Raf al-Isr an Qudat Misr
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
Raf al-Isr an Qudat Misr (Lifting the Burden: On the Judges of Egypt) is a biographical dictionary of the judges of Egypt authored by the Shafi'i scholar and hadith master Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE).
Background and Scope
In his introduction, Ibn Hajar states that he came across an urjuza poem in the rajaz meter composed by the poet Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Daniyal al-Kahhal for Chief Judge Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'ah, enumerating those who had held the judgeship of Egypt. Having been asked to write biographical entries for those named in the poem, Ibn Hajar complied by compiling biographies of the magistrates who presided over Egypt from the Muslim conquest through the end of the eighth century AH. He also recorded an addendum in verse by his contemporary al-Izz Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Asqalani, which extended the list of Shafi'i, Hanafi, Maliki, and Hanbali judges down to their own era.
Method and Sources
Although the poem presented the judges in chronological sequence, Ibn Hajar organized the biographical dictionary alphabetically by the names of the judges. For each judge, he recorded available information regarding his full name, lineage, birth, legal school (madhhab) and theological orientation, circumstances of life, dates of appointment and dismissal, and date of death.
Ibn Hajar drew upon several historical chronicles and earlier biographical works on the judiciary, principally:
- Akhbar Qudat Misr by Abu Umar al-Kindi (d. 350 AH)
- The continuation (Dhayl) of al-Kindi's work by Ibn Zulaq (d. 387 AH)
- The chronicle of Ibn Muyassar
- Akhbar Misr by Qutb al-Din al-Halabi
- The historical writings of his colleague al-Maqrizi (Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Ali)
He noted as well that his teacher Siraj al-Din Ibn al-Mulaqqin had gathered material on the subject, though it had not fully satisfied his inquiry.
Abridgments and Continuations
The book served as the basis for subsequent summaries and continuations:
- It was abridged by Ibn Hajar's grandson, Jamal al-Din Yusuf ibn Shahin (d. 899 AH), in a work entitled al-Nujum al-Zahirah fi Talkhis Akhbar Qudat Misr wal-Qahirah, completed in 877 AH.
- It was summarized by Ali ibn Abi al-Lutf al-Shafi'i around 900 AH.
- Ibn Hajar's student Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (d. 902 AH) wrote a continuation to the work titled al-Dhayl ala Raf al-Isr (also known as Bughyat al-Ulama wal-Ruwat).
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