Ibn al-Hanbali, Nasih al-Din

Nasih al-Din Ibn al-Hanbali (554–634 AH / 1159–1236 CE) was a Damascus-born Hanbali jurist, preacher, and mufti who assumed the leadership of the Hanbali school in Syria following the death of Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

He was Abu al-Faraj Abd al-Rahman ibn Najm ibn Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad al-Ansari al-Khazraji al-Sa'di al-Shirazi by origin, known as Ibn al-Hanbali Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. He was born in Damascus on 17 Shawwal 554 AH, though 555 AH is also reported Mujam al-Muallifin. He was raised in a prominent family of Hanbali scholars; his grandfather Sharaf al-Islam Abd al-Wahhab was the founder of the Hanbaliyya Madrasa, and his father Najm al-Din Abu al-Ala was the leading Hanbali shaykh of Syria in his time al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1.

Education and Career

In Damascus, he received hadith from his father, the judge Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn al-Shahrazuri, and Ali ibn Naja al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…. He traveled widely in pursuit of learning, visiting numerous regions where he consulted local scholars al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1. In Baghdad, he studied Hanbali jurisprudence under Abu al-Fath Ibn al-Manni and heard hadith from Shuhdah al-Katibah and Abd al-Haqq al-Yusufi al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1. In Isfahan, he transmitted from Abu al-Abbas al-Turk and the hafiz Abu Musa al-Madini, and he also heard reports in Mosul and preached in Egypt al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1.

He accompanied Sultan Salah al-Din at the conquest of Jerusalem al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…. He held professorships at several teaching institutions in Damascus, notably the Hanbaliyya Madrasa of his grandfather, the Mismariyya (where he alternated duties with As'ad ibn al-Munajja), and the Sahibiyya Madrasa founded by Rabia Khatun on Mount Qasiyun al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1.

Among those who transmitted from him were his son Sayf al-Din Yahya, Ibn Mu'min, al-'Izz ibn al-'Imad, Ibn Hazim, Abu Abd Allah Ibn al-Wasiti, Ibn Bittikh, and al-Shihab ibn Musrif, with the centenarian Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Da'im being the last surviving narrator to transmit directly from him Tashil al-Sabila li Murid…+1.

Standing and Scholarly Activity

Ibn al-Hanbali achieved widespread recognition for his eloquence and homiletic assemblies, authoring Tarikh al-Wu''az (History of Preachers) and the biographical work al-Istis'ad bi-Man Laqitu min Salih al-'Ibad (Attaining Felicity Through the Righteous Servants I Met) al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1. Following the death of Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama, headship (riyasa) of the Hanbali madhhab culminated in him al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1. However, his legal fatwa regarding singing (ghina'), in which he took an exceptionally lenient stance, drew a formal refutation from Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudama al-Madhhab al-Hanbali Dir….

Death

Ibn al-Hanbali died in Damascus on 3 Muharram 634 AH at the age of eighty al-Daris fi Tarikh al-Mad…+1. He was buried at the foot of Mount Qasiyun Tarikh al-Barzali al-Muqt…+1.