al-Rudani, Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Maghribi
- Died
- 1094 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Rudani (1037–1094 AH / 1627–1683 CE) was a Moroccan Maliki scholar, hadith specialist, and astronomer based in the Hijaz . He is best known for his encyclopedic hadith synthesis Jam' al-Fawa'id min Jami' al-Usul wa Majma' al-Zawa'id and his transmission compendium Silat al-Khalaf bi-Mawsul al-Salaf .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sulayman—also recorded as Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman—ibn al-Fasi ibn Tahir al-Susi al-Rudani al-Maghribi al-Maliki . Sources clarify that "al-Fasi" in his lineage was a given personal name rather than a geographical attribution to Fez . He was born in 1037 AH in Taroudant (Rudana) in the Sus al-Aqsa region of southern Morocco, though another report places his birth in 1035 AH .
Education and Travels
Al-Rudani commenced his early education in Taroudant before traveling widely across Morocco and North Africa . He pursued advanced studies in the Draa valley, Sijilmasa, Marrakesh, and Fez, studying rational sciences, logic, and astronomy alongside religious disciplines . Among his most prominent teachers in the Maghrib were the mufti of Marrakesh Isa al-Saktani, Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Marghiti, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Dila'i, and Sa'id ibn Ibrahim (known as Qaddurah), the mufti of Algiers, from whom he received the Sufi cloak and litanies . He also studied under Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Dar'i for four years, covering Quranic exegesis, hadith, jurisprudence, and Sufism .
Al-Rudani then journeyed to the East, studying in Egypt under scholars including Ali al-Ujhuri, Shihab al-Din al-Khafaji, and Shihab al-Din al-Qalyubi . In Palestine he studied with the Hanafi jurist Khayr al-Din al-Ramli, and in Damascus he took narrations from Muhammad ibn Balban al-Hanbali and Muhammad ibn Hamza al-Husayni, in addition to visiting Istanbul . He subsequently settled in the Hijaz, living for many years between Mecca and Medina .
Among those who transmitted from him were the biographer Muhammad Amin al-Muhibbi, Ahmad ibn Qasim al-Buni, Ibn Sunnah al-Fullani, and Abd al-Qadir ibn Abd al-Hadi .
Public Career in Mecca and Exile
During his residence in Mecca, where he became known simply as al-Maghribi, al-Rudani attained substantial social and administrative influence and was appointed to oversee the administration of the Two Holy Mosques . He carried out architectural and civic projects in Mecca, constructing a hospice (ribat) near Bab Ibrahim known as Ribat Ibn Sulayman, as well as a dedicated burial ground in the al-Ma'la cemetery known as Maqbarat Ibn Sulayman . Following a local political disturbance in Mecca, he was expelled from the city and sent into exile to Damascus .
Scholarly Standing and Inventions
Al-Rudani was recognized as a polymath versed in hadith, jurisprudence, Arabic rhetoric, mathematics, and timekeeping (miqat) . In hadith, he composed Jam' al-Fawa'id min Jami' al-Usul wa Majma' al-Zawa'id, systematically integrating canonical and extraneous collections into a single reference . His catalog Silat al-Khalaf bi-Mawsul al-Salaf served as an extensive registry documenting his scholarly chains of transmission across diverse disciplines .
He also practiced crafts such as bookbinding and metalwork, and constructed precision instruments, notably designing an innovative spherical astronomical device for timekeeping and coordinate determination that served across varying latitudes .
Death
Al-Rudani died in Damascus in 1094 AH (1683 CE) . Alternate reports place his death in 1091 AH or 1095 AH, while an isolated report mentions his death in Medina , .
Answer updated
List of Works
Jam al-Fawaid min Jami al-Usul wa Majma al-Zawaid is an encyclopedic hadith compendium. It synthesizes the contents of two major secondary hadith compilations into a single organized reference, aiming to provide comprehensive access to canonical traditions and extraneous narrations from early hadith literature.
Silat al-Khalaf bi-Mawsul al-Salaf is a comprehensive catalogue of scholarly transmissions (a fahrasah or thabat). The work systematically records teachers, chains of narration (asanid), and transmitted texts across hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, and various other disciplines.