Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyya

Majd al-Din Ibn Taymiyya (c. 590–652 AH / c. 1194–1254 CE) was a Hanbali jurist, legal theorist, and hadith scholar from Harran, best known for his legal manual al-Muharrar fi al-Fiqh and his collection of legal traditions, Muntaqa al-Ahkam (The Selection of Legal Rulings) al-Munawwar fi Rajih al-M…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

He was Abu al-Barakat Abd al-Salam ibn Abd Allah ibn Abi al-Qasim al-Khidr ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khidr ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Harrani al-Numayri, bearing the honorific title Majd al-Din al-Iman al-Awsat+1. His family belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Numayr al-Nubuwwat li-Ibn Taymiy…+1. The family nickname "Ibn Taymiyya" is reportedly traced to his ancestor Muhammad ibn al-Khidr, who passed through Tayma on pilgrimage and saw an infant girl there; upon returning home to find that his wife had given birth to a daughter, he addressed her as "Taymiyya" al-Iman al-Awsat+1. An alternative report states that Muhammad's mother was named Taymiyya and was a preacher al-Iman al-Awsat+1. He was born in Harran around 590 AH into an established scholarly household; he was the grandfather of Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyya and the father of Shihab al-Din Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyya al-Munawwar fi Rajih al-M…+1.

Education, Travels, and Teaching

He began his legal training in Harran under his uncle, the preacher Fakhr al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Khidr ibn Taymiyya, and heard hadith locally from teachers such as the hafiz Abd al-Qadir al-Ruhawi and Abu Bakr ibn Ghunayma al-Halawi Fath al-Ghaffar al-Jami l…+1. During his youth, he traveled with his cousin to Baghdad, where he resided for six years studying jurisprudence, legal dialectics (khilaf), and Arabic grammar Fath al-Ghaffar al-Jami l…+1. In Baghdad, he heard hadith from scholars including Ahmad ibn Maskina, Ibn Tabarzad, Yusuf ibn Kamil, and Dhiya ibn al-Khurayf Fath al-Ghaffar al-Jami l…+1.

He subsequently taught and issued fatwas in Harran, serving as a leading Hanbali authority al-Munawwar fi Rajih al-M…+1. In 651 AH, he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca alongside his wife, Umm al-Badr Badra bint Muhammad ibn al-Khidr, where both transmitted hadith sessions during Dhu al-Hijja Ithaf al-Wara bi-Akhbar U…. He also narrated hadith in Baghdad at the Jami al-Uqba mosque on its western side, delivering his compilation Muntaqa al-Ahkam to students Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…. Among those who transmitted from him were Abd al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf al-Dimyati, Umar ibn Dahjan al-Basri, Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman al-Darir, and his son Abd al-Halim al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Scholarly Standing

Scholars described him as the leading Hanbali jurist of his era, noting that headship in jurisprudence culminated with him Fath al-Ghaffar al-Jami l…+1. In Hanbali legal literature, his legal preferences and choices are frequently cited under the shorthand designation "al-Majd" al-Munawwar fi Rajih al-M…. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi noted his exceptional ability to recite legal texts from memory and to recall differing doctrinal positions effortlessly Fath al-Ghaffar al-Jami l…+1. Ibn Rajab cited a family report highlighting his dedication to study, relating that he would ask family members to read books aloud to him even while he was occupied with personal necessities so that no time was lost Qimat al-Zaman inda al-Ul…. In legal theory, he initiated al-Musawwada fi Usul al-Fiqh (The Draft on Legal Theory), a compendium of Hanbali jurisprudence that was subsequently expanded by his son Abd al-Halim and organized by his grandson Ahmad Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.

Death

He died in Harran on the night of Eid al-Fitr (or on the day itself) in 652 AH (1254 CE), though another report dates his death to 653 AH Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…+1.