Abu Abd Allah al-Majari
- Died
- 862 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Abd Allah al-Majari (c. mid-8th century – 862 AH / c. 1349–1458 CE) was an Andalusian scholar and traditionalist known for his bio-bibliographical catalog of transmissions, Barnamaj al-Majari.
Biography and Travels
His full name was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Majari al-Andalusi. He was born around the middle of the eighth Hijri century. He began his studies in Granada and Fez, before embarking on extensive travels across North Africa and the East to pursue knowledge, attending scholarly circles in Tlemcen, Bejaïa, and Tunis. He later journeyed to Cairo, where he studied under several prominent Egyptian authorities. Al-Majari died in 862 AH (1458 CE).
Education and Scholarly Activities
In al-Andalus, al-Majari studied Arabic grammar under Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi and learned from Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi. While in Tunis, he met Ibn Arafa, whom he described as an authority in jurisprudence, legal consultation, and hadith narration.
In Cairo, his primary teacher was the Shafi'i jurist Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini. Under al-Bulqini, al-Majari heard a large portion of Sahih Muslim and studied legal theory (usul al-fiqh) at his madrasa, as well as portions of al-Zamakhshari's Quranic commentary at the Madrasa of al-Zahir Barquq. Al-Bulqini granted al-Majari a general license of transmission (ijaza 'amma) and referred him to his own repertory of chains. A close bond developed between them, and al-Majari taught Arabic grammar to al-Bulqini's children and grandchildren.
Al-Majari compiled his own transmissions and authorities in Barnamaj al-Majari, documenting the texts he studied and his chains of transmission for major works, including Abu Amr al-Dani's al-Taysir. In Rajab 858 AH (July 1454 CE), he granted a formal certificate of transmission authorizing Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Bayyadi, along with his father and brother, to transmit his barnamaj and all of his narrations.
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List of Works
Barnamaj al-Majari is a bio-bibliographical record of scholarly transmissions (barnamaj). The work documents teachers, texts read or heard, chains of transmission (isnads), and scholarly licenses (ijazas) obtained across al-Andalus and during travels to the East.