Ibn Kinan
- Died
- 1153 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Kinan (1074–1153 AH / 1663–1740 CE) was a Syrian Hanbali jurist, historian, and Khalwati Sufi master based in Damascus, best known for his historical chronicle al-Hawadith al-yawmiyya.
Early life and education
Muhammad ibn Isa ibn Mahmud ibn Muhammad ibn Kinan al-Salihi al-Dimashqi al-Hanbali was born in Damascus in 1074 AH (1663 CE) and was also known as Ibn Zayn al-Tuqat. He grew up under the care of his father, from whom he received spiritual initiation into the Khalwati Sufi order. He pursued religious sciences under local scholars, studying a portion of Jam' al-jawami' in legal theory and al-Risala al-Andalusiyya in prosody under Khalil al-Mawsili. He traveled to the Hijaz for the pilgrimage, and while in Medina, he met Ibrahim ibn Hasan al-Kurani and studied hadith under him.
Career and scholarship
Following his father's death, Ibn Kinan succeeded him as shaykh of the Khalwati order, maintaining this position and adhering to regular spiritual devotions for the rest of his life. Contemporaries recognized him as a pious and practicing scholar. As a chronicler, he documented twenty-three years of contemporary history in his daily journal, al-Hawadith al-yawmiyya, recording day-to-day occurrences, administrative events, and obituaries in Ottoman Damascus. The Damascene biographer Muhammad Khalil al-Muradi examined this chronicle directly and utilized its biographical and historical entries for his own biographical work, Silk al-durar. In local history, he summarized the topography and history of the Salihiyya quarter in al-Muruj al-sundusiyya, and addressed administrative conventions and ruler protocols in Hada'iq al-yasamin.
Death
Ibn Kinan died in Damascus in 1153 AH (1740 CE) and was buried at the foot of Mount Qasiyun in al-Salihiyya. His son Muhammad Sa'id succeeded him in leading the spiritual order.
Answer updated
List of Works
Yawmiyat Shamiyya (Damascene Diaries) is a historical chronicle documenting daily events, political appointments, and social and scholarly life in Ottoman Damascus.