Al-Qudoori

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين الصلاة والسلام على نبيه الكريم وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

In the name of Allaah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings upon His noble Prophet, upon his family and all of his companions.

Name and Lineage

He is al-Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Hamdan Abi al-Husayn ibn Abi Bakr al-Qudoori al-Baghdadi. He was born in the year 362 AH in Baghdad. It is said that the attribution "Al-Qudoori" either refers to a city near Baghdad, or a neighbourhood in Baghdad. Otherwise, it refers to the trade of pots, or creating them. And that is either because this was his trade, or one of his forefathers used to have this trade, so they were attributed to it.

His Teachers and Students

Teachers

The biographers mentioned his teachers, and though they were few, they were giants of knowledge and the religion. From them are:

1- Abu al-Husayn 'Ubaydullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ash-Shaybaani, known as al-Hawshabi. He was an Imam, established, and a hadeeth scholar. Al-Qudoori took hadeeth from him.

2- Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Muaddab. He was an Imam and a Hadeeth scholar. Al-Qudoori narrated hadeeth from him, and narrated his Juz' of hadeeth is all narrated through him.

3- Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Mahdi al-Jurjaani al-Hanafi. He was from the great jurists of the Hanafis. He was from the students of Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas. Al-Qudoori learned jurisprudence from him.

Students

Those who were taught under al-Qudoori were many, but the biographers have mentioned some of the famous ones. They are:

1- Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Thaabit al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi. The Imam and hadeeth scholar. One of the great scholars of the Shaafi'is. He had plenty of beneficial books, and the scholars of Hadeeth are dependent on his books.

2- Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi, known as Al-Aqta'. One of the Hanafi jurists. He wrote a famous explanation on his shaykh's book "Al-Mukhtasar".

3- Al-Qaadhi 'Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Muhammad as-Sarakhsi al-Hanafi. He studied under Al-Qudoori and wrote "Takmilah at-Tajreed"

4- Abu al-Qaasim 'Abd al-Waahid ibn 'Ali ibn Burhaan al-'Ukbari. He was a Hanafi jurist, and one of the great scholars of Arabic and lineages.

5- Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ad-Damaaghani al-Kabeer. He was the chief judge [قاضي القضاء], one of the leading jurists of the Ahnaaf. Leadership in the Hanafi school ended with him in his time. It is said he resembled al-Qadhi Abu Yoosuf in humbleness, dignity, authority and intelligence.

6- Abu al-Haarith Muhammad ibn Abi al-Fadhl as-Sarakhsi. He was an imam and jurist.

7- Al-Qaadhi Al-Mufaddhal ibn Mas'ood ibn Muhammad at-Tanookhi an-Nahwi. He learnt jurisprudence under al-Qudoori, and he has a number of works such as, "Reports of the Grammarians" [أخبار النحويين].

His Works

1- At-Tajreed Fi Masaa'il al-Khilaf Bayn al-Hanafiyyah wa'sh Shaafi'iyyah

This work has been published in a verified edition in 12 volumes. The method of al-Qudoori in this book was to begin with the “Book of Purification,” and then proceed through all the chapters of fiqh in the customary order.

However, he only mentions the points of disagreement between the Hanafis and the Shaafi‘is. He starts by presenting the Hanafi view on the issue, then follows it with the Shaafi‘i position. After that, he presents the evidences of the Hanafis, followed by the evidences of the Shaafi‘is along with their critique of the Hanafi proofs. He then discusses these one by one, until he arrives at the point where the Hanafi opinion is preferred.

He began dictating it in the year 405 AH, and at that time he was 43 years old.

2- Sharh Mukhtasar al-Karkhi

Mukhtasar al-Karkhi was written by Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Karkhi to whom the leadership of the Hanafis of his time belonged.

Al-Qudoori expanded greatly in this commentary, presenting evidences, mentioning points of disagreement, and discussing them. This commentary spans several large volumes. It is around five volumes.

3- At-Taqreeb Fi al-Masaa'il al-Khilaafiyyah bayn al-Imam Abi Haneefah wa Ashaabihi

It is in a single volume. It is about the differences of imam Abu Haneefah and his companions. There is another writing of this book where he also goes into their evidences. It spans multiple volumes.

4- Adab al-Qaadhi 'Ala Madhhab Abi Haneefah

5- Al-Mukhtasar

He wrote this book for his son, Abu Bakr Muhammad, who died while he was still young.

One of the main benefits of this Mukhtasar is that al-Qudoori included the legal issues that people commonly face and need, while leaving out rare cases. In this book, he gathered the important issues, covered what often happens, and also mentioned the opinion that is relied upon for giving fatwa. Because of this, his Mukhtasar is free from unnecessary length and also avoids being too brief in a way that would make things unclear.

One of the special praises for this book is that scholars of the madhhab simply call it “the Book" [الكتاب]. So if someone says, “He studied the Book in the Hanafi madhhab,” it is clearly understood that they mean Mukhtasar al-Qudoori.

Al-'Ala as-Samarqandi, the author of Tuhfah al-Fuqaha' said in his book (1/1):

"Know that the Mukhtasar attributed to Shaykh Abu al-Husayn al-Qudoori, may Allaah have mercy on him, brings together many commonly used rulings of fiqh in such a way that they will never become neglected over time. It guides the beginner in most situations and new issues, and it helps the more advanced student rise to higher levels and ranks."

His Scholarly Standing

All those who wrote about Imam al-Qudoori agreed that he was the leading scholar of the Hanafis and their leadership is with him in his time, and they all praised him.

Al-Qudoori had a strong interest in seeking and listening to hadeeth, but he only narrated a small amount. His students narrated hadeeth from him, such as al-Khateeb al Baghdadi and others.

Imam adh-Dhahabi mentions him in Tadhkirah al-Huffaadh (3/191), and said about him,

"The jurist of Iraq.... the shaykh of the Hanafis."

Imam Ibn Katheer said in al-Bidayah (12/31):

"Abu al-Hasan al-Qudoori al-Hanafi, the author of the concise al-Mukhtasar that is memorized, was a brilliant imam, knowledgeable, firm, and an established debater. He was the one who debated Shaykh Abu Haamid al-Isfarayeeni from the Hanafis."

Some of the biographers wrote his kunyah as Abu al-Hasan, however the correct kunyah is Abu al-Husayn.

Imam Yoosuf ibn Taghri Bardi stated in An-Nujoom az-Zaahirah (5/24),

"He is the great scholar and Imam… The status of this imam went beyond limits in knowledge and asceticism."

His student, al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi said about him in at-Tareekh (6/31):

"I wrote from him. He was truthful and was among those who excelled in jurisprudence due to his intelligence. The leadership of the followers of Abu Haneefah in Iraq was for him, and his status and prestige among them increased. He was eloquent in his arguments, fluent in speech, and constantly recited the Quraan."

Abu Sa'd as-Sama'ni in al-Ansaab (10/76) said about him,

"The jurist known as Al-Qudoori, from Baghdad, was a jurist and truthful, among those who excelled in jurisprudence, due to his intelligence and memory."

He then uses the words of Al-Khateeb to describe him.

His Death

He died in Baghdad on Sunday, the 5th of Rajab, and it is also said the middle of Rajab, in the year 428 AH. He lived for sixty-six years. He was buried on the same day he died in his home in Darb Abi Khalaf, as reported by al-Khateeb and as-Sama'ni.

It was reported from some of the reporters which includes Ibn Khallikan in Wafayaat al-'Ayaan (1/79) that he was later moved to a grave in Shaari al-Mansoor and buried there beside Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Moosa al-Khwarezmi al-Faqeeh, the student of Abu Bakr al-Jassas who died in 403 AH.