Ibn Farhun, Burhan al-Din
- Died
- 799 AH
- Born in
- Medina
Burhan al-Din Ibn Farhun (c. 730–799 AH / 1330–1397 CE) was a Maliki jurist, hadith scholar, and judge of Medina . He is best known for his manual of judicial procedure, Tabsirat al-Hukkam fi Usul al-Aqdiya wa Manahij al-Ahkam, and his biographical dictionary of Maliki scholars, al-Dibaj al-Madhhab fi Marifat Ayan Ulama al-Madhhab .
Origin and Early Life
His full name was Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abi al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Farhun al-Ya'mari al-Madani, bearing the honorific Burhan al-Din and the kunyas Abu Ishaq and Abu al-Wafa . His tribal nisba, al-Ya'mari, traces back to the Kinana branch of Adnan . His family originated in Jaen in al-Andalus, lived for a time in Tunis, and subsequently established itself in Medina, producing prominent scholars and judges across several generations . Ibn Farhun was born and raised in Medina shortly after 730 AH into this scholarly household; his father, Nur al-Din Ali ibn Farhun (d. 746 AH), was himself an accomplished grammarian and traditionist .
Education and Scholarly Career
Ibn Farhun studied under prominent scholars residing in or visiting Medina. He heard the Muwatta of Malik through the transmission of Yahya ibn Yahya from Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Wadi Ashi . Under the Medinan historian Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Matari, he studied al-Matari’s history of Medina, becoming one of its key transmitters, as well as Ibn Asakir's Ithaf al-Za'ir . He read Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa with al-Zubayr ibn Ali al-Uswani, and in Sha'ban 756 AH, he completed reading the grammatical work 'Ujalat al-Rajiz under its author, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Jabir al-Hawwari .
In 792 AH, Ibn Farhun traveled to Egypt, Jerusalem, and Damascus . Following his return, he was appointed chief Maliki judge of Medina in 793 AH . Among those who transmitted from him were the historian Taqi al-Din al-Fasi and Abu al-Fath ibn Abi Bakr al-Maraghi . In addition to his judicial manual and biographical dictionary, he authored Irshad al-Salik ila Afal al-Manasik, a guide devoted to the legal rulings and topography of the pilgrimage rites .
Death
Later in life, Ibn Farhun suffered an attack of hemiplegia on his left side . He died of his illness in Medina on the day of Eid al-Adha (10 Dhu al-Hijjah) 799 AH (c. September 1397 CE), at approximately seventy years of age .
Answer updated
List of Works
Irshad al-Salik ila Afal al-Manasik (Guide for the Wayfarer to the Actions of the Pilgrimage Rites) is a Maliki manual on the legal rulings, etiquette, and sacred topography of the pilgrimage (Hajj and Umrah). Designed as an independent composition rather than a commentary, it provides an accessible handbook to guide Muslims step by step through every pilgrimage rite according to sound legal prescriptions.
al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab fi Marifat Ayan Ulama al-Madhhab (The Gilded Brocade in Knowing the Prominent Scholars of the School) is a biographical dictionary of leading scholars of the Maliki school of law. Conceived as a selective compendium and supplement to Tartib al-Madarik, it arranges around six hundred biographical entries alphabetically to detail the standing, writings, and lineages of the school's transmitters, jurists, and muftis up to the eighth century AH.
Tabsirat al-Hukkam fi Usul al-Aqdiya wa Manahij al-Ahkam (Insight for Judges into the Principles of Adjudication and Methods of Rulings) is a comprehensive manual on judicial procedure, evidence, and Sharia-compliant governance (siyasah shar'iyyah). It brings together foundational legal principles, practical adjudication realities, evidentiary proofs, and discretionary administrative justice into a unified system.