Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi al-Muqri

Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi (558/559–643 AH / 1163–1245 CE) was an Egyptian-born Quranic scholar, grammarian, and Shafi'i jurist who served as the leading master of Quranic recitation in Damascus, renowned for his foundational commentary on the Shatibiyya, Fath al-Wasid fi Sharh al-Qasid Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim -…+1.

Origin and Education

He was Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Samad ibn Abd al-Ahad ibn Abd al-Ghalib al-Hamdani al-Misri al-Sakhawi Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim -…+1. He was born in the Egyptian village of Sakha in 558 AH, though a variant report places his birth in 559 AH Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim -…+1. He began his early studies in his hometown under Ibrahim ibn Jubara al-Sakhawi Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…. In 572 AH, he arrived in Alexandria, where he heard hadith and literature from Abu Tahir al-Silafi and Abu al-Tahir Ismail ibn Makki ibn Awf Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…+1. In Cairo, he studied under Asakir ibn Ali, Hibat Allah al-Busiri, and Ismail ibn Yasin Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He trained extensively in the canonical readings under Abu al-Qasim al-Shatibi, Abu al-Jud Ghiyath ibn Faris al-Lakhmi, and Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Ghaznawi Tarikh al-Islam+1.

He subsequently moved to Damascus, where he studied grammar, literature, and readings under Abu al-Yumn al-Kindi, reading Sibawayh's al-Kitab, Abu Ali al-Farisi's al-Idah, and Ibn Jinni's al-Luma' under him, and heard hadith from Ibn Tabarzadh and Hanbal ibn Abd Allah Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…+1. In 598 AH, he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca and returned to settle permanently in Damascus Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al….

Teaching and Scholarly Career

In his legal affiliation, he was originally a Maliki before adopting the Shafi'i madhhab, within which he issued legal rulings Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…+1. He was appointed head of recitation (mashyakhat al-iqra) at Turbat Umm al-Salih and directed a large instructional circle at the Umayyad Mosque near the shrine of Zechariah al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He taught recitation for over forty years, and thousands of students completed their Quranic readings under his guidance al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

In his later transmission of readings, he restricted himself to transmitting from al-Shatibi and Abu al-Jud, declining to transmit higher chains from al-Kindi and al-Ghaznawi because he had read Sibt al-Khayyat's al-Mubhij with them and subsequently disapproved of reciting beyond the seven canonical readings; reports attributed this restriction to a dream he had seen or to verbal advice from al-Shatibi Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

He composed Fath al-Wasid fi Sharh al-Qasid, the earliest commentary on al-Shatibi's didactic poem on the seven readings, which was instrumental in establishing the poem's fame, as well as an extensive manual on the sciences of recitation titled Jamal al-Qurra wa-Kamal al-Iqra al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

His prominent students included the historian Abu Shama al-Maqdisi—who accompanied him continuously from Sha'ban 614 AH until his death—as well as Shams al-Din Abu al-Fath al-Ansari, Zayn al-Din Abd al-Salam al-Zawawi, Rashid al-Din Ibn Abi al-Durr, Taqi al-Din Ya'qub al-Jara'idi, and Jamal al-Din al-Fadili Tabaqat al-Shafiiyyin+1.

Standing and Assessment

He was praised by contemporary and later scholars for his mastery of Arabic grammar, Quranic exegesis, legal theory, and the technical variants of Quranic recitation Tabaqat al-Mufassirin li …+1. Ibn Khallikan recounted observing him riding a mount toward the mountain with two or three pupils walking alongside him, reciting different passages of the Quran simultaneously while he corrected each student without error Ghayat al-Nihaya fi Tabaq…+1. Al-Dhahabi expressed skepticism regarding the pedagogical viability of hearing distinct passages simultaneously, whereas other scholars, such as Ibn al-Jazari, defended the report as an illustration of his exceptional competence Ghayat al-Nihaya fi Tabaq…. Biographers also noted his modest demeanor, wit, and literary eloquence, including panegyrics presented to Sultan Saladin Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K…+1.

Death

Al-Sakhawi died on the night of Sunday, 12 Jumada al-Akhira 643 AH, at his residence in Turbat Umm al-Salih in Damascus al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He was buried on Mount Qasiyun al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.