al-Maqrizi
- Died
- 845 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ahmad ibn Ali al-Maqrizi (766–845 AH / 1364–1442 CE; another report gives 769 AH) was a Cairene Shafi'i historian and hadith scholar . He is best known for his monumental topographical history al-Mawa'iz wa-al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa-al-Athar (Exhortations and Consideration by the Mention of Quarters and Monuments) and his annalistic chronicle al-Suluk li-Ma'rifat Duwal al-Muluk (The Path to Knowledge of the Dynasties of Kings) .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas (also recorded as Abu Muhammad) Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Tamim ibn Abd al-Samad . His family originated from Baalbek, where his ancestral nisba refers to a local quarter known as Harat al-Maqarizah . His father, Ala al-Din Ali, settled in Cairo, where al-Maqrizi was born in the Barjawan quarter and raised .
His paternal ancestors followed the Hanbali madhhab, while his maternal grandfather was the Hanafi jurist and reciter Ibn al-Sa'igh (d. 776 AH / 1375 CE) . Al-Maqrizi initially studied jurisprudence under his grandfather as a Hanafi, but after the deaths of his grandfather and his father (d. 779 AH / 1384 CE), he converted to the Shafi'i school . Later scholars also noted his tendency to act strictly upon sound hadith in the manner of the Zahiri school .
Education and Career
Al-Maqrizi undertook traditional religious education in Cairo, memorizing the Quran and studying hadith, jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, and history . His teachers reportedly numbered up to six hundred, including Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi, Nur al-Din al-Haythami, Burhan al-Din al-Amidi, and Burhan al-Din al-Nashawari . He was profoundly influenced by the North African historian Ibn Khaldun, who arrived in Egypt in 784 AH / 1382 CE, praising his intellectual method and his Muqaddimah .
Al-Maqrizi served in several official posts under Sultan al-Zahir Barquq and Sultan al-Nasir Faraj . He was appointed repeatedly as the market inspector (muhtasib) of Cairo, held the supervision of al-Hakim Mosque, and served as preacher (khatib) at the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As and Sultan Hasan Madrasah . He traveled to Damascus in the retinue of al-Nasir Faraj, where he held administrative and teaching positions, though he declined an offer to assume the judgeship of Damascus .
In his later years, al-Maqrizi withdrew from public office to devote himself entirely to writing and scholarship . Between 834 AH / 1430 CE and 839 AH / 1435 CE, he resided in Mecca, where he transmitted hadith and delivered his prophetic biography Imta' al-Asma' (The Gratification of Ears) at the Sacred Mosque . Returning to Cairo, he lived in seclusion at his home in Harat Barjawan . Prominent students who studied under him and transmitted his works include the historian Ibn Taghribirdi .
Standing and Criticism
Al-Maqrizi was widely acknowledged by contemporaries for his mastery of history, chronology, and topographical documentation . His contemporary Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani commended his fine prose and his unequaled mastery of the history and topography of Cairo, while affirming their close mutual friendship . Ibn Hajar and later Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi observed, however, that al-Maqrizi went to excess in his veneration of Ibn Khaldun and noted his favorable disposition toward establishing the Alid lineage of the Fatimids .
Death
Al-Maqrizi died after a prolonged illness on the afternoon of Thursday, 16 Ramadan 845 AH (6 February 1442 CE), in Cairo, having reached about eighty years of age . Variant reports place his death on 19, 26, or 27 Ramadan . He was buried the following day in the Sufi cemetery (Hawsh al-Sufiyyah al-Baybarsiyyah) outside Bab al-Nasr .
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List of Works
This concise historical and legal treatise is devoted to the biography of the Companion Tamim al-Dari and the legal status of his prophetic land grant. Written as a brief essay, it covers human origins and Arab lineages, chronicles Tamim's conversion to Islam and his virtues, and examines the jurisprudential mechanics of the land grant of Hebron and 'Aynun in Palestine.
Written in 841 AH (1437 CE), this concise genealogical treatise details the Arab tribes settled in Egypt and their historical settlements. Composed as a rapid survey rather than a rigidly organized reference, it records sixteen tribes, tracing their migrations from the Arabian Peninsula, their clans and properties, and their geographical distribution across Egyptian provinces.
This specialized historical chronicle is dedicated to the comprehensive history of the Fatimid Caliphate. Arranged within an annalistic framework, it begins with an extensive genealogical register of the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib and examines the rise of the Fatimid state in the Maghreb, its conquest of Egypt, royal ceremonies, and its eventual downfall.
This biographical evaluation treatise is an abridgment of Ibn Adi's al-Kamil fi Ma'rifat Du'afa' al-Muhaddithin. It serves as a streamlined summary of the biographical dictionary of weak and criticized hadith transmitters, focusing on condensing critical evaluations while removing extensive transmission chains and hadith defects unless strictly necessary.
Commonly known as al-Khitat, this comprehensive topographical and historical work details Egypt and its Islamic urban centers from antiquity through the Mamluk era. Organized by quarters, sites, and monuments rather than strict chronology, it records the layout, architecture, religious institutions, non-Muslim communities, and political history of Egypt's successive capitals.
al-Mawa'iz wa-al-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa-al-Athar, commonly known as Khitat al-Maqrizi or al-Khitat, is an extensive historical and topographical work on Egypt and its Islamic capitals. Arranged around urban quarters and physical monuments, it provides detailed records of Egypt's topography, geography, and urban settlements while offering reflection on historical rise and decline.
Tajrid al-Tawhid al-Mufid is a concise theological treatise on Islamic creed. The work is dedicated to clarifying the doctrine of divine oneness (tawhid), delineating the boundaries between monotheism and polytheism (shirk), and systematically refuting the views and doctrinal errors of various sects.
Imta al-Asma bima lil-Nabi min al-Ahwal wal-Amwal wal-Hafada wal-Mata is an extensive biographical and historical treatise on the prophetic biography (sirah) and the life of the Prophet Muhammad, documenting his circumstances, possessions, family, and belongings.
al-Muqaffa al-Kabir is an extensive biographical dictionary of Egypt. It is dedicated to biographical notices and obituaries of prominent figures who lived in Egypt, were born and raised there, or passed through it, spanning from the pre-Islamic era and the Arab-Islamic conquest up to the compiler's era.
Rasa'il al-Maqrizi refers to the corpus and published collections of specialized short monographs spanning diverse disciplines. These concise treatises examine themes across political history, theology, genealogy, numismatics, regional geography, metallurgy, and natural history.
al-Suluk li-Marifat Duwal al-Muluk (The Path to Knowledge of the Dynasties of Kings) is an annalistic chronicle of Egypt covering the history of the Ayyubid dynasty and the Mamluk Sultanate. Chronologically spanning from the fall of the Fatimids down to 844 AH / 1440–1441 CE, the work arranges historical, political, military, and administrative events year by year.