Ibn al-Salah

Birth Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ was born in the year 1181 CE/577 AH in Sharazor. Education He first studied fiqh with his father in Sharazor, He read Sahih al-Bukhari upon two of his teachers, al-Mayyad ibn Muhammad al-Tusi and Mansur ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Furawi, as well as Al-Sunan al-Kubra, by al-Bayhaqi, upon the latter. ==Scholarly career==

Scholastic specialization While Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ was most recognized for his contribution to the field of hadith, he was well-grounded in a variety of disciplines. Ibn Khallikan described him as being from amongst the exemplary scholars of Quranic exegesis, hadith and jurisprudence, participating in a number of religious disciplines and producing sound religious verdicts. Ibn al-Hajib described Ibn al-Salah as being broad in his knowledge of both primary issues (al-usul) and peripheral (al-furu`). Positions Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ held several positions throughout his life, primarily in the field of education. He taught at the Salahiyyah School in Jerusalem, and then, following the destruction of its city walls, moved to Damascus and taught at the Rawahiyyah School for some time following its inception. Following the foundation of Dar al-Hadith Ashrafiyyah, he became its shaikh and was the first to teach and give verdicts there in the year 530 AH. It was here that he dictated his work Introduction to the Science of Hadith to his students. He was then appointed a teacher at the al-Shamiyyah al-Sughara School. Students Ibn al-Salah had a number of students, some of whom achieved prominence in their own right; from them: • Ibn Khallikan • Ibn Razin • Kamal Ishaq • Kamal Salar • Shams al-Din `Abd al-Rahman Nuh al-Maqdisi • Shihab al-Din Abu Shamah ==Theological position==

Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ clarified his position on philosophy, describing it as: "The basis of foolishness and degeneration, a topic of confusion and misguidance which is motivated by perversion and blasphemy. Whosoever engages in philosophy, has been blinded in his insight into the great aspects of the Sharia corroborated by evidences." Due to his insistence no one was allowed to read the subjects of rhetoric or philosophy in Damascus, a matter which the leaders supported. ==Death==

Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ died on Monday, September 18, 1245 CE/643 AH, at the age of 66. His funeral prayer was performed at the congregational mosque of Damascus, to a crowd so large it required a second prayer to accommodate. He was buried in the Sufiyyah graveyard, now the location of a hospital, a mosque and other buildings. ==Works==

Ibn al-Salah had a number of works the most notable named below in addition to others on individual issues. • ''Ishkalat 'ala al-Wasit'', • Siyanah Sahih Muslim – an explanation of Sahih Muslim of which only the beginning segment is published which al-Nawawi referred to in his own explanation • Numerous fatawa, or religious rulings, described by Abu Shahbah as having "much benefit" • Fawa`id, or benefits, from his travels which consisted of a number of volumes of unusual points of interest in various disciplines which he collected during his travels to Khurasan • Adab al-Mufti wa al-Mustafti—The Etiquette of the One Giving a Verdict and of the One Seeking a Verdict • Nukat `Ala al-Muhadhdhab • Tabaqat al-Fuqaha al-Shafi`iyyah a collection of lesser known Shafi`i scholars of jurisprudence which al-Nawawi abridged and added to. Ibn al-Salah died before completing this work. ==See also==