed for him until he passed away in the final hour of Tuesday, 5th of Rajab 1413H (December 30, 1992CE). May Allah grant him the widest mercy and give him the best abode in the Paradise and put him in the company of the Prophets, the Siddiqin, the Martyrs, and the Righteous. Amin.

The prayer for him was made after Salat ul-Dhuhr on Wednesday 6 Rajab 1413H (December 31, 1992CE) in Masjid ar-Rajihiyy in Riyadh and he was buried in the An-Nasim graveyard. His funeral was attended by masses who filled the masjid and every street and path leading to it along with many callers, scholars, and notables with Shaykh 'Abdul-'Aziz ibn 'Abdullah ibn Baz leading the prayer. The Shaykh was eighty seven years, six months and twenty days old at the time of his death. From Allah we come and to Him do we return.

(s) Adapted from a eulogy by 'Abdul-Karim ibn Hammoud at-Tuwayjiri

Al-Imam Ibn Qudamah: He is Shaykh ul-Islam Muwaffaq ad-Din Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qudamah ibn Miqdam ibn Nasr al-Maqdisi al-Jama'ili.

He was born in Nablis - Palestine in Sha'ban 541H.

He memorised the Qur'an at an early age, studied its sciences and was known to have a nice hand-writing.

He left with his cousin, Al-Hafidh 'Abdul-Gani, for Baghdad in 561H and caught up with Shaykh 'Abdul-Qadir in his final days (i.e. before he passed away). They stayed at his school, learning from him as well as from other scholars and student of knowledge of that time such as Ibn al-Jawzi, Hibatullah ibn al-Hasan ad-Daqaq, Abi'l-Fath ibn al-Batti, Abi Zur'ah ibn Tahir, Yahya ibn Thabit, Khadijah an-Nahrawaniyyah and others.

He also studied with the following scholars of his time:

• Damascus / Syria - Abi al-Makarim ibn Hilal
• Mowsil / Iraq - Abi'l-Fadl at-Tusi
• Makkah al-Mukarramah - Al-Mubarak ibn at-Tabbakh

Some of the Scholars that relayed his 'Ilm (knowledge) to us are:

• Al-Baha'
• 'Abdur-Rahman
• Al-Jamal Abu Musa ibn al-Hafidh
• Ibn Khalil
• Ibn an-Najjar
• Ash-Shams ibn Kamal
• Zaynab bint al-Wasiti and many others

He was known for his vast knowledge, wisdom and wit and renown as the Scholar of the people of Ash-Sham of his time. Ibn an-Najjar describes him as:

"The Imam of Al-Hanabilah in Damascus Mosque, he was a trust worthy, noble figure, extremely generous, of a clean character, a cautious worshipper, follower of the Salaf methodology, emitting light (of knowledge and piety) and repectful. One may benefit from his sighting before even hearing his speech!"

Some of his books:

• Al-Mughni - 10 volumes
• Al-Kafi - 4 volumes
• Ar-Rawdah - 1 volume
• Ar-Riqqah - 1 volume
• At-Tawwabin - 1 volume
• Al-I'tiqad - 1 volume
• Al-Mutahabbin - 1 volume

...and many others.

He died on Saturday, the Day of 'Eid-ul Fitr in 620H. May Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, accepts him in His vast mercy, benefit us from his knowledge and gather us with his likes on the Day of Judgement, amin.

(s) Extracted from Siyar A'lam an-Nubala'

His name is Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad 'Ali al-Kinani al-Asqalani. His great grandparents lived in Asqalan where they entered it in the year 583H. The word Hajar is the name of one of his grandfathers. His kunya is Abul-Fadl and his Laqab is Shihabuddin.

This city Asqalan is found in Palestine in Gaza. Ibn Hajar was born on the 12th of Sha'ban, 773H. Ibn Hajar was an orphan. His father who was a great scholar and merchant died in the year 777H (making Ibn Hajar only four years old). His mother passed away before that and so he was an orphan from both of his parents. Ibn Hajar had an older brother who was very learned, but died before Ibn Hajar and due to this his father became very upset and saddened. One of the pious people saw a dream and he gave glad tidings to the father of Ibn Hajar, and told him that he would be succeeded by a person who would be better than him and have a long life. Ibn Hajar himself then says that, "I was born and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opened my hands for me."

Meaning that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him good knowledge and a sound memory.

Ibn Hajar is regarded to be one of the rare people in our beautiful history, as Shaykh al-Albani said, "Ibn Hajar was the strongest of those 'Ulama who had memorised hadith," and so there was no one really the same as him in regards to what he memorised and to the precision that he done it.

Ibn Hajar went to school where they make you memorise the Qur'an. When he was only five years old. He completed the memorisation of the Qur'an. When he was nine years old he would lead the people in Tarawih prayer in Makkah in the year 785H (when he was just twelve years old). His guardian or the person looking over him was Zakiuddin and he had been requested by the father of Ibn Hajar to take care of him.

So the fact that Ibn Hajar was able to memorise the Qur'an at such a tender age, shows the precision and strength of his memory. Ibn Hajar first heard Sahih al-Bukhari from one of his earliest scholars Affifuddin an-Nashawari.

In the year 786H, Ibn Hajar moved from Makkah to Egypt where he memorised a number of small summarised books like Al-'Umda al-Hadith and also Al-Hawi which is a book in Shafi'i Fiqh and also Mukhtasir al-Hajib which is a book on Usul ul-Fiqh and other books like in grammar. Then for a short period of time for certain reasons, he stopped seeking knowledge and then in the year 790H, he again returned in seeking the knowledge of the different sciences of knowledge, which the students of knowledge concentrate on. Such as Tafsir and Qira'at, but something that he was very fond of and what he started doing more often was reading History. History of battles and wars and he also had a great love for reading Arabic literature. Some of the scholars would encourage him to read about History and Literature. One of these scholars was Al-Badr al-Bushtaki who encouraged him to read al-Ghani, which was one of the greatest books written in Arabic literature. It's almost 20-30 volumes long and Ibn Hajar read this, such that he would hear poetry and know who mentioned it as well as understanding the meaning of the poetry (this is very important for one who wants to understand the Qur'an and the Sunnah), this reading and understanding of literature. Ibn Hajar would even write poetry himself. He started to read more into the sciences of hadith and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him the love and inspired him to learn the sciences of hadith and its memorisation and in doing so he benefited himself and the Ummah greatly.

In 796H, Ibn Hajar started to turn to knowledge with great enthusiasm and hard-work. He himself says that, "The veil between him and knowledge was removed for him and the doors were opened for him to learn with great and strong resolve." He was able to acquire much knowledge and was blessed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this regard. He would travel much in the days of learning in the morning and in the evening trying to learn from the scholars of his time. Amongst the most famous of scholars that he learnt from were Al-Hafidh al-Iraqi and Ibn al-Mulaqqin, who were two famous scholars of hadith and he learnt from these two scholars and other scholars like them. He traveled to Alexandria, to Ash-Sham, Syria, to Egypt and to other places as well, where he would get benefit and also benefit others. One of the times when Ibn Hajar went to Sham, he was 60 years old and at this time he had already become a great scholar (he had become high in his knowledge and learning), but this didn't prevent him from learning and traveling to seek knowledge. This showed the keenness and steadfastness of this great Imam in learning the knowledge from the people. During this visit to Yemen he said that he met some of the scholars such as Firazuddin al-Abbadi, the great grammarian and scholar who wrote one of the dictionaries of the Arabic Language and he also met the King of Yemen. When he came back from Yemen, the boat that he was coming back on capsized and many of the books that he had written were lost. All of this shows the great lengths that Ibn Hajar went to, to learn and write about Islam.

Ibn Hajar took a number of posts and different positions in his life, despite the fact that he did not want these positions, but because the people asked him to take these positions, he did so. One such position was teaching the different Islamic Sciences such as Tafsir, Qira'at, etc. He was also the Mufti, so he would give fatawa (he would give legal rulings). He was also a judge, and took the position of the person who would give the Khutbah on the days of Jumu'ah. These positions in those times were only given to the scholars, or those who could fulfill the criteria of these positions.

As for the teachers of Ibn Hajar, he has more than eight hundred. He wrote a book talking about his various different teachers who he learnt from. Also his students were very many, such that a student would come and learn from him and then the son of the student would also come and learn from him. So a father and son would take priding in having learned from Ibn Hajar owing to the rank that Ibn Hajar held in his lifetime.

Also the different scholars in the land were students of Ibn Hajar himself. He had many books and these books spread out amongst the Muslims world in his lifetime. Even the teachers and contemporaries of Ibn Hajar would request his books. Even more so than his students, so that they may learn from them. This showed the level that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had placed Ibn Hajar that he was above most of the contemporaries of his time.

Ibn Hajar was well known for his piety, being detached from the world (his Zuhd). Al-Buqa'i mentions about Ibn Hajar that he would fast continuously and eat very little. He would also be careful of eating the food of other people and if he was travelling then he would eat whatever he wish to, and if his money were to run out, then he would eat things (lowly things) that normal people wouldn't like to eat. People would eat meat, those who took salaries from the government for example the army, etc. But he would never take any of the food from these people because of his piety and his cautiousness of where his food would come from.

The scholars of Islam would give Ibn Hajar precedence and they would honour him whether they be the scholars of his time or those who came after him. Al-Buqa'i said about him that he is the leader of the people, the Imam of the Muslims. Ash-Shawkani said about him, that he is the great famous hafidh well knowledgeable about hadith. So if the word Al-Hafidh is given to anyone, then by ijma' or after him is given to Ibn Hajar and Ibn Hajar alone. So if the word Al-Hafidh is said, then it indicated Ibn Hajar, unless the word Al-Hafidh is qualified by someone else. This shows the great level and rank that Ibn Hajar reached.

Another scholar said about him, that he is one of the great scholars of the scholars of our past he is the Leader of The Believers in regards to hadith, he is the most knowledgeable scholar of his time. About his great book Fath al-Bari, the Shaykh said, it is like a dictionary of the Sunnah. Rather it is a dictionary of all the Islamic Sciences. This book would be said to be beneficial in the sense that if you were to ask a question, then Ibn Hajar would provide such as answer in this great book, that the questioners thirst would be quenched.

Concerning his books, then Ibn Hajar has a great number of books, his most famous book is Fath al-Bari, which is the explanation of Sahih al-Bukhari and also his book Tahrib wa't-Tahrib, which is a book concerning the different narrators in the Kutub as-Sitta. He has books in all the various Islamic Sciences such as Hadith, Tafsir, Ulum al-Qur'an. On Tuesday 14th of Dhul-Hijjah the year 852H, he became ill, such that Saturday 18th of the same month, he passed away in Cairo (may Allah have mercy on his soul).