al-Jamal
- Died
- 1204 AH
- Born in
- -
Sulayman al-Jamal (d. 1204 AH / 1790 CE) was an Egyptian Shafi'i jurist, exegete, and scholar associated with al-Azhar, recognized for his extensive supercommentaries on Quranic exegesis and Shafi'i jurisprudence .
Early Life and Education
He was Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn Umar ibn Mansur al-Ujayli al-Azhari, commonly known as al-Jamal; his father and grandfather were also known by the appellation Shannant . He was born in the village of Minyat Ujayl in the Gharbiyya province of Egypt . He later moved to Cairo to pursue advanced Islamic studies .
In Cairo, he studied jurisprudence and other religious disciplines under prominent scholars of his time, studying extensively under 'Atiyyah al-Ujhuri and closely attaching himself to Muhammad al-Hifni . He took the Khalwatiyya Sufi path from al-Hifni, who instructed him in its litanies and authorized him as a deputy in the order .
Teaching and Career
Al-Hifni recognized al-Jamal's standing and appointed him as the imam and preacher of the mosque adjacent to his residence along the canal in Cairo . Al-Jamal taught exegesis, hadith, and Shafi'i jurisprudence at al-Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya and at the shrine of al-Husayn (al-Mashhad al-Husayni) in Cairo . His daily teaching sessions between the sunset and evening prayers at the Husayni shrine attracted large gatherings and senior students, who transcribed notes and rulings directly from his dictations and lectures .
His scholarly output included al-Futuhat al-Ilahiyyah, a four-volume supercommentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn, and Futuhat al-Wahhab, an extensive supercommentary on Zakariyya al-Ansari's Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab in Shafi'i law .
Later Life and Death
Al-Jamal never married . In his later years, he embraced asceticism in his attire, wearing simple woolen clothes, a woolen turban, and a woolen shawl, and he frequently visited the tombs of righteous figures and scholars .
He died in Cairo on 11 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1204 AH (1790 CE)—though another report gives his death year as 1205 AH—and was buried in the cemetery of Qarafat al-Mujawirin .
Answer updated
List of Works
Futuhat al-Wahhab bi-Tawdih Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab, widely known as Hashiyat al-Jamal ala Sharh al-Manhaj, is an extensive supercommentary in Shafi'i jurisprudence. It serves as an extensive gloss on Fath al-Wahhab bi-Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab, Zakariyya al-Ansari's commentary on his own legal manual Manhaj al-Tullab, which itself abridges Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin.