Abū ʿAlī al-Marwūdhī (1). He is also referred to as al-Marwar-Rūdhī (2), the Shāfiʿī.
He transmitted ḥadith from Abū Nuʿaym, the grandson of the ḥadith master Abū ʿAwāna.
Those who narrated from him include ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Manīʿī, Muḥyī al-Sunnah al-Baghawī, and others; he himself was counted among the aṣḥāb al-wujūh (leading juristic authorities) within the school.
He studied law under Abū Bakr al-Qaffāl al-Marwazī.
Among his works are al-Taʿlīqa al-Kubrā (3), al-Fatāwā, and other writings. He was one of the great reservoirs of knowledge and was nicknamed Ḥabr al-Umma, “the Sage of the Community.”
Al-Taʿlīqa cites al-Bayhaqī as conveying a statement from al-Shāfiʿī that if the muʾadhdhin omits the tarjīʿ (the low-voiced repetition of the testimony of faith) in his adhān, the call is invalid (4).
It is also said that Imām al-Ḥaramayn studied jurisprudence under him as well (5). And among his noblest pupils is Muḥyī
(1) In the base manuscript the nisba is written “al-Marwazi” with the letter zay, which is incorrect. The correct form, as stated in Tabsir al-Muntabih 4/1357, is “Marudzi” – with a doubled r and the letter dhal – because the scholar came from Marw al-Rudh; it may also appear as “al-Marurudzi,” the form used by the author himself. By contrast, “al-Marwazi” with zay designates natives of Marw al-Shahjan. Both cities are located in Khurasan. See Mu jam al-Buldan 5/112.
(2) Al-Nawawi notes that the second r in the name may be pronounced either doubled or light; see Tahdhib al-Asma wa-l-Lughat 1/164.
(3) Al-Nawawi writes in Tahdhib al-Asma wa-l-Lughat 1/164: “Its benefits are ample and the legal branches derived from it are many, although its copies differ; the same applies to the dictation of Shaykh Abu Hamid.” Al-Isnawi comments that the qadi in fact produced two separate sets of dictations, each containing significant additions, the difference stemming from the various students who took them down. Ibn Khallikan therefore reports, in the biography of Abu al-Fath al-Arghiyani, that Qadi Husayn said of him: “No one has recorded my teaching method as he has.” Thanks to Allah, both versions are now in my possession. See Tabaqat al-Shafi iyya 1/408, which also lists several of Qadi Husayn’s writings.
(4) Refer to Tahdhib al-Asma wa-l-Lughat 1/165, where al-Nawawi states that the correct position is that prayer is not invalidated by omitting the adhan (call to prayer), though observing it is strongly recommended; he has detailed the supporting proofs in Sharh al-Muhadhdhab.
(5) See Tabaqat al-Shafi iyya, al-Subki, 4/357.