al-Marghani al-Tunisi
- Died
- 1349 AH
- Born in
- Tunis
Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Marghani (1281–1349 AH / 1865–1931 CE) was a Tunisian Maliki jurist and master of Quranic recitations (qira'at) based at the Ez-Zitouna Mosque in Tunis, best known for his authoritative commentary Dalil al-Hayran ala Mawrid al-Zaman.
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Ibrahim ibn Ahmad ibn Sulayman al-Marghani, with the kunya Abu Ishaq and the honorific al-Burhan. His nisba al-Marghani traces back to a tribe on the Hamid coast (also recorded as the coast of Hamil) in Libya. He was born in Tunis in 1281 AH (1865 CE), though another report places his birth in 1282 AH. During his childhood, he attended a Quranic school (kuttab) where he memorized the Quran, after which he enrolled for higher studies at the Ez-Zitouna Mosque.
Education and Teachers
Al-Marghani studied under prominent scholars of the Ez-Zitouna Mosque across various Islamic disciplines. His closest and most regular mentor was the Maliki mufti 'Umar ibn al-Shaykh, with whom he read extensively, particularly in Quranic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, and logic. In the field of recitation and phonetics (tajwid), he studied under the chief reciter Muhammad ibn Yalusha, mastering both the seven and the ten canonical reading traditions. He also married Ibn Yalusha's daughter and eventually succeeded him in both his scholarly role and office.
Among his other notable teachers were Salim Buhajib, Mahmud ibn al-Khoja (the Hanafi head of fatwa), Muhammad al-Najjar, Muhammad Bayram (also cited as Mahmud Bayram), Mahmud ibn Mahmud, Isma'il al-Safa'ihi, 'Ammar ibn Sa'idan, Ibrahim Nur al-Din, and al-Shadhili al-Saddam.
Teaching, Offices, and Transmission
Al-Marghani obtained the tatwi' teaching certificate in 1299 AH (1882 CE) and was appointed to teach at the Ez-Zitouna Mosque. His instructional courses encompassed theology (kalam), recitation, Maliki jurisprudence (fiqh), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), Arabic rhetoric, inheritance laws (fara'id), astronomical timekeeping (ilm al-miqat), mathematics, literature, exegesis, and hadith. He later attained the leadership of Quranic reciters (shaykh al-qurra') at the Zitouna Mosque and served as a Maliki mufti in Tunisia.
He taught many students at Ez-Zitouna, including the writer Ahmad ibn Khayr al-Din, and engaged in reciprocal scholarly narration (mudabbaja) with the Moroccan traditionist Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani. His son, Abd al-Wahid al-Marghani, also became a prominent scholar and instructor at Ez-Zitouna, writing supplements and annotations on the works of his father and maternal grandfather.
Al-Marghani gained widespread recognition for his writings on Quranic orthography (rasm), vocalization (dabt), and recitations. His primary work, Dalil al-Hayran ala Mawrid al-Zaman, served as a standard commentary on the orthographic conventions of the canonical reading of Nafi', which he followed with a supplementary commentary titled Tanbih al-Khillan addressing the remaining canonical readings. He also composed Al-Nujum al-Tawali' ala al-Durar al-Lawami', an extensive treatise on the reading of Nafi'.
Death
Al-Marghani died in 1349 AH (1931 CE), though another source records his death in 1350 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Dalil al-Hayran ala Mawrid al-Zaman is a commentary on Quranic orthography (rasm) and vocalization (dabt). Completed in 1325 AH, the work serves as an extensive commentary on Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sharishi al-Kharraz's didactic poem Mawrid al-Zam'an fi Rasm Ahruf al-Qur'an and its continuation on vocalization, which established the orthographical conventions of the 'Uthmanic codices for the canonical reading of Nafi'.