Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, also known as Ibn al-Suyuti, was a mujtahid imam and reformer of the tenth Islamic century.
Al-Suyuti was a prominent Hadith Master, jurist, Sufi, philologist, and historian, who authored works in virtually every Islamic science.
Early Life & Education
Born to a Turkish mother and a father of Persian origin, Al-Suyuti was born in 849 AH and died in 911 AH in Cairo. His full name was Abd al-Rahman ibn Kamal al-Din Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Sabiq al-Din Jalal al-Din al-Misri al-Suyuti al-Shafi’i al-Ashari.
Al-Suyuti was raised as an orphan in Cairo. He memorized the Qur'an at the age of eight, followed by several complete works of Sacred Law, fundamentals of jurisprudence, and Arabic grammar.
He then devoted his life to studying the Sacred Sciences under approximately 150 sheikhs. Among them were the foremost Shafii and Hanafi sheikhs at the time, such as
Sheikh al-Islam Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, with whom he studied Shafi’i jurisprudence
the Hadith scholar Sheikh al-Islam Sharaf al-Din al-Munawi, with whom he read Qur'anic exegesis and who commented on al-Suyuti's Al-jami al-saghir in a book entitled Fayd al-Qadir
Taqi al-Din al-Shamani, with whom he studied Hadith and the sciences of Arabic
Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli, a specialist in the principles of the law, together with whom he compiled the most widespread, condensed commentary on the Qur'an of our time: Tafsir al-Jalalayn.
the Hanafi sheikh Shihab al-Din al-Sharmisahi
Sheikh Muhyi al-Din al-Kafayji
the Hadith Master Sayf al-Din Qasim ibn Qatlubagha.
In the pursuit of knowledge, al-Suyuti travelled to Damascus, the Hejaz, Yemen, India and Morocco, as well as to centers of learning in Egypt such as Mahalla, Dumyat, and Fayyum.
Teaching Career
Al-Suyuti spent some time as the head teacher of Hadith at the Shaykhuniyya school in Cairo, at the recommendation of Imam Kamal al-Din ibn al-Humam. He then took up the same position at Baybarsiyya, but was dismissed due to complaints from other sheikhs whom he had replaced.
After this, he retired into scholarly seclusion, and did not return to the field of teaching.
For a time al-Suyuti was the head teacher at the Mosque of Al-Zahir Baybars in Cairo - photo by Martyn Smith - CC BY 2.0
Withdrawal from Public Life
Ibn Iyas, in Tarikh Misr, reveals that when al-Suyuti reached forty years of age, he abandoned the company of men for the solitude of the garden of al-Miqyas, by the side of the river Nile, where he avoided his former colleagues as though he had never known them. It was there that he authored the majority of his nearly 600 books and treatises.
Wealthy Muslims and princes would visit him with offers of money and gifts but he rejected them and also refused the Sultan many times when he requested al-Suyuti’s presence. He once said to the Sultan's envoy:
“Do not ever come back to us with a gift, for in truth Allah has put an end to all such needs for us.”
Scholarship, Works, & Legacy
Al-Suyuti was blessed with great success in his years of solitude, and made significant contributions in almost every field of Islamic knowledge.
Among his most prominent works are:
His ten-volume Hadith collection Jam al-Jawami ('The Collection of Collections')
His Qur'anic exegesis Tafsir al-Jalalayn ('Commentary of the Two Jalals') in which he finished the second half of an uncompleted manuscript by Jalal al-Din Mahalli in just forty days
His classic commentary on the sciences of Hadith Tadrib al-Rawi fi Sharh Taqrib al-Nawawi ('The Training of the Hadith Transmitter: An Exegesis of Nawawi's "The Facilitation"')
The editors of Dalil Makhtutat al-Suyuti ('Guide to al-Suyuti's Manuscripts') have listed 723 works to his name.
Examples of his works
Some of al-Suyuti's are brief fatwas which do not exceed four pages, such as his notes on the hadith 'Whoever says: "I am knowledgeable" he is ignorant,' entitled Adhab al-Manahil fi Hadith Man Qala Ana Alim.
The following discussion demonstrates the depth & complexity of al-Suyuti's analysis, even in his shortest works.
Among Imam al-Suyuti’s many works is the brief treatise Tanwir al-Halak fi Imkan Ru’yah al-Nabi wa al-Malak, translated as Shedding Light on the Possibility of Seeing Prophets and Angels (published by IGI 2020)
Al-Tabarani stated that the above hadith, “‘Whoever says: “I am knowledgeable”…’ is only narrated through the chain containing al-Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, which is a weak chain.”
Al-’Ajluni in Kashf al-Khafā' says that this hadith is narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsat from Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, rather than the Prophet ﷺ.
Al-Haytami states in al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyya that this is simply a saying of the tabi'i Yahya ibn Kathir.
For his part, Ibn Kathir cites this hadith from 'Umar رضي الله عنه in his tafsir of the verse:
‘Have you not seen those who praise themselves for purity?’ (Surah al-Nisa’ 4: 49).
Three narrations regarding this hadith are mentioned from ‘Umar رضي الله عنه in Kanz al-’Ummal, but all of them are weak.
Al-’Iraqi in his al-Mughni explains that the part actually attributed to Yahya ibn Kathir is: “Whoever says: ‘I am a believer,’ he is a disbeliever.”
Al-Haythami in Majma’ al-Zawa’id cites from Ibn Kathir, with a weak chain, as follows: “Whoever says: ‘I am knowledgeable,’ he is ignorant, and whoever says: ‘I am ignorant.,’ he is ignorant. Whoever says: ‘I am in Paradise,’ he is in the Fire, and whoever says: ‘I am in the Fire,’ he is in the Fire.”
Al-Haythami further added: “It is established from countless Companions and others that they said they were knowledgeable, and they would not do anything which the Prophet ﷺ had criticized.”
A greater proof of the permissibility of claiming to be knowledgeable is the statement of Yusuf عليه السلام :
However, the narration of al-Layth is confirmed by the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
“Islam shall be on the rise until traders take to the sea [carrying it], and horses charge in the cause of Allah. After that, a people will come and recite the Qur'an, saying: ‘Who recites it better than us? Who is more knowledgeable than us? Who is wiser than us?’ Then he turned to his Companions and asked: ‘Is there any good in such as these?’ They said: ‘Allah and His Prophet know best.’ He said: ‘Those are from among you, O ummah! Those are fodder for the Fire.’”
A reconciling factor between these opinions is that the hadith of Ibn Abi Sulaym applies to those who claim knowledge either undeservedly or proudly, and not to those who act out of sincerity and obligation. Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah said in his Hikam:
“The root of every disobedience, forgetfulness, and desire is contentment with the self, while the root of every obedience, vigilance, and continence is your dissatisfaction with it. That you accompany an ignorant who is not pleased with himself is better for you than to accompany a knowledgeable person who is pleased with himself. And what ignorance is that of one who is dissatisfied with himself? And what knowledge is that of one who is satisfied with himself?”
Selections from al-Suyuti’s The Excellence of Black People (Raf’u Sha’n Al-Ḥubshān) have been translated by Shaykh Muhammad Mendes and Talut Dawood, and published as The Spirits of Black Folk: Sages Through the Ages, with forewords by Shaykh ‘Ubaydallah Evans and Imam Dawud Walid. It is available as part of IGI’s Imam al-Suyuti Book Bundle.
Imam al-Sha’rani in al-’Uhud al-Muhammadiyya (‘The Pledges We Made to the Prophet ﷺ’) made a similar statement:
“The Prophet ﷺ took our pledge that we should not claim to possess knowledge except for a licit cause, and that we should never say: ‘We are the most knowledgeable of people’ neither with our mouths nor with our hearts. How could we say such a thing when we know full well that in our country, let alone our region, there is one who is more knowledgeable than we? But if it is one day ordained for us to claim knowledge, then we must immediately follow this with repentance and ask forgiveness, lest punishment descend on us. This is a problem which no wise person ever faces, for there is no science which one has looked up, except the scholars of knowledge anticipated him and wrote books about it, scholars whose pupil he may not even deserve to be.”
As the above demonstrates, even al-Suyuti’s shortest works are quite complex and thorough. Other works of al-Suyuti, for example Itqan fi ‘Ulum al-Qur'an and Tadrib al-Rawi, are extensive and quite lengthy.
Observations by his students
Al-Suyuti's student and biographer Shams al-Din al-Dawudi al-Maliki, the author of Tabaqat al-Mufassirin al-Kubra, said:
“I saw the sheikh with my own eyes writing and finishing three works in one day which he himself authored and proofread. At the same time, he was dictating hadith and replying beautifully to whatever was brought to his attention.”
Notable Incidents
Al-Suyuti was criticized by some of his contemporaries, particularly in regards to the following:
Incomplete Works & Plagiarism
Al-Sakhawi reproached al-Suyuti for allegedly plagiarizing earlier books.
Others added that the profusion of his works were the reason they were often incomplete, and for the frequency of flaws and contradictions in them.
It should be noted that similar charges are commonly made against highly prolific authors, such as Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyyah.
Dispute with his teacher, al-Sakhawi
Imam al-Suyuti's Ma Rawahu al-Asatin fi 'Adami al-Maji'i ila al-Salatin argues that it is generally blameworthy for scholars to associate with rulers. It has been published by IGI as All the Sultan's Men, with translation by Talut Dawood.
It should also be noted that there was some animosity between al-Suyuti and his sheikh, al-Sakhawi, as exhibited in the former's tract al-Kawi fi al-Radd ala al-Sakhawi ('The Searing Brand in Refuting al-Sakhawi') and his unflattering mention in the poem Nazm al-'Iqyan fi A'yan al-A'yan.
Defense of Ibn 'Arabi
When one of his sheikhs, Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn Umar al-Biqai (d. 885), attacked Ibn Arabi in a tract entitled Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn ‘Arabi ('Warning to the Dolt That Ibn Arabi is an Apostate'), al-Suyuti countered with a tract entitled Tanbih Al-Ghabi fi Takhti'a Ibn ‘Arabi ('Warning to the Dolt That Faults Ibn ‘Arabi'). Both epistles have been published. In his reply, al-Suyuti states that he considers Ibn ‘Arabi a Friend of Allah whose writings are forbidden to those who read them without first learning the technical terms used by the Sufis. He cites from Ibn Hajar's list in Anba' al-Ghumr, the trusted scholars who kept a good opinion of Ibn Arabi or counted him a wali:
Ibn Ata' Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709)
al-Yafii (d. 678), Ibn Abd al-Salam after the latter's meeting with al-Shadhili
Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Malwi al-Tilimsani (d. 776)
Siraj al-Din Abu Hafs Umar ibn Ishaq al-Hindi al-Hanafi (d. 773) the author of Sharh al-Hidaya and Sharh al-Ayni
Najm al-Din al-Bahi al-Hanbali (d. 802)
al-Jabarti (d. 806)
the major lexicographer al-Fayruzabadi (d. 818)
Shams al-Din al-Bisati al-Maliki (d. 842)
al-Munawi (d. 871)
many others.
Of note regarding the above is the abundant use of Ibn Arabi's sayings by al-Munawi in his commentary of al-Suyuti's Jami al-Saghir entitled Fayd al-Qadir, and by Fayruzabadi in his commentary on Bukhari's al-Sahih.
Creed & Spiritual Lineage
Al-Suyuti was Ash'ari in his doctrine, as is shown in many of his works. In Masalik al-Hunafa fi Walidayy al-Mustafa ('Methods Of Those With Pure Belief Concerning the Parents of The Prophet ﷺ') he says:
One of the works included in IGI’s Al-Khasa’is al-Muhammadiyya wa Sharaf al-Umma al-Nabawiyya is Imam al-Suyuti’s Unmūdhaj al-Labīb fi Khasa’is al-Habib ﷺ
“The parents of the Prophet ﷺ died before he attained Prophethood, and there is no punishment for them. The Qur’an says
‘We never punish until We send a messenger [whom they reject]’ (al-Isra’ 17: 15).
Our Ash'arī Imams, among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh, agree on the statement that one who dies while da’wah has not reached him, dies saved. This has been explained by Imam al-Shafi’i as follows: ‘some of the fuqaha' explained that the reason for the above is, such a person follows fitra (primordial disposition), and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger.”
Al-Suyūṭī was taken to task for his claim that he was capable of independent scholarly exertion or ijtihad mutlaq. He explained:
“I did not mean that I was similar to one of the Four Imams, but only that I was an affiliated mujtahid (mujtahid muntasib). For, when I reached the level of tarjih or distinguishing the best fatwa inside the school, I did not contravene al-Nawawi's tarjih. And, when I reached the level of ijtihad mutlaq, I did not contravene al-Shafi’i’s school.”
He continued:
“There is no one in our time, on the face of the earth, from East to West, more knowledgeable than me in Hadith and the Arabic language, save al-Khidr or the Pole of saints or some other wali - none of whom do I include into my statement - and Allah knows best.”
He also said:
“When I went on hajj, I drank Zamzam water for several matters. Among them was that I reach the level of Sheikh Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini in fiqh, and in hadith, that of Hafiz Ibn Hajar.’”
Al-Suyuti’s chain of transmission in tasawwuf goes back to Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Al-Suyuti belonged to the Shadhili tariqa, which he eulogized in his brief defence of tasawwuf entitled Tashyid al-Haqiqa al-Aliyya. In the book, he states:
“I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shariah have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not.’”
In the Tashyid, al-Suyuti produces narrative chains of transmission proving that al-Hasan al-Basri did in fact narrate directly from ʿAli ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه. This goes against the commonly received opinion among the scholars of hadith, although it was also the opinion of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
Southern Cemetary in Cairo with mausoleum of Amir Qawsun, which contains the resting place of Imam al-Suyuti, on left - by Casual Builder, used with permission - CC BY-SA 4.0
Death
A giant among contemporary scholars, he produced a sustained output of scholarly writings until his death at the age of sixty two. He was buried in Hawsh Qawsun in Cairo.
In the introduction to his book entitled al-Riyad al-Aniqa on the names of the Prophet ﷺ he said:
“It is my hope that Allah accepts this book and that through this book I shall gain the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ. Perhaps it shall be that Allah makes it the seal of all my works, and grants me what I have asked Him with longing, regarding the Honorable One.”
Many of al-Suyuti's works in print are found in the Arabic collection of Princeton University in New Jersey, USA.
This article was adapted from the work of Dr. Gibril Fouad Haddad
IGI Patreon members get early access to as-yet-unpublished translations and manuscripts.
The three works of al-Suyuti that have been published by IGI thus far are available in the IGI Bookstore’s Imam al-Suyuti Book Bundle.