Sulayman al-Muhasani
- Died
- 1187 AH
- Born in
- Damascus
Sulayman al-Muhasani (1139–1187 AH / 1726–1773 CE) was an 18th-century Hanafi jurist, preacher, poet, and chronicler from Damascus who served as an imam and sermonizer at the Umayyad Mosque and authored a firsthand historical account of the Egyptian invasion of Damascus.
Background and Education
Sulayman ibn Ahmad ibn Sulayman ibn Isma'il ibn Taj al-Din ibn Ahmad al-Muhasani was born in Damascus in 1139 AH, where he was raised and educated. He came from the prominent al-Muhasani scholarly family of Damascus, members of which had long held religious offices in the city. In Damascus, he studied Islamic religious and literary disciplines under a group of its resident scholars. Al-Muhasani was noted for his sharp intellect, his interest in literary anecdotes, and his bibliophile pursuits; he collected rare manuscripts, collated them against other copies, and transcribed and vocalized texts in his own handwriting. He later traveled to the Ottoman capital in Rum (Istanbul), where he spent substantial funds and sold several valuable books, though the journey yielded no official gain.
Career and Offices
Al-Muhasani held the offices of Friday preacher (khatib) and prayer leader (imam) at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. In the Ottoman learned hierarchy, he initially held the academic rank of al-dakhil and was later elevated to the higher rank of musilat al-sahn during the governorship of Muhammad Pasha al-Azm in Damascus, following a decree granted by the Ottoman Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad Sa'id Mirza-zade. Following the death of Yahya ibn Ibrahim al-Jaliqi, al-Muhasani was appointed as chief clerk of the military estate probate division (ra'is al-kuttab fi al-qisma al-askariyya) in Damascus, though he occupied the post for only a short period.
Scholarly Contribution and Death
Al-Muhasani composed poetry and authored historical works documenting contemporary political crises in Ottoman Syria. He composed a chronicle titled Hulul al-Ta'ab wa-l-Alam bi-Wusul Abi al-Dhahab ila Dimashq ("The Descent of Hardship and Suffering with the Arrival of Abu al-Dhahab in Damascus"), which recorded the 1185 AH / 1771 CE siege and entry into Damascus by Egyptian forces under Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab. He also authored Al-Baghy wa-l-Tajarrī fī Zuhūr Ibn Jabrī, a treatise concerning the uprising of Yusuf Agha, known as Ibn Jabri, and his poetic output was compiled into a diwan.
Al-Muhasani died in Damascus in 1187 AH (1773 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Hulul al-Taab wal-Alam is an 18th-century historical treatise providing a detailed, firsthand narrative of the invasion, siege, and occupation of Damascus by Egyptian troops under Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab and his allies in 1185 AH (1771 CE).