al-Hamawi, Muhibb al-Din
- Died
- 1016 AH
- Born in
- Hama
Muhibb al-Din al-Hamawi (949–1016 AH / 1542–1607 CE) was a Syrian Hanafi jurist, judge, and scholar of Arabic literature from Hama who served in various Ottoman judicial and educational posts in Damascus and authored legal texts, including the didactic poem Umdat al-Hukkam (The Pillar of Judges) .
Lineage and Education
His full name was Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Dawud ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Khaliq ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Alwani al-Hamawi al-Dimashqi, bearing the kunya Abu al-Fadl and the honorific title Muhibb al-Din ibn Taqi al-Din . He was born in Hama in the month of Ramadan 949 AH (1542 CE), though another report dates his birth to 951 AH (1544 CE) .
He studied under several prominent scholars of his region, including Abu al-Wafa ibn Alwan and Abu Bakr ibn Ahmad al-Arbili (known as Ibn al-Baqqa), under whom he read Sahih al-Bukhari in late Ramadan 961 AH and late Rajab 962 AH, receiving an authorization (ijaza) from him . In 978 AH (1570–1571 CE), he undertook a journey from Najd to Egypt, which he documented in his travelogue Hadi al-Az'an al-Najdiyya ila al-Diyar al-Misriyya (The Driver of the Najdi Litters to the Egyptian Lands) .
Judicial Career and Teaching
Al-Hamawi held judicial appointments across numerous towns in the Levant and Egypt, serving as judge in Egypt, Hims, Hisn al-Akrad, Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, Ma'arrat Misrin, Killis, and A'zaz . He eventually settled in Damascus, where he presided as deputy judge at the Grand Court (al-Mahkama al-Kubra) for many years . He also held the offices of military judge (qadi al-askar) in Damascus, judge of the Syrian pilgrimage caravan, and was commissioned by Ottoman imperial decree to issue legal opinions (fatwas) in the city .
Alongside his judicial duties, he taught at several prominent Damascene colleges, including al-Qada'iyya, al-Nasiriyya al-Barraniyya, al-Shamiyya al-Barraniyya, and al-Salimiyya in al-Salihiyya . Among his notable students were Taj al-Din al-Qattan and the Damascene mufti Abd al-Rahman al-Imadi .
Scholarly Standing
Al-Hamawi was recognized for his wide-ranging expertise across Islamic jurisprudence, Quranic exegesis, Arabic grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, inheritance laws, and the occult sciences of zayiraja and geomancy . In Khulasat al-Athar, he is praised as a peerless intellect of his era and an exceptional figure in both the rational and transmitted disciplines . Ibn al-Ghazzi described him as a discerning jurist, versatile investigator, and master of refined poetry and prose . In Quranic scholarship, he composed Tanzil al-Ayat ala al-Shawahid min al-Abyat, an analytical commentary on the poetic proof-texts utilized in al-Zamakhshari's al-Kashshaf .
Death
Al-Hamawi died in Damascus on 23 Shawwal 1016 AH (1607 CE), though another report places his death in 1014 AH (1605 CE) . He was buried in the cemetery opposite Jami' Jarrah, outside Bab al-Shaghur in Damascus .
Answer updated
List of Works
Hadi al-Az'an al-Najdiyya ila al-Diyar al-Misriyya (The Driver of the Najdi Litters to the Egyptian Lands) is an Arabic travelogue recounting a journey from Najd to Egypt undertaken in 978 AH (1570–1571 CE).