Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini

Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini (666–739 AH / 1268–1338 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, chief judge, and rhetorician who served in Damascus and Cairo, best known for his foundational rhetorical manuals Talkhis al-Miftah and al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagha Mujam al-Muallifin+1.

Origin and Early Life

His full name was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Umar ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Qazwini, with the kunyas Abu al-Ma'ali and Abu Abd Allah Mujam al-Muallifin+1. Tracing his lineage back to the Arab commander Abu Dulaf al-Ijli, his family held the nisba al-Qazwini because ancestors had settled in Qazvin Mujam al-Muallifin+1. He was born in Mosul in 666 AH, though another account states he was born in Qazvin Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.

He moved to the lands of Rum (Anatolia) with his father and elder brother, studying jurisprudence under his father and other local scholars al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1. Before reaching the age of twenty, he was appointed judge in the district of Niksar in Rum al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1.

Education and Judicial Career

After the 690s AH, during the period of Mongol incursions, al-Qazwini and his brother moved to Damascus al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. There he served as a repeating tutor (mu'id) at the Badira'iyya madrasa under Burhan al-Din ibn Taj al-Din, while continuing his higher studies al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He received hadith from Izz al-Din al-Faruthi and others, and studied the rational sciences (al-ma'qul) under Shams al-Din al-Ayki Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. The hadith scholar al-Birzali compiled a specialized extract (juz') of his transmissions Arus al-Afrah fi Sharh Ta….

Al-Qazwini initially served as deputy judge in Damascus for his brother Imam al-Din, and later for Najm al-Din ibn Sasra al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1. In 703 AH, he was appointed preacher (khatib) of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, earning him the enduring epithet Khatib Dimashq al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. In 724 AH, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad summoned him by postal courier to Cairo; arriving on a Friday, he was commanded on the spot to deliver the sermon at the Citadel Mosque despite his exhaustion from travel al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1. His eloquence deeply impressed the Sultan, who paid his debt of 30,000 dirhams and appointed him Chief Judge of Damascus alongside the post of preacher al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1.

In 727 AH, following the incapacitation and loss of sight of Chief Judge Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'a, al-Qazwini was promoted to Chief Judge of Egypt and supervisor of endowments al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. He enjoyed immense influence and high standing at the Mamluk court, where his intercessions were routinely accepted and he distributed endowment funds generously to the poor Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. However, in 738 AH, controversies regarding the misconduct of his sons led the Sultan to remove him from Egypt and restore him to the chief judgeship of Damascus al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi…+1. During this time, a fabricated petition accusing him of drinking wine was submitted to the Sultan, but royal clerks uncovered the forgery after tracing its idiosyncratic handwriting to a resident in Damascus who harbored a grudge against him, leading to the accuser's punishment al-Badr al-Tali bi-Mahasi….

Scholarly Contribution and Standing

Al-Qazwini was renowned across multiple disciplines, particularly Arabic rhetoric (al-ma'ani wa-l-bayan), Shafi'i legal theory (usul al-fiqh), and Ash'ari theology Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. He was polyglot, fluent in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…. His primary intellectual legacy lay in systematizing Arabic rhetorical sciences; his Talkhis al-Miftah, an abridgment of the third section of al-Sakkaki's Miftah al-Ulum, became the standard textbook on Arabic rhetoric, which he later expanded upon in his commentary al-Idah Ilm al-Bayan+1. In literary arts, he held a special admiration for the poet al-Arrajani, whose poetry collection he abridged in al-Shadhar al-Marjani min Shi'r al-Arrajani Ilm al-Bayan+1.

Contemporary scholars and historians, including al-Safadi, Ibn Nubata, and Ibn Kathir, praised his oratorical brilliance, sharp intellect, mild temperament, and exceptional charity Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+2.

Illness and Death

Shortly after his return to Damascus, al-Qazwini fell ill and was afflicted by paralysis (falij) al-Idah fi Ulum al-Balagh…+1. He died in Damascus in the middle of Jumada al-Ula 739 AH (with another report specifying 27 Jumada al-Ula) at the age of seventy-three Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+2. His funeral was attended by a vast gathering of people, and he was buried in the Sufiyya cemetery (maqabir al-Sufiyya) in Damascus Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.