Al-Hattab

Muhammad Abu 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad at-Tarabulsi al-Hattab al-Ru'yani (May 21, 1497 – 1547 CE) (902 AH – 954 AH) (Arabic: محمد أبو عبدالله بن محمد الحطاب الرعيني‎‎), more commonly referred to in Islamic scholarship as al-Hattab or Imam al-Hattab, was a 16th-century CE Muslim jurist from Tripoli, the capital of modern-day Libya. Al-Hattab was a scholar of the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). His book Mawahib al-Jalil, which was one of the first major commentaries on Khalil's Mukhtassar (Concise Text), is considered as one of the best and most thorough commentaries in the Maliki school of law.^[1]

Life

The Hattab Zawiya and Mosque in Tajura, Libya, where al-Hattab's father Muhammad ibn Abdur-Rahman is buried. The two are often mistaken in books of Islamic law as both have the same first and last name and both were accomplished jurists. The actual burial place of al-Hattab is unknown.

Al-Hattab was born in Mecca on the 18th of Ramadan (the Muslim holy month of fasting) in 902 AH (May 21, 1497 CE). His lineage was from the Andalusian Ru'yani family, which immigrated from Andalusia to Tripolitania and was known for its scholars.^[2] His father of the same name Muhammad al-Hattab emigrated to Mecca with his entire family during the weakening of the Hafsid dynasty's rule in Tripoli before the conquest of North Africa by Habsburg Spain. Al-Hattab is sometimes referred to as al-Hattab al-Saghir (Al-Hattab the Younger) to differentiate him from his father, and was the oldest of his three children. He is also sometimes known as Hattab al-Abb (Hattab the Father), whilst his father is Hattab al-Jadd (Hattab the Grandfather), and his most famous son Yahya who was also a scholar is known as Hattab al-Ibn (Hattab the Son).

Al-Hattab initially studied under his father, who held a religious title in Mecca. He learned the Quran from a young age. He also studied hadith under the direct students of some of the most important scholars in Islamic history such as al-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and al-Sakhawi. Muhammad studied most of the other Islamic sciences from his father however, who was himself a respected scholar in his own right and a student of Al-Sakhawi. Al-Hattab took his fiqh (jurisprudence) in particular from his father, a field in which he was to later excel and become famous. He studied many texts under his tutelage including the Muwatta of Imam Malik, the Mudawwana of Sahnun, the Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd, the Tamhid of Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, the Muqaddimaat of Ibn Rushd, the Dhakira of al-Qarafi, the Sharh al-'Umda of al-Fakihani, the Mukhtassar of Khalil as well as many other prime texts of the Maliki school.^[3]

Al-Hattab later began a period of travel through the Islamic world both East and West. He spent a period of time studying in Egypt in particular but later moved back to Tripoli with his father. When he returned to Tripoli, his study circles became so popular that many Sufis in the city preferred to attend his lessons over their sessions of remembrance (dhikr).^[4] He spent much of his time taking care of his father during this period of his life. Al-Hattab died at a relatively young age, and there are different accounts as to where he actually died, whether in Mecca or in Tripoli.

His intellectual legacy is best embodied in his works of Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh). His Mawahib al-Jalil in particular is one of the important texts in Maliki fiqh and is widely regarded as the best commentary on the Concise Text of Khalil. Another of his famous works is Qurrat al-'Ayn, which is a short text that expounds on the Waraqat of Imam al-Juwayni, a key text in Usul (Islamic Legal Methodology).

References

1. ↑ Nasir ud-Deen Muhammad al-Sharif, Al-Jawahir al-Ikliliya fi A'yaan 'Ulama Libya min al-Malikiyya (Amman: Dar al-Bayareeq, 1999), 144.
2. ↑ Ahmed Mustafa al-Tahtawi, ed., Imam al-Hattab, Qurrat al-'Ayn li Sharh Waraqaat Imam al-Haramayn, (Cairo: Dar al-Fadhila, 2007), 9.
3. ↑ Tahtawi, Qurrat al-'Ayn, 10.
4. ↑ [Al Qawl al Wadhih fi Bayan al Jawarih, 22]

Muslim Scholars of the Maliki School
2nd Islamic Century (100 - 199 AH) (8th century CE)	Malik ibn Anas (founder of the school) Ibn al-Qasim Ibn Wahb Ibn Bashir Ali ibn Ziyad
3rd Islamic Century (200 - 299 AH) (9th century CE)	Ashhab Ibn Nafi' Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam Asad ibn al-Furat Ibn al-Majishun Ibn Nafi' az-Zubayri Ibn Maslama al-Makhzumi Mutarrif Ibn Maslama al-Qa'nabi Yahya al-Laithi Al-Asbagh Ibn Habib Sahnun Al-'Utbi Ibn Sahnun Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Hakam Ibn al-Mawwaz Qadi Isma'il
4th Islamic Century (300 - 399 AH) (10th century CE)	Ibn al-Jallab Ibn Sha'ban Ibn Shiblun Al-Abhari Ibn Abi Zayd
5th Islamic Century (400 - 499 AH) (11th century CE)	Al-Baqillani Ibn 'Abd al-Barr Al-Baji Al-Lakhmi Qadi 'Abd al-Wahhab
6th Islamic Century (500 - 599 AH) (12th century CE)	Ibn Rushd al-Jadd At-Turtushi Sanad ibn 'Inan Al-Maziri Qadi Ayyad Averroes Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi
7th Islamic Century (600 - 699 AH) (13th century CE)	Ibn Shas Ibn al-Hajib Ibn Daqiq al-Eid al-Qurtubi al-Qarafi
8th Islamic Century (700 - 799 AH) (14th century CE)	Ibn al-Haj Ibn Farhun Ash-Shatibi Ibn Juzayy Khalil ibn-Ishaq Al-Fakihani
9th Islamic Century (800 - 899 AH) (15th century CE)	Ibn Marzuq Al-Mawwaq Ibn 'Arafa Ibn Khaldun Ahmad Zarruq
10th Islamic Century (900 - 999 AH) (16th century CE)	Al-Akhdari At-Tata'i Al-Hattab 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Ujhuri Nasir ud-Deen al-Laqqani Ali ibn Qasim al-Zaqqaq Al-Wansharisi
11th Islamic Century (1000 - 1099 AH) (17th century CE)	Al-Ujhuri Al-Laqani Az-Zurqani Ibn Ashir Mayyara
12th Islamic Century (1100 - 1199 AH) (18th century CE)	Al-Kharashi Al-'Adawi An-Nafrawi Al-Bannani Ad-Dardir
13th Islamic Century (1200 - 1299 AH) (19th century CE)	Ad-Desouki As-Sawi 'Illish Al-'Adawi
14th Islamic Century (1300 - 1399 AH) (20th century CE)	Abdallah Bin Bayyah Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki Mohamed Taher Ben Achour Mohamed Fadhel Ben Achour Al-Habib Bin Tahir Hamza Yusuf