Muhibb al-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Rushayd al-Fihri al-Sabti (1259–1321, Arabic: ابن رشيد الفهري، أبو عبد الله محمد بن عمر) was a judge, writer and scholar of Hadith, born in Ceuta, North Africa (today part of Spain). In 1284 he travelled east for three years to perform the

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

and study. During his travels he became friends with the future vizier of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

Ibn al-Hakim al-Rundi. By Ibn al-Hakim's invitation, he came to Granada in 1292 or 1293 and was appointed as an imam and then a judge. After the vizier's assassination in 1309, he moved to the Marinid state where he became imam in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, and then a close advisor to Sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II. He died in February 1321 in Fez. He was well respected both during his life and in historical accounts, and left his writings on various topic, including on '' hadith'', literature, and an account of his travel ('' rihla'').

Life

Muhammad ibn Rushayd was born in 1259 in Ceuta (Arabic: ''Sabta'', hence his '' nisba'' ''al-Sabti''), and during youth he studied '' hadith'' (the prophet's tradition) and Arabic grammar. In 1284 he travelled east to the rest of the Islamic world in order to perform the

(pilgrimage) and study. He embarked at Almería in the Emirate of Granada where he met the poet Ibn al-Hakim al-Rundi, a man from Ronda who was around his age and travelling east for the same reason. They became friends and together visited Mecca, Medina,

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Cairo, and major cities in North Africa, and studied under prominent teachers. His friend returned to Ronda in 1286 while he continued his journey for one more year. After his travels, he returned to Ceuta until 1292 or 1293 when he was invited by Ibn al-Hakim—then a minister at court—to come to Granada. There he became the

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

and khatib of the city's great mosque, and there he gave commentaries on two hadiths from

Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...

every day. He then was appointed as a judge with the title ''qadi al-manakih''. In 14 March 1309, a ''coup d'état'' in Granada deposed Sultan Muhammad III and Ibn al-Hakim—then a powerful vizier—was assassinated. After the loss of his patron in Granada, he left south for the Marinid state. The Marinid Sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II () appointed him as the imam of

's old mosque. He was also a jurist in the Maliki school. He appeared to be well-respected in North Africa and towards the end of his life he was a close advisor to the sultan. He died at Fez on 22 February 1321 (23 Muharram 721 AH).

Works

Historian Al-Maqqari lists about ten titles by Ibn Rushayd, including the topics of '' hadith'', mathematics, Arabic language, and literature. Ibn Rushayd also left an account of his journey ('' rihla''), titled ''Mal al-'ayba fi ma jumi'a bi-tul al-ghayba fi al-rihla ila Makka wa Tayba'' which included various biographical information on scholars, excerpts of poems, while not very rich in geographical description. He also wrote collections of biographies of the fuqaha (jurists) of Al-Andalus, as well as of the collectors of hadiths Al-Bukhari and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. According to historian Rachel Arié, historical sources "are unanimous in praising the extent of his learning," especially his expertise on hadith, his oratory skills, as well as his modesty and austerity.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Rushayd, Mohammed 1259 births 1321 deaths People from Ceuta 13th-century jurists 14th-century jurists Scholars of the Nasrid period