al-Yafii
- Died
- 768 AH
- Born in
- Aden
Abdullah ibn As'ad al-Yafi'i (c. 698–768 AH / 1298–1367 CE) was a Yemeni-born Shafi'i jurist, historian, and Sufi scholar who settled in Mecca, best known for his universal chronicle Mir'at al-Jinan wa Ibrat al-Yaqzan (The Mirror of the Paradises and the Admonition of the Vigilant).
Early life and education
His full lineage was Abdullah ibn As'ad ibn Ali ibn Sulayman ibn Falah al-Yafi'i, tracing his descent to the Yemeni tribe of Yafi' from Himyar. He carried the honorific Afif al-Din and kunyas including Abu al-Sa'adat, Abu Muhammad, and Abu al-Siyada. He was born and raised in Aden around 698 AH (c. 1298 CE)—or shortly before 700 AH—and recorded reaching puberty in 711 AH. In Yemen, he received his initial training under Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Dihani al-Bassal and Ahmad ibn Ali al-Harazi, the judge and mufti of Aden.
In 712 AH, al-Yafi'i performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, where he met the mystic Ali al-Tawashi, who initiated him into the Sufi path and encouraged his devotion to seclusion. After a brief return to Yemen, he settled permanently in Mecca in 718 AH, married, and undertook extensive study under local scholars. He studied hadith under Radi al-Din al-Tabari, hearing five of the six canonical hadith collections alongside other compilations, and read Shafi'i jurisprudence under Najm al-Din al-Tabari, the judge of Mecca.
Travels and disciples
Al-Yafi'i spent ten years in devotional retirement, dividing his time between Mecca and Medina. In 734 AH, he traveled to the Levant and Egypt, visiting Jerusalem, Damascus, and Cairo, where he resided in the al-Qarafa district alongside masters such as Abd Allah al-Manufi and visited Muhammad al-Murshidi. After returning to the Hejaz, he traveled to Yemen in 738 AH to visit his mentor al-Tawashi before returning to Mecca. During the pilgrimage at Mina in 747 AH, he met the jurist Taj al-Din al-Subki.
In Mecca, al-Yafi'i instructed numerous students in jurisprudence, hadith, and Sufi disciplines. His students included the hadith scholar Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi, the grammarian Ali ibn Zayd al-Radamawi, the copyist Abd Allah al-Khatib, and Muhammad ibn al-Muhandis.
Standing and controversies
Al-Yafi'i was praised by contemporaries such as Jamal al-Din al-Isna'i for his ascetical detachment, generosity toward students and the poor, and disdain for state officials. In speculative theology, he was a staunch adherent of the Ash'ari school, writing Marham al-Ilal al-Mudila (The Salve for Intractable Ailments) to refute Mu'tazilite doctrine. He also composed hagiographical compendia of Sufi narratives, such as Rawd al-Rayahin fi Manaqib al-Salihin (The Garden of Basils on the Virtues of the Righteous).
His outspoken Ash'ari polemics and criticisms of Ibn Taymiyyah drew censure from Hanbali scholars. He was also characterized by deep reverence for Ibn Arabi and an insistence on the ongoing physical life of al-Khadir. A poetic verse he composed describing spiritual ecstasy prompted the scholar Diya' al-Din al-Hamawi to denounce him; though other scholars defended the verse by explaining its intended meaning, al-Yafi'i refused al-Hamawi's later request for reconciliation until al-Hamawi ascended the pulpit during a Friday sermon to publicly retract the allegation.
Death
Al-Yafi'i died in Mecca in Jumada al-Akhira 768 AH (c. February 1367 CE), with one report specifying the night of Sunday, 20 Jumada al-Akhira; another report recorded by Ibn al-Subki placed his death in 767 AH. He was buried in Mecca's al-Ma'lat cemetery near the grave of the early ascetic al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, and his personal effects were sought after and sold for high prices by seekers of blessing.
Answer updated
List of Works
Marham al-Ilal al-Mudila fi al-Radd ala Aimmat al-Mutazila ("The Salve for Intractable Ailments in Refuting the Leaders of the Mu'tazila") is a theological work on the fundamentals of religion (usul al-din) and speculative theology (kalam). Written in response to an inquiry regarding disputed theological issues, the text provides a defense of Sunni positions while critiquing Mu'tazilite doctrine and speculative doubts.
Mirat al-Jinan wa Ibrat al-Yaqzan (The Mirror of the Paradises and the Admonition of the Vigilant) is a chronological universal Islamic history and biographical chronicle. Organized annalistically from the first year of the Hijra (1 AH) through the year 750 AH, the work presents a concise compendium of significant historical events alongside biographical entries and obituaries of notable figures.