al-Amir Muhammad al-Sanbawi al-Maliki

al-Amir Muhammad al-Sanbawi al-Maliki (1154–1232 AH / 1742–1817 CE) was an Egyptian Maliki jurist, grammarian, and scholar of hadith who served as the head of the Maliki school at al-Azhar Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu Abd Allah Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Sanbawi al-Maliki al-Azhari, commonly known as al-Amir al-Kabir Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. His family was originally from the Maghrib; after arriving in Egypt, they resided in Cairo before moving to the village of Sanbu, in the district of Manfalut within the Asyut province of Upper Egypt Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. He was born in Sanbu in Dhu al-Hijjah 1154 AH according to his parents Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. The title al-Amir derived from his paternal grandfather Ahmad and his father Abd al-Qadir, both of whom held authority (imrah) in Upper Egypt Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1.

He completed the memorization of the Quran in his childhood and moved with his parents to Cairo at the age of nine Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. There he studied Quranic recitation under Muhammad al-Munir, mastering the ten recitations via the methods of al-Shatibiyyah and al-Durrah Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1.

Education and Career

He enrolled at al-Azhar, where the first legal text he memorized was al-Ajrumiyyah Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. He studied hadith and transmission under Ali ibn al-Arabi al-Saqqat, reading with him the Sahih collections and al-Shifa, and he attended the sessions of Muhammad al-Tawdi ibn Suda on the Muwatta when the latter visited Cairo during his pilgrimage journey Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. In jurisprudence and the rational sciences, he attached himself to Ali al-Sa'idi, while he studied theology and hadith under Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Bulaydi Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…. He spent years studying with Hasan al-Jabarti, from whom he learned Hanafi jurisprudence along with astronomy, geometry, mathematics, and philosophy, and he received a general authorization from Ahmad al-Mallawi during the latter's final years of seclusion Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1.

He began teaching during the lifetime of his teachers and was eventually appointed to the leadership of the Maliki scholars (mashyakhat al-sada al-malikiyyah) at al-Azhar, a position he retained until his death Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. In addition to Maliki jurisprudence, he taught Hanafi and Shafi'i legal texts Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. Students from across Egypt and North Africa flocked to his circles, and he was held in such high regard in the Maghrib that the Sultan of Morocco sent him annual gifts and stipends Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1. Among his notable students was the Azhari scholar Hasan al-Attar, who praised his authority in chains of transmission Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu…+1.

Scholarly Standing

He composed his foundational legal compendium on Maliki jurisprudence, al-Majmu, at the age of twenty-one, and later authored an extensive gloss on it entitled Daw al-Shumu ala Sharh al-Majmu Mujam al-Muallifin+1. In Arabic grammar, he authored an acclaimed supercommentary on Ibn Hisham's Mughni al-Labib Mujam al-Muallifin+1. His personal record of transmission (thabat), arranged by subject and chains of narration, was regarded by contemporaries as a primary reference for chains of transmission among Egyptian, Hijazi, and Maghribi scholars al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Death

He died in Cairo on 10 Dhu al-Qi'da 1232 AH (1817 CE) Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Variant reports regarding his death include a claim in Tadhkirat al-Muhsinin that he died in 1228 AH at the age of 130, and a notation by Abu Hamid al-Dimnati that he died in 1238 AH, both of which are rejected as errors by biographers Fihris al-Faharis. Following his death, his son Muhammad al-Amir al-Saghir succeeded him as head of the Maliki scholars at al-Azhar Majallat Jamiat Umm al-Qu….