al-Maqdisi, Najm al-Din
- Died
- 689 AH
- Born in
- -
Najm al-Din al-Maqdisi (651–689 AH / 1253–1290 CE) was a Syrian Hanbali jurist, scholar, and chief judge of Damascus, known for his work Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin (The Abridgment of the Path of the Seekers) .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Umar Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali (also recorded as Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qudamah) . He was born in 651 AH into the prominent scholarly Banu Qudamah family .
Education and Public Career
Al-Maqdisi attended hadith sessions with several teachers, including Khatib Marda, Ibrahim ibn Khalil, and Ibn Abd al-Da'im, though he did not transmit hadith . He was noted for his rapid memorization, sharp comprehension, and proficiency in multiple disciplines .
He assumed several prominent religious and judicial offices in Damascus. He was appointed chief judge (qadi al-qudat) of Damascus before reaching thirty years of age, following his father's resignation . Alongside the judiciary, he served as the preacher of the mountain (khatib al-jabal), held the imamate of the Hanbali circle, supervised Hanbali endowments, taught at most of the city's schools, and was recognized as the leading Hanbali authority (shaykh al-Hanabila) .
He authored Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin, abridging Ibn al-Jawzi's Minhaj al-Qasidin, which was itself condensed from Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Ihya' Ulum al-Din .
Standing and Personal Traits
Al-Maqdisi was praised for his courage, generosity, and commendable conduct . In physical appearance, he was described as heavyset, with sparse facial hair .
Death
Al-Maqdisi fell ill alongside his companion, Fakhr al-Din Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Qudamah; he died four days after him on Tuesday, 12 Jumada al-Ula 689 AH (May 1290 CE), at the age of thirty-eight . He was buried the following morning beside his father at the foot of Mount Qasiyun, in a funeral attended by the viceroy of the sultanate, emirs, judges, and Damascus notables .
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List of Works
Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin (The Abridgment of the Path of the Seekers) is a treatise on Islamic ethics, spiritual refinement, and the inner dimensions of acts of devotion. It serves as a concise distillation of Ibn al-Jawzi's Minhaj al-Qasidin, condensing its core insights into an accessible volume by omitting extensive discussions of positive law and summarizing its guidance on worship, social conduct, spiritual vices, and salvific virtues.