Sibt Ibn al-Ajami
- Died
- 884 AH
- Born in
- Aleppo
Sibt Ibn al-Ajami (818–884 AH / 1415–1480 CE), also known by his kunya Abu Dharr, was a Shafi'i jurist, hadith scholar, and historian based in Aleppo, best known for his historical chronicle Kunuz al-Dhahab fi Tarikh Halab (Treasures of Gold in the History of Aleppo) .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Muwaffaq al-Din Abu Dharr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Khalil al-Halabi al-Tarabulsi al-Shafi'i; al-Sakhawi recorded his grandfather's name as Mahmud instead of Muhammad . His family originated from Tripoli in the Levant, though he was born, lived, and died in Aleppo . The cognomen Sibt Ibn al-Ajami was inherited from his father, Burhan al-Din Ibrahim, whose mother was the daughter of Umar ibn Muhammad ibn al-Muwaffaq Ahmad ibn Hashim ibn Abi Hamid Abd Allah ibn al-Ajami al-Halabi . He was born on the night of Friday, 9 Safar 818 AH .
Education and Career
He studied multiple disciplines, including jurisprudence, hadith, literature, and history . He received his education from his father and from several prominent scholars of his era, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani during the latter's stay in Aleppo, al-Ala' ibn Khatib al-Nasiriyya, Ibn Tahhan, A'isha ibnat Ibn al-Shara'ihi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn Dawud al-Shami, al-Shams al-Malti, Ibn al-Fakhr al-Misri, Ibn Fahd, and Siraj al-Din al-Himsi .
Among his students were Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Kurdi al-Qasri, Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Ahmad al-Hadiri, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Hayshi, and Abd al-Razzaq ibn Muhammad al-Hasan al-Kaylani . Over the course of his career, he held the positions of judge (qadi), head of the Sufis (shaykh al-shuyukh), and shaykh al-Islam . In his early years, he composed works of prose and poetry, but later discarded them to focus entirely on jurisprudence and hadith, dedicating his time to teaching the two Sahih collections and al-Qadi Iyad's al-Shifa while living modestly and aloof from worldly elites .
Scholarly Standing
Ibn Hajar described him as an imam, and alternatively as an accomplished, skillful, and authentic hadith scholar . Later biographers recorded that Aleppo had produced no one superior to him in his time . He composed Kunuz al-Dhahab fi Tarikh Halab as a continuation (dhayl) to al-Durr al-Muntakhab by Ibn Khatib al-Nasiriyya, integrating biographical entries and historical events, and authored Qurrat al-Ayn fi Fadl al-Shaykhayn wa-l-Sihrayn wa-l-Sibtayn on the virtues of early Islamic figures .
Death
In his final period, he suffered from slight mental disorientation and lost his sight, but reportedly recovered from his illness and regained his vision shortly before his passing . A dream was reported by Radi al-Din Ibn al-Hanbali through the caretaker of the Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo, who recounted that his grandfather saw a green pillar ascending from Abu Dharr's house to the sky; upon hearing it, Abu Dharr remarked that his time was near .
He died in Aleppo on Thursday, 15 Dhu al-Qi'da 884 AH; another report places his death on 11 Dhu al-Qi'da . He was buried in the madrasa of Banu al-Ajami in the Jubayla quarter of Aleppo (later known as the Mosque of Abu Dharr) . When his son Abu Bakr later requested to be buried in the same grave, the tomb was opened and his shroud was found intact .
Answer updated
List of Works
Kunuz al-Dhahab fi Tarikh Halab (Treasures of Gold in the History of Aleppo) is a comprehensive topographical and historical work on the city of Aleppo. It integrates historical chronicle, biographical notices, and an extensive topographical survey (khitat) of Aleppo's urban fabric and architectural monuments, serving as a primary contemporary record for the late Mamluk period in northern Syria.
Nihayat al-Sul fi Ruwat al-Sitta al-Usul (The Attainment of the Goal Concerning the Transmitters of the Six Foundational Books) is a biographical dictionary of hadith transmitters. Completed in Aleppo in 829 AH, the work evaluates and provides critical remarks on the reliability and names of the narrators found in the transmission chains of the six canonical hadith collections.