Abu Shama al-Maqdisi
- Died
- 665 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Abu Shama al-Maqdisi (599–665 AH / 1203–1267 CE) was a Damascus-based Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, Quranic recitation specialist, and historian, renowned for his chronicle Kitab al-Rawdatayn on the reigns of Nur al-Din and Saladin .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Shihab al-Din Abu al-Qasim—also kunya'd as Abu Muhammad—Abd al-Rahman ibn Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn Uthman ibn Abi Bakr al-Maqdisi al-Dimashqi . His family traced its origin to Jerusalem, but he was born in Damascus inside the eastern gate at the head of Darb al-Fawakhir on the night of Friday, 23 Rabi' al-Akhir 599 AH (1203 CE) . He acquired the sobriquet "Abu Shama" (Father of the Mole) on account of a large mole located above his left eyebrow .
Education and Career
Abu Shama completed the memorization of the Quran before reaching ten years of age and mastered the seven canonical recitations under Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi by the time he was sixteen . He traveled to Alexandria to study recitation under Abu Muhammad Isa ibn Abd al-Aziz . In hadith and jurisprudence, he heard transmission from Muwaffaq al-Din ibn Qudama, Dawud ibn Mula'ib, and Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Sullami, and studied under both Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam and Taqi al-Din Ibn al-Salah .
He subsequently issued legal opinions and taught in Damascus, where he assumed the professorship of recitation at the Turbah al-Ashrafiyya, taught at the Madrasa al-Rukniyya in 660 AH, and was appointed head of Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya in 663 AH following the death of Imad al-Din ibn al-Harastani . A prominent circle of scholars transmitted from him, including Sharaf al-Din al-Fazari, Burhan al-Din al-Iskandari, Shihab al-Din al-Labban, Shihab al-Din Husayn al-Kafri, and Ali ibn al-Mihtar .
Scholarly Standing
Abu Shama was regarded as a versatile authority across Quranic sciences, hadith criticism, legal methodology, Arabic grammar, and history . Taj al-Din al-Fazari maintained that Abu Shama reached the rank of independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) . Biographers praised his personal piety, modesty, and avoidance of pretension, noting that he often rode a donkey through Damascus without formality . Among his major writings were Ibraz al-Ma'ani, a detailed commentary on al-Shatibi's poem on recitation variants, and al-Ba'ith 'ala Inkar al-Bida' wal-Hawadith, a treatise devoted to refuting unwarranted ritual innovations . He endowed his personal collection of books to the library of the Adiliyya madrasa .
Assault and Death
On 7 Jumada al-Akhira 665 AH, two men gained entry to Abu Shama's home under the guise of seeking a fatwa and violently assaulted him . He fell severely ill from the beating and died as a consequence on 19 Ramadan 665 AH (1267 CE) in Damascus . He was buried outside Bab al-Faradis to the left of the road leading toward Marjat al-Dahdah .
Answer updated
List of Works
This legal treatise serves as an extended prologue to a projected comprehensive work of comparative jurisprudence. It addresses legal methodology, the synthesis of law and prophetic traditions, the critique of blind imitation (taqlid), and adherence to foundational evidence.
This treatise on legal methodology and jurisprudence critiques the prevalence of blind following (taqlid) and school partisanship. It advocates a return to independent legal reasoning (ijtihad) grounded directly in the Quran and the Sunnah.
This extensive commentary explains al-Qasim ibn Firruh al-Shatibi's didactic poem Hirz al-Amani wa-Wajh al-Tahani (commonly known as al-Shatibiyya) on the seven canonical Quranic readings (qira'at).
This hadith commentary presents an exhaustive textual and isnad analysis of narrations concerning the beginning of the prophetic mission and the onset of revelation.
This treatise on the sciences of the Quran addresses misunderstandings surrounding canonical recitations and the prophetic tradition concerning the seven ahruf. It examines the early recitation and recording of the Quran, the history and purpose of its compilation, and the criteria distinguishing authentic readings from anomalous variants.
al-Ba'ith 'ala Inkar al-Bida' wal-Hawadith (The Motive for Denouncing Innovations and Novelties) is a legal and theological treatise on religious innovations (bid'ah). The work focuses on identifying and refuting newly introduced ritual practices and customs that people mistakenly regard as acts of worship and religious devotion.
al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbar al-Dawlatayn al-Nuriyya wa al-Salahiyya (The Book of the Two Gardens on the History of the Two Dynasties: The Nurid and Saladinic) is a historical chronicle documenting the reigns of Nur al-Din Zanki and Saladin. Focusing on their military campaigns and governance, the narrative extends beyond Saladin's death to record subsequent internal disputes among his successors and related events through 597 AH / 1201 CE.