Ibn al-Arabi al-Mutaakhkhir
- Died
- 617 AH
- Born in
- Seville
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Arabi al-Mutaakhkhir (542–617 AH / 1148–1220 CE) was an Andalusian hadith transmitter and ascetic, distinguished from his older relative, the celebrated Maliki jurist host Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi (d. 543 AH / 1148 CE), by the epithet al-Mutaakhkhir ("the Younger" or "the Later").
Biography and Travels
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Arabi al-Ma'afiri was born in Seville in 542 AH. He belonged to the Ma'afir tribe and was related to the prominent judge and scholar Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi.
Ibn al-Arabi undertook three major journeys to the East:
- In 572 AH, he set out on his first pilgrimage (Hajj), during which he heard hadith from prominent scholars along his route, including Abu Tahir al-Silafi in Alexandria.
- In 596 AH, he traveled east a second time, visiting the Levant (al-Sham) and Iraq; in Baghdad, he studied under leading hadith authorities of the period. He then returned to al-Andalus, transmitting the narrations he had acquired to students in Cordoba and Seville.
- In 612 AH, he departed on his third journey for Hajj. During this final phase of his life, he embraced Sufism and dedicated himself to worship.
Among his Andalusian teachers was Abu al-Hajjaj Yusuf ibn Ibrahim ibn Wahbun al-Ishbili, through whom he narrated chained (musalsal) hadiths originating from the elder Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi. His students included the Egyptian teacher Abu Muhammad Abd al-Muhsin ibn Yunus al-Sam'uni, whose transmissions from him were subsequently related by the traditionist Sharaf al-Din al-Dimyati. His narrations were preserved in a short compilation titled Khamsa Ahadith min Riwayat Ibn al-Arabi al-Mutaakhkhir (Five Hadiths from the Transmission of Ibn al-Arabi the Younger).
Standing and Death
The Andalusian biographer Ibn al-Abbar commended Ibn al-Arabi al-Mutaakhkhir, stating that he occupied an eminent standing in virtue, piety, humility, and gentle disposition.
He died in Alexandria in 617 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Khamsa Ahadith min Riwayat Ibn al-Arabi al-Mutaakhkhir (Five Hadiths from the Transmission of Ibn al-Arabi the Younger) is a short hadith booklet (juz') compiled from narrations transmitted from teachers during stays in al-Andalus and travels to the East.