al-Lalakai
- Died
- 418 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Qasim al-Lalakai (d. 418 AH / 1027 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist and hadith memorizer based in Baghdad, best known for his theological compendium Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a (Explanation of the Fundamental Beliefs of the People of the Sunnah and the Community) .
Origin, Lineage, and Nisba
His full name was Hibat Allah ibn al-Hasan ibn Mansur al-Tabari al-Razi al-Shafi'i al-Lalakai . He was generally known by the kunya Abu al-Qasim, though al-Sam'ani also recorded the kunya Abu Muhammad for him . His nisba al-Tabari indicates his roots in Tabaristan, while al-Razi ties him to Rayy; he subsequently settled in Baghdad . The nisba al-Lalakai derives from the trade or sale of lawalik, a type of footwear worn on the feet .
Education, Teachers, and Students
Al-Lalakai studied jurisprudence under the Shafi'i master Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini and excelled in the school . In hadith, he received transmissions in Rayy from scholars including Ja'far ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Fannaki and 'Ali ibn Mansur al-Saffar . In Baghdad, his teachers included the vizier 'Isa ibn 'Ali, Abu Tahir al-Mukhallis, Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jundi, 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Qassar, al-'Ala' ibn Muhammad, and Abu Ahmad al-Faradi .
Among those who transmitted from him were the historian and traditionist al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, who recorded material from him in his writings, his own son Muhammad ibn Hibat Allah, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Turaythithi, and Makki al-Karaji al-Sallar . Al-Turaythithi transmitted al-Lalakai's foundational theological compilation on the creed and traditions of the early generations .
Standing and Scholarly Reception
Al-Dhahabi characterized al-Lalakai as a leading imam, hadith memorizer (hafiz), legal jurisconsult (mufti), and the foremost hadith instructor (mufid) of Baghdad in his era . Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi stated that he possessed sharp discernment and strong memorization . Shuja' al-Dhuhli praised him as trustworthy, discerning, and a memorizer, remarking that because death overtook him prematurely, only a modest amount of hadith was widely disseminated on his direct authority . Ibn Kathir noted his extensive dedication to hadith authorship and his articulation of the doctrines of the early righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) .
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi recorded a dream report through 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Jadda' al-'Ukbari, who related that he saw al-Lalakai in a dream and asked what God had done with him; al-Lalakai answered that God had forgiven him on account of the Sunnah .
Death
Toward the end of his life, al-Lalakai traveled to Dinawar, where he died in middle age during the month of Ramadan in 418 AH (1027 CE) . A specific transmission recorded in Tarikh Baghdad places his death on Tuesday, 6 Ramadan 418 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Karamat al-Awliya (Miracles of the Friends of God) is a compendium of narrations dedicated to documenting reported charismatic miracles (karamat) granted to righteous Muslims. The treatise forms a major thematic component and supplementary part of the encyclopedic theological work Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a.
Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a (Explanation of the Fundamental Beliefs of the People of the Sunnah and the Community) is a compendium of traditionalist Islamic theology. It serves as an extensive sourcebook documenting the creed of early Sunni scholars and traditionalist traditionists (Ahl al-Hadith) through narrated chains of transmission.