al-Raymi
- Died
- 792 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Abd Allah al-Raymi (710–792 AH / 1310–1390 CE) was a Yemeni Shafi'i jurist, scholar of comparative law, and chief judge of Zabid, best known for his multi-volume legal commentary al-Tafqih fi Sharh al-Tanbih .
Identity and Early Life
He was Jamal al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi Bakr al-Huthaythi al-Surdafi al-Raymi al-Nizari, with some sources listing his grandfather's father as another Abd Allah . His nisba al-Raymi refers to the Yemeni district of Raymah, with manuscript evidence indicating his residence in the fortress area of Banu Rubayd . His nisba al-Surdafi derives from Surdaf, a locality east of al-Janad in Yemen, while al-Huthaythi traces to Huthayth . He was born in 710 AH (1310–1311 CE) .
Education and Teaching
Al-Raymi studied Shafi'i jurisprudence under a group of Yemeni scholars and received hadith from the jurist Ibrahim ibn Umar al-Alawi . He instructed students in jurisprudence and legal theory, teaching foundational works such as al-Luma of Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi .
Students traveled widely to study under him, and among his notable pupils was the Yemeni scholar Jamal al-Din Muhammad al-Burayhi, who relocated on his father's instruction to Ta'izz to attend his circles, later receiving a general certification (ijaza) from him . He also taught the scholar Wajih al-Din .
Judicial Career and Standing
Al-Raymi achieved foremost standing in issuing fatwas across Yemen, and local rulers held him in high regard . During the reign of the Rasulid ruler al-Malik al-Ashraf, he was appointed to the supreme judicial post (qada al-aqdiya) in Zabid . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali observed that he advanced to such preeminence in jurisprudence that students made scholarly journeys to him during his lifetime .
Among his most prominent contributions was al-Tafqih fi Sharh al-Tanbih, an extensive commentary on Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's manual spanning up to twenty-four volumes . He also authored al-Maani al-Badia fi Marifat Ikhtilaf Ahl al-Sharia, a comparative legal treatise arranged primarily according to the sequence of al-Shirazi's al-Muhadhdhab and al-Qaffal al-Shashi's Hilyat al-Ulama .
Death
Al-Raymi died in 792 AH (1390 CE) while serving as judge in Zabid, though Ibn Hajar in al-Durar al-Kamina and Katip Celebi in Sullam al-Wusul recorded 791 AH . Ibn Hajar transmitted in Inba al-Ghumr a report from al-Jamal al-Misri stating that al-Raymi frequently displayed contempt toward Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, and that during his terminal illness his tongue blackened and protruded before being snatched by a cat .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Maani al-Badia fi Marifat Ikhtilaf Ahl al-Sharia (The Ingenious Meanings in Knowing the Disagreements of the People of the Law) is a comparative jurisprudence (ikhtilaf) treatise.