Ibn Hamdan
- Died
- 695 AH
- Born in
- Harran
Ibn Hamdan (603–695 AH / 1206–1295 CE) was a Hanbali jurist, legal theorist, and judge from Harran who settled in Cairo, recognized for his encyclopedic compendium al-Ri'aya al-Kubra and his treatise Sifat al-Fatwa wa-al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti.
Lineage and education
He was Ahmad ibn Hamdan ibn Shabib ibn Hamdan ibn Shabib ibn Hamdan ibn Mahmud ibn Shabib ibn Ghiyath ibn Sabiq ibn Waththab al-Numayri al-Harrani, bearing the kunya Abu Abd Allah and the honorific title Najm al-Din. He was born in Harran in 603 AH, where his father was among the local jurists. In his native city, he studied hadith under Abd al-Qadir al-Ruhawi—becoming the last surviving transmitter to narrate directly from him—as well as the preacher Abu Abd Allah Fakhr al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Ruzbah. He received his legal training in Harran under the two jurists Ibn Abi al-Fahm and Ibn Jumi', and he engaged in extensive study and scholarly debate alongside his cousin Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah.
Ibn Hamdan traveled in pursuit of knowledge across the Levant: he heard hadith in Aleppo from Ibn Khalil, in Damascus from Ibn Ghassan and Ibn Sabbah, and in Jerusalem from Abu Ali al-Iwaqi. In addition to his mastery of Hanbali jurisprudence and legal theory (usul al-fiqh), he was proficient in theology, comparative jurisprudence (khilaf), algebra and equations (al-jabr wa-al-muqabala), and Arabic literature.
Judicial career and scholarly standing
Ibn Hamdan relocated to Cairo, where he served as a deputy judge (na'ib al-qada') and was also appointed to the judgeship of al-Mahalla. He taught and issued legal verdicts in Cairo, becoming recognized as the leading Hanbali authority of his era in Egypt. Biographers noted that the comprehensive knowledge of the Hanbali school, its subtleties, and its obscure transmissions culminated in him. His legal compendium al-Ri'aya al-Kubra, which he later abridged as al-Ri'aya al-Sughra, was characterized by biographers as incorporating an extensive number of rare narrations seldom found in other Hanbali works, reflecting his vast reading.
A substantial circle of prominent scholars transmitted from him, including al-Dimyati, al-Mizzi, al-Birzali, Zayn al-Din Ibn Habib, Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, and Qutb al-Din Abd al-Karim. The historian al-Dhahabi also sought an authorization (ijazah) from him for his transmissions, which Ibn Hamdan granted.
Death
Ibn Hamdan lived to an advanced age and lost his eyesight in his later years. He died in Cairo on Thursday, 6 Safar 695 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Sifat al-Fatwa (also titled Sifat al-Fatwa wa-al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti) is a Hanbali treatise examining the jurisprudence, etiquette, and systematic framework of issuing legal verdicts (fatwa) and seeking legal answers (istifta). It details the qualifications, prerequisites, and tiers of the jurisconsult alongside the duties of the inquirer and the interpretation of school terminology.
Tahqiq Sifat al-Fatwa (also known as Sifat al-Fatwa wa-al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti and Sifat al-Mufti wa-al-Mustafti) is a Hanbali legal treatise outlining the rules, ethical requirements, and qualifications governing legal rulings (fatwa), jurists (muftis), and petitioners (mustaftis).
al-Riaya al-Sughra fi al-Fiqh (The Minor Care in Jurisprudence) is a legal compendium of Hanbali jurisprudence composed as an abridgment of the expansive treatise al-Riaya al-Kubra. Structured into eight parts within a single volume, it gathers numerous rare and unusual transmissions across Hanbali doctrine.
Sifat al-Mufti wal-Mustafti (The Description of the Mufti and the Questioner) is a Hanbali treatise on the rules, qualifications, and etiquette of legal issuance (fatwa) and legal consultation. It defines the duties, conditions, and tiers governing jurists and petitioners, while addressing Hanbali terminology and principles of scholarly composition.