A discussion of the biography of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him).
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The student: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him)
The student: (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family, and after that.
Introduction to the state of scholarship in the era of Ibn Malik:
The era of Ibn Malik is distinguished by the abundance of books composed in it on various sciences and arts. This is attributed to the wealth that kings lavished upon scholars, and to the high status and respect that scholars held in the eyes of sultans and rulers... and to the desire of some of these kings to establish private libraries and encourage scholars to compose books for them. This, along with the proliferation of schools and the students' enthusiasm for them, was the state that led scholars to devote themselves to composition and documentation, until what they composed became the greatest scientific wealth for language, religion, and literature. Perhaps the proliferation of schools, the proliferation of schools.
The Shaykh : The proliferation is correct.
The student: Perhaps the proliferation of schools, the students' enthusiasm for them, and the appointment of teachers for them, perhaps that was the reason that education became a specialized craft, prompting scholars to think about how to facilitate knowledge for their students and ease the path for them to grasp its boundaries. And perhaps it was the reason that most scholars...
...of them composed in verse, that most scholars composed the various sciences in verse.
The Shaykh : Most.
The student: That most scholars.
The Shaykh : The scholars.
The student: That most scholars, rather, composed the various sciences in verse, composed various poetic compositions in the same science. For it is established that verse is faster to memorize and more lasting in the mind than prose.
And if you know that Ibn Malik was Andalusian by birth and upbringing, and that the people of Andalus at that time were the most loving of the people of the earth for knowledge, most devoted to acquiring it, and most respectful of its people, and that Ibn Malik was naturally inclined to verse, so that he did not experience difficulty in his speech nor hardship in his composition, if you know that, you can grasp the secret of the knowledge and excellence that Ibn Malik attained.
The student: His biography: He is the Imam Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad, Jamal al-Din, son of 'Abd Allah, son of Malik, al-Tai by lineage, al-Jayani by origin, al-Dimashqi by residence and death, al-Shafi'i by school, the grammarian.
He was born (may Allah have mercy on him) in the year six hundred of the Hijrah.
The Shaykh : Six hundred.
The student: Six hundred of the Hijrah...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: In Jayyan.
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The student: In Jayyan. He was born (may Allah have mercy on him) in the year six hundred of the Hijrah in Jayyan, one of the cities of Andalus. Then he traveled to Damascus and increased his knowledge there, and resided there for a period, composing and engaging in teaching, until his death overtook him in the month of Sha'ban, twelve days remaining, in the year 672 of the Hijrah.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.
The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him)
The student: (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family, and after that.
Introduction to the state of scholarship in the era of Ibn Malik:
The era of Ibn Malik is distinguished by the abundance of books composed in it on various sciences and arts. This is attributed to the wealth that kings lavished upon scholars, and to the high status and respect that scholars held in the eyes of sultans and rulers... and to the desire of some of these kings to establish private libraries and encourage scholars to compose books for them. This, along with the proliferation of schools and the students' enthusiasm for them, was the state that led scholars to devote themselves to composition and documentation, until what they composed became the greatest scientific wealth for language, religion, and literature. Perhaps the proliferation of schools, the proliferation of schools.
The Shaykh : The proliferation is correct.
The student: Perhaps the proliferation of schools, the students' enthusiasm for them, and the appointment of teachers for them, perhaps that was the reason that education became a specialized craft, prompting scholars to think about how to facilitate knowledge for their students and ease the path for them to grasp its boundaries. And perhaps it was the reason that most scholars...
...of them composed in verse, that most scholars composed the various sciences in verse.
The Shaykh : Most.
The student: That most scholars.
The Shaykh : The scholars.
The student: That most scholars, rather, composed the various sciences in verse, composed various poetic compositions in the same science. For it is established that verse is faster to memorize and more lasting in the mind than prose.
And if you know that Ibn Malik was Andalusian by birth and upbringing, and that the people of Andalus at that time were the most loving of the people of the earth for knowledge, most devoted to acquiring it, and most respectful of its people, and that Ibn Malik was naturally inclined to verse, so that he did not experience difficulty in his speech nor hardship in his composition, if you know that, you can grasp the secret of the knowledge and excellence that Ibn Malik attained.
The student: His biography: He is the Imam Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad, Jamal al-Din, son of 'Abd Allah, son of Malik, al-Tai by lineage, al-Jayani by origin, al-Dimashqi by residence and death, al-Shafi'i by school, the grammarian.
He was born (may Allah have mercy on him) in the year six hundred of the Hijrah.
The Shaykh : Six hundred.
The student: Six hundred of the Hijrah...
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: In Jayyan.
The Shaykh : Yes, yes.
The student: In Jayyan. He was born (may Allah have mercy on him) in the year six hundred of the Hijrah in Jayyan, one of the cities of Andalus. Then he traveled to Damascus and increased his knowledge there, and resided there for a period, composing and engaging in teaching, until his death overtook him in the month of Sha'ban, twelve days remaining, in the year 672 of the Hijrah.
The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar.