Bafadl al-Hadrami
- Died
- 918 AH
- Born in
- Tarim
Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman Bafadl al-Hadrami (850–918 AH / 1446–1512 CE) was a Yemeni jurist of the Shafi'i school, best known for his foundational primer on the rulings of ritual worship, al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya (The Hadrami Primer).
Lineage and Education
His full name is Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr Bafadl al-Sa'di al-Madhhiji, and he was known by the honorific title 'Afif al-Din. He was born in 850 AH (1446 CE) in Hadramawt. He traveled widely in pursuit of religious learning, going to Aden and other learning centers in southern Arabia. Among his teachers were the scholars Muhammad ibn Ahmad Bafadl and Abd Allah ibn Ahmad Aba Mi'zama; he studied extensively under Aba Mi'zama, graduating under his tutelage and receiving high praise from him. In 915 AH, Bafadl performed the Hajj pilgrimage to the Hijaz, where he studied under scholars including Chief Judge Burhan al-Din ibn Zahira and Abu al-Fath al-Maraghi.
Career and Students
Bafadl settled in the coastal town of al-Shihr, where Judge Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Husayn al-Shafi'i secured an educational endowment and arranged for him to teach at the town's grand mosque. Bafadl became the leading teacher and legal authority in al-Shihr, lecturing and issuing fatwas in Shafi'i jurisprudence.
His son Shihab al-Din Ahmad (d. 929 AH) studied under him, served as a repetition tutor during his father's lectures, and later took over Bafadl's teaching position after his death, prior to being killed during a Portuguese attack on al-Shihr. Another son, Muhammad, was also a jurist who taught and died in al-Shihr in 907 AH. In addition to his legal primer, Bafadl authored Hilyat al-barara wa-shi'ar al-khiyara on pilgrimage supplications and the treatise al-Hujaj al-qawati'.
Standing and Character
Biographical sources describe Bafadl as an ascetic (zāhid) and deeply devout scholar who combined extensive knowledge with practical piety. He was noted for generosity, regular distribution of charity, patience in educating students, and dedication to enjoining good and forbidding wrong.
Death
Bafadl died on Sunday afternoon, 5 Ramadan 918 AH (c. November 1512 CE) in al-Shihr. He was buried on the northern edge of the town in an open plot of land, being the first person interred in that location. The surrounding area eventually became a major cemetery, and a domed structure was erected over his grave, which became a visited shrine.
Answer updated
List of Works
Also known as Masa'il al-Ta'lim (Questions for Instruction), al-Muqaddima al-Hadramiyya (The Hadrami Primer) is a foundational manual of Shafi'i jurisprudence. The work serves as an instructional primer focusing on the legal rulings of ritual worship (ibadat).