Imam Taqi al-Din al-Hisni al-Shafi'i

Taqī al-Dīn Abū Bakr ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Mu’min al-Shāfi‘ī (752 – 829 AH), known as Taqī al-Dīn al-Ḥisnī, a descendant of the Prophet ﷺ, was born in southern Syria but relocated and settled in Damascus during his childhood. As a student, he resided at Madrasah al-Bādrā’iyyah and immersed himself in studies. His teachers included Najm al-Dīn Ibn al-Jābī (d. 787 AH), Badr al-Dīn ibn Maktūm (d. 797 AH) and Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ghazzī d. 799 AH).

He lived in the Al-Shaghour neighbourhood of Damascus and married several women. He had only daughters, one of whom married his nephew, and their descendants, known as “Banu Taqī al-Dīn al-Ḥisnī”, still live in Damascus. He also visited Jerusalem and settled there for a short period before returning to Damascus. His most famous work Kifāyat al-Akhyār was completed in the year 808 AH in Jerusalem. He visited Ḥalab in the year 820 AH.

Despite being held in reverence, he had a jovial character and would take his students on outdoor retreats. He was known for his strong condemnations of evil practices and corrupt authorities. He authored books on ‘aqīdah, tafsīr, fiqh, Ḥadith, and taṣawwuf. His Kifāyat al-Akhyār on Shāfi‘ī fiqh is well-known and was praised by al-Sakhāwī as “brilliant to the peak” (ḥasan ila ‘l-ghāyah). (al-Ḍaw’ al-Lāmi‘, 11:83)

Towards the end of his life, he established a Ṣūfī lodge and lived a solitary life devoted to worship and knowledge. His Janāzah was well-attended, led by Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Hasan, his nephew, student, and son-in-law.

Ibn Qāḍī Shahbah (779 – 851 AH) said of him: “There are tales about his renunciation from the dunyā most of which probably won’t be found in the biographies of the major saints. They only preceded him in coming earlier in time. The outcome is that he was from those who combined knowledge and practice. He was an Ash‘arī, with an aversion towards (the deviated) Ḥanbalīs. He spoke openly against them, strongly criticising Ibn Taymiyyah.” (Ṭabaqāt al-Shāfi‘iyyah, 4:76–7)

Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī (773 – 852 AH) said: “He strongly criticised Ibn Taymiyyah. His students acquired this from him, causing much unrest in Damascus. He inclined towards asceticism and was severe in commanding good and forbidding evil. People held him in great reverence.” (Inbā’ al-Ghumar, 3:374)

Al-Sakhāwī (831 – 902 AH) said of him: “His miracles are many and his (noble) states well-known.” (al-Ḍaw’ al-Lāmi‘, 11:83)

Raḍī al-Dīn al-Ghazzī (811 – 864 AH) described him as: “the imām, the scholar, the erudite master, the ascetic, the pious, the worshipper, the scrupulous, the remnant of the pious salaf.” (Bahjat al-Nāẓirīn, p.168) He further said: “It is not hidden to those of perspicacity that he was the friend of Allāh in his time. I met him several times. He loved me and I held a (close) position with him. He prayed for mercy for my father. He conducted lectures at the end of his life in the Umawī Masjid. People rushed to him. I was among those who listened to him. He would deliver nice and accepted speech quoting from the pious predecessors like al-Ḥārith al-Muḥāsibī, Bishr al-Ḥāfī, al-Junāyd, al-Sarī, al-Shiblī and the famous Ṣūfī imāms.” (ibid., p.169–70)

Ibn Khaṭīb al-Nāṣiriyyah (774 – 843 AH) described him as: “a virtuous imām, commanding good and forbidding evil. He disparaged and criticised the worldly folk. He was very critical of Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah. I saw a volume by him in which he refuted Ibn Taymiyyah on the topic of visiting the Prophet’s ﷺ grave. He was respected and held in reverence by the Damascenes to the highest possible limit. Noble decrees would come from the sulṭān for no one to object to him or oppose him in his commanding good and forbidding evil…His Janāzah was well-attended. The elite and the common attended it. He was carried on the necks of great men. The absentee prayer was prayed for him in Ḥalab.” (al-Durr al-Muntakhab fī Takmilati Tārīkh Ḥalab, 2:777)

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