Ibn Mawdud al-Mawsili
- Died
- 683 AH
- Born in
- Mosul
Abu al-Fadl Ibn Mawdud al-Mawsili (599–683 AH / 1203–1284 CE) was an Iraqi Hanafi jurist, judge, and legal scholar best known for his foundational legal primer al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa and its extensive commentary al-Ikhtiyar li-Ta'lil al-Mukhtar.
Lineage and Early Life
He was Majd al-Din Abu al-Fadl 'Abd Allah ibn Mahmud ibn Mawdud ibn Mahmud al-Mawsili, known by the patronymic Ibn Baldaji. He was born in Mosul on a Friday in the month of Shawwal 599 AH; one account places his birth on the first day of the month, while Abu al-'Ala' al-Faradi recorded it on the final day of Shawwal.
He was raised in a scholarly household under the guidance of his father, Abu al-Thana' Mahmud ibn Mawdud, who personally taught and transmitted knowledge to him and his three brothers: 'Abd al-Da'im, 'Abd al-Karim, and 'Abd al-'Aziz, all of whom became accomplished scholars and teachers.
Education and Career
In Mosul, he heard hadith from Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Tabarzad during the latter's stay at the Sarimiyya madrasa in Muharram 605 AH. He later traveled to Damascus to advance his training in Hanafi jurisprudence, studying under the master jurist Jamal al-Din al-Hasiri.
Following his return to Iraq, he was appointed judge (qadi) of Kufa. After leaving that post, he settled in Baghdad, where he was assigned to the teaching chair at the shrine and madrasa of Imam Abu Hanifa. He remained in Baghdad teaching students and issuing fatwas for the rest of his life. Among the prominent scholars who studied and transmitted from him were al-Dimyati, who recorded him in his biographical dictionary of teachers, and Abu Hayyan al-Andalusi, who read hadith under him at his residence in eastern Baghdad.
Scholarly Standing
He earned high praise among Hanafi biographers for his mastery of jurisprudence; Abu al-'Ala' al-Faradi described him as an exemplary elder, jurist, professor, and authority on the doctrine of the Hanafi school. His early legal compendium, al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa, prioritized the authoritative rulings of Abu Hanifa and gained wide circulation, which prompted him to compose his celebrated commentary al-Ikhtiyar li-Ta'lil al-Mukhtar to elucidate the underlying rationales, textual evidences, and derived legal cases. He also authored al-Mushtamil 'ala Masa'il al-Mukhtasar.
Death
He died on the morning of Saturday, 19 Muharram 683 AH (April 1284 CE) in Baghdad at the age of eighty-two. Funeral prayers were held for him across the city on the same day at the Caliphal Palace Mosque (Jami' al-Qasr), al-Mustansiriyya, outside Bab al-Sultan, and at the shrine of Abu Hanifa, where he was subsequently buried.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Ikhtiyar li-Talil al-Mukhtar (The Choice for Reasoning The Selected Text) is a thirteenth-century legal manual of the Hanafi school. It serves as an extensive commentary on the introductory Hanafi legal primer al-Mukhtar lil-Fatwa, explaining the legal rationales, underlying meanings, textual proofs, and practical applications of its rulings.