Abu Bakr Khawqir
- Died
- 1349 AH
- Born in
- Mecca
Abu Bakr Khawqir (1284–1349 AH / 1867–1930 CE) was a Meccan Hanbali jurist, hadith scholar, and teacher at the Grand Mosque of Mecca .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad 'Arif ibn 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad 'Ali Khawqir al-Makki al-Hanbali . His given name was identical to his kunya, though some sources list his name as Bakr, and certain biographers traced his lineage to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq . The surname Khawqir signifies "one who possesses his freedom" or "nature" in Persian, reflecting the language spoken where his ancestors had resided in India .
He was born in Mecca on 26 Dhu al-Hijjah 1284 AH, though another report places his birth in 1282 AH (1865 CE) . He recited and memorized the Quran in his youth and pursued religious education from an early age, developing a particular dedication to the study of hadith .
Education and Travels
Khawqir traveled abroad to acquire early classical texts and study under prominent scholars . During a journey to India in 1313 AH, he met Husayn ibn Muhsin al-Ansari al-Yamani, from whom he heard hadith and read portions of al-Awa'il al-Sunbuliyyah, receiving a formal certification (ijazah) . He also studied under Muhammad Nadhir Husayn in India . In Mecca, Medina, and elsewhere, his teachers included Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Isa al-Najdi, Ahmad Zayni Dahlan, 'Abd al-Rahman Siraj, Muhammad al-Qawuqji, Muhammad al-Ansari, and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hashimi al-Ja'fari . He studied Hanbali jurisprudence under Yusuf al-Barqawi, Muhammad al-Dumani, and 'Abd Allah Sufan .
His students and those who transmitted from him included Muhammad Raghib al-Tabbakh, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Latif Al al-Shaykh, 'Abd al-Sattar al-Dihlawi, and Hasan al-Faqih .
Career, Trials, and Later Life
In 1326 AH (reported elsewhere as 1327 AH), Sharif Husayn ibn Ali appointed Khawqir as the Hanbali mufti of Mecca, but dismissed him after two days . He was subsequently subjected to adversity during Sharif Husayn's rule and was imprisoned for eighteen months, and later for approximately seventy months, owing to his theological positions and his condemnation of saint veneration and tombs . He addressed these issues in his treatise Fasl al-maqal wa-irshad al-dal fi tawassul al-juhhal ("Decisive Discourse and Guidance for the Astray Concerning the Intercession of the Ignorant") .
Following his release, he engaged in the book trade and operated a bookshop near Bab al-Salam in Mecca . During the Saudi administration, a royal decree by King 'Abd al-'Aziz in Safar 1349 AH formally appointed him as an instructor in the Grand Mosque of Mecca, where he taught until his death . He also led prayers as an imam in the Grand Mosque . For beginner students, he dictated Mukhtasar fi fiqh al-Imam Ahmad, an introductory legal manual printed in Cairo in the year of his death .
Death
Khawqir died on Friday, 1 Rabi' al-Awwal 1349 AH (1930 CE) in Ta'if, though some biographical notices state that he died in Mecca .
Answer updated
List of Works
Mukhtasar Khuqayr fi Fiqh al-Imam Ahmad is a concise legal primer (matn) in the Hanbali school of jurisprudence. Dictated to a student as an accessible introductory manual for beginners, the work serves as an abridged guide to Hanbali legal rulings.