Abu Bakr al-Hamali
- Died
- 769 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Bakr al-Hamali (d. 769 AH / 1367 CE) was a Yemeni Hanafi jurist, grammarian, and poet based in Zabid, best known for his didactic legal poem Durr al-Muhtadi wa Dhukhr al-Muqtadi .
Name and Career
His full name was Abu Bakr ibn Ali ibn Musa al-Hamali, also bearing the honorific title Siraj al-Din and the kunya Abu al-Atiq (or Abu Atiq) . He pursued religious scholarship under various teachers and took up residence in Zabid, where he taught jurisprudence at the Mansuriyya madrasa . A number of scholars studied under him, most prominently the Hanafi jurist Abu Bakr ibn Ali al-Haddad, who later composed an extensive commentary on al-Hamali's versification titled Siraj al-zalam wa-badr al-tamam .
Scholarly Standing
The historian al-Khazraji described al-Hamali as a virtuous, discerning, and meticulous scholar versed in jurisprudence, the Arabic language, grammar, and poetry, adding that he held high esteem among the people, that leadership in issuing legal rulings (ifta') culminated with him, and that he was remarkably gifted in poetic eloquence .
Al-Hamali's primary scholarly contribution was his versification of al-Marghinani's legal primer Bidayat al-mubtadi, entitled Durr al-muhtadi wa-dhukhr al-muqtadi and widely referred to as al-Manzuma al-Hamaliyya, in which he rendered the substantive branches of Hanafi law into accessible poetic verse . He also authored an explanatory work on al-Quduri's legal summary .
Death
Al-Hamali died in Zabid in 769 AH (1367 CE); another report records his death in 777 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Durr al-Muhtadi wa Dhukhr al-Muqtadi Nazm Bidayat al-Mubtadi, commonly known as al-Hamiliyya, is a versification of al-Marghinani's legal text Bidayat al-mubtadi in Hanafi jurisprudence. It renders the underlying prose into concise, accessible verse to facilitate memorization for beginners and guide advanced students across the branches of Hanafi law.