al-Kafiji

Muhiyy al-Din al-Kafiji (c. 788–879 AH / 1386–1474 CE) was a Hanafi jurist, grammarian, and scholar of rational sciences from Anatolia who settled in Cairo, where he served as the head of the Shaykhuniyyah Khanqah and attained the leadership of the Hanafi school in Egypt Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.

Lineage and early life

His full name was Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Sa'd ibn Mas'ud al-Rumi, bearing the honorific Muhiyy al-Din and the kunya Abu Abd Allah Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. He was born around 788 AH—or shortly before 790 AH—in the village of Gökeceköy in the region of Sarukhan within the Ottoman realm, and is also linked to Bergama by the nisba al-Barghami Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. He acquired his popular cognomen al-Kafiji (or al-Kafiyaji) due to his lifelong immersion in studying and teaching Ibn al-Hajib's celebrated grammatical handbook al-Kafiyah Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.

Education and travels

Al-Kafiji began his studies upon reaching adolescence and traveled east to Iranian lands and Tabriz, where he studied under prominent authorities such as Shams al-Din al-Fanari, Burhan al-Din Haydarah, Shaykh Wajid, Ibn Firishtah, and Hafiz al-Din al-Bazzazi al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…. He later journeyed to Syria, where he taught, performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and visited Jerusalem before establishing himself in Cairo Mujam al-Mufassirin "min ….

In Cairo, he gained extensive renown across both rational disciplines—including theology, legal theory, logic, debate, philosophy, and astronomy—and traditional fields such as grammar, rhetoric, and Quranic exegesis Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. Numerous leading Egyptian scholars studied under him, most notably Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, who attended his circles for fourteen years and considered him one of the foremost grammarians of his era Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. Other students included the historian Abd al-Basit al-Malati and the litterateur Ahmad ibn Ali al-Jawjari al-Rawd al-Basim fi Hawad…+1.

Career and controversies

In Muharram 858 AH, Sultan Inal invested al-Kafiji with the headship (mashyakhah) of the Shaykhuniyyah Khanqah in Cairo after Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Humam relinquished the post to take up residence in Mecca Nayl al-Amal fi Dhayl al-…+1. He also held the headship of Sufism at the Ashrafiyyah mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay Nayl al-Amal fi Dhayl al-…+1.

In 874 AH, residents of the Shaykhuniyyah Khanqah revolted against al-Kafiji after bread rations and stipends were cut off al-Rawd al-Basim fi Hawad…+1. The residents appealed to the grand chamberlain Inal al-Ashqar, the supervisor of the endowment; al-Kafiji responded that the supervisor should inspect the revenues and expenditures directly to see if any surplus remained to restore the stipends, but an official audit confirmed that no funds were available al-Rawd al-Basim fi Hawad….

Standing and scholarly contribution

Al-Kafiji was widely venerated by contemporary rulers, particularly the Ottoman sultans Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …. Biographical accounts portray him as dignified, pious, good-humored, and inclined toward Sufi spirituality and reported spiritual unveilings Nayl al-Amal fi Dhayl al-…. He authored over a hundred treatises, mostly short manuals and monographs, such as al-Taysir fi Qawa'id al-Tafsir ("Facilitation in the Principles of Quranic Exegesis") and al-Mukhtasar fi Ilm al-Tarikh ("A Compendium on the Science of History") Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.

Death

Al-Kafiji died in Cairo in Jumada al-Ula 879 AH (September–October 1474 CE), at an age of approximately ninety lunar years; an alternative report recorded his death in 873 AH al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. He was eulogized in verse by the contemporary poet al-Shihab al-Mansuri Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti As…. Following his death, the leadership of the Shaykhuniyyah Khanqah was conferred upon Sayf al-Din al-Hanafi in Jumada al-Akhirah of the same year Nayl al-Amal fi Dhayl al-….