Abu Bakr Ibn al-Labbad

Abu Bakr Ibn al-Labbad (250–333 AH / 864–944 CE) was a Maliki jurist, mufti, and scholar from Kairouan, recognized for his defense of the Maliki school in works such as al-Radd 'ala al-Shafi'i (The Refutation of al-Shafi'i) Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.

Early Life and Education

His full name was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Wishah ibn al-Labbad al-Lakhmi (also recorded in one transmission as Muhammad ibn Wishah), with clientage tracing back to al-Aqra', a client of Musa ibn Nusayr al-Lakhmi Tawdih al-Mushtabah+1. Born in Kairouan in 250 AH (864 CE), he received his education locally and undertook neither travel to the East nor the pilgrimage to Mecca al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

He studied under several prominent scholars of Ifriqiya, chief among them Yahya ibn 'Umar, upon whom he relied most heavily Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. His teachers also included Yahya's brother Muhammad ibn 'Umar, 'Abd Allah ibn Talib, Hamdis al-Qattan, Sa'id al-Haddad, and Ahmad ibn Mazid al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1.

Scholarly Career and Fatimid Persecution

Ibn al-Labbad trained a prominent cohort of scholars who disseminated Maliki jurisprudence across North Africa, including Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Tabban, Diras ibn Isma'il, and Ziyad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Qarawi al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. His core circle of students was compared by contemporaries to the leading disciples of Malik ibn Anas Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…. Beyond positive law, he engaged with theological questions, authoring 'Ismat al-anbiya' (The Infallibility of the Prophets) Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

During the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate (Banu 'Ubayd), Ibn al-Labbad was subjected to official persecution. He was imprisoned, and after his release, the Fatimid authorities forbade him from teaching publicly and prohibited him from issuing legal verdicts except in conformity with Fatimid doctrine Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. Consequently, he confined himself to his home, where students gathered in secret to read texts, concealing their manuscripts under their garments Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…. He was also subjected to flogging by al-Taharti over a disputed deposit Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…. In open defiance of the ruling authorities, he maintained his attendance at the Saturday assembly in Kairouan, citing the Quranic verse: وَلَا يَطَئُونَ مَوْطِئًا يَغِيظُ الْكُفَّارَ ("nor do they take any step that angers the disbelievers") al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru….

Standing and Death

Ibn al-Labbad was regarded as an authoritative jurist and mufti, noted for his piety, asceticism, and mastery over the legal agreements and differences of the scholars of Medina Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

In his final years, he suffered from hemiplegia al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. He died in Kairouan on a Saturday in the middle of Safar 333 AH (October 944 CE), five days before the Kharijite rebel Abu Yazid entered the city al-Tafsir wa al-Mufassiru…+1. Following his death, his student Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani composed an extensive elegy in his honor Tarajim al-Muallifin al-T…+1.