Abu Ali ibn al-Banna was born in 1005 (396
AH); his family background is unknown. He appears to have lived in Baghdad his entire life. He married a daughter of
Abu Mansur Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Qirmisini (374-460 AH) and had at least one son with her: Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Banna (434-510 AH), who was the oldest of his sons. He had two other sons: Abu Ghalib Ahmad (445-527 AH) and Abu Abdallah Yahya (453-531 AH); they both went on to become teachers themselves and were among Ibn al-Jawzi's tutors. Ibn al-Banna studied under some of the most renowned Islamic scholars in Baghdad. Many of his teachers also taught
al-Khatib al-Baghdadi. He studied
hadith under
Abu'l-Hasan al-Hammami (one of the most prominent Qur'an scholars of his day),
Hilal al-Haffar,
Ibn Rizqawayh,
Abu'l-Fath ibn Abu'l-Fawaris,
Abu'l-Fadl at-Tamim,
Abu Ali ibn Shihab al-'Ukbari, and the brothers
Abu'l-Husayn ibn Bishran and
Abu'l-Qasim ibn Bishran. His first teacher in
fiqh, or jurisprudence, was
Abu Tahir ibn al-Ghubari, a close friend of
Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi. Ibn al-Banna later became an early student of
Qadi Abu Ya'la ibn al-Farra' al-Hanbali, who influenced him in his views on fiqh and theology. Other people who gave him training as a jurist were
Qadi Abu Ali ibn Abi Musa al-Hashimi, who was highly regarded by the caliphs
al-Qadir and
al-Qa'im, Abu'l-Fadl at-Tamimi, and Abu'l-Fadl's younger brother
Abu'l-Faraj. Ibn al-Banna started teaching while his own teacher, Qadi Abu Ya'la, was still alive. He later came to lead two study circles: one in the Jami al-Qasr and the other at the Jami al-Mansur. The wealthy Hanbali merchant
Abu Abdallah ibn Jarada also hired him to teach at the Masjid Ibn Jarada in east Baghdad, and he was also employed as a special tutor to members of Ibn Jarada's family. Among Ibn al-Banna's students were the Qur'anic scholars
Abu Abdallah al-Bari,
Abu'l-Izz al-Qalanisi, and
Abu Bakr al-Mazrafi, and the hadith scholar
al-Humaydi. He also taught his three sons. Others who studied under him include: •
Abu'l-Husayn ibn Abi Ya'la al-Farra •
Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Baqi •
Ibn al-Husayn •
Abu'l-Qasim ibn as-Samarqandi •
Abu'l-Qasim ibn Abi Ya'la al-Farra (eldest son of Qadi Abu Ya'la) •
Abu's-Su'ud al-Mubarak ibn Talib al-Halawi al-Muqri •
Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Khattab al-Hanbali (aka Ibn Sufan) •
Abu Sa'id Safi ibn Abdallah al-Jammali (a freedman of Ibn Jarada who later taught hadith to both Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Sam'ani) •
Ja'far ibn al-Hasan al-Darzijani •
Abu'l-Ma'ali Ahmad ibn Abi Tahir al-Madhari He died at the age of 75 on 11 January 1079 (5
Rajab 471 AH). Funeral rites were performed at the Jami al-Qasr and the Jami al-Mansur, the two mosques where he had taught, led by
Abu Muhammad at-Tamimi. He was buried at the Cemetery of Bab Harb, with a large crowd in attendance. He was succeeded in his study circles at the Jami al-Qasr and the Jami al-Mansur by his eldest son Abu Nasr Muhammad. == Works ==