Ibn al-Hajib was born after 1174/5 in the village of Asna in Upper Egypt to a father who worked as a
chamberlain for Emir lzz al-Din Musak al-Salahi. Ibn al-Hajib studied Islamic studies in
Cairo with success, especially with
al-Shatibi and
al-G̲h̲aznawī. According to local documents from the 1210s, he taught in Cairo until about 1220/21 before moving to
Damascus, where he taught at the Maliki
zawiya in the
Great Mosque. He was expelled from Damascus after a dispute with the
Ayyubid ruler of Damascus
As-Salih Ismail between 1240 and 1242. He moved back to Cairo and afterwards
Alexandria and ultimately died in 1249. Students of Ibn al-Hajib include Ibn al-Munayyir who was a teacher of
Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati. == Work ==