Burhan al-Din al-Naji
- Died
- 900 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Burhan al-Din al-Naji (810–900 AH / 1407–1495 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i hadith scholar and preacher based in Damascus, best known for his critical hadith commentary Ujalat al-Imla ala al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib .
Identity and Background
His full name was Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn Badr ibn 'Isa, bearing the kunya Abu Ishaq and the honorific Burhan al-Din . He traced his ancestral origin to Aleppo through his great-grandfather Badr, while he, his father, and his grandfather were born and raised in Damascus . He was affiliated with the quarter of al-Qubaybat (in Maydan al-Hasa) in southern Damascus . His surname al-Naji (lit. "the saved") was reportedly attributed to his transition from the Hanbali school to the Shafi'i madhhab .
Scholarly Career
Al-Naji was active as a preacher, traditionist, and skilled copyist in Damascus . He transcribed extensive multi-volume compendia, including most volumes of Ibn 'Urwah al-Hanbali's al-Kawakib al-darari in Nasta'liq script, and added analytical marginal annotations to classic texts such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's al-Talkhis al-habir . As a critical traditionist, he completed the dictation of Ujalat al-imla', his analytical commentary correcting omissions and inadvertent errors in Zaki al-Din al-Mundhiri's al-Targhib wa-l-tarhib, in Rabi' al-Awwal 875 AH . He also composed legal and devotional treatises, including Ifadat al-Mubtadi al-Mustafid fi Hukm Ityan al-Mamum bi al-Tasmi on the follower's recitations behind the prayer leader .
A prominent circle of students transmitted hadith from him in Damascus, including Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Barakat ibn al-Kayyal—to whom al-Naji gave his daughter in marriage—the Sufi master Ibn Iraq, who accompanied him until his final days, the judge Muhammad ibn al-Farfur, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sultan, and Abu Bakr al-Balatunusi .
Reception
Al-Naji was regarded as a leading authority in hadith sciences within late Mamluk Damascus; the scholar Kamal al-Din ibn Hamzah stated that God had distinguished the district of Maydan al-Hasa with three singular masters, singling out al-Naji for his expertise in hadith . Conversely, his contemporary Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti criticized his precision and capacity in hadith memorization following a dispute concerning transmitter names in Sahih al-Bukhari, a disagreement later biographical authorities characterized as typical friction between peers .
Death
Al-Naji died in Damascus in Ramadan 900 AH (1495 CE) at an age exceeding ninety years .
Answer updated
List of Works
This short genealogical and legal polemical treatise refutes the authenticity of a group claiming Hashimite descent through an alleged son or descendant of the Prophet's uncle al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib named Hamza al-Khalaf.
This specialized hadith treatise gathers and critically examines prophetic traditions, narrations, and claims concerning the legal rulings and properties associated with wearing rings set with carnelian and other precious stones.
This critical hadith commentary provides marginal annotations, emendations, and analytical remarks on Zaki al-Din al-Mundhiri's hadith collection al-Targhib wa-l-Tarhib, identifying inadvertent errors, imprecise references, and omitted transmitters.
This legal treatise on Islamic prayer examines the ruling on whether a congregational follower should recite the tasmi' upon rising from bowing alongside the tahmid, articulating the Shafi'i legal position and its supporting evidence.