Ibn al-Imam
- Died
- 745 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ibn al-Imam (677–745 AH / 1278–1344 CE) was an Egyptian Shafi'i hadith scholar and Quranic reciter of Asqalan origin, best known for his compendium on supplications and remembrances, Silah al-Mumin fi al-Dua (The Weapon of the Believer in Supplication).
Life and Education
He was Taqi al-Din Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Hammam ibn Raji-Allah ibn Saraya ibn Nasir ibn Dawud al-Asqalani al-Misri, commonly known as Ibn al-Imam and also referred to as Ibn Taj al-Din. He was born in Cairo in Sha'ban 677 AH (January 1279 CE), though another report places his birth in 682 AH.
Ibn al-Imam devoted himself to the study of hadith, collecting manuscripts and copying texts in his own hand. He trained primarily under the hadith master Abd al-Mumin al-Dimyati, and also heard narrations from Ahmad ibn Isa al-Abarquhi, Ibn al-Sawwaf, and Shihab al-Din al-Muhsini. In Quranic recitations, he studied under Ali ibn Yusuf al-Shattanawfi. He later served as the resident imam of the Salihi Mosque outside Cairo.
Scholarly Reception and Controversy
Ibn al-Imam achieved widespread recognition during his lifetime for Silah al-Mumin fi al-Dua, a collection of prophetic supplications and daily litanies that was abridged by contemporary scholars, including al-Dhahabi in the 730s AH and Shihab al-Din al-Uryani.
His treatise on Quranic recitation, Kitab al-Ihtida fi al-Waqf wa-al-Ibtida (Guidance on Pausing and Resuming), provoked opposition from local students of recitation, who filed a complaint to Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun alleging that he had written on a discipline he had not mastered. The Sultan submitted the text for evaluation to the grammarian and reciter Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati, who read the work critically and praised it as the finest and most accurate composition on the subject. He also authored a work on Quranic passages with similar wording (mutashabih al-Quran) organized according to the order of the surahs.
Death
Ibn al-Imam died suddenly in Cairo in Rabi al-Awwal 745 AH (July–August 1344 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Silah al-Mumin fi al-Dua (The Weapon of the Believer in Supplication) is a compendium dedicated to collecting and organizing hadiths and traditions concerning prophetic supplications (dua) and remembrances of God (dhikr). The work addresses topics such as the virtues, conditions, and auspicious times for supplication, including narrations on making abundant supplication during ease and examinations of reports concerning the hour of divine acceptance on Friday.