al-Zarirani, Sharaf al-Din Abd al-Rahim

Sharaf al-Din Abd al-Rahim al-Zarirani (711–741 AH / 1311–1341 CE) was a Hanbali jurist, mufti, and scholar from Baghdad, recognized primarily for his treatise on legal distinctions, Idah al-Dala'il fi al-Farq bayn al-Masa'il Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1.

Background and education

His full lineage is Abu Muhammad Sharaf al-Din Abd al-Rahim ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Isma'il al-Zarirani al-Baghdadi Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1. The nisba al-Zarirani traces to Zariran, a settlement situated near Baghdad along the pilgrimage route toward Kufa on the western bank of the Tigris Idah al-Dalail fi al-Farq…. He was born in Baghdad in 711 AH into a prominent scholarly household; his father, Taqi al-Din Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Zarirani (d. 729 AH), served as a judge in Baghdad and taught at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa Takmilat Siyar Alam al-Nu…+1.

Al-Zarirani was raised and educated in Baghdad, where he recited the Quran, memorized Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyya’s legal compendium al-Muharrar, and studied Hadith and Hanbali jurisprudence Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1. He then traveled to Damascus, where he studied al-Muharrar under the judge Burhan al-Din al-Zur'i and transmitted Hadith from female and male scholars including Zaynab bint al-Kamal and disciples of Ibn Abd al-Da'im and Khatib Marda Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…. He journeyed further to Egypt, hearing Hadith from its leading transmitter Yahya ibn Yusuf al-Misri and meeting scholars such as the grammarian Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila….

Career and scholarship

Upon returning to Baghdad, al-Zarirani was appointed to several academic and judicial posts Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…. He taught Hanbali jurisprudence at the Bashiriyya Madrasa following the death of Safi al-Din Abd al-Mu'min ibn Abd al-Haqq, and later assumed the teaching post at the Mujahidiyya Madrasa after the death of his brother-in-law Rukn al-Din Ibn Shafi' Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…. He also served as a deputy judge (na'ib fi al-qada') in Baghdad Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…. The historian Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi described him as a mufti and recorded an account from him, while Ibn Rajab noted attending his lecture in Baghdad during his own early childhood Takmilat Siyar Alam al-Nu…+1. Contemporary sources also praised his fine calligraphy Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila….

In his legal scholarship, al-Zarirani authored Idah al-Dala'il fi al-Farq bayn al-Masa'il, in which he condensed Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Samiri's earlier treatise al-Furuq while incorporating supplementary points and critical rectifications drawn from his father's teachings and other sources Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1. He also abridged Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fath al-Ba'li's legal lexicon al-Muttali' and produced an abridgment and biographical continuation (dhayl) to Qadi Abu al-Husayn Ibn Abi Ya'la's Tabaqat al-Ashab Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabila…+1.

Death

Al-Zarirani died in Baghdad on Tuesday, 10 Dhu al-Hijjah 741 AH (May 1341 CE), at approximately thirty years of age Tashil al-Sabila li Murid…. He was buried beside his father in the Cemetery of Imam Ahmad in Baghdad Tashil al-Sabila li Murid….