Shaykh al-IslÃÂm ShihÃÂb al-Dën Abà « al-ÿAbbÃÂs Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ÿAlë ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamë al-Makkë al-Aná¹£ÃÂrë known as Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamë al-Makkë () was a renowned Sunni Egyptian scholar. He was the leading jurist of the Shafi'i school of thought, a mujtahid, muhaddith, historian and theologian. He came from the Banu Sa'd tribe who settled in the Al-Sharqiah province in Egypt. Ibn Hajar was specialized in Islamic Jurisprudence and well known as a prolific writer of the Shâfi'î school. With Shihab al-Din al-Ramli, he represents the foremost resource for fatwa (legal opinion) for the entire late ShâfiâÂÂî school.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamë was born in 909 AH (1503 AD) in the small village Abà « Haytam in western Egypt. When he was a small child, his father died and his upbringing was left to the charge of his grandfather. His grandfather was known to the locals as the "stone" because of his pious nature. The nickname came from people saying he was "silent as a stone". This was due to the fact that he seldom spoke and when he did it was greatly revered for his religious knowledge. His grandfather died, however, shortly after his father and his father's teachers Shams Dën b. Abi'l-HamÃÂ'il and Shams al-Dën Muhammad al-ShanÃÂwë became his caretakers. As a child he began his studies with the memorisation of the Qur'an and Nawawi's Minhaj. His caretaker al-ShanÃÂwë decided that al-Haytamë should continue his elementary education at the sanctuary of Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawë in Tanta.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami notes in his writings a beverage called qahwa developed from a tree in the Zeila region.
After completing his elementary education, Ibn Hajar al- Haytamë continued his schooling at al-Azhar where he studied under many noteworthy scholars, the most predominant one being ZakariyyÃÂâ al-AnsÃÂrë. He also studied under the famous Shafi'i scholar Shihab al-Din al-Ramli.
Sheikhuna Al-Haytamë performed the Hajj in the year 1527 with one of his teachers al-Bakri. It was during this trip that al-Haytamë decided to begin writing fiqh. He returned to Mecca in 1531 and stayed there a year before returning home again. During this visit al-Haytamë worked on a compilation of notes which he would later use in his authorship to write commentaries. The last time he traveled to Mecca was in 1533, this time he brought his family and decided to permanently reside there. His life dedication in Mecca began to be writing, teaching, and issuing fatwa. He authored major works in ShÃÂfiÿë jurisprudence, hadëth, tenets of faith, education, hadëth commentary, and formal legal opinion. It was at this time he wrote his most notable work, which was called "Tuhfat al-Muhtaj bi Sharh al-Minhaj". This work was a commentary on Imam Nawawi's writing "Minhaj al-Talibin". Ibn Hajar al-Haytamë's commentary became one of the two authoritative textbooks of the ShafiâÂÂi school. He wrote many other works, some of which are listed in the "works" section of this page.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamë died in 1566 AD/973 AH in Mecca. He was buried in the cemetery of Ma'lat.