Ibn al-Faras

Ibn al-Faras (c. 524–597 AH / 1130–1201 CE) was an Andalusian Maliki jurist, hadith scholar, grammarian, and judge from Granada, best known for his legal commentary on the Quran, Ahkam al-Quran (The Legal Rulings of the Quran) Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Lineage and Education

His full name was Abu Muhammad Abd al-Mun'im ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahim ibn Ahmad (or Muhammad) al-Ansari al-Khazraji al-Gharnati Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He was born around 524 AH—with another report giving 525 AH—into a prominent Andalusian family with a deep tradition of scholarship Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He received his early instruction from his father and his grandfather Abu al-Qasim, studying jurisprudence and legal and theological theory Tarikh al-Islam.

Among his teachers were Abu al-Walid ibn Baqwah, Abu Muhammad ibn Ayyub, Abu al-Walid ibn al-Dabbagh, and Abu al-Hasan ibn Hudhayl, under whom he recited the seven Quranic readings Tarikh al-Islam. He also obtained scholarly licenses (ijazat) from numerous authorities, including Abu al-Hasan ibn Mawhab (also recorded as Ibn Mughith), Abu Abd Allah ibn Makki, Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Badhish, Abu al-Qasim ibn Baqqi, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, and al-Maziri Tarikh al-Islam+1.

Judicial Career and Teaching

Ibn al-Faras was appointed judge in Alzira (Jazirat Shuqar), then in Guadix (Wadi Ash), then in Jaen, and ultimately in Granada, where he was also entrusted with the supervision of market inspection (hisbah) and the police (shurtah) al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. He was recognized as the leading Maliki scholar of Granada in his era Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

His students included his son the vizier Abu Yahya Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Faras, Ismail ibn Yahya al-Attar, Abd al-Ghani ibn Muhammad, Abu al-Husayn Yahya ibn Abd Allah al-Dani, and al-Sharaf al-Mursi, who heard the Muwatta of Malik ibn Anas from him Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

Scholarly Standing and Reception

Ibn al-Faras attained wide acclaim for his command of substantive law (furu'), legal theory (usul), hadith, and Arabic grammar Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Ibn al-Jadd remarked that he knew of no one in al-Andalus who had a better memorization of the school of Malik after Abu Abd Allah ibn Zarqun than Ibn al-Faras Siyar Aalam al-Nubala. Abu Abd Allah al-Tujibi recalled being astonished by his memory, intelligence, and versatility across disciplines upon visiting his father, noting that Ibn al-Faras recited much of his own poetry to him Tarikh al-Islam.

His legal exegesis Ahkam al-Quran, which he completed in Murcia in 553 AH, was praised by Ibn al-Abbar as among the finest works composed on the topic, and it gained renown in both the Islamic West and the East al-Muallim bi-Fawaid Musl…+1. He also composed Adab al-qada (The Etiquette of Judicial Office) and Masa'il al-khilaf fi al-nahw (Disputed Issues in Grammar) Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Illness and Death

Around the beginning of 595 AH, about two years before his death, Ibn al-Faras suffered from a prolonged condition of hemiplegia and numbness that altered his memory, leading students to cease taking transmissions from him Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1.

He died on 4 Jumada al-Akhira 597 AH, though other biographical notices place his death in 599 AH (and one report gives 603 AH) Mujam al-Muallifin+1. An immense crowd attended his funeral, and mourners broke apart his bier to divide its pieces among themselves Tarikh al-Islam.