Shams al-Dën Muḥammad ibn ÿAlë ibn Aḥmad ibn á¹¬à «là «n al-á¹¢ÃÂliḥë al-Dimashḳë al-Ḥanafë (1475 â 9 August 1546) was a Damascene scholar of ḥadëth (traditions) and fiqh (jurisprudence) of the Ḥanafë school. He is best known today for his autobiography and his historical writings, which covers the contemporary Ottoman conquest of Mamlà «k Egypt.
Ibn á¹¬à «là «n was born in al-á¹¢ÃÂliḥiyya, in the upper quarter near the ḤÃÂjibiyyah School in 880 AH (1475). On his father's side, he could trace his ancestry back to a mamlà «k, KhumÃÂrwayh ibn á¹¬à «là «n. His mother, AzdÃÂn, was from Anatolia, either a Turk or a Greek. She died of bubonic plague while he was a child.
He completed the memorization of the QurâÂÂan at the age of seven. He attended to and studied with a group of scholars, among them: the judge NÃÂá¹£ir al-Dën ibn Zurayq, al-SirÃÂj ibn al-á¹¢ayrafë, al-JamÃÂl ibn al-Mubarrad, Shaykh Abà « al-Fatḥ al-Mizzë, and Ibn al-Nuÿaymë, and others. He studied Fiqh under his uncle al-JamÃÂl ibn á¹¬à «là «n and others. He was highly skilled in grammar, a leading authority in jurisprudence, and well known for hadith. He was appointed to teach the Ḥanafë school at the Madrasa of Shaykh al-IslÃÂm Abà « ÿUmar, and served as imam of al-Sulaymiyyah in á¹¢ÃÂliḥiyyah. Students sought him out for learning grammar, people eagerly attended his lectures, and his time was fully occupied with teaching, imparting knowledge, and writing.
Ibn á¹¬à «là «n also studied under women scholars who had attained scholarly rank in Islamic sciences in á¹¢ÃÂliḥiyya, including Umm ÿAbd al-RazzÃÂq Khadëja bint ÿAbd al-Karëm, Umm al-Ḥasan FÃÂá¹Âima bint Khalël, and Bint al-QÃÂá¸Âë ImÃÂd al-Dën Abà « Bakr.
He possessed broad mastery in most of the well-known sciences, even in dream interpretation and medicine.
A number of distinguished figures studied under him and excelled during his lifetime, such as al-ShihÃÂb al-Ṭëbë, the shaykh of preachers and hadith scholars; al-ÿAlÃÂþ ibn ÿImÃÂd al-Dën; al-Najm al-Bahnasë, the preacher of Damascus; and among the last of them Shaykh IsmÃÂÿël al-NÃÂbulusë, Muftë of the ShÃÂfiÿës; al-Zayn ibn Sulá¹ÂÃÂn, Muftë of the Ḥanafës; al-ShihÃÂb al-ÿAythÃÂwë, Muftë of the ShÃÂfiÿës; al-ShihÃÂb ibn Abë al-WafÃÂþ, Muftë of the Ḥanbalës; the judge Akmal ibn Mufliḥ; and others.
In 1484, Ibn á¹¬à «là «n received a scholarship to study fiqh at the MÃÂridÃÂniyya madrasa. He received an ijÃÂza (authorization to teach) from al-Suyà «á¹Âë. He spent his life teaching and writing. In old age, he declined the positions of khaá¹Âëb of the Umayyad Mosque and Ḥanafë muftë of Damascus because of his old age. He never married and had no children. He passed away on Sunday, the eleventh of JumÃÂdàal-à ªlÃÂ, (9 August 1546. ) at over 70 years of age, and was buried in their cemetery near his uncle, the judge JamÃÂl al-Dën, on the southern slope by al-Kahf and al-KhwÃÂrazmiyyah.
Ibn á¹¬à «là «n wrote an autobiography, al-Fulk al-mashá¸¥à «n fë aḥwÃÂl Muḥammad ibn á¹¬à «là «n, in which he lists all the scholars he studied with, all the books he ever read and all of his writings. He gives 750 titles to his name, although these range from short pamphlets to long multi-volume works. Less than 100 of his works are preserved. The History of the Arabic Written Tradition knows of 75, but the library of Aḥmad Taymà «r in Cairo may have contained 100 uncatalogued manuscripts of Ibn á¹¬à «là «n. As of 2004, only 25 of his works have been printed.
One of the most prolific scholars in Islamic history, Ibn á¹¬à «là «n resembled his teacher al-Suyà «á¹Âë in this regard. He authored works across many disciplines, from religious sciences to medicine and astronomy, though he particularly distinguished himself in history and hadith. In al-FulkuâÂÂl-mashá¸¥à «n, he personally lists 726 books and treatises, a number later expanded by modern researchers. However, most of these works have either not survived or have reached us in unusable form.
He also composed a large body of poetry, which he collected into three separate diwans. Among his extant works, those concerning the history of Damascus are of particular importance for Islamic history and civilization, containing extensive information on madrasas, mosques, khÃÂnqÃÂhs, zawiyas, and the educational practices of his time.
Among his poetry is:<blockquote>Have mercy on your lover, O gazelle,
that mercy may come from God Most High.
The tale of my tears from your coldness
is like a hadith with a continuous chain to the first.</blockquote>And among it as well:<blockquote>Turn away from the world and its pleasures,
for indeed it is not praiseworthy.
Follow the truth as it should be followed,
for breaths are numbered.
The finest food comes from the bee,
and the noblest garment from the worm.</blockquote>