Ibn Asakir

Ibn Askar al-Baghdadi (644–732 AH / 1246–1332 CE) was an Iraqi Maliki jurist, hadith scholar, and professor at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa in Baghdad, best known for his legal manual Irshad al-Salik ila Ashraf al-Masalik fi Fiqh al-Imam Malik Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.

Early Life and Education

Shihab al-Din Abu Zayd (also recorded as Abu Muhammad) Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Baghdadi, known as Ibn Askar, was born in the Bab al-Azaj quarter of Baghdad in Muharram 644 AH (May–June 1246 CE) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. He pursued religious education in Baghdad and across his travels, transmitting the Musnad of al-Shafi'i on the authority of Dhu al-Fiqar Muhammad ibn Ashraf al-Alawi via his audition from Ibn al-Khazin Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. Among his principal teachers in hadith and Islamic sciences were Ali ibn Muhammad al-Istarabadhi, Izz al-Din al-Faruthi, and Imad al-Din ibn al-Tabbal Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. During his travels in the Hijaz, he also studied under the Maliki scholar Zayn al-Din Ibn al-Munayyir, hearing poetry directly from him Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Career, Travels, and Students

Ibn Askar traveled extensively beyond Iraq, entering Yemen as well as western Arabia al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Upon settling in Baghdad, he was appointed to the chair of Maliki jurisprudence at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa, rising to become the preeminent leader of the Maliki jurists (shaykh al-Malikiyya) in the city Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

A generation of students studied under his tutelage, including Sharaf al-Din al-Kazaruni, al-Afif al-Matari, and Abu al-Khayr al-Dihli Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. His son, the jurist Sharaf al-Din Ahmad, also trained with him and succeeded him as professor at the Mustansiriyya Madrasa after his death Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Scholarly Standing and Death

Ibn Askar was celebrated for his mastery of the Maliki school, particularly according to the doctrine and transmissions of the Iraqi Maliki tradition al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…+1. At the request of his son, he composed Irshad al-Salik ila Ashraf al-Masalik fi Fiqh al-Imam Malik ("Guiding the Traveler to the Noblest of Paths in the Jurisprudence of Imam Malik"), a concise manual designed to gather substantive legal rulings in accessible prose suitable for memorization al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…. He also compiled a devotional work on invocations entitled Jami al-Khayrat fi al-Adhkar wa-l-Daawat ("The Compendium of Good Deeds in Invocations and Supplications") al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. Biographers highlighted his personal refinement, gracious conduct, and inclinations toward Sufism, noting his frequent attendance at spiritual audition (sama') gatherings Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

Ibn Askar died in Baghdad in the month of Shawwal 732 AH (June–July 1332 CE) at the age of eighty-eight al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.