Abd al-Mumin ibn Khalaf al-Dumyati
- Died
- 705 AH
- Born in
- -
Abd al-Mumin ibn Khalaf al-Dumyati (613–705 AH / 1217–1305 CE) was an Egyptian Shafi'i hadith scholar, genealogist, and lexicographer . Renowned as one of the preeminent hadith masters of his era, he was particularly noted for his extensive chains of transmission, expertise in Arabic philology, and his biographical dictionary of teachers .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Sharaf al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Mumin ibn Khalaf ibn Abi al-Hasan ibn Sharaf ibn al-Khidr ibn Musa al-Tuni al-Dumyati; he was also given the kunya Abu Ahmad and was known as Ibn al-Jamid . He was born in Tuna, a village situated in the lake of Tennis within the administrative district of Damietta, in late 613 AH . Alternate reports place his birth in Muharram 614 AH or in 610 AH .
He was raised in Damietta, where he studied Shafi'i jurisprudence under the brothers Abu al-Makarim Abd Allah and Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn, the sons of al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Sa'di . He memorized legal and theoretical texts, including Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's al-Tanbih and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's al-Mankhul, before Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Nu'man directed him toward the specialized study of hadith . He also studied Quranic recitation in the seven canonical readings under Kamal al-Din Ali ibn Shuja' al-Qurashi .
Travels and Education
Al-Dumyati began his formal audition of hadith in 636 AH—with another report stating 632 AH—traveling to Alexandria to study under roughly twenty disciples of Abu Tahir al-Silafi, including Ali ibn Zayd al-Nisarsi, Zafir ibn Shahm, and Mansur ibn al-Dabbagh . Moving to Cairo, he attached himself closely to Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri for several years and served as his teaching assistant .
He performed the pilgrimage to the Hejaz in 643 AH, hearing narrations in Mecca and Medina . In 645 AH, he journeyed to Syria, residing in Damascus and studying extensively under the associates of Ibn Asakir as well as Ibn Musallama . He traveled to Aleppo, where he studied under Yusuf ibn Khalil and Abu al-Qasim ibn Rawaha, and continued through the Jazira and Iraq, visiting Harran, Mardin, Hama, and Baghdad . In Baghdad, he heard from the surviving students of Shuhda and Ibn Shatil, and he compiled a collection of forty hadiths for the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim .
Scholarly Career and Students
Upon returning to Egypt, al-Dumyati was appointed to teaching posts, becoming the first scholar to teach hadith at al-Madrasa al-Mansuriyya, and he delivered lessons at al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyya in Cairo . He compiled a massive biographical dictionary of his teachers, Mu'jam al-shuyukh, documenting between 1,250 and over 1,300 authorities whom he had met across Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, and the Hejaz . Among his other specialized monographs were Kashf al-mughta fi tabyin al-salat al-wusta on identifying the middle prayer and al-Matjar al-rabih fi thawab al-amal al-salih on the rewards of righteous deeds .
Students traveled from various regions to study under him . Prominent scholars who transmitted from him include Yusuf ibn al-Zaki al-Mizzi, Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi, Alam al-Din al-Birzali, Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, and the grammarian Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi . Earlier scholars, such as Abu al-Fath al-Abaywardi, also narrated from him and included him in biographical dictionaries decades before al-Dumyati's death .
Standing and Assessment
Al-Dumyati was widely recognized for his precision in hadith criticism, deep command of Arabic lexicography, and mastery of Arab genealogy . Al-Mizzi stated, "I have not seen anyone with greater memorization than him" . Al-Birzali described him as the last surviving hadith master to combine elevated chains of transmission with expansive critical comprehension . Al-Dhahabi noted that he was articulate, pleasant in appearance and character, scrupulous in his transcriptions, and maintained sound traditional theological beliefs while refraining from speculative theology (kalam) .
Death
Al-Dumyati died suddenly in Cairo on Sunday, 15 Dhu al-Qa'da 705 AH, at approximately ninety-two years of age . Another report records the date as 10 Dhu al-Qa'da . While fasting and attending a dictation assembly, he suffered a fainting spell, was carried to his residence, and passed away immediately . He was buried the following day in the Bab al-Nasr cemetery outside Cairo . An absentee funeral prayer was held for him in Damascus .
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List of Works
This work is the opening section of a comprehensive biographical dictionary of hadith teachers. It records the authorities from whom hadith was received and transmitted across Egypt, the Hejaz, the Levant, Iraq, and the Jazira. The compilation is arranged alphabetically by the given names of the transmitters, beginning with teachers named Muhammad.
This biographical dictionary volume is the sixth part of a larger compilation documenting hadith teachers met across Egypt, Damascus, Aleppo, Harran, Mardin, Hama, the Hejaz, and Iraq. Covering thirty-two teachers named Muhammad, each entry provides lineage details, transmitted narrations, full chains of transmission, meeting locations, and precise vital dates.
This biographical and genealogical work is dedicated to the genealogy, history, and biographical notices of the Arab tribe of al-Khazraj, one of the two principal tribes of the Ansar, along with their sub-clans, allied lineages, and clients. Structured around the five sons of al-Khazraj ibn Haritha, it details generations from Companions onward, incorporating transmissions and correcting earlier genealogical errors.
This short hadith monograph gathers eighteen narrations transmitted with elevated chains of narration along with several poetic selections. Drawn from auditory receipts across centers such as Alexandria, Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, and Baghdad, the work examines legal, moral, and historical subjects while evaluating the technical relationships and height of each chain relative to major canonical collections.
This volume constitutes the seventh fascicle of a comprehensive dictionary of hadith teachers, documenting thirty-one instructors whose given name was Muhammad. Each entry integrates prosopography and hadith transmission by detailing the scholar's lineage, the settings of auditory transmission, sample narrations with complete chains, cross-references to major canonical hadith collections, and vital dates.
This work is a preserved eighth section from a biographical dictionary of hadith teachers. It covers twenty-five scholars, concluding the dictionary's opening division dedicated to transmitters named Muḥammad. Each entry documents the teacher's full name, lineage, and nisbas, alongside notes on audition locations, hadith transmissions with complete chains, comparative remarks on canonical collections, recited poetry, and precise biographical data such as birth, death, and burial locations.
This specialized hadith tract documents elevated chains of transmission (isnad) that achieve the technical rank of musafaha ("handshake") with Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj and al-Nasa'i, alongside an appended narration linking to both Muslim and Abu Dawud. The work presents specific hadiths received through independent routes to demonstrate how the number of intermediaries between the compiler and early sources matches that of the canonical compilers' direct students.
This work is the second fascicle of a comprehensive biographical dictionary of hadith teachers. Covering a sequence of scholars whose given names begin with Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, the text provides each teacher's full lineage, nisbas, sobriquets, and the specific city and mode of audition. Entries also feature representative hadiths with full chains of transmission, comparative notes on variant routes in canonical collections, and essential biographical dates and burial places.
This collection of hadiths focuses on elevated chains of transmission, specifically featuring tisa‘iyat (hadiths with nine intermediaries between the compiler and the Prophet) and muwafaqat (concordances that reach a major master's teacher via an independent path). The work arranges these elevated transmissions into technical categories such as substitutes, concordances, and handshakes to establish connections with canonical collectors such as Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa'i.
Belonging to the forty-hadith genre, this collection gathers forty narrations transmitted through elevated nine-link chains (tusā‘iyyāt) that provide alternate pathways corresponding to traditions in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Each entry features an unbroken nine-intermediary chain serving as a substitute, agreement, or handshake relative to canonical compilations, accompanied by analytical commentary on transmission routes, cross-references, narrator milestones, and audition locations.
This hadith treatise focuses on patience and the heavenly reward promised to parents who lose children. Dictated at al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyya in Cairo on 24 Rabi' al-Awwal 673 AH (1274 CE), it outlines the virtue of those who endure the loss of offspring and kin with steadfastness at the initial shock of calamity, documenting the divine recompense and honor conveyed through traditions of the Prophet's Companions.
This text is the fifth fascicle of an overarching biographical dictionary of teachers. Situated within the alphabetical section dedicated to transmitters named Muhammad, it contains biographical entries for thirty-six scholars, spanning from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri to Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Andalusi, detailing their lineages, legal affiliations, received narrations, and dates of birth and death.
This work is an individual fascicle from a comprehensive biographical dictionary of hadith teachers. Continuing the alphabetical sequence of authorities named Muhammad, it contains notices for thirty-one scholars, opening with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ismail ibn al-Furat al-Lakhmi and concluding with Muhammad ibn Salama. Each entry records biographical data, auditory sessions, licenses, and narrated traditions with full chains of transmission.
This work is the fourth fascicle of a biographical dictionary of teachers, located within the alphabetical section dedicated to authorities named Muhammad. Transmitted via dictation to students, it contains biographical entries for thirty-three teachers, commencing with Muhammad ibn Sunqur and concluding with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz.