Ali ibn al-Mufaddal al-Maqdisi

Ali ibn al-Mufaddal al-Maqdisi (544–611 AH / 1149–1214 CE) was a Maliki jurist and hadith master based in Egypt, known for his pedagogical leadership and hadith collections such as al-Arba'un ala al-Tabaqat Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Background and education

Abu al-Hasan Sharaf al-Din Ali ibn al-Mufaddal ibn Ali ibn Mufarrij ibn Hatim al-Maqdisi was born in 544 AH (1149/1150 CE) into a scholarly family of Jerusalemite descent; his father was the judge Abu al-Makarim al-Mufaddal ibn Ali Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He was raised in Alexandria, where he studied Maliki jurisprudence under Salih ibn Bint Mu'afa, Abu al-Tahir ibn 'Awf al-Zuhri, Abd al-Salam ibn 'Atiq al-Safaqisi, and Abu Talib Ahmad ibn al-Musallam al-Lakhmi Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

In hadith, he devoted himself to the hadith master Abu Tahir al-Silafi, studying under him for years and having his own son Muhammad hear from him Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. He also heard most of Sahih al-Bukhari from Abu 'Ubayd Ni'ma ibn Ziyadat Allah al-Ghifari in 558 AH, and received transmissions from scholars in Alexandria, Cairo, and the Hejaz, including the grammarian Abd Allah ibn Barri, Badr al-Khudadhadhi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalaf Allah, and Ali ibn Hibat Allah al-Kamili Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

Judicial and teaching career

Al-Maqdisi served for a time as a deputy judge (na'ib fi al-hukm) in Alexandria and taught at his madrasa there Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. Later, he relocated to Cairo, where he was appointed to teach at the Sahibiyya madrasa established by the vizier Ibn Shukr, remaining in this position for the rest of his life Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Students and scholarly standing

Al-Maqdisi gained renown for his mastery of the Maliki legal tradition, hadith transmission, legal theory, and Arabic letters, and he composed poetry al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. Among his notable compilations are al-Arba'in al-murattabah 'ala tabaqat al-arba'in, a collection of forty narrations arranged across generational tiers of hadith masters, and Kitab al-Arba'in fi Fadl al-Du'a' wa-al-Da'in on supplication Kitab al-Arbaeen fi Fadl …+1.

A prominent circle of scholars transmitted from him, most notably the hadith master Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri, who trained under him, as well as Ibn al-Najjar, Zaki al-Din al-Birzali, al-Rashid al-Irmawi, and Majd al-Din Ali ibn Wahb al-Qushayri al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1.

Death

Al-Maqdisi died at the beginning of Sha'ban 611 AH (December 1214 CE) in Cairo and was buried at the foot of Mount al-Muqattam Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith+1. Upon his funeral procession, an observer remarked that his extensive scholarly work had discharged communal obligations (furud kifayah) on behalf of the community Tabaqat Ulama al-Hadith.