Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
Translated by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
I often see Shaykh Ali Shabramillisi quoted in the Fatawa; would it be possible to get a brief biography of him?
He was the great Shafi`i scholar of Cairo, Nur al-Din Abu al-Diya `Ali b. `Ali al-Shabramallisi. Muhibbi wrote a biography of him in Khulasat al-Athar fi A`yan al-Qarn al-Hadi `Ashar and went into great detail when mentioning his praiseworthy traits.
Shaykh `Ali al-Shabramallisi was born in the city of “Shabramallis” in Egypt and he lost his eyesight at the age of three years because of a disease that afflicted him. Despite this, he busied himself with learning the religious and ancillary disciplines, and he memorized the major teaching-texts (mutun). He moved to Cairo at a young age in the company of his father and there he met expert scholars in every discipline. He acquired knowledge from the greatest scholars of his age, such as Nur al-Zayyadi, Nur al-Halabi, Burhan al-Laqani, `Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi, and others, until he himself became an expert in what he learned, standing out in his time, and outstripping his contemporaries.
He knew the Quran by memory in all of its ten canonical readings. He also memorized many important teaching-texts (mutun) in various disciplines. In the disciplines of Quran readings and recital, he memorized the Shatibiyyah and the Jazariyyah; in the discipline of Arabic grammar, he memorized the Alfiya of Ibn Malik; in the discipline of Sacred Law, he memorized the five thousand line poem, al-Bahjah al-Wardiyyah, the Minhaj of Imam Nawawi, and Nazm al-Tahrir of `Imriti; in the discipline of inheritance, he memorized the Kifayah and the Rahabiyyah; and he memorized many other texts as well.
He (may Allah be pleased with him) became one of the greatest scholars of his age in all the religious discplines, but especially in the Shafi`i school of Sacred Law. He was someone that the scholars of his age returned to in order to solve difficult issues, and he had a powerful memory and a sharp understanding.
The noble traits that his biographers mention about him include the following.
(1) He was extremely gentle and forbearing, to the extent that no one recalls him ever having spoken any harsh word to any of his students, despite the time and energy that he would put into teaching them. If one of his students said something to displease him, the worst thing that he would say was, “May Allah rectify your state, O so-and-so.” He was pleasant to speak to and interact with, and he would not talk about anything that did not concern him.
(2) He commanded respect and reverence from everyone to the extent that anyone who saw his illuminated face, his white beard, and his beautiful appearance would feel humbled and and would not want to part company with him. When he walked in the marketplace, people–Muslim and non-Muslim–would crowd and compete with one another to kiss his hand out of respect for him.
(3) He was unattached to the world. His gatherings were completely free of backbiting or speaking ill of people. He was so unconcerned with the affairs of the world that he wasn’t aware of the latest happenings and he wouldn’t spend time with people of worldly influence except in order to use his own standing to put in a good word for those in need. He used to spend all of his time reviewing sacred knowledge, reciting the Quran, praying, and worship.
(4) He would not get annoyed with investigating answers to difficult questions during his lessons. Rather, he would get upset if the students would not investigate these issues with him. If he investigated an objection to one of the early scholars, he would do it with the utmost respect.
Shaykh `Ali Shabramallisi used to say, “A single carat of proper behavior (adab) is better than 24 carats of knowledge.”
He used to write notes and marginal glosses on every book that he taught. Were the books he wrote to be gathered, they would amount to an extremely large number. Unfortunately, his books became scattered in the hands of his students. Some students claimed authorship of these books themselves, whereas others died with the books still in their possession, leading to their loss.
One of his books that is known and became widespread is his valuable “Marginal Glosses” (hashiya) on the Nihayat al-Muhtaj of Imam Muhammad al-Ramli al-Shafi`i, one of the most important reference works of the Shafi`i school.
He died in 1087 A.H., may Allah have mercy on him.
وكان قد أتمَّ حفظ القرآن الكريم بقراءاته العشر، وحفظ من متون العلوم الشيء الكثير، فحفظ في القراءات والتجويد متني “الشاطبية” و”الجزرية”، وفي النحو “الخلاصة” وهي ألفية ابن مالك، وفي الفقه “البهجة الوردية” في خمسة آلاف بيت، و”المنهاج” للنووي، و”نظم التحرير” للعمريطي، وفي الفرائض نظمي “الكفاية” و”الرحبية”، وغير ذلك.
صار رضي الله عنه من كابر أئمة زمانه في العلوم الشرعية خصوصاً فقه الشافعية، مرجعاً للعلماء فيما يُشكِلُ عليهم، قويَّ الحافظة والفهم والإدراك.
ومما تحلَّى به من الشمائل الجليلة:
اللطفُ والحلمُ والإنصافُ بحيث أنه لم يُعهد منه أنه أساء إلى أحد من الطلبة بكلمة حصل له منها تعب، بل كان غايةُ ما يقول إذا تغير من أحد من تلامذته: الله يصلح حالك يا فلان. وكان حسنَ المنادمة لطيف المداعبة لا يتكلم إلا في ما يعنيه.
وكان مهاباً موقراً في النفوس بحيث أن الإنسانَ إذا تأمل وجهه النوراني ولحيته البيضاء الطاهرة وهيئته الحسنة يخشع لرؤيته ولا يريد مفارقته، وإذا مرَّ في السوق تزاحم الناس مسلمُها وكافرُها على تقبيل يده.
وكان مجلسُه مصوناً عن الغيبة وذكر الناس بسوء، زاهداً في الدنيا لا يعرف أحوال أهلها ولا يتردد إلى أحد منهم إلا في شفاعة خير.
يصرف جميعَ أوقاته في المطالعة وقراءة القرآن والصلاة والعبادة، وكان لا يضجر من البحث في الدرس، بل يتعب إن لم يبحث معه الطلبةُ ويقول لهم: ما لنا اليوم هكذا. وإذا بحث مع أحد من المتقدمين يبحث بغاية الأدب.
ومن أقواله: قيراطٌ من الأدب خيرٌ من أربعة وعشرين قيراطاً من العلم.
أما مصنفاته: فإنه كان يكتب تعليقاتٍ وحواشي على جميع ما يُقْرِؤه من الكتب، ولو جُمِعَ ما كتبه لكتن كثيراً جداً، ولكنه تبدَّد بين يدي طلبته فمنهم مَن نسب ما بيده له، ومنهم من مات وذهب ما كتبه.
ومما علم من مؤلفاته وظهر: حاشيته الفقهية القيمة على “نهاية المحتاج” للإمام شمس الدين الرملي الشافعي، وهي مطبوعة.
توفي رحمه الله تعالى سنة 1087هـ.