al-Zarkashi al-Hanbali
- Died
- 772 AH
- Born in
- -
Shams al-Din al-Zarkashi (d. 772 AH / 1370–1371 CE) was an Egyptian Hanbali jurist and legal scholar, best known for his extensive legal commentary on Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi.
Lineage and Background
His full name is Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, Shams al-Din, Abu Abd Allah al-Zarkashi al-Misri al-Hanbali, also recorded as Shams al-Din ibn Jamal al-Din ibn Shams al-Din. According to a report preserved from the Chief Judge Muhibb al-Din al-Baghdadi, his family originally traced their lineage to the Bani Muhanna Arabs, who belonged to the military forces of the Levant (jund al-Sham) in the region of al-Rahbah. He is frequently distinguished from his contemporary Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi (d. 794 AH / 1392 CE), who was an Egyptian Shafi'i scholar.
Education and Scholarly Career
Al-Zarkashi studied Hanbali jurisprudence in Egypt under the Chief Judge of the Egyptian lands, Muwaffaq al-Din Abd Allah (identified also as al-Hajjawi). He attained the standing of an authority (imam) within the Hanbali school, noted for his intuitive legal discernment and his command over the opinions and transmissions of early Hanbali authorities. His son, Zayn al-Din Abd al-Rahman Abu Dharr al-Zarkashi, became a recognized hadith scholar and transmitter (musnid).
His primary scholarly contribution was his major commentary Sharh al-Zarkashi ala Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi, which became a celebrated exposition of Abu al-Qasim al-Khiraqi's foundational legal manual. He also composed a second, condensed commentary on al-Khiraqi, abridged from the larger text; he left it unfinished, with roughly a quarter remaining uncompleted past the chapter on animal sacrifices. In later Hanbali scholarship, the jurist Ahmad ibn Nasr Allah al-Baghdadi composed a critical refinement (Tanqih al-Zarkashi) engaging with his commentary.
Death
Al-Zarkashi died in 772 AH (1370–1371 CE). His son Zayn al-Din Abd al-Rahman reported that he was approximately fifty years of age at the time of his death.
Answer updated
List of Works
Sharh al-Zarkashi ala Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi is an extensive Hanbali legal commentary on Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi, the foundational jurisprudence manual composed by Abu al-Qasim al-Khiraqi. Designed as an exhaustive exposition of the base text, it covers the full spectrum of Islamic jurisprudence across traditional legal chapters, combining detailed textual and linguistic elucidation of al-Khiraqi's phrasing with systematic analysis of transmitted Hanbali positions, proofs, and documented prophetic traditions.