Yahya al-Shawi
- Died
- 1096 AH
- Born in
- -
Yahya al-Shawi (1030–1096 AH / 1621–1685 CE) was an Algerian Maliki scholar, grammarian, and theologian who taught at al-Azhar and traveled widely across the Ottoman lands .
Origin and Education
He was Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Isa al-Shawi al-Milyani al-Jaza'iri . Born in Miliana in 1030 AH, he began his education locally memorizing the Quran and introductory texts before studying at the zawiya of Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Bahlul al-Majaji near Tenes . He subsequently pursued advanced studies in Tlemcen under Sa'id al-Maqqari, and in Algiers under Ali ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Ansari, Sa'id Qaddura, and Isa al-Tha'alibi .
Travels and Career
Al-Shawi departed Algeria and performed the pilgrimage in 1074 AH, after which he settled for a period in Egypt . In Cairo, he studied under leading scholars such as Sultan al-Mazzahi, Muhammad al-Babali, and Ali al-Shabramallisi, and he assumed a teaching circle at al-Azhar where he taught Maliki jurisprudence and other disciplines .
He later journeyed to the Levant, delivering public and private lessons in hadith, exegesis, Sufism, and Arabic language in Damascus . He then traveled to the Ottoman capital and Anatolia, where he engaged in scholastic debates with Ottoman scholars and taught in the presence of Sultan Mehmed IV . During this period, he composed a concise treatise on the principles of Arabic grammar styled after Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Iqtirah, which he dedicated to the Sultan and which received endorsements from Ottoman scholars . Among his other prominent writings are a commentary on Ibn Malik's grammatical work Tashil al-fawa'id and Tawkid al-aqd, a supercommentary on Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi's theological treatise Umm al-barahin . In his later career, he was appointed leader of the Maghrebi pilgrim caravan, leading it twice to Mecca .
Scholarly Standing and Students
Al-Shawi was recognized among contemporaries for his exceptional memory, intellectual sharpness, and facility in spontaneous versification . The Tunisian scholar Ali al-Nuri al-Sifaqisi, who studied Ibn Hisham's commentary on the Alfiyya under him, described him as the Ash'ari of his time and the Sibawayh of his era, noting that students corrected their manuscript copies from al-Shawi's memory . His students included the historian Muhammad Amin al-Muhibbi, Zayn al-Din al-Basri, and the Damascene scholar Abu al-Mawahib al-Hanbali .
Death
Al-Shawi died at sea aboard a pilgrimage vessel in the Red Sea on Tuesday, 20 Ramadan 1096 AH (another report mentions 1097 AH) . He was initially interred at Ra's Abi Muhammad, after which his son Isa brought his body to Cairo and buried him in the Maliki cemetery that al-Shawi himself had previously renovated .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Tuhaf al-Rabbaniyya fi Jawab al-Asila al-Lamdaniyya (The Divine Gifts in Answering the Lamdanian Questions) is a theological treatise in Islamic creed (aqida). Composed in a question-and-answer format, the work provides structured analytical responses to theological inquiries regarding monotheism and dogma, addressing issues such as the temporal origination and creation of the world, general proofs in doctrine, and the distinction between divine satisfaction, love, and will.