Sahnun

Sahnun ibn Sa'id ibn Habib at-Tanukhi (c. 776-7 – 854-5) (160 AH – 240 AH ) was a jurist in the Maliki school from Qayrawan in modern-day Tunisia.

Biography

His original name was Mohammed Ibn Said Ibn Habib. He gained the nickname 'Sahnun' (a type of sharp bird) because of his quickness of mind.^[2] His father was a soldier from Homs in Syria.^[3] The family claimed descent from Tanukh, a tribal confederation that originated in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Life

In his youth Ibnu Sahnun studied under the scholars of Qayrawan and Tunis. In particular, he learned from the Tripolitanian scholar `Ali bin Ziyad, who had learned from Imam Malik.^[4] In 178 AH he traveled to Egypt to study under other pupils of Malik, who died before Sahnun had the financial means to reach them. Later on he continued to Medina and studied under other prominent scholars, returning to North Africa in 191 AH.^[5]

At the age of 74 Sahnun was appointed Qadi (judge) of North Africa by the Aghlabid emir Muhammad I Abul-Abbas. He had refused the appointment for a year, only accepting after the emir swore to give him a free hand in matters of justice, even if this involved prosecuting members of the emir's family and court. Upon accepting the appointment, he was said to have told his daughter Khadija, "Today your father has been slain without a knife."^[6] He was known to be scrupulous in his judgments and courteous towards litigants and witnesses, but strict towards the men surrounding the emir; he refused to allow them to send representatives on their behalf in litigation, and refused a request from the emir not to interfere in their illegal ventures.^[7]

Death

Sahnun died in Rajab of 256 in the Hejira calendar. The men surrounding the emir refused to join his funeral prayer, due to his harshness against them. Yet the emir conducted the funeral prayers in person, and the people of Qayrawan were greatly upset by his passing.

Theological Views

Sahnun was known for his strong orthodoxy, even to the point of refusing to pray behind a Mu'tazilite imam. He excluded heretical sects from the mosque, including the Ibadi, Mu'tazilites and others. The Encyclopedia of Islam states:

Hitherto, in the multiple circles of scholarship, representatives of all tendencies were able to express themselves freely in the Great Mosque of Kairouan. In a process amounting to a purging of the community of scholars there, Sahnun put an end to this "scandal". He dispersed the sects of the ahl al-bida; the leaders of heretical sects were paraded ignominiously, and some were compelled to recant in public. Sahnun was one of the greatest architects of the exclusive supremacy of Sunnism in its Maliki form throughout the Muslim West.^[8]

Works

Sahnun's greatest contribution to Muslim scholarship was Al-Mudawwana, a compendium of the legal opinions of the school of Medina as stated by Imam Malik, after the death of the Imam. The compilation and revision process involved four mujtahid imams of the Maliki school: Asad ibn al Furat (d.213 AH); Al-Ashhab (d.204); Ibn al-Qasim (d.191 AH), and Sahnun himself. It is referred to as "al Umm", or "the Mother", of the Maliki school. Sahnun's revision and transmission of the Mudawwana was the major factor in the spread of the Maliki school across the West of the Muslim world.

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

References

1. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 64. ISBN 9004097961
2. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 64. ISBN 9004097961
3. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 64. ISBN 9004097961
4. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 64. ISBN 9004097961
5. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 64. ISBN 9004097961
6. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 65. ISBN 9004097961
7. ↑ V. Minorsky, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p 65. ISBN 9004097961
8. ↑ Mohamed Talbi, "Sahnun," Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed., Vol. VIII, pp. 843–845.

External links

• Excerpt from Qadi `Iyad's Tartib al Madarik