Abd al-Razzaq al-Kaylani
- Died
- 595 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Abd al-Razzaq al-Kaylani (528–603 AH / 1134–1207 CE) was a Baghdad-based Hanbali jurist and hadith master (hafiz) known for compiling the hadith collection al-Arba'un an Arba'in Shaykhan and recording discourses in Jala' al-Khatir.
Lineage and Family
He was Abu Bakr Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi Salih al-Jili (also vocalized al-Kaylani or al-Jaylani) al-Baghdadi. Later sources also assign him the honorific Taj al-Din and the kunya Abu al-Faraj. He bore the nisba al-Halabi in reference to the al-Halba quarter in eastern Baghdad. He was born in Baghdad on the evening of Monday, 18 Dhu al-Qa'da 528 AH.
His father was the ascetic preacher Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. He married Amat al-Karim Taj al-Nisa bint Fada'il ibn Ali al-Tikriti (d. 613 AH), who was herself a transmitter of hadith. Several of his children engaged in scholarly pursuits, most notably his son Abu Salih Nasr ibn Abd al-Razzaq (d. 633 AH), who served as chief judge (qadi al-qudat), and Abu al-Mahasin Fadl Allah.
Education and Scholarship
Al-Kaylani began hearing hadith under his father's guidance before pursuing studies independently, acquiring original manuscripts and primary transmissions. Among his principal teachers were Abu al-Husayn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Sirma, Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Umar al-Urmawi, Abu al-Fadl Ibn Nasir, Abu Bakr ibn al-Zaghuni, Abu al-Karam al-Shahrazuri, Ahmad ibn Tahir al-Mayhani, Said ibn Ahmad ibn al-Banna, and Abu al-Waqt Abd al-Awwal al-Sijzi. He studied jurisprudence under his father and attained broad familiarity with the Hanbali school, though his prominence in hadith ultimately overshadowed his legal scholarship.
He compiled forty hadiths from forty distinct shaykhs in al-Arba'un an Arba'in Shaykhan, and gathered his father's spiritual lessons in Jala' al-Khatir min Kalam al-Shaykh Abd al-Qadir.
A significant cohort of traditionists studied and transmitted under him, including Ibn al-Dubaythi, Ibn al-Najjar, Diya' al-Din al-Maqdisi, al-Najib Abd al-Latif al-Harrani, al-Taqi al-Yaldani, and his son Nasr. He also granted general authorizations (ijaza) to scholars such as Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri, Shams al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Umar, Fakhr al-Din Ali, and Ibn Shayban.
Standing and Death
Contemporaries praised al-Kaylani for his precision and personal piety. Ibn Nuqta described him as a trustworthy and reliable memorizer of hadith (hafiz thiqa ma'mun). Diya' al-Din al-Maqdisi stated that he had not seen anyone in Baghdad matching al-Kaylani's vigilance and exacting scrutiny in transmission. Abu Shama characterized him as an ascetic, devout, reliable scholar who lived in seclusion and remained content with minimal worldly means.
Al-Kaylani died in Baghdad on the night of Saturday, 6 Shawwal 603 AH. A variant biographical entry records his death year as 595 AH / 1199 CE.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Arbaun al-Kaylaniyya (The Forty Hadiths of al-Kaylani) is a hadith collection belonging to the traditional arba'iniyyat genre. It compiles forty selected hadiths received from forty distinct, prominent teachers, curated for visiting students and seekers of knowledge. Each entry features a single tradition preceded by a direct chain of transmission tracing back to the Prophet, addressing diverse religious and moral subjects such as the merits of the Companions, righteous deeds, intercession, and adherence to the Muslim community.