Ibn al-Turkumani

Ala' al-Din Ibn al-Turkumani (683–750 AH / 1284–1349 CE) was an Egyptian Hanafi jurist, chief judge, and hadith scholar, known for his critical hadith commentary al-Jawhar al-Naqi (The Pure Jewel) al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1.

Lineage and early life

He was 'Ali ibn 'Uthman ibn Ibrahim ibn Mustafa al-Mardini al-Turkumani, holding the honorific title 'Ala' al-Din and the kunya Abu al-Hasan al-Mawsua al-Fiqhiyya al-…+1. In some sources his lineage is given as 'Ali ibn 'Uthman ibn Mustafa ibn Ibrahim Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. Born in 683 AH (1284 CE), he hailed from an established family of scholars originating from Mardin al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-M…+1. His father, Fakhr al-Din 'Uthman ibn Ibrahim (d. 731 AH / 1330 CE), was a leading Hanafi mufti and professor at the Mansuriyya madrasa in Cairo, and his brother, Taj al-Din Ahmad (d. 744 AH / 1343 CE), was likewise a prominent jurist and author Takmilat Siyar Alam al-Nu…+1.

Education and career

Ibn al-Turkumani received his primary legal education from his father, mastering Hanafi jurisprudence along with both the rational and transmitted disciplines, including legal theory, Quranic exegesis, hadith criticism, grammar, and arithmetic Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He was noted for his continuous engagement in teaching, issuing fatwas, and composition Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

In Shawwal 748 AH (1348 CE), he was appointed chief judge (qadi al-qudat) of the Hanafi school in Egypt, succeeding Zayn al-Din al-Bistami al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Mul…. The historian al-Maqrizi recorded that Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun had previously frowned upon his frequent gatherings with the emirs, and noted that he exhibited pronounced zeal for his madhhab al-Suluk li-Marifat Duwal….

Among his students were the biographical chronicler Abd al-Qadir al-Qurashi—who read portions of al-Hidayah and studied hadith under him—as well as Jamal al-Din al-Zayla'i and Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi Nasb al-Raya+1. He also taught his two sons, 'Izz al-Din 'Abd al-'Aziz (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE) and Jamal al-Din 'Abd Allah (d. 769 AH / 1367 CE), the latter of whom followed him in the judiciary Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1.

Scholarly contribution

Ibn al-Turkumani is best known for al-Jawhar al-Naqi fi al-Radd 'ala al-Bayhaqi (The Pure Jewel in Refutation of al-Bayhaqi), a substantial marginal commentary on Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi's al-Sunan al-Kabir in which he scrutinized chains of transmission and evaluated narrators to defend the legal positions and proofs of the Hanafi school Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He also produced an abridgment of al-Marghinani's legal compendium entitled al-Kifayah fi Mukhtasar al-Hidayah, which he began expounding in a commentary that was later completed by his son Jamal al-Din Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min….

Death

Ibn al-Turkumani died in Cairo on Tuesday, 10 Muharram 750 AH (31 March 1349 CE); an isolated report places his death in 749 AH Nasb al-Raya+1. Following his death, his son Jamal al-Din 'Abd Allah succeeded him as chief judge of Egypt al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Mul…+1.