355 – Ibn Shāfiʿ: Abū al-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Jīlī

An imam, ḥāfiẓ, and accomplished teacher—the hadith scholar of Baghdad: Abū al-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Shāfiʿ ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Ḥātim al-Jīlī, later called al-Baghdādī, whose reliability was unanimously affirmed.

Born: 520 AH.

His father arranged for him to audition hadith from Abū Ghālib ibn al-Bannāʾ, Wahbat Allah ibn al-Ṭabar, Wahbat Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Shurūṭī, Qāḍī Abū Bakr, and Badr al-Shīḥī.

He then sought knowledge on his own: he recited the variant Qurʾānic readings to Abū Muḥammad Sibt al-Khayyāṭ, devoted himself to hadith, amassed a vast collection, followed in Ibn Nāṣir’s footsteps, modeled himself after him, graduated under him, and served as his amanuensis. Later he acted as the reader of hadith in the sessions of the vizier Ibn Hubayrah.

He wrote a fine, elegant hand; he was precise, devout, and upright, adhering to the way of the early generations. He compiled a year-by-year chronicle, but left it only in draft form.

Among those who transmitted from him were Ibn al-Akhḍar, the ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Ghanī, and Shaykh al-Muwaffaq.

Al-Muwaffaq said: “An imam, trustworthy, a ḥāfiẓ, an authority in the Sunnah; he recited beautifully, in a clear, elevated voice.” (1)

Ibn al-Najjār said: “He was a ḥāfiẓ, an incontrovertible authority, thoroughly reliable, God-fearing, committed to the Sunnah, and accurate in transmission.”

It was also said: “He was forbearing, dignified, and possessed praiseworthy qualities.” (2)