Ibn Juzayy

Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Juzayy Al Gharnati (Arabic: أبو القاسم، محمد بن أحمد بن محمد بن عبد الله، ابن جزي الكلبي الغرناطي), better known as Ibn Juzayy (Arabic: ابن جُزَيّ) was an Andalusian Sunni Muslim scholar of Arab origin. He was a distinguished Maliki jurist, legal theoretician, Quran commentator, Quran reciter, hadith scholar, historian, scholar in Arabic, poet, preacher, orator, and a literary figure. He achieved notoriety at a young age, known as a major scholar of his day. He is famed for authoring classical works and for achieving martyrdom during his jihad against the Spanish Christian crusade.

Imam Ibn Juzayy ابن جُزَيّ
Title	Shaykh al-Islam Al-Ḥāfiẓ
Personal
Born	Granada 1294
Died	1340 (aged 45–46) Tarifa
Cause of death	Killed in Battle of Tarifa
Religion	Islam
Era	Middle Ages
Region	Iberian Peninsula
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Maliki
Creed	Ash'ari
Main interest(s)	Tafsir, Qira'at, Hadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, Islamic theology, Legal theory, Arabic, literature, Poetry
Notable work(s)	Al-Tashil li Ulum al-Tanzil Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah Taqrib al-Wuṣul 'ila Ilm al-Usul
Occupation	Scholar, Mufassir, Reciter, Jurist, Traditionist, Theologian, Legal theoretician, litterateur, Poet
Muslim leader
Influenced by Malik Ibn Anas Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari
Influenced Ibn al-Khatib

Lineage

Ibn Juzayy Al-Kalbi ancestry is originally from Yemen. He is a member of the Yemeni tribe called Kalb al-Quda'iyya, and his tribe Banu Kalb reached Andalusia in two ways: The first category was that of governors, which led Anbasa bin Suhaim al-Kalbi to enter in 103 AH as a governor. The second category was that of the conquerors, which Abu all-Khattam Hussam bin Dirar Al-Kalbi entered in 125 AH. All these kinds belonged to a tribe called the Kalb, although Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi's forefathers were among the conquerors. His grandfather, Sultan Abu Bakr Abdul Rahman Ibn Juzayy, was given the position of president and exclusive management of Jaén in the year 539 AH.

Early life

Birth

He was born, on Thursday, the ninth of Rabi' al-Thani, in the year 693 AH corresponding to March 15, 1294 CE, in the city of Granada, the capital of Andalusia at that time.

Education

He came from an illustrious family renown for their knowledge and piety. His father Ahmad Ibn Juzayy (d. 710 AH approximately) was a scholar and a reciter. It was through his family's influence that led him to crave for knowledge.

Ibn al-Khatib said: “He (may Allah have mercy upon him) was sincerely devoted to knowledge, studying, writing, and teaching, and he ventured into different areas of knowledge: Arabic language, Usool al-Fiqh, Quranic modes of recitation, Hadeeth, Arabic literature, and Tafseer. He memorized and comprehended the statements of the earlier scholars and studied many books and references.”

Teachers

His Famous Teachers are:

• Abu Jaʻfar ibn Az-Zubayr
• Abu Al-Hasan ibn Samʻoon
• Abu 'Abdullaah ibn Al-ʻImaad

He also narrated from:

• Abu 'Abdullaah ibn Abi ʻAamir ibn Rabi'
• Abu Al-Majd ibn Abi ʻAli ibn Abi Al-Ahwaz

Scholarly life

Career

After this stage, Ibn Juzayy devoted himself to teaching his students the Qur’an, the rules of its recitation, the readings with their narrations, and he taught them the Hadith, especially the six main Sunni Hadith collections (Kutub al-Sittah), including Muwatta Malik, the Arabic language, interpretation, legal theory and Maliki jurisprudence. He worked early on in writing and he mostly worked in issuing fatwas according to the Maliki school of thought. He was appointed as a preacher and led prayers in the Great Mosque in Granada, despite his young age; people commended his knowledge, righteousness and character.

Students

Many students graduated under him:

• Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib (d. 776 AH),
• Muhammad bin Muhammad Al-Ansari, known as Ibn al-Khashab (d. 774 AH),
• Abu Abdullah Al-Shadid (d. after 776 AH),

And his three sons, they are:

• Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Muhammad Al-Katib (d. 757 AH),
• And Abu Bakr Ahmed bin Muhammad Al-Qadi (d. 758 AH),
• And Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Muhamma

Death

On Jumada al-Awwal 9th, 741 AH corresponding to October 30, 1340 AD, Ibn Juzayy was killed in the Battle of Tarifa at the young age of 46, which took place in southern Andalusia between the Muslim army, consisting of an alliance of the Marinid Sultanate and the Emirate of Granada, and the Christian army, consisting of an alliance of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal. Ibn Juzay was participating with the Muslim army and he was the forefront in vocalizing jihad urging them to fight and stimulating their enthusiasm, but when the battle ended with the defeat of the Muslim armies, Ibn Juzayy was killed and died as martyr.

Works

Ibn Juzayy was a multi-talented writer whose works demonstrate his depth of knowledge and virtue. He has written in a variety of fields, including the science of interpretation, recitation, Arabic, Hadith, history, fiqh, the principles of fiqh, the principles of religion, and a number of poems strewn throughout his works. Despite living a short life, his works have achieved prominence and still widely read till this day.

1. Al-Tashil li Ulum al-Tanzil ["Facilitation of the Sciences of Revelation"], is regarded as one of the best and most authentic interpretations of the Quran.
2. Al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah ["The Laws of Jurisprudence"], a comparative manual of the jurisprudence of the four Sunni madhhabs (Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi`i, Hanbali) with emphasis on the Maliki school and notices of the views of the Ẓāhirī school and others.
3. Taqrib al-Wuṣul 'ila Ilm al-Usul ["The Nearest of Paths to the Knowledge of the Fundamentals of Islamic Jurisprudence"], a popular book on legal theory according to the Maliki school.
4. Wasilah al-Muslim fi tahdzib sahih Muslim ["Al-Muslim's way to refine Sahih Muslim"], a book on hadith.
5. Al-Nur Al-mubayyan, fi qawa’id aqa’id al-Din ["The clear light in the principles of religious beliefs"], a book on beliefs.
6. Al mukhtasar al-bari’ fi qiraat nafi ["The brilliant summary of Nafi's recitation"], a book on qira'at.
7. Usul al-qurra’ al-sittah kgair nafi ["The Six Principles of Recitation of Jir Nafi"], another book on qira'at.
8. Al-fawaid al-‘ammah fi lahn al-‘ammah ["General benefits in the general tune"], a book on grammar
9. Al-dhawaat wa al-Adzkar Al-makhrrjah min Saheeh Al-Akhbar
10. Al-Jawahar Al-Hissan
11. Dictionary of Ibn Juzayy, a biographical collection.

Family

He had three sons. His son Abu Abdullah Ibn Juzayy is mainly known as the writer to whom Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his travels. He wrote "The Travels of Ibn Battuta" (Riḥlat Ibn Baṭūṭah) in 1352-55.

See also

• List of Ash'aris

Bibliography

• Ibn Juzayy, Muhammad ibn Ahmad, Tasfiyat al-qulub fi al-wusul ila hadrat 'Allam al-Ghuyub / li-Ibn Juzayy al-Gharnati ; dirasat wa-tahqiq Munir al-Qadiri Bu Dashish ; taqdim Ahmad al-Tawfiq. al-Tab'ah 1.'' [Casablanca : s.n.], 1998 ISBN 9981-1951-0-3
• M. Isabel Calero Secall, RULERS AND QĀDĪS: THEIR RELATIONSHIP DURING THE NASRID KINGDOM, in: Journal Islamic Law and Society, Volume 7, Number 2 / June, 2000
• Ibn al-Khatib, al-Ihata fi akhbar Gharnata, ed. M. Inan, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1973-77), I, 157-62;
• Ibn al-Khatib, al-Katiba al-kamina, ed. Ihsan Abbas,(Beirut, 1983), 138-43
• Ibn al-Khatib, al-Lamha al-badriyya fi l-dawla al-nasriyya, ed. Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib, 3rd ed. (Beirut, 1978), 116-18
• Al-Maqqari Nafh al-tib min ghusn al-Andalus al-ratib, ed. I. 'Abbas, Beirut, 1968, t. 8, pp. 40-54
• F.Velazquez Basanta, Retrato jatibiano de Abu Bakr Ya'far Ahmad ibn Yuzayy, otro poeta y qadi al-yama'a de Granada. Anales de la Universidad de Cadiz, IX-X (1992-93), 39-51
• Maria Arcas Campoy, Un tratado de derecho comparado: el Kitàb al-Qawànìn de Ibn Juzayy, pp. 49-57, In: Atti del XIII Congresso dell'Union Européenne d'Arabisants et d'Islamisants (Venezia 1986)he was the one who Ibn Battuta dedicated his life and works to.