al-Amir al-Maliki

al-Amir al-Maliki (1154–1232 AH / 1742–1817 CE), also known as Muhammad al-Amir al-Kabir, was an Egyptian Maliki jurist, grammarian, and hadith transmitter who served as the head of the Maliki scholars at al-Azhar and authored the legal text al-Majmu' al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu Abd Allah (and in some sources Abu Muhammad) Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Sanbawi al-Maliki Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. His family traced their roots to the Maghreb before settling in Egypt, later taking up residence in the village of Sanbu near Manfalut in Upper Egypt Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…+1. He was born in Sanbu in Dhu al-Hijjah 1154 AH (1742 CE) Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…+1. The title al-Amir ("the Prince") came from his grandfather Ahmad and his great-grandfather Abd al-Qadir, who held administrative leadership in Upper Egypt Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…+1. He was later styled al-Amir al-Kabir ("the Elder") to distinguish him from his son Muhammad, who was known as al-Amir al-Saghir Thamar al-Thamam Sharh Gh….

He memorized the Quran in Sanbu and moved with his parents to Cairo at the age of nine Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…+1. In Cairo, he studied Quranic recitation under al-Shaykh al-Munir according to the al-Shatibiyya and al-Durra systems and began his formal studies by memorizing al-Ajrumiyya Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik….

Education and Teachers

He entered al-Azhar and studied multiple legal and rational disciplines under leading scholars Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. He heard Sahih al-Bukhari and al-Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa from Ali ibn al-Arabi al-Saqqat Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…. He closely studied Maliki jurisprudence and rational sciences under Ali al-Sa'idi al-Adawi, and studied theology and hadith—including Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani's commentary on Aqa'id al-Nasafi and al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith—under al-Sayyid al-Bulaydi Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…. He heard Imam Malik's al-Muwatta from the Moroccan scholar Muhammad al-Tawudi ibn Suda at al-Azhar during the latter's pilgrimage stop in Egypt Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…. He also studied Hanafi jurisprudence along with astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic under Hasan al-Jabarti, mediated through Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Nafrawi, and received an authorization (ijaza) from al-Mallawi Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarik…+1.

Scholarly Career and Reception

He began teaching at al-Azhar during the lifetime of his instructors, instructing students in Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanafi jurisprudence Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. He eventually attained the headship of the Maliki order (mashyakhat al-sadah al-malikiyyah) at al-Azhar Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. His reputation extended across North Africa; the Sultan of Morocco sent him annual financial gifts, and students traveled from across the region to study under him Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. He traveled on an official mission to Istanbul (Dar al-Saltana), where he delivered public lectures attended by Ottoman scholars who requested his transmission licenses Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyy….

His prominent students included his son Muhammad al-Amir al-Saghir, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Dasuqi, Ahmad al-Sawi, Ali al-Zawali al-Mahdawi, Salih al-Farshishi, Mustafa al-Uqbawi, and Muhammad Abd al-Fattah al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyya a…+1.

He composed al-Majmu', a concise summary of relied-upon Maliki law written at the age of twenty-one, which was adopted by his teacher Ali al-Sa'idi as a reference in classes al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyya a…+1. He also wrote a widely utilized supercommentary on Ibn Hisham al-Ansari's grammatical manual Mughni al-Labib Mujam al-Muallifin+1. His transmission ledger (Thabat) became a primary authority for chains of narration across Egypt, the Hijaz, and the Maghreb, and was praised by Hasan al-Attar as one of the most reliable transmission records of the era Fihris al-Faharis.

Death

In his final months, he suffered from physical weakness and continuous illness Thamar al-Thamam Sharh Gh…. He died in Cairo on Monday, 10 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1232 AH (1817 CE) Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Other sources record variant death dates of 1228 AH and 1238 AH Fihris al-Faharis. His funeral was heavily attended, and he was buried in Cairo's eastern cemetery near the tomb of Shaykh Abd al-Wahhab al-Afifi, in the vicinity of the complex of Sultan Qaytbay Shajarat al-Nur al-Zakiyy…+1.