Abū Muḥammad ʿIzz al-Dīn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd al-Salām bin Abī al-Qāsim bin Ḥasan al-Sulamī al-Shāfiʿī (‎; 577 AH - 660 AH / 1262 CE), also known by his titles, Sultan al-'Ulama/ Sulthanul Ulama, Abu Muhammad al-Sulami, was a famous

mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (i ...

Ash'ari Ash'arism (; ) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (''mujaddid''), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on ...

theologian, jurist and the leading

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

authority of his generation.العز بن عبد السلام، محمد الزحيلي
� ص19-22 He was described by

Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Atharism, Athari ...

as someone who attained the rank of ijtihad, with asceticism and piety and the command of virtue and forbidding of what is evil and solidity in religion. He was described by Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali as the sheikh of Islam, the imam of the scholar, the lone of his era, the authority of scholars, who excelled in jurisprudence(

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

), theology(

Aqidah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...

) and the Arabic language, and reached the rank of ijtihad, and received students who traveled to him from all over the country. Al-Izz Bin Abdul Salam was born in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, present-day Syria, in 577 AH (1181 AD), where he grew up. He studied the sciences of the Sharia and the Arabic language, and he preached at the Umayyad Mosque and taught in the corner of Al-Ghazali. He was famous for his knowledge until he reached out to students from the country, which led to his incarceration. He then migrated to Egypt, where he was appointed a judge, and he taught and advised, and was appointed to preach at the Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As, and incited people to fight the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

and the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

, and participated in jihad himself. He died in Cairo in the year 660 AH (1262 AD).

Birth and education

Ibn 'Abd al-Salam was born in Damascus in 577 AH. He received his education in Damascus by such scholars as

Ibn Asakir Ibn Asakir (; 1105–c. 1176) was a Syrian Sunni Islamic scholar, who was one of the most prominent and renowned experts on Hadith and Islamic history in the medieval era. and a disciple of the Sufi mystic Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi. Ibn Asakir was ...

and Jamal al-Din al-Harastani in Sacred law,

Sayf al-Din al-Amidi Sayf al-Din al-Amidi or Muhammad al-Amidi (b. 1156; Diyarbakır - d. 1233 in Damascus) was an influential Muslim jurist. Initially a Hanbalite, Al-Amidi belonged to the Shafi`i school and worked to combine ''kalam'' (theology) with existing metho ...

usul al-Fiqh Principles of Islamic jurisprudence () are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law (''sharia''). Traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence elaborates how the scri ...

and theology, and

Tasawwuf Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

with Suhrawardi and Abul Hasan al-Shadhili.

Imprisonment

In Damascus, as sermon giver ( khatib) of the

Umayyad Mosque The Umayyad Mosque (; ), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. Its religious importance stems from the eschatological reports ...

, he openly defied what he considered to be unsanctioned customs followed by the other sermon givers: he refused to wear black, refused to say his sermons in

saj' Saj' () is a form of rhymed prose defined by its relationship to and use of end-rhyme, meter, and parallelism. There are two types of parallelism in saj': ''iʿtidāl'' (rhythmical parallelism, meaning "balance") and ''muwāzana'' (qualitative m ...

rhymed prose and refused to praise the princes. When al-Salih Ismail, Emir of Damascus, made capitulatory concessions to

Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (, ; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was the ...

during the

Barons' Crusade The Barons' Crusade (1239–1241), also called the Crusade of 1239, was a crusade to the Holy Land that, in territorial terms, was the most successful crusade since the First Crusade. Called by Pope Gregory IX, the Barons' Crusade broadly embodie ...

, ibn 'Abd al-Salam condemned him from the pulpit and omitted mentioning him in the post-sermon prayer. He was consequently jailed and upon release emigrated to Ayyubid Egypt.

Egypt

Having left Damascus, Ibn 'Abd al-Salam settled in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

where he was appointed chief judge and Imam of the Friday prayer, gaining such public influence that he could (and did) command the right and forbid the wrong with the force of the law. Ibn 'Abd al-Salam later resigned from the judiciary and undertook a career as a teacher of Shafi'i law at the Salihiyya, a college founded in the heart of Cairo by al-Malik al-Salih which had then barely been completed and which was, in Egypt, the first establishment providing instruction in the four rites. The biographers indicate that he was the first to teach Qur'anic commentary in Egypt. Ibn 'Abd al-Salam's exploits eventually earned him the title ''Sultan al-'Ulema'' (Sultan of the scholars).

Name and Lineage

According to the consensus of scholars and the consensus of the approved sources, His name was Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Salam bin Abi Al-Qasim bin Hassan bin Muhammad bin Mudhahb.العز بن عبد السلام، محمد الزحيلي
� ص40-41

Works

He produced a number of brilliant works in Shafi'i jurisprudence, Qur'anic jurisprudence

tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

, methodological fundamentals in Sacred Law, formal legal opinion, government and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

though his main and enduring contribution was his masterpiece on Islamic legal principles . Some of his more popular works are on: Qur'aan #Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim, #Mukhtasar al-Nukat wa'l 'Uyun lil Imam al-Mawardi, #Al-Isharah ila al-Ijaz, #Fawa'id fi Mushkil al-Qur'an #Amali Hadith / Sirah #Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim, #Bidayat al-Sul fi Tafdhil al-Rasul; available in its translated form as The Beginning of The Quest of the High Esteem of the Messenger #Targhib Ahl al-Islam fi Sakni al-Sham, Aqeedah #Al-Mulhat fi I'tiqad Ahl al-Haqq or by its other title; al-Radd 'ala al-Mubtadi'ah wa'l Hashawiyah; transmitted by his son 'Abd al-Latif. #Al-Farq bayn al-Iman wa'l Islam or Ma'na al-Iman wa'l Islam, #Al-Anwa' fi 'ilm al-Tawhid, #Bayan Ahwal al-Nas yawm al-Qiyamah, Tasawwuf / Raqa'iq #, #Al-Fitan wa'l Balaya wa'l Mihan, #Mukhtasar Ra'ayah al-Muhasibi or Maqasid al-Ri'ayah li Huquqillah, Usool #Qawa'id al-Kubra or by its full title; Qawa'id al-Ahkam fi Masalih al-Anam. Its popular commentary is available by Imam al-Qarafi who was one of his students. #Al-Qawa'id al-Sughra, or al-Fawa'id fi Mukhtasar al-Qawa'id; is an abridgement of the above title. #Al-Imam fi Bayan Adillat al-Ahkam, or ad-Dala'il al-Muta'aliqah bi'l Mala'ikah wa'l Nabiyin, Fiqh #Al-Ghayah fi Ikhtisar al-Nihayah; is an abridgement of Nihayat al-Matlab fi Dirayat al-Madhab of imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni. #Al-Jam' bayaan al-Hawi wa'l Nihayah; not known to have finished it. Al-Fatawa al-Misriyyah, Al-Fatawa al-Musiliyyah, At-Targhib 'an Salat al-Ragha'ib, or by another title; al-Targhib 'an Salat al-Ragha'ib al-Mawdu'ah wa bayan ma fiha min Mukhalafat al-Sunan al-Mashru'ah, or by another title; Risalat fi Dhamm Salat al-Ragha'ib. #Risalat fi Radd Jawaz Salat al-Ragha'ib or by the title of Risalat fi Tafnid Radd Ibn al-Salah, #Maqasid al-Sawm, #Manasik al-Hajj, #Maqasid al-Salah, #Ahkam al-Jihad wa Fadha'ilihi,

Reception

Zaki al-Din al-Mundhiri, the Shafi'i jurist, hadith expert and author stated that, "We used to give legal opinions before ''shaykh'' 'Izz al-Din arrived; now that he is among us we no longer do so." Qarafi describes Ibn 'Abd al-Salam as a "staunch defender of the sunna who had no fear of those in power." A number of sources report that Ibn 'Abd al-Salam reached the level of

ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' ( ...

transcending the Shafi'i madhab altogether.

Death

He died in Cairo in 660 AH.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam Asharis Shafi'is Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Supporters of Ibn Arabi Mujaddid 1180s births 1262 deaths 13th-century jurists 13th-century Arab people 12th-century Arab people 12th-century Syrian people People from Damascus Muslim scholars persecuted by Hanbalis