al-Sakhawi
- Died
- 902 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (831–902 AH / 1428–1497 CE) was a Cairo-born Shafi'i hadith scholar and historian who spent his later years residing in the Two Holy Sanctuaries, best known for his biographical dictionary al-Daw' al-Lami' li-Ahl al-Qarn al-Tasi' and his hadith terminology commentary Fath al-Mughith bi-Sharh Alfiyyat al-Hadith .
Lineage and early life
He was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Uthman ibn Muhammad, bearing the honorific Shams al-Din and the kunyas Abu al-Khayr and Abu Abd Allah . His family originated from Baghdad before settling in Sakha in Lower Egypt, from which he took his primary nisba, though he was born and raised in Cairo . He was also occasionally called Ibn al-Barid after his grandfather, an appellation he disliked . Al-Sakhawi was born in Rabi' al-Awwal 831 AH in the Baha' al-Din quarter of Cairo, adjacent to the madrasa of al-Bulqini; another report places his birth in 830 AH . At the age of four, his family moved to a residence purchased by his father next to the home of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani . He memorized the Quran in childhood, studied recitation with Muhammad al-Nahrayri, and memorized fundamental primers in Shafi'i jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, and hadith terminology .
Education and travels
Al-Sakhawi studied under more than four hundred scholars, and his comprehensive registry of teachers exceeded twelve hundred individuals across various disciplines . His primary mentor was Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, whom he accompanied constantly, transcribing his works and receiving comprehensive authorization in hadith until Ibn Hajar's death in 852 AH . Among his other prominent teachers were Burhan al-Din Ibn Khidr, Jamal al-Din Ibn Hisham al-Hanbali, Salih al-Bulqini, Sharaf al-Din al-Munawi, and al-Taqi al-Shumunni . He reframed his travel plans during his teacher's lifetime so as not to miss his instruction, but subsequently undertook extensive scholarly journeys . He journeyed across Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and the Hijaz, hearing narrations in Damascus, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, Ba'labakk, Homs, Hama, Alexandria, Damietta, Mecca, and Medina . He performed Hajj with his family in 870 AH and subsequently returned multiple times to reside for extended periods in Mecca and Medina .
Teaching and students
After his return to Cairo, al-Sakhawi held hadith dictation sessions and taught at his home, at the Sufi khanqah of Sa'id al-Su'ada, and at prominent institutions including the Kamiliyya, Sarghatmishiyya, Zahiriyya, and Barquqiyya madrasas . In Mecca, he delivered lectures and read his writings in the Sacred Mosque and the Madrasa of Sultan Qaytbay . His students numbered over fourteen hundred, drawing scholars from various regions and legal schools . Among his notable students were Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qastallani, Jar Allah Ibn Fahd, Abd al-Aziz ibn Umar Ibn Fahd, Abd al-Basit ibn Khalil al-Hanafi, and Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Dayba' . He also compiled a detailed biographical monograph on his teacher titled al-Jawahir wa-l-Durar fi Tarjamat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar .
Standing and controversies
Ibn Hajar described al-Sakhawi as the most exemplary of his circle of students and praised his diligence in hadith criticism . Other contemporaries, including Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kafiyaji and Taqi al-Din Ibn Fahd, lauded his vast memory and mastery of transmitter criticism and genealogical history .
Al-Sakhawi engaged in sharp rivalries with several contemporary scholars over status and critical evaluations in biographical entries, most notably with Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti . Al-Sakhawi criticized al-Suyuti extensively in al-Daw' al-lami', accusing him of literary appropriation, while al-Suyuti authored counter-polemics such as al-Kawi fi Tarikh al-Sakhawi, denouncing al-Sakhawi's biographical critiques as slanderous .
Death
Al-Sakhawi died on Sunday afternoon, 28 Sha'ban 902 AH / 1497 CE, in Medina during his final period of residency, at the age of seventy-one . Other variant reports record his death year as 895 AH or 907 AH, and an account cited by Ibn Tulun reported that he died in Mecca . His funeral prayer was performed after the dawn prayer on Monday in the Prophet's Rawda, and he was buried in the Baqi' cemetery near the tomb of Malik ibn Anas . Absentee funeral prayers were held for him at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in Dhu al-Qi'da 902 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Ghaya fi Sharh al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya is a commentary on Hadith terminology and sciences. It elucidates al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya, a didactic poem on Hadith disciplines composed by Ibn al-Jazari, resolving its obscure points to make its meanings accessible as a balanced reference for both novice students and advanced scholars.
al-Sirr al-Maktum fi al-Farq bayn al-Malayn al-Mahmud wa al-Madhmum is a theological and Hadith treatise investigating the religious status of acquiring wealth. It reconciles apparently conflicting prophetic traditions that praise or condemn affluence, distinguishing between praiseworthy and blameworthy material riches.
al-Tuhfa al-Latifa fi Tarikh al-Madina al-Sharifa is a biographical and historical work on Medina spanning from the early pre-Islamic foundation of Yathrib down to late ninth-century AH events. It focuses primarily on biographical entries of notable figures associated with the city and documents its scholarly curriculum and intellectual culture.
al-Tajrid ala al-Tanqih is a compilation of Hadith commentary notes and marginal glosses extracted into a standalone treatise. It brings together the discrete critical remarks, corrections, and verifications written by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani on his personal copy of Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi's Sahih al-Bukhari commentary, al-Tanqih.
al-Ajwiba al-Mardiyya fima su'ila 'anhu min al-Ahadith al-Nabawiyya is a collection of Hadith responsa and critical rulings. It addresses written and oral inquiries concerning ambiguous or problematic Hadith texts, their chains of transmission, and their grading, providing detailed authenticity evaluations and reconciling conflicting traditions.
al-Manhal al-Adhb al-Rawi (full title: al-Manhal al-ȣAdhb al-Rawī fī Tarjamat Quṣb al-Awliyāʾ al-Nawawī) is a biographical monograph devoted to the Shafiʳi jurist and hadith master al-Nawawi (631–676 AH / 1233–1277 CE). The work systematically covers the major facets of al-Nawawi's life, character, and scholarly legacy, drawing upon foundational biographical accounts alongside extensive historical and biographical sources.
al-Maqasid al-Hasana fi Bayan Kathir min al-Ahadith al-Mushtahara ala al-Alsina (The Good Aims in Clarifying Many of the Hadiths Circulated on the Tongues) is a hadith reference work devoted to evaluating popular narrations and proverbs widely circulating among people. Organized alphabetically for fast retrieval, it assesses the authenticity, chains of transmission, and primary sources of Prophetic reports, Companion statements, Successor sayings, and widely quoted phrases.
al-Mutakallimun fi al-Rijal (The Authorities Who Spoke on Narrators) is a concise treatise on narrator criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil). It surveys prominent scholars who evaluated transmitters of hadith, arranging around 210 authorities across 26 successive generational classes from the era of the Companions and Successors through the ninth century AH.
Al-Qanaʿah fī mā yaḥsun al-iḥāṣah bihi min ashrāṭ al-sāʿah (Contentment Regarding What is Proper to Comprehend of the Portents of the Hour) is a treatise on Islamic eschatology focusing on the minor and major signs preceding the Day of Judgment. Drawing upon transmitted evidence from the Quran and Prophetic Sunnah, the work presents hadith texts alongside textual variants and analytical commentary.
Istijlab Irtiqa al-Ghuraf bi-Hubb Aqriba al-Rasul wa-Dhawi al-Sharaf (Seeking Ascent to the Lofty Chambers through Love for the Prophet's Kin and the Possessors of Nobility) is a treatise on the virtues and merits of the Prophet's family and relatives. Structured into an introduction, eleven chapters, and a conclusion, the work applies critical hadith scholarship to examine narrations regarding the Prophet's lineage, the rights and reciprocal duties of his kin, and accounts concerning al-Mahdi.
This work is a comprehensive commentary on hadith terminology that explicates Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi's didactic poem Alfiyyat al-Hadith (also known as al-Tabsira wa-l-Tadhkira), which itself condensed Ibn al-Salah's Muqaddima with additions.
This biographical monograph compiles the names and biographical accounts of the servants and freedmen (mawali) associated with the Prophet Muhammad.
This extensive biographical monograph is dedicated entirely to documenting the life, education, teachers, writings, students, virtues, and legacy of the hadith master Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.
This concise commentary on hadith terminology expounds al-Tadhkirah fi Ulum al-Hadith (The Reminder in Hadith Sciences), a brief primer abridged by Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Mulaqqin from his comprehensive treatise al-Muqni fi Ulum al-Hadith.
This topographical hadith work documents towns and cities visited across Egypt, Syria, and the Hijaz, providing exemplary narrations obtained in each location.
al-Daw al-Lami li-Ahl al-Qarn al-Tasi (The Shining Light on the People of the Ninth Century) is an expansive biographical dictionary dedicated to the notable figures of the ninth Islamic century.
al-Tuhfa al-Latifa fi Tarikh al-Madina al-Sharifa (The Fine Gift on the History of the Noble City of Medina) is an extensive historical and biographical work on Medina and its notable figures.
Iltimas al-Sa'd fi al-Wafa' bi-l-Wa'd (Seeking Felicity in the Fulfillment of Promises) is a specialized treatise on the legal ruling and moral obligation of fulfilling promises.
al-Qawl al-Badi fi al-Salat ala al-Habib al-Shafi (The Novel Discourse on Invoking Blessings upon the Beloved Intercessor) is a treatise dedicated to the rulings, virtues, formulas, and specific occasions for invoking blessings and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad.
al-Ilan bil-Tawbikh liman Dhamm Ahl al-Tawarikh (The Declaration of Reproof to Those Who Censure the People of History) is a treatise on Islamic historiography and the defense of the historical discipline.
al-Intihad fi Khatm al-Shifa li-Iyad is a concise closing treatise (khatm) produced upon completing the reading and teaching of al-Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa bi-Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa. Belonging to the genre of khatm literature, it outlines the methodology of the original work, praises its author, addresses criticisms regarding its use of certain transmissions, and records chains of narration linking back to al-Qadi Iyad.