Al-Quda'i

Muḥammad ibn Salāma al-Quḍā'ī
Born Abū 'Abdallāh Muḥammad ibn Salāmah ibn Ja'far al-Quḍā'i- aš-Šāfi'ī
Died 1062
Nationality Egyptian
Occupation Judge, preacher and historian
Known for The Prophet's genealogy, his birth, his emigration and his death

Muḥammad ibn Salāma al-Quḍā'ī (died 1062) was a Shafi'i judge, preacher and historian in Fatimid Egypt. He is known as author of a work called "The Prophet's genealogy, his birth, his emigration and his death." The manuscript has been preserved.[1] He was of Iranian origin.[2]

Career

al-Quḍā'ī was a scribe in the chancery under the vizier Alī ibn Aḥmad al-Jarjarā'ī (died 1045). He was in the chancery at the same time as the scholar al-Mu'ayyad al-Shīrāzī (died 1078). He served under the Fatimids as a judge over the Sunni population. He performed the Hajj in 1053. In 1055 he made a journey to Byzantium as emissary of the caliph.[3]

He earned great respect for his scholarship, particularly regarding hadith, and many hadith works include him as one of their transmitters. The jurist al-Silafī (died 1180) said of him, "His fame absolves me from lengthy expositions... he is counted among the trustworthy and reliable transmitters." According to his student Ibn Mākūlā, "He was a master of many different sciences... I do not know anyone in Egypt who approaches his stature."[3]

Work

Apart from his work on Muhammad, al-Quḍā'ī also wrote a terse history of the prophets and caliphs.[1] He said in the introduction that he had observed brevity, but that it was "amply sufficient for entertainment and conversation."[4] In some cases his history of a caliph would give little more than a short character sketch, the names of his wives and children, and names of officials during his rule.[5] Although al-Quḍā'ī's history of the Fatimids has been lost, it was used by al-Maqrizi and others in later works.[6] His description of Fustat before its decline and ruin after his death was a key resource for al-Maqrizi in understanding the former topography of the city.[7] He also wrote a pamphlet that contained some of the best-known Maliki laws.[8]

His book of the parables and teachings of the Prophet, a hadith collection, was widely read. Four Morisco versions from Spain are known, three from Almonacid. One is in Arabic, one only in aljamia and two are bi-lingual.[9] His work on the Prophet's life has not been examined. It was the basis for a work by Shīrawayh al-Daylamī that was criticized by Ibn Taymīya for fanciful and adulatory statements about Muhammad, which indicates that the work by al-Quḍā'ī was also concerned more with the Prophet as an exemplary man than as a religious and political leader.[1]

Bibliography

His recorded works include:[10]

  • The Blazing Star - a collection of sayings ascribed to Muhammad
  • A Treasury of Virtues - a collection of saying by Ali
  • Al-Qudai's History - prophets and caliphs up to the caliph al-Zahir
  • The merits of al-Shāfi'ī - on the founder of the legal school (lost)
  • Compendium of Teachers - list of hadith sources used by al-Quḍā'ī (lost)
  • Institutes of Egypt - a history of Egypt (lost)
  • Qu'ran Commentary (lost)
  • The Preacher's Pearl and the Worshiper's Treasure (possible authorship)
  • Details of Reports and Gardens of Lessons - wisdom sayings (possible authorship)

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Katz 2007, p. 8.
  2. ↑ Young, M.J.L.; Latham, J.D.; Serjeant, R.B., eds. (2006). Religion, learning, and science in the ʻAbbasid period (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 211. ISBN 9780521028875. In the middle of the fifth/eleventh century, al-Quda'i was at work in Egypt. He was Iranian by birth (...)
  3. 1 2 Qutbuddin 2013, p. 15.
  4. ↑ Rosenthal 1968, p. 292.
  5. ↑ Rosenthal 1968, p. 87.
  6. ↑ Daftary 1992, p. 146.
  7. ↑ Walker 2002, p. 145.
  8. ↑ Rosenthal 1968, p. 420.
  9. ↑ Harvey 2008, p. 146.
  10. ↑ Qutbuddin 2013, p. 15-16.

Sources

  • Daftary, Farhad (1992-07-01). Ismāʻı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-42974-0. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  • Harvey, L. P. (2008-09-15). Muslims in Spain, 1500 to 1614. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-31965-0. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  • Katz, Marion Holmes (2007-07-30). The Birth of the Prophet Muḥammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-415-77127-6. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  • Qutbuddin, Tahera (February 2013). A Treasury of Virtues: Sayings, Sermons and Teachings of 'Ali. NYU Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8147-7185-3. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  • Rosenthal, Franz (1968). A History of Muslim Historiography. Brill Archive. GGKEY:0A2FDA6UL61. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
  • Walker, Paul Ernest (2002-08-03). Exploring An Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and Its Sources. I.B.Tauris. p. 145. ISBN 978-1-86064-692-8. Retrieved 2013-03-13.
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