al-Taqi al-Fasi
- Died
- 832 AH
- Born in
- Mecca
Abu al-Tayyib al-Taqi al-Fasi (775–832 AH / 1373–1429 CE) was a Makkan Maliki jurist, hadith scholar, judge, and historian best known for his comprehensive historical works on Mecca, including Shifa al-Gharam bi-Akhbar al-Balad al-Haram and al-Aqd al-Thamin fi Tarikh al-Balad al-Amin .
Origin and Upbringing
His full lineage traces through the Hasani Sharifs: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman, traced to al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib . His family originated in Fez, and he was born in Mecca on Friday night, 20 Rabi' al-Awwal 775 AH . During his childhood, he traveled with his mother and his brother Najm al-Din Abd al-Latif to Medina, where his maternal uncle Muhibb al-Din al-Nuwayri served as judge . While in Medina, he memorized the Quran and studied introductory treatises, including al-Nawawi's al-Arba'in and Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's al-Risala, and heard hadith from Umm al-Husayn Fatima . He returned to Mecca with his family in 788 AH .
Education and Travels
In Mecca, he studied under local scholars, including the city's judge Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Zuhayra . He traveled extensively to Cairo, Damascus, and Yemen to study hadith, law, and legal theory, receiving transmissions and licenses (ijazat) from nearly five hundred teachers . Among his prominent teachers were Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi, who authorized him to transmit hadith, as well as Abu Bakr ibn al-Muhibb, Ibrahim ibn Farhun, Bahram al-Damiri, and al-Wanughi . His mentors granted him permission to teach and issue legal opinions (fatwa), and he subsequently taught, delivered rulings, and dictated hadith across the Hijaz, Cairo, Damascus, and Yemen .
Career and Later Life
He was appointed to the Maliki judgeship of Mecca in 807 AH with the assistance of al-Salami . In 828 AH, he faced removal from his post in favor of Kamal al-Din Abu al-Barakat Muhammad ibn al-Zayn al-Qastallani; during this dispute, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani composed a written statement praising al-Fasi as the most learned authority on Islamic sciences in Mecca and the Hijaz, while criticizing the qualification of his rival . In his later years, al-Fasi lost his eyesight . Alongside his Makkan historical works, he authored Dhayl al-Taqyid fi Ruwat al-Sunan wa al-Asanid, a major supplementary biographical work on hadith transmitters following Ibn Nuqta .
Standing and Students
Scholars recognized al-Fasi as a leading authority in hadith, history, and legal transmission. Ibn Hajar, who accompanied him during his studies in Egypt, Syria, and Yemen, praised him, remarking that he left no equal behind him in the Hijaz . Among those who transmitted from him were Abu Ishaq al-Tazi, Siraj al-Din Umar ibn Fahd, and Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Sadi al-Ansari .
Death
Al-Fasi died in Mecca in Shawwal 832 AH (another report gives his death in Shawwal 833 AH) .
Answer updated
List of Works
This biographical dictionary of Hadith transmitters serves as a continuation and critical supplement to Ibn Nuqta's al-Taqyid li-Ma'rifat Ruwat al-Sunan wa al-Masanid. It rectifies omissions in the earlier work, supplies missing transmission details, and extends biographical coverage down to narrators who lived after Ibn Nuqta's era.
This biographical dictionary and topographical history of Mecca spans eight centuries of the city's history. It combines a historical, topographical, and legal survey of the holy city and its landmarks with comprehensive biographies of notable Meccans, long-term residents, scholars, rulers, and figures associated with the sanctuary.
Arranged across forty thematic chapters in two volumes, this comprehensive history and topography explores Mecca and its sacred sites. It covers the architectural development and religious boundaries of the sanctuary, ritual infrastructure, pre-Islamic and early Islamic history, civic governance, and historical events.