al-Khatib al-Tumurtashi
- Died
- 1004 AH
- Born in
- Gaza
al-Khatib al-Tumurtashi (939–1004 AH / 1532–1596 CE) was a Hanafi jurist and legal theorist from Gaza, best known for authoring the legal manual Tanwir al-Absar wa-Jami' al-Bihar (Illumination of Sight and Confluence of Seas).
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Khatib ibn Muhammad al-Khatib ibn Ibrahim al-Khatib ibn Muhammad al-Khatib al-Tumurtashi al-Ghazzi al-Hanafi. A treatise written by his grandson Muhammad ibn Salih added Khalil and Tumurtash after Ibrahim in the ancestral chain. Regarding his nisba al-Tumurtashi, Ibn Abidin cited the geographical reference that Tumurtash is a village in Khwarazm, though he deemed it more likely an attribution to his ancestor of that name; he also bore the nisba al-Umari. Al-Tumurtashi was born in Gaza in 939 AH (1532 or 1533 CE) and was raised there.
Education and Career
Al-Tumurtashi commenced his studies in Gaza, acquiring various disciplines under Muhammad ibn al-Mashriqi, the Shafi'i mufti of the city. He traveled to Cairo four times, the last of which was in 998 AH. During his stays in Egypt, he studied Hanafi jurisprudence under Zayn al-Din Ibn Nujaym, Amin al-Din ibn Abd al-Al, and Mawla Ali ibn al-Hinna'i, the chief judge of Egypt. He held appointments overseeing judiciary and endowment (waqf) administrations across Egyptian provinces.
Upon returning to Gaza, he rose to scientific leadership, becoming the principal authority sought for legal fatwas. Among those who studied under him was his son, the jurist Salih al-Tumurtashi.
Scholarly Standing
Biographers described al-Tumurtashi as the leading Hanafi authority of his era (shaykh al-Hanafiyya fi 'asrihi) and the foremost jurist of his time, noting his sharp memory, broad erudition, and expertise in jurisprudence, legal theory (usul al-fiqh), and theology (kalam). In addition to his primary legal compendium Tanwir al-Absar, he wrote an extensive commentary upon it entitled Minah al-Ghaffar (Gifts of the Forgiver). He also composed Badhl al-Majhud fi Tahrir As'ilat Taghyir al-Nuqud (Exerting Effort in Clarifying Questions of Monetary Changes), a specialized treatise on currency fluctuations and debt obligations that was later cited and largely excerpted by Ibn Abidin.
Death
Al-Tumurtashi died in Gaza in late Rajab 1004 AH (1596 CE). A note on a manuscript copy of Tanwir al-Absar recorded an alternate date placing his death in early Rajab 1006 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Badhl al-Majhud fi Tahrir As'ilat Taghyir al-Nuqud (Exerting Effort in Clarifying the Questions of Monetary Changes) is a legal treatise on monetary jurisprudence in the Hanafi school. It addresses the legal status of transactions and debt settlements involving conventional currencies when coins undergo depreciation, recession, or complete withdrawal from circulation.