Salim al-Razi

Salim al-Razi (c. 365–447 AH / 975–1055 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, and Quranic exegete from Rayy who taught in Baghdad and later settled in Tyre al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Early Life and Education

Abu al-Fath Salim (or Sulaym) ibn Ayyub ibn Salim al-Razi was born in Rayy in the mid-360s AH al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1. As a young boy of around ten in Rayy, he attended a Quran circle where the instructor asked him to recite Al-Fatiha, but he struggled due to a speech impediment; the teacher instructed him to ask his mother to pray that God grant him the Quran and knowledge, which she did Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K…. According to a report cited by Ibn Asakir, he turned to advanced jurisprudence later in life, after passing forty years of age, having previously focused on grammar, Arabic literature, and Quranic exegesis Tabaqat al-Mufassirin lil….

He traveled to Baghdad in his youth to study Arabic philology and grammar al-Muhimmat fi Sharh al-R…+1. While seeking his language teacher one day, he passed by the teaching assembly of the Shafi'i jurist Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini, transcribed his legal lecture on fasting, and committed himself to studying under him al-Muhimmat fi Sharh al-R…. He studied Shafi'i jurisprudence deeply under al-Isfarayini and compiled a set of notes (taʿlīqah) from his teachings Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K…. Among his other prominent teachers were the philologist Ahmad ibn Faris, the hadith scholar Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Basir al-Razi, Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Tamimi, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik al-Ju'fi Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

Career and Teaching

Following the death of Abu Hamid al-Isfarayini, al-Razi briefly succeeded him in teaching in Baghdad al-Muhimmat fi Sharh al-R…+1. He subsequently migrated to the Levant and took up residence at the coastal frontier fortress of Tyre (Ṣūr), living as a frontier defender (murābiṭ) dedicated to teaching without remuneration Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. He was credited with being the first to broadly disseminate Shafi'i jurisprudence in Tyre Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa….

A substantial cohort of students studied under him in the Levant and Baghdad, including the historian and traditionist Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, the jurist Nasr ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisi, the philologist Al-Khatib al-Tibrizi, Sahl ibn Bishr al-Isfarayini, Abu Muhammad al-Kattani, and Abu al-Qasim al-Nasib Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…+2.

Scholarly Standing

Al-Razi was noted by contemporaries and biographers for strict discipline regarding his time; he did not let moments pass without productive labor, occupying himself continuously with copying manuscripts, teaching, or reading Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…. Observers noted that even while trimming his reed pens, his lips moved in Quranic recitation so that no time went unused Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…. Abu al-Qasim al-Nasib described him as a trustworthy jurist, reciter, and traditionist Siyar Aalam al-Nubala.

His scholarly contributions included the legal treatise al-Ishārah, the hadith lexicon Gharīb al-Ḥadīth, and an extensive Quranic commentary titled Ḍiyāʾ al-Qulūb, which was later abridged by the Shafi'i scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Madani Qiladat al-Nahr fi Wafaya…+1.

Death

Al-Razi died by drowning in the Red Sea near the coast of Jeddah and the ancient port of Al-Jar in Safar 447 AH (with one report transmitted by the father of Sahl ibn Bishr placing it in Safar 446 AH), while returning from the Hajj pilgrimage Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…+1. According to his son Ibrahim, he was over eighty years of age at the time of his death Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…. He was buried on an island near al-Jar at the ford (al-makhāḍah) Tarikh Dimashq li-Ibn Asa…+1.