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Ibn al-Mulaqqin

Died
804 AH
Born in
Cairo

Ibn al-Mulaqqin (723–804 AH / 1323–1401 CE) was an Egyptian Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar known for his extensive writings in jurisprudence and hadith documentation (takhrij), including al-Badr al-Munir and his encyclopedic commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Tawdih li-Sharh al-Jami al-Sahih.

Lineage and early life

He was Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari al-Wadi Ashi al-Andalusi al-Takruri al-Misri. He recorded in his own hand that he was born in Cairo on Thursday, 22 Rabi' al-Awwal 723 AH, while another report places his birth on Saturday, 24 Rabi' al-Awwal. His father, Nur al-Din 'Ali, hailed from Guadix in al-Andalus, traveled to Takrur where he taught Quran and Arabic, and subsequently settled in Cairo.

When his father died roughly one year after his birth, he was entrusted to Shaykh 'Isa al-Maghribi, a Quran tutor (mulaqqin) at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, who married his mother and raised him. Due to this upbringing he became widely known as Ibn al-Mulaqqin, although he disliked the moniker and preferred to style himself Ibn al-Nahwi after his father's grammatical expertise, the name by which he was recognized in regions such as Yemen.

Education and travels

Ibn al-Mulaqqin began his education by memorizing the Quran and studying Shafi'i positive law, committing al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin to memory in his youth. He studied jurisprudence under scholars including Taqi al-Din al-Subki, Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Izz al-Din ibn Jama'a, and al-Kamal al-Nasha'i. In Arabic grammar and language, he trained under Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi, Ibn Hisham al-Ansari, and Shams al-Din Ibn al-Sa'igh, while studying Quranic recitations under Burhan al-Din al-Rashidi.

In hadith, he studied under and accompanied Ala' al-Din Mughaltay, Zayn al-Din al-Rahbi, Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, Salah al-Din al-Ala'i, al-Qutb al-Halabi, and al-Maydumi, and received general certification from al-Mizzi. He traveled in pursuit of knowledge to Damascus, Jerusalem, and Mecca.

Scholarly standing and students

Ibn al-Mulaqqin became renowned among his contemporaries for the breadth of his scholarship and his prolific writing, having begun authoring works during the lifetimes of his own teachers. Contemporaries grouped him alongside Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini and Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi as one of the leading luminaries of the era, distinguishing him in particular for his vast textual output and the speed of his composition.

A large number of students attended his circles and studied under him, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ahmad ibn Nasr Allah al-Baghdadi, and Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bata'ihi.

Later life and death

Towards the end of his life, a fire broke out and destroyed his private library, consuming his books and working drafts, including his large compilation Jam' al-Jawami'. The loss caused him profound grief and cognitive distress, leading his son to shield him from visitors and curtail his teaching during his final period.

Ibn al-Mulaqqin died on the night of Friday, 16 Rabi' al-Awwal 804 AH. He was buried in Cairo at the Hawsh of Sa'id al-Su'ada.

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List of Works

  • al-Aqd al-Mudhahhab fi Tabaqat Hamalat al-Madhhab

    al-Aqd al-Mudhahhab fi Tabaqat Hamalat al-Madhhab is a biographical dictionary of the scholars and jurists of the Shafi'i school of Islamic law. It serves as a biographical compendium covering generations of Shafi'i figures from the immediate companions and students of al-Shafi'i down to later contemporaries, encompassing approximately 1,700 biographical entries.

  • Mukhtasar Talkhis al-Dhahabi li-Mustadrak al-Hakim

    Mukhtasar Talkhis al-Dhahabi li-Mustadrak al-Hakim is a hadith critical work that extracts and supplements Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi's critical remarks on al-Hakim al-Naysaburi's al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn. Arranged according to the original chapters of al-Mustadrak, it isolates the narrations where al-Dhahabi took issue with al-Hakim's evaluations and includes additional critical observations.

  • Hadaiq al-Awliya

    Hadaiq al-Awliya is a compilation of prophetic traditions, reports, and narratives concerning pious figures. Also cited under the title Hadaiq al-Haqa'iq, it contains approximately two thousand hadiths alongside about six hundred anecdotes of the righteous, non-prophetic traditions, poetry, and rare narratives.

  • al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhrij al-Ahadith wal-Athar al-Waqia fi al-Sharh al-Kabir

    al-Badr al-Munir fi Takhrij al-Ahadith wal-Athar al-Waqia fi al-Sharh al-Kabir is an encyclopedic work of hadith documentation (takhrij) that provides a comprehensive critical evaluation and source attribution of the prophetic traditions and reports cited in legal literature. It systematically identifies and assesses over four thousand narrations found in Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi'i's legal commentary al-Sharh al-Kabir.

  • al-Tadhkira fi Ulum al-Hadith li-Ibn al-Mulaqqin

    al-Tadhkira fi Ulum al-Hadith is an ultra-concise manual on hadith terminology. Extracted from the broader treatise al-Muqni' fi 'Ulum al-Hadith, it defines primary categories—sound, good, and weak—and outlines more than eighty distinct hadith classifications and technical terms to serve both beginners and advanced scholars.