Jamal al-Din al-Malti
- Died
- 803 AH
- Born in
- Malatya
Jamal al-Din al-Malti (726–803 AH / 1326–1400 CE) was a Hanafi jurist and chief judge of Egypt, known for his vast memory in law and his treatise al-Mu'tasar min al-Mukhtasar min Mushkil al-Athar .
Background and education
His full name was Yusuf ibn Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Takin ibn Abd Allah, with the kunya Abu al-Mahasin and the honorific Jamal al-Din . His family originated from Khartbirt, and he was raised in Malatya . He was born in 726 AH or the following year, though another report places his birth in 725 AH .
He pursued his education in Aleppo until he attained prominence in jurisprudence, memorizing texts in the Hanafi tradition and mastering al-Zamakhshari's Quranic commentary, al-Kashshaf . Later in life, he traveled to Egypt, where he studied under prominent authorities such as Izz al-Din ibn Jama'ah and Ala' al-Din Mughultay, hearing the Prophet's biography (al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah) from the latter in 760 AH . He taught and issued fatwas in Aleppo, where students studied under him, including Badr al-Din al-Ayni, who read texts to him there in 780 AH . It was reported that on account of his extensive memory, he would write responses to over fifty legal questions a day without needing to consult books .
Judicial career
Following the death of the Hanafi chief judge Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Tarabulusi, the Mamluk Sultan al-Zahir Barquq summoned al-Malti from Aleppo to take up the post of chief Hanafi judge of Egypt . He arrived in Cairo in Rabi' al-Akhir 800 AH and stayed at the residence of the confidential secretary (katib al-sirr) Badr al-Din al-Kulastani . On 20 Rabi' al-Akhir 800 AH, he was invested with the ceremonial robe of office and assumed the judgeship, ending a judicial vacancy that had lasted around 110 days . Following al-Kulastani's death in 801 AH, al-Malti was additionally appointed to teach at the Sarghatmishiyya madrasa .
Controversies and assessments
Al-Malti's judicial conduct was widely criticized by contemporaries . He was accused of favoring corrupt individuals and extensively approving the substitution (istibdal) of charitable trust (waqf) properties at diminished valuations . A public outcry occurred when he ordered the execution of a Muslim for killing a Christian . Additionally, he was reputed to have issued rulings permitting the use of cannabis (hashish) and authorizing legal stratagems (hiyal) for usury, and he was reported to have claimed that looking frequently into the hadith collection of al-Bukhari leads to heresy . In response to these positions, the jurist Muhibb al-Din Ibn al-Shihnah composed satirical verses criticizing him .
Ibn Hijji praised his scholarly erudition, even while his judicial administration was negatively evaluated . His student al-Ayni described him as being of medium height and refined bearing, noting that he gave twenty-five dirhams daily in copper coin to the poor without interruption, though he also noted in him elements of greed and stinginess . Al-Ayni added that wealth al-Malti had accumulated in Aleppo was later plundered during the Timurid invasion . In scholarship, al-Malti authored al-Mu'tasar min al-Mukhtasar min Mushkil al-Athar, a work condensing and engaging with Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi's collection on reconciling divergent prophetic traditions .
Death
Al-Malti died in Cairo on 18 Rabi' al-Akhir 803 AH . Following his death, the Hanafi judgeship briefly remained vacant until Amin al-Din al-Tarabulusi was appointed to the office .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Mu'tasar min al-Mukhtasar min Mushkil al-Athar is a legal and hadith treatise that serves as a secondary condensation and critical engagement with Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi's foundational work on reconciling seemingly contradictory hadiths, Mushkil al-Athar. Building upon an intermediate abridgment by Abu al-Walid Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, the work aims to make core legal derivations and arguments more accessible while defending al-Tahawi's positions against Ibn Rushd's critical remarks.