Abu al-Yaman Ibn Asakir

Abu al-Yaman Ibn Asakir (614–686 AH / 1217–1287 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i hadith scholar and ascetic who spent much of his later life in the Hijaz Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+1. He is best known for his treatise on the visitation and landmarks of Medina, Ithaf al-za'ir wa-itraf al-muqim lil-sa'ir Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.

Lineage and early life

He was Amin al-Din Abu al-Yaman Abd al-Samad ibn Abd al-Wahhab ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Hibat Allah ibn Asakir al-Dimashqi al-Shafi'i Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. He was born into the prominent Banu Asakir scholarly family in Damascus on Monday, 12 Rabi' al-Awwal 614 AH (1217 CE) Takmilat Siyar Alam al-Nu…+1.

Education and travels

Abu al-Yaman studied hadith under prominent scholars across multiple regions. In Damascus, he heard narrations from his grandfather Zayn al-Umana Abu al-Barakat al-Hasan ibn Asakir, Ibn Qudamah, Abu al-Qasim ibn Sasra, Majd al-Din al-Qazwini, and Ibn al-Bunni Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+1. His father took him to Iraq in 634 AH, where he heard hadith from scholars in Baghdad, and he also studied in Cairo and Alexandria al-Aqd al-Thamin fi Tarik…+1. He obtained written transmission licenses (ijazat) from distant authorities, including al-Mu'ayyad al-Tusi, Abu Ruh Abd al-Mu'izz al-Harawi, al-Qasim ibn Abd Allah al-Saffar, and Zaynab bint Abd al-Rahman al-Sha'riyya Fawat al-Wafayat+1.

Life in the Hijaz and students

Abu al-Yaman relocated to the two holy sanctuaries, where he lived as a resident ascetic (mujawir) for roughly forty years, primarily residing in Mecca and Medina Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+1. He became known as the foremost hadith authority of the Hijaz in his era Fawat al-Wafayat+1. Contemporary scholars held him in high esteem; when his student Ibn al-Attar set out for the pilgrimage from Nawa, al-Nawawi entrusted him with personal greetings to deliver to Abu al-Yaman, prompting Abu al-Yaman to compose lines of verse upon receiving them Fawat al-Wafayat+1.

Numerous scholars attended his circles and transmitted his works. His prominent students included Jamal al-Din al-Matari, Badr al-Din al-Fariqi, al-Radi ibn Khalil al-Makki, al-Qutb al-Halabi, Khalis al-Baha'i, and Ali al-Wasiti al-Aqd al-Thamin fi Tarik…+1. In Medina, he composed Ithaf al-za'ir wa-itraf al-muqim lil-sa'ir, which al-Matari transmitted directly from him, as well as a short work titled Timthal na'l al-nabi transmitted by al-Fariqi Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.

Standing and death

Biographers described Abu al-Yaman as a devout, truthful, and ascetic scholar with broad competence in the religious sciences, refined handwriting, and an aptitude for poetry Fawat al-Wafayat+1.

He died in Medina in Jumada al-Ula 686 AH (1287 CE)—reported specifically as the end of the month, though some accounts place the death in the middle ten days of the month, or in 687 AH—and was buried in the cemetery of al-Baqi Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+2.