Abū Hafs Sirāj al-Dīn al-Bulqīnī (; 1324–1403 CE); also known as just Sirajuddin al-Bulqini was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence. Regarded as the foremost 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 ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

of his time. He was known to have reached

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'' ( ...

in the science of jurisprudence. He is a prominent scholar of the famous al-Bulqīnī family, which was an influential dynasty of Shāfiʿī judges, law professors, and administrators in Mamlūk Syria and Egypt. They were renowned for being the house of knowledge, virtue, leadership and generosity.

Early life

He was born in the August 4th of 1324 CE. He memorized the Noble Qur'an when he was seven years old, which was a young age that only a few scholars ever did. He also memorized "Al-Muharir" in jurisprudence, "Al-Kafi" in grammar by Ibn Malik, and Mukhtasar Ibn Al-Hajib in Usul al-Fiqh and "Al-Shatibiyyah" in readings, and many other famous Islamic science books. His hometown is called Bulqini. It is said that the third grandfather of Siraj al-Din, was the first to reside in Bulqini, and that is why he was nicknamed Al-Bulqini which is a village belonging to the center of al-Mahalla al-Kubra, Gharbia Governorate on Tanta Road.

Moving to Cairo

His father brought him to

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 ...

when he was twelve years old. So he sought knowledge and studied under the scholars of his time, he studied under Sheikh al-Makhzumi, Sheikh Shams al-Din, Sheikh Al-Isfahani, others and most prominently Sheikh al-Islam

Taqi al-Din al-Subki Abu Al-Hasan Taqī al-Dīn Ali ibn Abd al-Kafi ibn Ali al-Khazraji al-Ansari al-Subkī (), commonly known as Taqī l-Dīn al-Subkī () was a Sunni Egyptian polymath and foremost leading Shafi'i jurisconsult, traditionist, Quranic exegete, l ...

. He was authorized to issue fatwas when he was fifteen years old. He surpassed his peers and colleagues, and the conditions of jurisprudence met in the correct manner. It was said that he was a " renewer of the ninth century AH", and his elders and colleagues praised him as a young man, and the study of science ended with him in the countries of the earth. Scholars and students came to him from every direction, and fatwas came to him from every side. He married a daughter of the grammarian and jurist Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil.

Career

After his primary education in Egypt. He assumed several positions, including the fatwa of the House of Justice, and he travelled to

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 ...

and was appointed as a

Mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

in the year 769 AH, where he worked for a short period, then returned. He has also served as a lecturer at

Al-Azhar Mosque Al-Azhar Mosque (), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the historic Islamic core of the city. Commissioned as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in 970, it was the first mosque established in a city that ...

. He had a vast number of disciples that the entire Egypt following the Shafi`i school had Ulama who were either his own disciples or disciples of his disciples.

Students

His most popular students were: * Alam al-Din al-Bulqini, his son who was the teacher of

Al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (; 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti, was an Egyptians, Egyptian Sunni Muslims, Muslim polymath of Persians, Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading Hadith studies, muh ...

and

Zakariyya al-Ansari Sheikhul Islam Abū Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad b. Zakariyyā, Zayn al-Dīn al-Sunaykī () also known as Zakariyyā al-Ansārī was an Egyptian Sunni polymath. He is considered the leading specialist in fiqh, usul al-fiqh, hadith, usul al-hadith, taf ...

Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (; 18 February 1372 – 2 February 1449), or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, ...

Badr al-Din al-Ayni Abū Muḥammad Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad ibn Mūsā Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī, often quoted simply as al-'Ayni (; born 26 Ramadan 762 AH/30 July 1360 CE, died 855 AH/1453 CE) was a Sunni Islamic scholar of the Hanafi madh'hab and the Shadhili tariq ...

* Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli * Ibn Nasir al-Dimishqi *

Al-Damiri Al-Damiri (1341–1405), the common name of Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa al-Damiri (), was a Shafi'i Sunni scholar, jurist, traditionist, theologian, and expert in Arabic from late medieval Cairo. He was best known for his writing on Muslim j ...

* Burhan al-Din al-Muhaddith

Death

Imam Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini passed away on Friday the 1st of June in the year 1403 CE. His son, Jalal al-Din, prayed for him and was buried in his school after a long life that he spent in the service of Islam and its sciences. His student Ibn Hajar and others mourned him with long poems.

Works

* ''Tashih al-Minhaj'', an explanation of

Al-Nawawi Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (;‎ (631A.H-676A.H) (October 1230–21 December 1277) was a Sunni Shafi'ite jurist and hadith scholar. Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . Al-Nawawi died at ...

's Minhaj al-Talibin.

Ludwig W. Adamec Ludwig W. Adamec (10 March 1924 – 1 January 2019) was an Austrian scholar on the Middle East and Afghanistan. He was a professor emeritus in the School of Middle East and North African Studies at the University of Arizona.

(2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', pp.238-239. Scarecrow Press. . * ''Sharh al Tirmidhi'', commentary on

Sahih al-Tirmidhi ''Sunan al-Tirmidhi'' () is the fourth hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Islamic scholar al-Tirmidhi in (250–270 AH). Title The full title of the compilation is (). It is shortened to , , , or . The te ...

* ''Musabah al-Manahij'' * ''Litashih al-Murajaea'' * ''Bidayatan Bi-kitab al-Dhabihat Wantha'an Bi-kitab al-Shahadat''

References

{{authority control Asharis Shaykh al-Islāms Mujaddid Egyptian imams Egyptian Sunni Muslims Egyptian Sufis Egyptian theologians Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Sunni imams Shafi'i fiqh scholars 15th-century Egyptian people 15th-century jurists 1324 births 1403 deaths Critics of Ibn Arabi