al-Mahalli, Jalal al-Din

Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli (791–864 AH / 1389–1459 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, legal theorist, and Quranic exegete from Cairo, best known for co-authoring Tafsir al-Jalalayn and composing Kanz al-Raghibin, a standard commentary on al-Nawawi's legal manual Minhaj al-Talibin al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1.

Early life and education

His full name was Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Hashim, al-Jalal Abu Abd Allah ibn al-Shihab al-Abbasi ibn al-Kamal al-Ansari al-Mahalli al-Qahiri al-Shafi'i al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-…+1. His ancestral origin traces to al-Mahalla al-Kubra in the Gharbiyya province of Egypt al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-…+1. He was born in Cairo at the beginning of Shawwal 791 AH (1389 CE), as attested in his own handwriting al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-…+1. In his youth, he engaged in cloth trade before appointing someone to manage it on his behalf so he could devote himself entirely to scholarship Mujam al-Matbuat al-Arabi…+1.

Al-Mahalli studied across several disciplines, including jurisprudence, legal theory, Arabic grammar, logic, theology, and hadith sciences al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. He resided in the Baybarsiyya convent alongside Shams al-Din al-Birmawi, under whom he studied jurisprudence, legal theory, and Arabic al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-…. Among his other prominent teachers were Jalal al-Din al-Bulqini, al-Wali al-Iraqi, Izz al-Din Ibn Jama'a, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Badr al-Din al-Aqsara'i, Shams al-Din al-Bisati, and Ala al-Din al-Bukhari al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-…+1.

Teaching and career

Al-Mahalli was appointed to teach Shafi'i jurisprudence at both the Mu'ayyadiyya and Barquqiyya madrasas in Cairo Husn al-Muhadara fi Tarik…+1. He was offered the chief judgeship of Egypt (al-qada al-akbar), but he declined the office al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. He undertook the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca multiple times al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi….

A large number of scholars studied under him, including Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi, Nur al-Din al-Samhudi, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Sharif al-Maqdisi, Yusuf ibn Shahin (the grandson of Ibn Hajar), and Shams al-Din al-Jawjari Sharh al-Waraqat fi Usul …+1.

Al-Mahalli's scholarly contribution was characterized by extreme precision and concise expression. His legal commentary Kanz al-Raghibin became a primary reference among Shafi'i jurists, to the extent that later scholars referred to him simply as "the Commentator" (al-Sharih) al-Tadrib fi al-Fiqh al-S…. In legal theory, he wrote a widely taught commentary on Taj al-Din al-Subki's Jam' al-Jawami' al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. In exegesis, he drafted a concise commentary covering Surat al-Fatiha and from Surat al-Kahf to the end of Surat al-Nas; following his death, al-Suyuti completed the remaining portion from Surat al-Baqara through Surat al-Isra in the same style, forming the collaborative work known as Tafsir al-Jalalayn Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim …+1.

Scholarly character and standing

Al-Mahalli was widely praised for his acute intellect and analytical rigor, prompting contemporaries to say that "his mind penetrates diamond" Husn al-Muhadara fi Tarik…+1. Al-Mahalli remarked that his intellect did not tolerate error, though he found rote memorization difficult; attempting to memorize a single fascicle once brought him a severe fever al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Ibn al-Imad referred to him as the "Taftazani of the Arabs" al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1.

He was noted for his uprightness, asceticism, and commanding the good and forbidding the wrong, confronting unjust rulers directly and refusing entry to officials who visited him al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Although quick-tempered—especially in the summer heat—he was known to readily yield whenever proven wrong in discussion al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi….

Death

Al-Mahalli fell ill with diarrhea and died on Saturday, at the beginning of 864 AH (early 1459 CE) in Cairo al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1.