al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi
- Died
- 1119 AH
- Born in
- Sanaa
al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi (1048–1119 AH / 1638–1707 CE) was a Yemeni jurist, hadith scholar, and judge of Sanaa, best known for his legal hadith commentary al-Badr al-tamam sharh Bulugh al-maram.
Origins and Education
He was al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id ibn 'Isa al-La'i, bearing the honorific Sharaf al-Din and known by the nisba al-Maghribi. He was born in Sanaa in 1048 AH (1638 CE) into an established scholarly household. The nisba al-La'i refers to La'ah, a district in the region of Hajja west of Sanaa, from which the Yemeni customary regional appellation "al-Maghribi" (the westerner) was derived.
Al-Maghribi studied under notable Yemeni scholars, including 'Izz al-Din al-'Abali, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Haymi, and 'Ali ibn Yahya al-Birti. He also had direct transmission (sama') from Imam al-Mutawakkil 'ala Allah Isma'il.
Career and Scholarly Activity
Al-Maghribi was appointed chief judge of Sanaa during the reign of Imam al-Mahdi Ahmad ibn al-Hasan. He retained the judgeship under Imam al-Mu'ayyad bi-Llah Muhammad ibn al-Mutawakkil, and continued in that post into part of the reign of Imam al-Mahdi Muhammad ibn Ahmad (known as Sahib al-Mawahib). Alongside his judicial duties, he taught extensively in Sanaa; among those who studied under him were 'Abd Allah ibn 'Ali al-Wazir, his brother al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi, and al-Mahdi ibn al-Husayn al-Kabsi.
In scholarship, al-Maghribi composed al-Badr al-tamam, an extensive commentary on Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani's Bulugh al-maram. In this work, he drew hadith criticisms directly from Ibn Hajar's al-Talkhis al-habir, incorporated explanations from Ibn Hajar's Fath al-bari and al-Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim, and cited legal disagreements from al-Bahr al-zakhar and Ibn Rushd's Bidayat al-mujtahid, generally compiling these passages verbatim while leaving decisive legal preference (tarjih) unaddressed. This commentary was later abridged by Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani under the title Subul al-salam. He also authored a treatise examining the prophetic narration ordering the expulsion of Jews from the Arabian Peninsula, arguing on textual grounds that the obligation was restricted to the Hijaz.
Standing and Death
Al-Maghribi was praised by contemporary and later biographers for his legal precision, piety, and mastery of legal methodology and hadith. Muhammad al-Shawkani characterized him as the judge, scholar, and leading hadith authority of Sanaa.
Al-Maghribi died in the month of Rajab 1119 AH (1707 CE) in al-Rawdah near Sanaa, remaining active in judging and teaching until his death; earlier dates of 1115 AH and 1116 AH have also been reported.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Badr al-Tamam Sharh Bulugh al-Maram is an extensive Arabic commentary on Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's legal hadith collection Bulugh al-Maram. The work provides an explanation of the compiled legal hadiths, addressing textual analysis, isnad evaluations, variant narrations, and jurisprudential deductions.