The Life Of ‘Abdullah Ibn Al-Mubarak

Farhia Yahya
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 46 | Size: 1 MB

The pages of our Islamic history and heritage are filled with the lives of men and women whose influence on our history can only be retold by history itself. They served as beacons of light, illuminating the path set by this Ummah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam), and yet they were the heroes who protected this very path. Their interests didn’t lie in worldly gain nor were their efforts for selfish reasons but they worked hard in sincerity and under burden to deliver this message of Islam to you and I. They strove day and night purifying their societies and correcting what had become corrupt in this Ummah. They were true ‘ubbaad (slaves) of Allah who had put the Hereafter before their eyes and hence worked only towards this one goal.

Their nights were not the same as ours, nor are our days comparable to theirs – and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that a lifetime of ours could not equal a number of their days in virtue and achievement. For they were a people who valued time, knew how to live fully and work hard in ease and under pressure, in poverty and in health. They knew no bounds when it came to aiding the religion of Allah and they refused to acknowledge any limits to their efforts and struggles. They were the Companions, the Tabi’in (successors), the Atba’ al- Tabi’in (successors of the Tabi’in), they were the righteous of this Ummah in the past and they are to be the righteous of those to come.

From amongst such figures are those who excelled in certain fields be they in leadership, scholarship, political thought, arts of war, business and literature to name but a few. You could say that one was a leading figure in such-and-such field; another would be an Imam on a different platform. However, rarely has history in the post Prophethood era witnessed personalities who had gathered all these characteristics and succeeded across numerous fields and avenues. Rarely has it witnessed lives that were so enriched and yet enriching, so influential and inspiring, so powerful and empowering, so humble and yet so humbling.

One of these rarities lies in the very being of that scholar from Khurasan, the Mujahid between the army ranks, the faqeeh (jurist) and muhaddith (narrator) of his time, the righteous ‘aabid (worshipper) of his Lord, the successful merchant across cities, the well-known zahid (ascetic), the poet and writer, the grammarian and linguist, the respected and the leader of the Pious – ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak.

But who was ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak? Who is he about whom Isma’il ibn ‘Ayyash, the scholar of al-Sham said, “There is none like ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak on the face of this earth, nor do I know of a single good characteristic created by Allah except that He has put it in ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak.”

Let us delve into learning more about the life of this man whose input into Islamic Scholarship and history still benefits not just the masses today, but even the heirs to Prophethood; the scholars themselves.

Mukhtasar Al-Quduri

Imam al-Quduri
Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 182 | Size: 1 MB

Brief Biography of Imam al-Quduri. He is Abu’l-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja`far ibn Hamdan al-Quduri al-Baghdadi, the Hanafi jurist, born 362 AH.  Al-Quduri is an ascription to the selling of pots (qudur). Abu’l-Hasan al-Quduri took his knowledge of fiqh from Abu `Abdillah Muhammad ibn al-Jurjani, from Abu Bakr al-Razi, from Abu’l-Hasan al-Karkhi, from Abu Sa`id al-Barda`i from `Ali al-Daqqaq, from Abu Sahl Musa ibn Nasr al-Razi, from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, from Abu Hanifah, from Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman, from Ibrahim al-Nakha`i, from `Alqamah, from `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and his Household and grant them all peace). Al-Quduri was one of the ashab al-tarjih (jurists who weighed and analyzed the strengths of differing verdicts in the madhhab).  The leadership of the Hanafis in `Iraq came to rest with him, and his renown rose.  His mention recurs in the well-known Hanafi books al-Hidayah and al-Khulasah.  He died on 15th Rajab 428 AH in Baghdad, and was buried in his home, but was later transported and buried beside Abu Bakr al-Khawarizmi, another Hanafi jurist.

He authored: al-Mukhtasar, the fiqh summary bearing his name. Sharh Mukhtasar al-Karkhi, al-Tajrid, in seven volumes, encompassing the disagreed issues between the Hanafis and Shafi`is. al-Taqrib, also in issues of disagreement, a summary which he compiled for his son, and other works.

Perhaps al-Quduri’s most famous work, Al-Mukhtasar is also known as al-Kitab.  The number of issues it addresses is 12,500, spanning the entire spectrum of fiqh, for the book covers not only matters of worship, but also business transactions, personal relations and penal and judicial matters.  Abu `Ali al-Shashi said about the book, “Whoever memorizes this book is the best accomplished of our associates in memorization, and whoever understands it is the best accomplished of our associates in understanding.” As is common with fiqh summary texts (mutun, singular : matn), the book generally does not make a point of providing evidences and derivations of the regulations.  The bases and reasonings behind the verdicts presented can be pursued in more advanced books of the madhhab, and also require some knowledge of usul al-fiqh. The traditional method of learning is for young people to first study (and often memorize) a basic matn, then later go back and study each issue in more detail, and/or along with the evidences. It is related that when al-Quduri wrote this book, he carried it with him to the Ka`bah, and hung it from its curtains.  He asked Allah the Exalted to bless him in it, and this prayer was apparently fulfilled. The book is recognized and respected as a reliable book of the school, and has had various commentaries written on it.  Along with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan’s Al-Jami` al-Saghir, it formed the nucleus of al-Marghinani’s widely-renowned Al-Hidayah – which itself was commentated on by numerous scholars, among the more famous of them Hafiz Badr al-Din al-`Ayni (the author of the commentary on al-Bukhari `Umdat al-Qari) in…

Abdullah Ibn Zubayr The Seventh Caliph

Sheikh Zahir Mahmood

Abdullah ibn Zubayr, the Grandson of Abu Bakr, nephew of Aisha, son of Zubayr ibn Al-Awwam, one of the ten guaranteed Jannah and Asma (known as the one with the two waist belts). Sahaaba (may Allah be pleased with them) would say three things; no one disputed regarding Abdullah ibn Zubayr “His bravery, eloquence and worship”. He was the first child to be born in Medina; upon nobody’s birth were the Sahaaba as happy as upon the birth of Abdullah ibn Zubayr. The Seventh Caliph, his final discussion with his mother is one of the most touching that history has ever captured. It exemplifies the bravery of mother and child.