al-Qabuni
- Died
- 869 AH
- Born in
- -
Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalil al-Qabuni (784–869 AH / 1382–1465 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, Quran reciter, and preacher based in Damascus . He served as the imam and deputy preacher of the Umayyad Mosque and authored devotional treatises, including Bisharat al-mahbub bi-takfir al-dhunub (Glad Tidings for the Beloved Concerning the Expiation of Sins) .
Lineage and Early Life
His full lineage is Zayn al-Din Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalil ibn Salama ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Sharif ibn Mu'nis (also recorded as Yunus or Yusuf) al-Adhra'i al-Qabuni al-Dimashqi, and he was widely known as Ibn al-Shaykh Khalil . His family originated from Adhri'at in the Hauran region, but he was born and raised in al-Qabun, an outlying village of Damascus, in 784 AH (1382 CE; another report gives 787 AH) . His father, Khalil ibn Salama (d. 814 AH), was a revered ascetic, copyist, and frequent pilgrim; Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani inadvertently recorded his father's name as Khalil ibn Abd Allah, an error clarified by al-Qabuni himself .
Education and Career
Al-Qabuni memorized the Quran in his youth and studied the rules of recitation (tajwid) under leading contemporary masters, mastering the poem al-Shatibiyya . He traveled to hear hadith and pursue legal studies in Damascus, Cairo, and Hebron .
In Damascus, he led prayers as imam for an extended period at the Umayyad Mosque and served as its deputy preacher (khatib) . For substantial intervals, he lived in seclusion within the mosque's preaching chamber (bayt al-khitaba), while maintaining a residence in the al-'Annabah quarter . Among those who studied under him were the Damascene historian Abd al-Qadir al-Nu'aymi and the Shafi'i jurist Shams al-Din al-Balatunisi, who studied Arabic grammar with him .
Beyond his duties as an imam and teacher, he composed hadith marginalia, such as glosses on al-Iraqi's Takhrij ahadith al-Ihya', and moral treatises such as al-Nasiha lil-hurr wal-'abd bi-ijtinab al-shatranj wal-nard (Advice to the Freeman and the Slave on Avoiding Chess and Backgammon) .
Standing and Death
Biographers characterized al-Qabuni as an ascetic, righteous scholar of deep piety, self-restraint, and dignified bearing, known for his modest dress and withdrawal from worldly matters .
During his final illness, he relocated from his mosque quarters to his daughter's home in al-'Annabah, where he died on Thursday, 7 Sha'ban 869 AH (April 1465 CE) . His funeral prayer was led by the Chief Shafi'i Judge of Damascus, Jamal al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Ba'uni, and he was buried amid heavy rain in the Bab al-Saghir cemetery .
Answer updated
List of Works
Bisharat al-Mahbub bi-Takfir al-Dhunub (Glad Tidings for the Beloved Concerning the Expiation of Sins) is a devotional work on repentance and the causes of divine forgiveness. Also recorded under the variant title Bisharat al-Mahbub bi-Ghufran al-Dhunub, the treatise gathers prophetic traditions that promise divine forgiveness, deliverance from Hellfire, or entry into Paradise for performing specific devotional deeds and invocations.