al-Salihi al-Shami
- Died
- 942 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami (d. 942 AH / 1536 CE) was a Syrian Hadith scholar and historian based in Cairo, best known for his extensive biographical work on the Prophet Muhammad, Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad fi Sirat Khayr al-Ibad ("The Paths of Guidance and Right Direction in the Biography of the Best of Servants") .
Life and Education
He was Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Ali ibn Yusuf al-Shami al-Salihi al-Dimashqi . He was born in the al-Salihiyya neighborhood of Damascus, though his exact year of birth is unrecorded . Biographical sources differ regarding his legal affiliation, with some categorizing him as a Shafi'i and others describing him as a Hanafi .
Al-Salihi relocated to Cairo, where he took up residence in the desert area at the Barquqiyya funerary complex and served as an instructor there . During his scholarly pursuit, he studied under leading authorities of his era, including Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, Shihab al-Din al-Qastallani, and Shahin ibn Abd Allah al-Khalwati al-Misri . Among his students was the Maliki scholar Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Fishi, who transcribed and prepared portions of his sirah from the author's working draft .
Al-Salihi died in Cairo on 14 Sha'ban 942 AH (February 1536 CE), though another report places his death in 943 AH .
Scholarly Activity and Standing
Al-Salihi was widely recognized for his breadth of learning across multiple disciplines, particularly Hadith, Quranic exegesis, and history . His contemporary, the mystic and scholar Abd al-Wahhab al-Sharani, described him as a pious, ascetic scholar firmly devoted to the Sunnah, noting that he spent his nights in prayer and slept very little . Al-Sharani also recorded that al-Salihi never married, personally prepared food for his guests, refused gifts or food from political rulers and officials, and routinely administered endowed positions on behalf of deceased scholars' orphaned children so they would receive their stipends until they reached adulthood .
In scholarship, al-Salihi compiled his comprehensive prophetic biography, Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad, by synthesizing material from one thousand sources and following a meticulous thematic structure that attracted widespread demand among contemporary copyists . When an anonymous tract disparaging the jurist Abu Hanifa circulated in Cairo in late 938 AH, al-Salihi responded by authoring 'Uqud al-Juman fi Manaqib Abi Hanifah al-Nu'man ("Strings of Pearls on the Virtues of Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man"), completing it in late Rabi' al-Akhir 939 AH . He also authored a critical evaluation of spurious traditions entitled al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah fi Bayan al-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah ("The Collected Benefits on Clarifying Fabricated Hadiths"), which he cited within his biographical compendium .
Answer updated
List of Works
Subul al-Huda wa al-Rashad fi Sirat Khayr al-Ibad (The Paths of Guidance and Right Direction in the Biography of the Best of Servants) is an extensive Arabic compendium on the prophetic biography (sirah).