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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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Summary of the Book:

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*Ramadan: Events and Lessons*

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The Death of Imam al-Muzani

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Time: Six days remaining in the month of Ramadan,

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In the year 264 AH.

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Beneficial knowledge is among the righteous deeds that continue to benefit its possessor after their death.

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This is achieved by leaving behind an authored or endowed book,

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Or students who teach that knowledge to the people,

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Or legal verdicts (fatawa) from which creation benefits through the clarification of rulings and the resolution of complex issues.

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This falls under the statement of Allah Almighty:

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“Lo! We it is Who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before (them, and their footprints. And all things We have kept in a clear Register.” (36:12)

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On the authority of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him),

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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

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"When a human being dies, his deeds come to an end except for three:

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A continuous charity, knowledge from which benefit is derived,

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Or a righteous child who prays for him."

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Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

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"The scholars said the meaning of the hadith is

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That the deceased's own actions cease upon his death,

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And the renewal of reward for him stops, except in these three things,

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Because he was the cause behind them.

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For a child is from his own earning,

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And likewise the knowledge he leaves behind through teaching or authoring,

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As well as continuous charity, which is the endowment (waqf).

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In this hadith lies the virtue of marriage in the hope of having a righteous child—

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And the explanation of the varying circumstances of people regarding marriage has been mentioned previously,

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Which we clarified in the Book of Marriage—

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And in it is proof for the validity of the principle of religious endowment and its immense reward,

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Along with a clarification of the virtue of knowledge, encouragement to acquire it abundantly,

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And incentive to pass it on through teaching, authoring, and elucidation;

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And that one should select from the sciences those that are most beneficial, then the next most beneficial."

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Indeed, it is a great blessing for a scholar

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To have an outstanding, righteous student

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Who carries his knowledge after his death,

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Thereby benefiting the people with it,

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Immortalizing his knowledge, his memory, and supplications for him after he is gone,

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So that he remains alive through that, even while in his grave.

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This is among the reasons that prompt scholars to pay great attention to choosing their students

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And to bestow immense care upon the most virtuous among them,

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In hopes of attaining that desired benefit.

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Among those fortunate scholars blessed with brilliant students

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Was Imam al-Shafi'i,

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Who left behind from his students an outstanding scholar:

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Imam al-Muzani,

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Who transmitted the knowledge and fiqh of his master to the Ummah,

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To the extent that al-Shafi'i said of him during his lifetime:

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"Al-Muzani is the champion of my school of thought."

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Thus al-Shafi'i's statement about him was fulfilled

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After his death.

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Abu al-Hasan ibn 'Abd al-Salam said:

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"The jurist Abu Ishaq narrated to us,

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Saying: 'As for al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him),

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His jurisprudence was passed down to his companions,

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Among whom was Abu Ibrahim

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Isma'il ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il

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Ibn 'Umar ibn Ishaq al-Muzani.'"

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Al-Dhahabi said: "A vast number of scholars acquired knowledge from him,

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And through him, the school of Imam al-Shafi'i spread across the horizons."

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Al-Muzani's Name, Lineage, and Birth (may Allah have mercy on him):

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He is the eminent Imam, the jurist of the Muslim nation,

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The paragon of ascetics, Abu Ibrahim

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Isma'il ibn Yahya ibn Isma'il

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Ibn 'Umar ibn Muslim

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Al-Muzani al-Nasri, the student of al-Shafi'i.

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As for 'al-Muzani',

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This attribution is to Muzaynah bint Kalb,

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Which is a large, well-known tribe.

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He was born in Egypt

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In the year of the death of al-Layth ibn Sa'd,

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In the year 175 AH.

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His Knowledge and the Scholars' Praise for Him (may Allah have mercy on him):

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Imam al-Muzani possessed abundant knowledge, comprehensive fiqh,

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And a powerful command

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Of understanding.

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His primary devotion was to fiqh over other branches of knowledge;

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Thus, he narrated few hadiths,

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But he was a leading authority in fiqh.

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He did not have many teachers;

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Rather, his steadfast companionship with al-Shafi'i was his defining state.

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He narrated hadith from al-Shafi'i,

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'Ali ibn Ma'bad ibn Shaddad,

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And Nu'aym ibn Hammad.

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However, he had many students who studied under him,

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Among whom were the Imam of Imams,

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Abu Bakr ibn Khuzaymah,

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Abu al-Hasan ibn Jawsa,

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Abu Bakr ibn Ziyad al-Naysaburi,

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Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi

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(His nephew),

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Abu Nu'aym ibn 'Adi,

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'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim,

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And Abu al-Fawaris ibn al-Sabuni,

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Alongside a vast multitude from the East and the West.

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May Allah have mercy on him, he possessed exceptional skill in argumentation and debate,

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To the extent that al-Shafi'i was reported to have said of him:

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"If he were to debate Satan, he would defeat him."

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Ibn Khallikan said of him:

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"He was an ascetic, a scholar, a mujtahid, a master of argument,

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And a deep diver into subtle meanings.

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He is the leader of the Shafi'is,

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The most knowledgeable of them regarding his methodology, his legal verdicts, and what is transmitted from him."

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He (may Allah have mercy on him) was a scholar deeply grateful to Allah for His grace in granting him knowledge and understanding;

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Whenever he finished a legal issue and recorded it in his concise summary,

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He would step up to the prayer niche and perform two rak'ahs

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Out of gratitude to Allah Almighty.

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Perhaps this was among the reasons blessing was placed in his *Mukhtasar*, as will come.

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Al-Bukhari followed a similar practice,

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But before placing any hadith into his *Sahih*.

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Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firabri said:

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"Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari said to me:

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'I never included a hadith in the book *Al-Sahih*

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Except that I performed a ritual bath before it and prayed two rak'ahs.'"

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He also said:

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"I did not enter any hadith into the *Sahih*

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Except after seeking Allah Almighty's guidance through prayer (istikharah) and becoming certain of its authenticity."

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Through this and other reasons, blessing was placed in *Sahih al-Bukhari* (may Allah have mercy on him).

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His Worship and Devotion (may Allah have mercy on him):

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Beneficial knowledge, when it touches the inner recesses of a person's heart,

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Engenders a deep devotion to acting upon it

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And applying it toward doing good and avoiding evil.

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Such was Imam Abu Ibrahim;

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His knowledge clothed him in detachment from worldly affairs and devotion to the Hereafter,

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So he became renowned among the people for his asceticism, scrupulous piety, and God-fearing nature.

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'Umar ibn 'Uthman al-Makki said:

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"I have not seen anyone among the devoted worshippers—despite the vast number I have met—

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More intense in striving than al-Muzani,

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Nor more constant in worship than him.

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And I have never seen anyone who held knowledge and its people in greater honor than he did."

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He was among the strictest of people with himself regarding scrupulous piety,

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Yet the most lenient and accommodating with others in that regard.

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He used to say:

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"I am merely a single trait from the character of al-Shafi'i."

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His Writings (may Allah have mercy on him):

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Imam al-Muzani (may Allah have mercy on him) authored numerous works,

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Most of which were in fiqh and the issues of the school of thought.

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Among those works are:

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*Al-Jami' al-Kabir*, *Al-Jami' al-Saghir*, *Al-Manthur*,

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*Al-Masa'il al-Mu'tabarah*, *Al-Targhib fi al-'Ilm*,

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And *Kitab al-Watha'iq*.

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However, his most famous and far-reaching book,

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And the one most extensively commented upon by the scholars of the school,

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Is his abridgment,

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Known as *Mukhtasar al-Muzani*.

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The people of knowledge praised it

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And spoke of its widespread dissemination among the people.

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Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Surayj said:

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"*Mukhtasar al-Muzani* leaves this world as an untouched virgin;

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It is the foundation of all authored books in the school of al-Shafi'i (may Allah be pleased with him).

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According to its layout they arranged their works,

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And its text they explained and commented upon."

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Al-Dhahabi said:

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"The lands were filled with his *Mukhtasar* in fiqh,

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And several prominent scholars wrote commentaries on it,

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To the extent that it was said:

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A virgin bride would have a copy of *Mukhtasar al-Muzani* as part of her bridal trousseau."

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His Death (may Allah have mercy on him):

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Al-Muzani's life was prolonged,

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And people benefited greatly from his knowledge and writings.

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After that long life spent in acquiring knowledge and acting upon it,

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Death came to him in Egypt in Ramadan,

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With six days remaining in the month,

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In the year 264 AH,

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At the age of eighty-nine.

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He was buried near the tomb of Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah be pleased with him)

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In the Lesser Qarafah cemetery,

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At the foot of Mount Muqattam.

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May Allah Almighty have mercy upon him.

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*Ramadan: Events and Lessons*