Taqi-ud-Din ibn Abi An-Nasr was born in AH 577 (1181 CE) in Erbil , Iraq . His father's epithet was As-Salah, and so Taqi-ud-Din was known as Ibn As-Salah. His father was one of the prominent sheikhs in his village. He sent Taqi-ud-Din to a sheikh so that he would memorize the Qur'an and learn tajweed (rules of Qur'anicrecitation).

Knowledge Seeker

Ibn As-Salah took his first lessons in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) from his father. Thereafter, his father sent him to Mosul where he attended the circles (sessions) ofHadith held by Abu Ja`far ibn Ahmad known as Ibn As-Samin.

Ibn As-Salah later frequented the circles of some other learned scholars of Mosul to listen to their lectures on Hadith. He kept close to Sheikh `Imad-ud-Din ibn Yunus, who chose him as his reader. He stayed with Ibn Yunus for a period of time before he started his journey in pursuit of Hadith. He traveled to Humazan, Naisabour,Marw, Baghdad, and Damascus where he received knowledge from prominent scholars and later transmitted what he had learned.

Teacher

One of the most significant aspects of Ibn As-Salah's character is that he was considered a brilliant teacher. Many scholars of his time attained a very high level of knowledge, but not all of them could master the skills of teaching like Ibn As-Salah. This characteristic of his was apparent in his writings and his circles.

His teaching experience started when he settled in Jerusalem and worked as a teacher in As-Salahiyyah School, which was named after the famous Muslim leaderSalah-ud-Din Al-Ayyoubi. Ibn As-Salah drew the attention of a large number of people by virtue of his knowledge and piety.

Preceded by his fame and credit, he moved to Damascus and began teaching in Ar-Ruwahiyyah School. When King Al-Ashraf, the son of King Al-`Adil, established Dar Al-Hadith Al-Ashrafiyyah, one of the most famous Hadith schools, Ibn As-Salah was chosen as its headmaster, and he also was a lecturer therein.

He was assigned the responsibility of teaching in Sett Ash-Sham School, which was founded by Zumurrud Khatun, the wife of Nasir-ud-Din Shirikouh, the ruler of the city of Homs at the time.

The great historian Ibn Khallikan related that Ibn As-Salah visited him in Shawwal AH 632 (May 1235 CE) and stayed at his house for a period of time. According to IbnKhallikan, Ibn As-Salah would do his best in carrying out his duties and many people studied at his circles, such as Ibn Khallikan himself, Fakhr-ud-Din Al-Karji, Zain-ud-Din Al-Fareqi, and others.

His Works

Ibn As-Salah's works were not restricted only to the science of Hadith. He also wrote about other disciplines, such as fiqh and tafseer (exegesis of Qur'an andSunnah). Here, the focus is on his most famous works. It is important to stress that his works were not limited to what we will mention.

Sharh Sahih Muslim was originally printed with the title Syanat Sahih Muslim. It is an explanation of Sahih Muslim and deals with the essential issues that needed clarification, especially those issues relating to authenticating the hadiths, rather than drawing meanings out of them.

AdabAl-Mufti Wal Mustafti is one of the most outstanding books written in this field. It addresses the etiquettes of seeking legal opinions and codes of conduct, as well as the "job requirements" of a mufti (a jurist giving legal opinions). This book stood as a basis on which many other outstanding works were built in that branch of knowledge.

Mushkal Al-Waseet is a critical analysis of Al-Waseet, an important and magnificently organized book of fiqh written by Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali based on the principals of the Shafi`i school of jurisprudence. Mushkal Al-Waseet amends and solves the ambiguities in Al-Waseet.

Fatawa Ibn As-Salah is a compilation of fatwas in various fields given by Ibn As-Salah to his questioners.

Ma`rifat Anwa` `Ulum Al-Hadith is a book of Ibn As-Salah that was translated by Dr. Eerik Dickinson and published with the name An Introduction to the Science ofHadith. It is considered a masterpiece in the field of Hadith. In this book, Ibn As-Salah compiled, reviewed, and verified the best literature written before his time in the same branch of knowledge.

Ibn As-Salah's Introduction

In writing this book, Ibn As-Salah depended on a number of books of Hadith, especially those of Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi, particularly the book Al-Kifayah. In fact, many scholars asserted that no one had had writings on the basic aspects of the science of Hadith as much as Al-Baghdadi had. Thus, Ibn As-Salah took this into consideration while writing his book.

It should also be noted that Ibn As-Salah's introduction was written in the form of lessons that he had previously prepared for his students. After he had covered all topics, he combined the written material and wrote a preface for it. The book was then copied and distributed around the Muslim World.

Ibn As-Salah's masterpiece found favor with people all over the Muslim world, and more so with the scholars in the time of Ibn As-Salah, as well as the scholars of the following ages. The book won the attention of many scholars. They wrote explanations, compendiums, and poetry on it. It has been considered one of the best works of the scholars of Hadith on the science of the classification of Hadith.

In his book Nuzhat An-Nazar, prominent scholar of Hadith Shihab Ad-Din Ibn Hajar described the attention that Ibn As-Salah's introduction had received. He said, "The poems, compendiums, emendations, explanations, etc. written on Ibn As-Salah'sintroduction are almost unaccountable."

Compendiums and Commentaries

Imam Mohye Ad-Din An-Nawawi, who died in AH 676 (1277 CE), made an abridgment of Ibn As-Salah's book entitled Al-Irshad Ila `Ilm Al-Isnad. He then summarized it in a compendium named At-Taqrib, which was explained by ImamJalal Ad-Din As-Suyuti in Tadreeb Ar-Rawi. As-Suyuti also authored a 1000-line poem (alfiyyah) on Ibn As-Salah's introduction.

Zain-ud-Din Al-`Iraqi also authored an alfiyyah called At-Tabsirah Wal Tazkirahon the introduction. It is considered the best alfiyyah ever written on the science of Hadith. He then produced an explanation of his alfiyyah entitled Fat-h Al-Moghith.

Imam Shams Ad-Din Al-Sakhawi, a disciple of great scholar Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalani, wrote an explanation of Al-`Iraqi's alfiyyah also with the title FatahAl-Moghith. Published in five volumes, it is considered the largest book written on the theoretical aspects of the science of Hadith.

There are also three critical books written on Ibn As-Salah's introduction:

At-Taqyeed Wal Idah by Zain-ud-Din Al-`Iraqi, who died in AH 806 (1403 CE)

An-Nukat ` Ala Kitab Ibn As-Salah by Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalani.

An-Nukat by Badr Ad-Din Az-Zarkashi.

Ibn Hajar's An-Nukat ` Ala Kitab Ibn As-Salah is considered the best of the three. These are only samples of the works written on Ibn As-Salah's introduction.Actually, it is so difficult to mention each and every work written on it, as the works are "almost uncountable," as Ibn Hajar said.

Ibn As-Salah's introduction was so extraordinary that it has made even those who disagreed with his opinions base their literature of the science of Hadith on his introduction. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Ibn As-Salah's introduction was a turning point in the historical development of the science of Hadith.

His Death

Ibn As-Salah died in Damascus at the dawn of Wednesday, Rabi` Thani 25, AH 643 (September 19, 1245 CE). Crowds of people participated in his Funeral Prayer. He was buried in the Sufi cemetery. May Allah have mercy on him and accept his good deeds.

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