Ibn Qaid
- Died
- 1097 AH
- Born in
- Al-Uyaynah
Uthman ibn Ahmad ibn Qaid (d. 1097 AH / 1686 CE) was a Najdi Hanbali jurist and legal scholar who settled and taught in Cairo . He is best known for his legal commentary Hidayat al-Raghib li Sharh Umdat al-Talib and his supercommentary on Muntaha al-Iradat .
Lineage and Early Life
His full name was Uthman ibn Ahmad ibn Sa'id ibn Uthman ibn Qaid al-Najdi, later attributed as al-Dimashqi and al-Qahiri . He was born and raised in the town of al-Uyaynah in Najd, where he studied the Quran and began his training under local scholars . He studied Hanbali jurisprudence in Najd under his cousin Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Dhahlan, as well as with Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Dhahlan .
Travels, Education, and Controversy
Ibn Qaid subsequently traveled to Damascus to advance his studies in jurisprudence, legal theory, and Arabic grammar . In Damascus, he studied under Muhammad ibn Musa al-Busayri al-Najdi, the historian Ibn al-Imad, and Muhammad Abu al-Mawahib, the Hanbali mufti of the city .
A sharp legal debate arose between Ibn Qaid and Abu al-Mawahib regarding the permissibility of wearing a textile in which silk and non-silk materials appear in equal measure or where silk warps are combined with non-silk wefts . Abu al-Mawahib ruled that wearing such fabric was permissible, whereas Ibn Qaid argued for its prohibition . The dispute escalated and became protracted, leading Abu al-Mawahib to become angry with him, which prompted Ibn Qaid to leave Damascus for Cairo .
In Cairo, Ibn Qaid studied under Egyptian scholars and became a close associate of the Hanbali jurist Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khalwati, studying the detailed branches of jurisprudence and various disciplines under his guidance . He gained widespread prominence in Egypt and answered legal queries for many years . Among his notable students were Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Awad al-Mardawi, Muhammad ibn al-Hajj Mustafa al-Jiti, and Muhammad al-Jili . His student Ibn Awad later extracted Ibn Qaid's marginal annotations on Ibn al-Najjar al-Futuhi's Muntaha al-Iradat from his copy and compiled them into a separate volume .
Scholarly Standing and Creed
In theological matters, Ibn Qaid adhered to the creed of the early generations (al-Salaf) regarding the divine attributes, as presented in his treatise Najat al-Khalaf fi I'tiqad al-Salaf . Scholars praised his legal precision; Ibn Badran described his commentary Hidayat al-Raghib as an elegant, beneficial, and well-cast work , and Ibn Humayd noted that its meticulous editing made it one of the most valuable reference works in the school . Modern scholar Muhammad Hasanayn Makhluf commended him as a deeply knowledgeable jurist versed in the Hanbali school with refined composition and structure .
Death
Ibn Qaid resided in Cairo until his death there in 1097 AH (1686 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
Hashiyat Ibn Qaid ala Muntaha al-Iradat is a 17th-century Hanbali legal supercommentary. It serves as an extensive marginal gloss on Muntaha al-Iradat fi Jam' al-Muqni' ma'a al-Tanqih wa-Ziyadat, an authoritative Hanbali legal manual compiled by Ibn al-Najjar al-Futuhi.
Hidayat al-Raghib li Sharh Umdat al-Talib (The Seeker's Guidance: A Commentary on the Student's Pillar) is a legal commentary on Hanbali jurisprudence. It serves as an explanatory exposition of Umdat al-Talib li Nayl al-Ma'arib, an introductory Hanbali primer composed by Mansur ibn Yunus al-Buhuti.
Hidayat al-Raghib Sharh Umdat al-Talib is a Hanbali legal commentary on Mansur ibn Yunus al-Buhuti's jurisprudential primer Umdat al-Talib li-Nayl al-Ma'arib. In standard scholarly editions, the text is published alongside Hashiyat Ibn Awad, an analytical supercommentary originating from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Awad al-Mardawi and compiled by his son Ahmad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Awad.
Risalat Ayy al-Mushaddada (Treatise on the Doubled Ayy) is an Arabic grammatical monograph dedicated to analyzing the syntactic categories, inflectional states, and annexation rules of the particle and noun ayy when vocalized with a doubled ya'.