al-Maqdisi, Ibn Abi al-Surur

Ibn Abi al-Surur al-Maqdisi (603–676 AH / 1206–1277 CE) was a Syrian-born Hanbali jurist, hadith scholar, and the first Hanbali Chief Judge of Egypt al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah (also recorded with the kunya Abu Bakr) Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Ali ibn Surur (or Ibn Abi al-Surur) al-Maqdisi al-Jamma'ili al-Salihi Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1. He was born in Damascus on Saturday, 14 Safar 603 AH, though another report mentions Sunday, and a variant date places his birth on 13 Safar Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He hailed from a prominent scholarly family; his father was the scholar Imad al-Din Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Wahid, and his paternal uncle was the hadith master Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Education and Travels

In Damascus, he attended the circles of Ibn Tabarzad and received instruction in hadith and Islamic law from several scholars, including Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama, Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Kindi, and Abd al-Samad ibn Muhammad al-Harastani Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1. He subsequently travelled to Baghdad, where he studied jurisprudence and various disciplines, married, and had children; among his teachers there were Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi and Abu al-Fath ibn Abd al-Salam Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1.

His travels in pursuit of knowledge extended to Mecca, where he studied under Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali al-Qastallani; Harran, under Ahmad ibn Salama al-Najjar; Aleppo, under Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah ibn Alwan; and Mosul, under Umar ibn Abi al-Mahasin al-Mawsili al-Muqaffa al-Kabir. A dictionary of his teachers (mu'jam) in ten parts was compiled for him by Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Zahiri al-Muqaffa al-Kabir.

Career in Egypt and Later Life

He relocated to Egypt after 640 AH and settled in Cairo, where he became the preeminent authority of the Hanbali school Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1. He was appointed as the head (shaykh) of the Khanqah Sa'id al-Su'ada and became the first to teach Hanbali jurisprudence at the Salihiyya Madrasa al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1.

When Sultan Baybars reformed the judiciary in 660 AH by appointing chief judges for each of the four Sunni schools of law, he was appointed the first Hanbali Chief Judge of Egypt al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He accepted the judicial post on the condition that he receive no state stipend (jamakiyya), desiring to administer justice impartially al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. In 670 AH, the sultan dismissed him from the judiciary and detained him for two years over trust deposits kept in his house al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Following his release, he confined himself to his home, devoting his remaining years to teaching at al-Salihiyya, delivering legal rulings (fatwa), and worship Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Students and Scholarly Standing

A number of scholars narrated from him, including Abd al-Mu'min al-Dimyati, Qutb al-Din al-Halabi, and Ubayd al-Is'ardi, and he granted a teaching license (ijazah) to al-Birzali al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He was praised for his asceticism, deep knowledge of comparative legal differences, dignified demeanor, and generosity al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

Among his written treatises is al-Kalam 'ala Wusul al-Qira'a lil-Mayyit (Discourse on the Reaching of the Reward of Recitation to the Deceased), in which he examined the theological and juridical arguments regarding whether the reward of Quranic recitation reaches deceased souls Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1. He also authored Kitab al-Jadal on dialectic argumentation Khizanat al-Turath - Fihr…+1.

Death

He died in Cairo in late Muharram 676 AH (one account places his death on 12 Muharram) Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He was buried the following day in the al-Qarafa cemetery at the foot of Mount al-Muqattam, beside his uncle Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi Mujam al-Muallifin+1.