al-Badr Ibn Jamaa

Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'ah (639–733 AH / 1241–1333 CE) was a Syrian-born Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, and chief judge of Egypt, Damascus, and Jerusalem al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh…+1. He is widely recognized for his educational treatise Tadhkirat al-Sami wal-Mutakallim fi Adab al-Alim wal-Mutaallim and his work on governance, Tahrir al-Ahkam fi Tadbir Ahl al-Islam Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al…+1.

Origins and Education

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd Allah ibn Jama'ah ibn Ali ibn Jama'ah al-Kinani was born in Hama on 4 Rabi' al-Thani 639 AH (September 1241 CE) into an established scholarly family Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. He studied in Hama, Cairo, Damascus, and Mecca al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He heard hadith as early as 650 AH from Shaykh al-Shuyukh Abd al-Aziz al-Ansari in Hama, as well as from his father Ibrahim Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

In Cairo, he received most of his legal and religious training from Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn Razin, studied Arabic grammar under Ibn Malik, and received transmission licenses (ijazat) in 646 AH from scholars including Rashid al-Din ibn Muslimah and Makki ibn Allan Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. Among his other prominent teachers were al-Rashid al-Attar, Ismail ibn Izzun, Radi al-Din ibn al-Burhan, and Ibn Daqiq al-Id Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Judicial and Academic Career

Ibn Jama'ah served in prestigious judicial, teaching, and preaching offices across the Mamluk Sultanate. He taught at the Qaymariyya Madrasa in Damascus and was appointed judge and preacher (khatib) at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 687 AH al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1. In Ramadan 690 AH, Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil appointed him chief Shafi'i judge of Egypt and head of the Sufi lodges (Mashyakhat al-Shuyukh) al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1.

In 693 AH, he was transferred to Damascus as chief judge, holding concurrently the post of preacher at the Umayyad Mosque, the Mashyakhat al-Shuyukh, and a professorship at the Adiliyya Madrasa al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Following the death of Ibn Daqiq al-Id in 702 AH, he was recalled to Cairo to assume the chief judgeship of Egypt for a second term al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. After losing his eyesight around 727 AH, he requested to be relieved of his judicial duties and retired to his residence in Cairo for his final six years, retaining his teaching appointment at his zawiya and receiving students for hadith audition Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1.

Standing and Legacy

Ibn Jama'ah adhered to the Ash'ari school in theology and the Shafi'i school in jurisprudence, writing his theological treatise Idah al-Dalil fi Qat Hujaj Ahl al-Tatil to address anthropomorphic interpretations Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al…+1. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi described him as a virtuous Ash'ari scholar endowed with piety, sound judgment, and broad mastery of Islamic disciplines Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya li-I….

His students included prominent scholars of the era, among them Taj al-Din al-Subki, Khalil ibn Aybak al-Safadi, al-Dhahabi, and Ibn Jabir al-Wadi Ashi Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Death

Ibn Jama'ah died in Cairo on the night of Monday, 21 Jumada al-Ula 733 AH (February 1333 CE), at the age of ninety-four Lahz al-Alhaz bi-Dhayl Ta…+1. Another report places his death on the twentieth of the same month Lahz al-Alhaz bi-Dhayl Ta…+1. He was buried in the al-Qarafa cemetery near the tomb of Imam al-Shafi'i Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K…+1.