Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti
- Died
- 1393 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (1325–1393 AH / 1907–1974 CE) was a Mauritanian Islamic scholar, jurist, and exegete who taught in Saudi Arabia and authored the Quranic commentary Adwa al-Bayan fi Idah al-Quran bil-Quran (The Lights of Clarification on Explaining the Quran through the Quran) .
Lineage and early life
He was Muhammad al-Amin—a compound given name, with "Muhammad" added for blessing—ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Nuh ibn Muhammad ibn Sidi Ahmad ibn al-Mukhtar . He was known by the honorific title Abba (آبّا) . His family belonged to the Awlad al-Talib Aubak branch of the Tajakanat (Jakani) tribe, which traces its lineage back to the South Arabian tribe of Himyar .
He was born in 1325 AH near a watering place called Tanbah in the district of Kiffa, in present-day Mauritania . His father died while he was a young boy studying the final section (Juz' 'Amma) of the Quran, leaving him livestock and financial wealth as an inheritance . He was raised as an orphan in the household of his maternal uncles, who were also paternal cousins to his mother .
Education and teachers
Al-Shinqiti memorized the Quran by the age of ten under the instruction of his maternal uncle Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar ibn Ibrahim . He studied the Uthmanic orthography of the Quran and recitation (tajwid) according to the reading of Nafi' through the transmissions of Warsh and Qalun under his cousin, receiving a connected chain of transmission (isnad) by the age of sixteen . Within his family household, he also studied Maliki jurisprudence through the didactic poem of Ibn 'Ashir, Arabic grammar via al-Ajurrumiyya, and extensive lessons in Arab genealogy, historical battles, and prophetic biography (sirah), including the didactic poems of Ahmad al-Badawi al-Shinqiti, from his mother .
To complete his higher studies across Islamic legal theory, exegesis, and literature, he traveled among the traditional desert seminaries (mahadir) of Mauritania . Among his prominent teachers were Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar, Ahmad ibn Umar, Muhammad ibn Zaydan, and Ahmad Fal .
Travels, career, and students
In 1367 AH (1948 CE), al-Shinqiti departed Mauritania on an overland journey to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, traveling across West and East Africa through Niger and Sudan, teaching, issuing legal rulings, and settling judicial disputes along the way .
After performing the pilgrimage, he settled in Saudi Arabia, where he taught at the College of Sharia and the College of Arabic Language in Riyadh, delivered lessons in the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and served as a professor at the Islamic University of Madinah .
Numerous students studied under him, including Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad, Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, Salih al-Fawzan, Atiyyah Muhammad Salim, and Muhammad Aman al-Jami .
Scholarly contribution
Al-Shinqiti specialized in Quranic exegesis (tafsir), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), and the Arabic language . In exegesis, his primary method centered on interpreting Quranic passages through other corresponding verses of the Quran, a framework embodied in his multi-volume commentary Adwa al-Bayan . He also addressed apparent contradictions between scriptural texts in his treatise Daf Iham al-Idtirab an Ayat al-Kitab (Repelling the Illusion of Inconsistency from the Verses of the Book) , and expounded Maliki legal theory through Nathr al-Wurud Sharh Maraqi al-Suud (The Scattering of Flowers: Commentary on Maraqi al-Su'ud) .
Death
Al-Shinqiti died on the morning of Thursday, 17 Dhu al-Hijjah 1393 AH (1974 CE), in Mecca following his completion of the Hajj rites . He was washed in his residence by Ahmad ibn Ahmad al-Shinqiti, and Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz led his funeral prayer after the midday (zuhr) prayer at the Grand Mosque in Mecca . He was buried in the al-Ma'lah cemetery in the Ray' al-Hajun district of Mecca .
Answer updated
List of Works
Nathr al-Wurud Sharh Maraqi al-Suud is a commentary on legal theory (usul al-fiqh). It explains the didactic poem Maraqi al-Suud, composed by Sidi Abd Allah ibn al-Hajj Ibrahim al-Alawi to versify Taj al-Din al-Subki's Jam al-Jawami according to the Maliki school in 1,001 verses.
Man jawaz al-majaz fi al-munazzal lil-taabbud wal-ijaz is a theological and linguistic treatise that argues against the presence of figurative language (majaz) in the Quran and the Arabic language more broadly.
Mudhakkirat Usul al-Fiqh ala Rawdat al-Nazir is a work on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) composed as an explanatory commentary on Ibn Qudama's foundational Hanbali manual Rawdat al-Nazir.
Al-Azab al-Namir min Majalis al-Shinqiti fi al-Tafsir is a five-volume work of Quranic commentary compiled from transcribed oral exegesis lessons.
al-Masalih al-Mursala is an ontological and jurisprudential treatise on legal theory (usul al-fiqh). The work examines the concept of al-maslaha al-mursala (public interest not explicitly affirmed or negated by a specific scriptural text), its categorization, and its validity as a source of legal derivation across Islamic schools of jurisprudence.
al-Mathal al-Ulya fi al-Islam (The Supreme Ideals in Islam) is a scholarly lecture and treatise published within the collected lectures Muhadarat al-Shinqiti. The work elucidates the concept of supreme ideals in Islamic theology, divine legislation, human conduct, and the afterlife.
Al-Masalih al-Mursala (The Unrestricted Public Interests) is a treatise on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh) addressing the juristic authority, scope, and regulatory criteria of public interests that lack specific textual confirmation or nullification.
Daf‘ Iham al-Idtirab ‘an Ayat al-Kitab (Repelling the Illusion of Inconsistency from the Verses of the Book) is a specialized treatise in Quranic sciences devoted to resolving and harmonizing verses of the Quran that appear superficially contradictory.
Manhaj al-Tashri al-Islami wa Hikmatuhu (The Methodology of Islamic Legislation and Its Wisdom) is a legal treatise exploring the principles, gradual progression, and underlying wisdom of divine legislation in Islam.
Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat (Methodology and Studies on the Verses of the Divine Names and Attributes) is a theological treatise expounding the creed of the early generations of Muslims (al-Salaf) regarding the Quranic verses on God's names and attributes.
Manhaj al-Tashri al-Islami wa Hikmatuhu (The Methodology of Islamic Legislation and Its Wisdom) is a legal treatise exploring the objectives, foundational principles, and wisdom underlying Islamic law.
Min Fatawa al-Allama Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti (From the Fatwas of the Eminent Scholar Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti) is a short collection of legal and theological responsa addressing three specific theological and jurisprudential inquiries.
al-Fatawa (The Fatwas) is a collection of five detailed legal and theological responsa addressing doctrinal inquiries, legal theory (usul al-fiqh), and contemporary issues.
Bayan al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh min Ay al-Dhikr al-Hakim (Clarification of the Abrogating and Abrogated Verses of the Wise Remembrance) is a short treatise on Quranic abrogation (naskh). The text consists of a concise commentary on ten verses of poetry composed by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his work al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an enumerating the abrogated verses of the Quran.
Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat (Methodology and Studies on the Verses of the Divine Names and Attributes) is a theological treatise that outlines the foundational methodology of the early Muslim generations (al-Salaf) concerning the divine names and attributes in the Quran.
Manhaj wa Dirasat li Ayat al-Asma wa al-Sifat is a theological treatise and lecture outlining the methodology of early Muslim scholars regarding Quranic verses concerning the divine names and attributes. Originating as a public lecture delivered on 13 Ramadan 1382 AH at the Islamic University of Madinah, it articulates the scriptural foundation and rational soundness of the early approach against scholastic theology and metaphorical interpretation.
al-Islam Din Kamil is a lecture and treatise expounding the comprehensiveness and sufficiency of the Islamic faith based on the Quran. Delivered in 1378 AH at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, the work takes the third verse of Surah al-Ma'idah as its foundational text to demonstrate that Islam clarifies and addresses all essential human needs across worldly and otherworldly affairs.
Adab al-Bahth wa al-Munazara is a treatise and course manual on Islamic dialectic, argumentation, and formal logic. Composed for teaching at the Islamic University of Madinah, it presents the rules of disputation alongside a foundational grounding in purified formal logic adapted for legal and dialectical reasoning.
al-Rihla ila Ifriqiya is a posthumously published work transcribing the lectures, addresses, and answers to legal inquiries delivered during an official delegation tour across nine African countries undertaken around 1385 AH. The mission aimed to strengthen religious bonds, foster Islamic awareness, and assess the conditions of Muslim communities.
Rihlat al-Hajj ila Bayt Allah al-Haram is a travelogue and scholarly record documenting an overland pilgrimage journey to Mecca in 1367 AH (1948 CE). Combining a personal travel diary with legal and theoretical treatises, the work records judicial settlements as well as numerous legal, linguistic, and theological inquiries addressed along the route.
Fatwa fi Tahrim al-Talim al-Mukhtalit (A Legal Ruling on the Prohibition of Coeducational Education) is a legal treatise addressing the Islamic legal prohibition of gender mixing in university and school settings.
Adwa al-Bayan fi Idah al-Quran bil-Quran (The Lights of Clarification on Explaining the Quran through the Quran) is a multi-volume work of Quranic exegesis (tafsir) dedicated primarily to interpreting Quranic verses through other verses and deducing legal rulings.
Hawl Shubhat al-Raqiq (Around the Misconception of Slavery) is a treatise and public lecture composed to address and refute contemporary misconceptions regarding the institution of servitude in Islamic jurisprudence.
Muhadarat al-Shinqiti (Lectures of al-Shinqiti) is a compilation of public lectures and scholarly treatises addressing Islamic legal theory, creed, ethics, and contemporary social questions.