Hasan ibn Ali al-Fayyumi
- Died
- 870 AH
- Born in
- -
Hasan ibn Ali al-Fayyumi (804–870 AH / 1401–1466 CE) was a Cairene hadith scholar, best known for his extensive commentary on Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri's hadith compilation al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib.
Life and Identity
His full name and lineage was Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Ali ibn Sulayman al-Badr al-Fayyumi al-Qahiri. He was born in 804 AH (1401/1402 CE) and died in 870 AH (1465/1466 CE). In his own writings, he identified himself as the copyist and compiler under the name Hasan ibn Ali al-Fayyumi.
Scholarly Contributions and Reception
Al-Fayyumi was drawn to the study of al-Mundhiri's al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib after noting its widespread recitation in various lands—especially during the months of Rajab, Sha'ban, and Ramadan—due to its accessible format without chains of transmission. Observing that the work contained obscure expressions that had not received a comprehensive exposition by contemporary scholars, he composed his multi-volume commentary, titled Fath al-Qarib al-Mujib ala al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib (The Near and Answering Opening upon "Exhortation and Intimidation").
In this commentary, al-Fayyumi integrated lexical analysis, grammatical points, and the explanation of unusual words (gharib al-hadith) with biographical evaluation of transmitters (jarh wa ta'dil), hadith terminology, and the derivation of legal rulings. He also added supplementary variant narrations, cited causes for the revelation of specific traditions (asbab al-wurud) absent in al-Mundhiri's original text, and included illustrative narratives. His extensive compilation preserved substantial excerpts from earlier works, including some that are currently unprinted or lost.
Al-Fayyumi's commentary received scholarly attention and was later abridged by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Manufi (d. 939 AH) in a summary titled Talkhis Fath al-Qarib al-Mujib ala al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib.
Answer updated
List of Works
Fath al-Qarib al-Mujib ala al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib is an extensive, multi-volume Arabic commentary on Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri's hadith collection al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib. Aiming to elucidate difficult and obscure phrases in the base text, the work provides lexical and linguistic explanations, contextual and narrative background, hadith criticism, legal rulings, and supplementary variant traditions.