al-Maqdisi, Ahmad ibn Abd al-Daim

Ahmad ibn Abd al-Daim (575–668 AH / 1179–1270 CE) was a Syrian Hanbali hadith scholar, jurist, and renowned copyist based in Damascus, celebrated as a paramount hadith transmitter of his era Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1.

Origin and Early Life

His full name was Zayn al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abd al-Daim ibn Ni'ma ibn Ahmad ibn Ni'ma ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Bukayr al-Maqdisi al-Funduqi al-Salihi al-Hanbali Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1. He was born in 575 AH (1179/1180 CE) in the village of Funduq al-Shuyukh in the mountains of Nablus Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1. Another account recorded by Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim relates that his family emigrated during his mother's pregnancy in the era of Saladin and that he was born in Damascus, subsequently settling with his family at the foot of Mount Qasiyun Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1.

Education and Travels

Al-Maqdisi received general certification (ijaza) from Abu Tahir al-Silafi for those alive during the latter's lifetime, as well as specific permissions from Abu al-Fadl al-Tusi (the preacher of Mosul), Abu al-Fath Ibn Shatil, and Nasr Allah al-Qazzaz Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1. He studied Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) under Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama and read extensively on hadith Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1. In Damascus, he heard transmissions from Yahya al-Thaqafi, Abu al-Husayn al-Mawazini, Ibn Sadaqa, and Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1.

He traveled to Baghdad, passing through Aleppo, and studied under Abd al-Mun'im ibn Kulayb, Abu al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Sukayna, and Abu al-Fath al-Mandai Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. In Harran, he received traditions from its preacher Fakhr al-Din Ibn Taymiyya al-Maqsad al-Arshad fi Dh…+1.

Career, Scribing, and Teaching

Al-Maqdisi served as the preacher (khatib) of the village of Kafr Batna for over ten years, and for a period directed the Ashrafiyya Hadith House (Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya) at the foot of Mount Qasiyun Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1.

He was widely noted for his extraordinary speed and productivity as a professional scribe and copyist (warraq), a craft he practiced for more than fifty years al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. He copied texts both for hire and for himself, transcribing up to nine quires (kararis) in a single day when unoccupied, and stated that he had copied two thousand volumes by hand over his lifetime Nakth al-Himyan fi Nukat …+1. Among his notable transcriptions, he copied Ibn Asakir's Tarikh Dimashq twice and Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama's al-Mughni multiple times, and he transcribed Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi in a single night al-Maqsad al-Arshad fi Dh…+1. It was reported that he would glance at a page only once before writing it down, which occasionally led to transcription errors in his unvocalized and unpointed handwriting al-Wafi bil-Wafayat. He also composed a compilation of his own teachers (Mashyakha) al-Maqsad al-Arshad fi Dh…+1.

He taught and transmitted hadith for more than fifty years, drawing students and scholars from distant regions due to the high elevation (uluww) of his transmission chains Tashil al-Sabila li Murid…+1. Notable scholars who narrated from him include Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, Ibn Daqiq al-Id, Ibn Taymiyya, Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi, and Zaki al-Din al-Birzali al-Maqsad al-Arshad fi Dh…+1. The last scholar to transmit directly from him was Shams al-Din Ibn al-Khabbaz, and the last by general authorization was Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Hariri al-Maqsad al-Arshad fi Dh….

Later Life and Death

In his later years, al-Maqdisi became physically frail and lost his eyesight in 664 AH (1265/1266 CE), yet students continued to frequent his residence to study with him Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1. He died at his home at the foot of Mount Qasiyun in Damascus on Monday afternoon, 9 Rajab 668 AH (3 March 1270 CE) Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta…+1. Hadith students carried his bier to his burial site at the foot of Mount Qasiyun on the following Tuesday morning Mashyakhat Ibn Jamaa - Ta….