Ibn Hajar al Asqalani ( full name: Abu al Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al Kinani). (; 18 February 1372 â 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, biography, exegesis, poetry, and the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, the most valued of which being his commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, titled Fath al-Bari. He is known by the honorific epithets Hafiz al-Asr (lit. "Hafiz of the Time"), Shaykh al-Islam ("Shaykh of Islam"), and Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith ("Commander of the Faithful in Hadith").
He was regarded as the foremost scholar of the fifteenth century across all fields of Islamic law.
He was born into an Arab Kinani family in Cairo on 22 ShaÿbÃÂn 773 AH, corresponding to February 28th 1372. He was the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur ad-Din 'Ali. His parents had moved from Alexandria, originally hailing from Ascalon (, ').
"Ibn Hajar" was the nickname of one of his ancestors, which was extended to his children and grandchildren and became his most prominent title. He was known by the kunya Abà « al-Faá¸Âl, and he was called al-ÿAsqalÃÂnë in attribution to AskalÃÂn (Ashkelon) in Palestine, the homeland of his family; and al-KinÃÂnë in attribution to KinÃÂna, to which his lineage goes back.
His father, Ali bin Muhammad Asqalani, was also a scholar who, besides engaging in trade like his forefathers, knew the seven canonical QurþÃÂnic readings (qirÃÂþÃÂt al-sabÿ), composed poetry, and wrote a supplement (istidrÃÂk) to al-NawawëâÂÂs al-AdhkÃÂr. For a while, he was the deputy of Ibn Aqeel Baha'udin, Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Abdur Rahman Shafi'i. He was also a poet and had several diwans and was allowed to give fatwas . Both of his parents died in his infancy, and he and his sister, Sitt ar-Rakb, became wards of his father's first wife's brother, Zaki ad-Din al-Kharrubi, who enrolled Ibn Hajar in Qur'anic studies when he was five years old. Here he excelled, learning Surah Maryam in a single day and memorising the entire Qur'an by the age of 9. He progressed to the memorization of texts such as the abridged version of Ibn al-Hajib's work on the foundations of fiqh.
When he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Mecca at the age of 12, he was considered competent to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan. When his guardian died in 1386, Ibn Hajar's education in Egypt was entrusted to hadith scholar Shams ad-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by Sirajud-Din al-Bulqini (d. 1404) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d. 1402) in Shafi'i fiqh, and Zain al-Din al-'Iraqi (d. 1404) in hadith, after which he travelled to Damascus and Jerusalem, to study under Shamsud-Din al-Qalqashandi (d. 1407), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d. 1401), and Fatima bint al-Manja at-Tanukhiyya (d. 1401). He learned the fundamentals of Hadith and other subjects from the renowned scholar Izz al-Din Ibn Jama'ah, . After a further visit to Mecca, Medina, and Yemen, he returned to Egypt. Al-Suyuti said: "It is said that he drank Zamzam water in order to reach the level of adh-Dhahabi in memorizationâÂÂwhich he succeeded in doing, even surpassing him."
Ibn Ḥajar benefited from 628 teachers, 55 of them women. Among his female teachers were FÃÂá¹Âima al-Tanà «khiyya and FÃÂá¹Âima al-Maqdisiyya, from whom he read various works. Rivalries arose between Ibn Ḥajar and scholars such as Walë al-Dën al-Seftë, Muḥammad b. ÿAá¹ÂÃÂþ AllÃÂh al-Harawë, Shams al-Dën al-HirmÃÂwë, and Muḥammad b. IsmÃÂÿël al-WanÃÂþë due to posts such as chief judgeship and teaching.
In 1397, at the age of twenty-five, Al-'Asqalani married the celebrated hadith expert Uns Khatun, who held ijazat from 'Abdur-Rahim al-'Iraqi and gave public lectures to crowds of <nowiki/>'ulama'<nowiki/>, including as-Sakhawi. He had five daughters from Uns, and one daughter from a later wife. All of his daughters died during his lifetime. He married a third time, but his only son was Abà « al-MaÿÃÂlë Badr al-Dën Muḥammad, born 815 AH / 1412 CE to a slave woman of Tatar origin. It is not known for sure, but there is good reason to suspect that his son was not qualified for the scholarly positions in which his father tried to place him, nor was he a good administrator of either college finances or his own.
Ibn Ḥajar was of medium height, refined-looking, yet awe-inspiring and energetic. He did not give importance to food and drink.Because of his quick comprehension and strong memory, he could follow and correct texts being read to him while he was writing something else.
Ibn Hajar went on to be appointed to the position of Egyptian qadi (chief judge) several times. He had a scholarly rivalry with the Hanafi scholar Badr al-Din al-Ayni.
Ibn Hajar died after <nowiki/>'Isha'<nowiki/> (night prayer) on 8th Dhul-Hijjah 852 (2 February 1449), aged 79. The funeral prayer was led by the ÿAbbÃÂsid caliph, and an estimated 50,000 people attended his funeral in Cairo, including Sultan Sayfud-Din Jaqmaq (1373âÂÂ1453 CE) and Caliph of Cairo Al-Mustakfi II ( CE). He was buried in KarÃÂfat al-á¹¢ughràCemetery.
Ibn Hajar wrote approximately 150 works on hadith, hadith terminology, biographical evaluation, history, tafsir, poetry and Shafiýi jurisprudence, however, he was not satisfied with many of his works and expressed a desire to revise them, but circumstances didn't allow him the opportunity. Al Sakhawi, a student of Ibn Hajar, documented his teacher's dissatisfaction with many of his works. According to him, Ibn Hajar authored many of his works during the early stages of his career, and he regretted not having the opportunity to revise or refine them to his satisfaction. However, he made specific exceptions for certain key works, stating:<blockquote>Only my commentary on á¹¢aḥëḥ al-BukhÃÂrë (Fatḥ al-BÃÂrë), its introduction, al-Muà ¡tabiḥ, Tahá¸Âëb al-Tahá¸Âëb, and LisÃÂn al-MëzÃÂn are works I consider to be somewhat complete and polished.</blockquote>His major works include