al-Jabari

Burhan al-Din al-Jabari (c. 640–732 AH / c. 1242–1332 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, and master of Quranic readings who served for decades as the director of the sanctuary in Hebron al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1.

Name and Early Life

He was Ibrahim ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Khalil al-Raba'i al-Jabari al-Khalili, with the lineage sometimes extended to include Ibn Abi al-Abbas al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1. He bore the kunyas Abu Ishaq, Abu Muhammad, and Abu al-Abbas, and was titled Burhan al-Din in Syria and elsewhere, while in Baghdad he was known as Taqi al-Din; he was also called Radi al-Din, Ibn al-Sarraj, Ibn Mu'adhdhin Ja'bar, and Shaykh al-Khalil Fawat al-Wafayat+2.

Al-Jabari was born around 640 AH (c. 1242 CE) in the fortress town of Ja'bar along the Euphrates Fawat al-Wafayat+1. In his youth in Ja'bar, he began his hadith studies by hearing Juz' Ibn 'Arafa from the local qadi, Muhammad ibn Salim al-Manbiji, while Yusuf ibn Khalil was still alive, receiving an authorization (ijaza) from him as well as hearing from Ibrahim ibn Khalil al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya….

Education and Career

Al-Jabari traveled to Baghdad after 660 AH to advance his education al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…. There, he studied Shafi'i jurisprudence, memorizing al-Ta'jiz and reciting it back to its author, Taj al-Din ibn Yunus al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He recited the seven canonical Quranic readings to Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Wujuhi and the ten readings to al-Muntajab Husayn ibn Hasan al-Tikriti, received an ijaza in readings from al-Sharif Abu al-Badr al-Da'i, and heard hadith from teachers including al-Kamal ibn Waddah, al-Imad ibn Ashraf al-Alawi, and Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zajjaj al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+2.

He subsequently moved to Damascus, where he resided at the Khanqah al-Sumaysatiyya and served as a repetition tutor (mu'id) at the Madrasa al-Ghazaliyya, participating actively in scholarly debates al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. He was then appointed head of the sanctuary (mashyakhat al-Haram) in Hebron, settling there for over forty years al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. Students traveled widely to study under him, among them al-Dhahabi—who met him in 695 AH and read his poem on the ten readings with him—Taj al-Din al-Subki, al-Birzali (who compiled an index of his teachers), Abu Bakr ibn al-Jundi, Shams al-Din al-Mutarriz, and Ibn Jabir al-Wadi Ashi Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+3.

Scholarly Standing

Scholars described al-Jabari as a versatile authority in Quranic readings, hadith, legal theory, Arabic grammar, and history Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya li-I…+1. Al-Dhahabi characterized him as dignified, intelligent, broadly learned, and an authority on the underlying rationales ('ilal) of the variant readings Mujam al-Shuyukh al-Kabir…+1. Ibn al-Jazari regarded him as a discerning, meticulous, and highly trustworthy verifier Ghayat al-Nihaya fi Tabaq….

Al-Jabari composed nearly one hundred concise treatises across multiple Islamic disciplines Fawat al-Wafayat+1. Among his most prominent contributions are Kanz al-Ma'ani, an extensive commentary on al-Shatibi's Hirz al-Amani, and Rawdat al-Tara'if, a didactic poem on Quranic orthography Fawat al-Wafayat+1. He also wrote poetry and composed an abridgment and critical reworking of Ibn al-Salah's work on hadith methodology titled Rusum al-Tahdith fi 'Ulum al-Hadith Fawat al-Wafayat+1.

Death

Al-Jabari died in Hebron during Ramadan in 732 AH (1332 CE), on Sunday the 5th according to Mujir al-Din al-'Ulaymi, or on the 13th according to Ibn al-Jazari; a single report dates his death to Ramadan 733 AH al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh…+2. He was over ninety years old at his death—specifically ninety-two in some accounts—and was buried outside the town beneath an olive tree al-Uns al-Jalil bi-Tarikh…+1.