Hisham ibn Ahmad al-Waqshi
- Died
- 489 AH
- Born in
- -
Hisham ibn Ahmad al-Waqshi (408–489 AH / 1017–1096 CE) was an Andalusian jurist, judge, philologist, and hadith scholar, known for his philological commentary al-Ta'liq 'ala al-Muwatta' (Annotations on al-Muwatta) .
Name, Lineage, and Origins
He was Abu al-Walid Hisham ibn Ahmad ibn Hisham ibn Khalid ibn Said al-Kinani al-Waqshi al-Tulaytuli . Biographical sources record variations in his lineage, with some dropping the second Hisham, placing Khalid before Hisham, or extending the pedigree to include al-Walid . His primary nisba, al-Waqshi, is derived from Waqqash (Huecas), a town situated on the Tagus River approximately twelve miles west of Toledo .
Education, Career, and Students
Al-Waqshi pursued traditional Islamic disciplines alongside rational sciences, encompassing jurisprudence, hadith, Arabic language, poetry, logic, and geometry . He studied hadith and legal texts under prominent scholars, including Abu Umar al-Talamanki, Abu Amr al-Safaqisi, Abu Umar al-Hadhdha', Abu Bakr ibn Mughith, and Abu Muhammad al-Shantajali . Under al-Talamanki, he read the Sirah of Ibn Hisham .
During the reign of the ruler of Toledo, al-Ma'mun ibn Dhi al-Nun, al-Waqshi was appointed judge of Talavera, an office he held around 438 AH when he met the historian Said ibn Ahmad al-Andalusi in Toledo . Later sources also mention his connection to the judiciary in Toledo and Denia . Beyond law and letters, he instructed students in mathematical sciences; Ibrahim ibn Lubb al-Tujibi (al-Quwaydis) read Euclid's Elements with him before mastering geometry . Among his notable students in religious and literary fields were Abu Bahr Sufyan ibn al-Asi, Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, Abu Amir Ahmad ibn al-Faraj al-Tujibi, and Abu Abd Allah ibn Sulayman .
Scholarly Standing and Theological Controversy
Contemporary and later authorities praised al-Waqshi's erudition. Said ibn Ahmad described him as one of the accomplished scholars of his era on account of his mastery of varied branches of learning and his grasp of foundational sciences . Qadi Iyad remarked on his precision and memory, highlighting his critical annotations on major historical and literary compendia, as well as his revision of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj's al-Kuna wa-al-asma' . He also authored critical notes on al-Mubarrad's literary work al-Kamil titled Nukat al-Kamil .
Despite his scholarly acclaim, al-Waqshi faced controversy after being accused of holding Mu'tazilism doctrines, specifically regarding divine decree (al-qadar) and the nature of the Quran, leading most contemporaries to abandon narrating hadith from him . His student Sufyan ibn al-Asi defended him by denying the theological treatise attributed to him, though Qadi Iyad reported that he examined the treatise himself and received testimony that it bore al-Waqshi's own handwriting and authentic transmission notes .
Death
Al-Waqshi died in Denia with one night remaining in Jumada al-Akhira 489 AH, at the age of eighty-one . Another report places his death in 488 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Taȹlģq ȹalā al-MuwaሷሷaɃ fģ Tafsģr Lughātihģ wa-Ghawāmiጁ Iȹrābihģ wa-Maȹānģh is a philological and textual commentary on Mālik ibn Anas’s al-Muwatta. Rather than providing an exhaustive legal treatise, the work consists of concise glosses, annotations, and pointers focusing on textual precision, linguistic elucidation, rare vocabulary, and the grammatical parsing of obscure phrases throughout the source text.