Sulayman al-Hamdan
- Died
- 1397 AH
- Born in
- -
Sulayman al-Hamdan (1322–1397 AH / 1904–1977 CE) was a Saudi Hanbali jurist, judge, and bibliographer, known for his specialized reference work on Hanbali literature, Kashf al-Niqab 'an Mu'allafat al-Ashab (Unveiling the Face from the Writings of the Companions) .
Early Life and Education
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamdan was born in al-Majma'ah, the regional center of Sudayr, Saudi Arabia . He was raised by his father, memorized the Quran with proper recitation rules (tajwid), and began his religious studies under the scholars of Sudayr, most prominently Ibrahim ibn Salih ibn Isa and Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Anqari .
He subsequently traveled to Riyadh to advance his studies, where he studied theology, jurisprudence, and Hadith under Sulayman ibn Sahman, Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif Al al-Shaykh, and Sa'd ibn Atiq, alongside studying Arabic language under Hamad ibn Faris . Later, he traveled to the Hijaz, where he studied for several years under local scholars and visiting teachers from India, Sham, and Egypt, receiving continuous chains of scholarly transmission (ijazah) in both Riyadh and Mecca .
Judicial Career and Teaching
Al-Hamdan was appointed as a judge at the Summary Court in Mecca during the leadership of Abd Allah ibn Hasan, serving in that capacity for several years . He was later transferred to the judiciary of Medina, served as a member of the Judicial Presidency in Mecca, and held a judicial post in Taif . He was subsequently appointed judge over his hometown of al-Majma'ah, where he served until advanced age and local disputes resulting from his strict temperament prompted his retirement in 1369 AH .
Following his retirement, al-Hamdan settled in Mecca, dedicating himself to issuing legal rulings (fatwa), teaching, and delivering religious counsel at the Grand Mosque of Mecca (al-Masjid al-Haram), particularly following congregational prayers and between the evening prayers during pilgrimage seasons . The Saudi government repeatedly commissioned him for preaching, providing him an official teaching chair in the Grand Mosque .
Scholarly Standing and Positions
Al-Hamdan assembled a substantial personal library composed of rare manuscripts and early printed books . He engaged extensively with later Hanbali bio-bibliographical sources, composing Tarajim Muta'akhkhiri al-Hanabilah (Biographies of Later Hanbalis) alongside his major bibliographic dictionary Kashf al-Niqab 'an Mu'allafat al-Ashab .
Biographical accounts describe him as devoted to constant worship, weeping in prayer, and charitable support for orphans and widows . He was also known for uncompromising theological positions on modern astronomical discoveries: he held that the Earth is stationary and does not rotate on its axis, authoring a stern polemical response to Mahmud al-Sawwaf on the subject, and strongly rejected reports of human space travel to the Moon . He died in 1397 AH (1977 CE) .
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List of Works
Kashf al-Niqab 'an Mu'allafat al-Ashab is a specialized biographical and bibliographical dictionary of Hanbali literature. Organized alphabetically by book title, the reference work is designed to document, identify, and attribute treatises, commentaries, and manuals produced within the Hanbali school of jurisprudence.