Ibn al-Hajj

Ibn al-Hajj al-Abdari (after 640–737 AH / after 1242–1337 CE) was a Moroccan Maliki jurist and ascetic scholar based in Cairo, best known for his treatise on legal manners and social customs, al-Madkhal (The Introduction) al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1.

Lineage and early life

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Abdari al-Fasi, commonly known as Ibn al-Hajj, was born in Fez after 640 AH al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He was raised in Fez, where he pursued his initial legal education under local scholars, including Abu Ishaq al-Matmati al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1.

Education and career

Ibn al-Hajj later traveled east, performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, and settled permanently in Cairo Mujam al-Muallifin+1. In Cairo, he studied Muwatta Malik under Abu al-Qasim Ubayd al-Is'ardi and transmitted it al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He attached himself closely to the mystic and hadith scholar Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Abi Jamrah—also recorded in reports as Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sa'id ibn Abi Jamrah—from whom he adopted his spiritual training and ethical discipline al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1.

Prompted by Ibn Abi Jamrah's counsel to instruct people in aligning their intentions with religious practice, Ibn al-Hajj composed his multi-volume work al-Madkhal ila Tanmiyat al-A‘mal bi-Tahsin al-Niyyat, completing it on 7 Muharram 732 AH Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…. The text, which was read to him repeatedly in Cairo, examined devotional acts, commercial dealings, and widespread religious innovations and social customs al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. Among those who studied under him were Abd Allah al-Manufi and the Maliki jurist Khalil ibn Ishaq Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf …. He also issued a general license of transmission (ijazah) to anyone alive during his lifetime al-Dibaj al-Madhhab fi Ma….

Scholarly standing

Biographers characterized Ibn al-Hajj as a deeply observant jurist versed in the Maliki school and noted for his asceticism (zuhd) and devotion al-Nubugh al-Maghribi fi …+1. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani praised al-Madkhal as a work of abundant utility that brought to light societal shortcomings and neglected innovations, though noting that while most of what he censured was blameworthy, some points admitted differing interpretations Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…. Later scholars also noted that despite his critique of innovations, his allowances for certain practices surrounding the graves of the righteous and seeking intercession drew critique Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf ….

Death

Towards the end of his life, Ibn al-Hajj lost his eyesight and became physically incapacitated Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He died in Cairo on 20 Jumada al-Ula 737 AH (c. December 1336 / January 1337 CE) in his eighties al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1. He was buried in the al-Qarafa cemetery near the tomb of his teacher Ibn Abi Jamrah, and his funeral was attended by a vast gathering al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1.