Ibn Abd al-Haqq al-Umari
- Died
- 1024 AH
- Born in
- Tripoli, Levant
Ibn Abd al-Haqq al-Umari (d. c. 1024 AH / 1615 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, theologian, and rhetorician from Tripoli in the Levant, best known for his rhetorical commentary Durar al-Fara'id al-Mustahsana.
Identity and background
His full name was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud, bearing the kunya Abu Abd Allah and the title Shams al-Din. He was commonly known as Ibn Abd al-Haqq al-Umari al-Tarabulusi. Biographical sources do not record his year of birth, but he was born and resided in Tripoli. In theological doctrine, he adhered to the Ash'ari school; in Islamic jurisprudence, he followed the Shafi'i legal school; and in spirituality, he pursued the Sufi path, specifically belonging to the Khalwati order, as noted by his son Muhammad.
Scholarly life and standing
Ibn Abd al-Haqq was regarded as one of the eminent scholars and leading figures of Tripoli. Mustafa Fath Allah al-Hamawi noted in Fawa'id al-Irtihal that during his era, no Shafi'i scholar in Tripoli surpassed him in knowledge of lawful and prohibited matters, alongside his mastery of the rational sciences. He was described as a revered figure who served as the primary authority for the inhabitants of Tripoli in both general and detailed religious matters. When Prince Manjak visited Tripoli, he formed a close bond with him and dedicated a eulogistic poem to him, opening with the verse praising Tripoli as the entire world as long as Ibn Abd al-Haqq resided in it.
In rhetoric, he composed Durar al-Fara'id al-Mustahsana fi Sharh Manzumat Ibn al-Shihna, an extensive commentary on Ibn al-Shihna's pedagogical poem on Arabic rhetoric, which he completed on 10 Jumada al-Akhirah 1009 AH (1600 CE). Among his students was the Shafi'i scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Hulwani al-Hisni (d. 1053 AH / 1643 CE), who compiled his teacher's admonitions into a work titled Irshad al-Khalq bi-Mawa'iz Ibn Abd al-Haqq.
Death
Biographical dictionaries transmit conflicting accounts regarding the date of his death. Al-Hamawi in Fawa'id al-Irtihal gives his death date as 1086 AH, whereas Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi in Hadiyyat al-Arifin cites 1040 AH, and modern catalogers approximate it around 1024 AH (c. 1615 CE). His son Muhammad noted that the author left his commentary in draft form and did not publish it during his lifetime; Muhammad finished transcribing and fair-copying the manuscript sixty years after its composition, in Safar 1069 AH (1658 CE), indicating that Ibn Abd al-Haqq's death occurred between 1009 AH and 1069 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Durar al-Faraid al-Mustahsana fi Sharh Manzumat Ibn al-Shihna is a classical Arabic rhetorical commentary explicating Ibn al-Shihna's didactic poem on Arabic rhetoric, Mi'at al-Ma'ani wa-l-Bayan. It provides an extensive exposition of the three core branches of Arabic rhetoric—ilm al-ma'ani, ilm al-bayan, and ilm al-badi'—by resolving difficult passages, clarifying the poem's expressions, offering abundant textual examples, and critiquing earlier explanations.