al-Maraghi, Abu Hafs
- Died
- 778 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Hafs al-Maraghi (680/682–778 AH / 1281/1283–1376 CE) was a Syrian hadith scholar and transmitter based in the environs of Damascus, known as the chief hadith authority of the Levant in his late years (musnid al-Sham) .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Zayn al-Din (also called Siraj al-Din) Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn al-Hasan ibn Mazyad ibn Umayla ibn Jum'ah ibn 'Abd Allah al-Maraghi al-Halabi al-Dimashqi al-Mizzi, commonly known as Ibn Umayla . His family traced its origins to Maragha, with ties to Aleppo and Damascus .
There is disagreement regarding the year of his birth: according to his own handwriting, he was born in 680 AH, with specific reports giving 2 Sha'ban or 18 Rajab of that year . However, al-Birzali recorded his birth in Rajab 682 AH, which later biographers like Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani regarded as the relied-upon date, suggesting that the earlier record might have belonged to a brother . In his youth, he studied Quranic recitation under Ibn Nushan .
Hadith Transmission and Standing
Al-Maraghi heard hadith from prominent scholars of the seventh century AH. He studied major compendia under Fakhr al-Din Ibn al-Bukhari, including Sunan Abi Dawud, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, and al-Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il . He also heard narrations from 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im ibn al-Qawwas, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Mu'min al-Suri, Ibrahim ibn Mas'ud al-Huwayri, Ahmad ibn 'Asakir, and 'Imad al-Din Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Faruthi .
He served as an imam at the mosque of al-Mizza and worked as a mu'adhdhin . He transmitted hadith for around fifty years, becoming renowned for his high transmission chains ('uluww al-isnad) and outliving his contemporaries to hold unique transmissions for several major works . Students and scholars traveled to hear from him; among those who attended his circles or received his authorization were Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi (who brought his young son Wali al-Din Abu Zur'ah al-'Iraqi to hear from him), Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, and Jamal al-Din Ibn Zahira .
The scholar Sadr al-Din Sulayman ibn Yusuf al-Yasufi compiled a concise collection of al-Maraghi's teachers and narrations titled Mashyakhat Abi Hafs al-Maraghi . Biographers praised al-Maraghi as pious, virtuous, and exceptionally patient during long audition sessions, often dictating for most of the day without exhaustion . He also composed poetry reflecting on his advanced age .
Death
Al-Maraghi died on 8 Rabi' al-Thani 778 AH (another report mentions 18 Rabi' al-Thani) in the outskirts of Damascus at al-Mizza, having lived nearly one hundred years .
Answer updated
List of Works
Mashyakhat Abi Hafs al-Maraghi is a hadith mashyakha compiled to document teachers and selected hadiths transmitted through their chains of authority. The collection records narrations covering various legal and devotional topics, such as prophetic reports on sacrificial slaughter for newborns ('aqiqah).