Abu Muhammad ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Maʿali (1) ibn Ghanima ibn al-Hasan, known as Ibn Manina (2).
He was born in 525 AH (3); he attended numerous ḥadith gatherings and, in turn, read them aloud for others. He passed away in Dhū al-Ḥijjah of that same year at the age of ninety-seven.
The shaykh and jurist Kamāl al-Dīn Mawdūd (4) ibn al-Shāghūrī, a Shāfiʿī.
He would teach jurisprudence and the commentary on al-Tanbīh to the students in the Umayyad Mosque, patiently guiding them until they understood (5), seeking Allah’s reward, opposite the maqṣūrah. He was buried in the Bāb al-Ṣaghīr cemetery, north of the martyrs’ graves, and on his tomb is a poem cited by Abū Shāmah (6). Allah, exalted is He, knows best.
[Then the year 613 AH began]
Abū Shāmah (7) says: In this year the four wooden tie-beams (8) intended for the Dome of al-Thathr in the Great Mosque of Damascus were brought in; they numbered four (9), each one measuring thirty-two cubits according to the carpenters’ cubit (10)(11).
During the same year work was begun on clearing (12) the moat of Bāb al-Sir (13), which faces the old Dār al-Ṭaʿm, beside the Banās River (14).
(1) Bibliographical references for Ibn Munayyana’s biography appear in:
- al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqqala, vol. 2, p. 356
- Tarikh al-Islam, vol. 13, p. 340
- Siyar A‘lam al-Nubala’, vol. 22, p. 23
- al-Nujum al-Zahira, vol. 6, p. 215
- Shadharat al-Dhahab, vol. 10, p. 92.
(2) In the printed edition it reads “from Abu al-Ma‘ali ibn Ghunaima, known as….”
(3) The printed text has “khamsata ‘ashara” (fifteen), which is an error; the only source cited here for his biography is Bashar.
(4) Bibliographical references for Ibn al-Shaghuri’s biography are in Dhayl al-Rawdhatayn, p. 90, and Tarikh al-Islam, vol. 13, p. 356.
(5) Manuscripts A and B read “fi tafahumhum,” but the original phrase in the tail is “wa yutawwir ruhuhu ‘ala ta‘limihim wa tafhimihim li-llah ta‘ala” (he devoted himself to teaching them and to making them understand Allah the Exalted).
(6) Abu Shama records these verses on p. 90 in the basit meter as follows (translated):
“O Beloved, how many virtues of religion, chastity, righteousness, and gentleness your tomb contains!
You sought no sovereign’s favor to serve him; rather, you glorified by the Sultan of sultans.
We weep for you, while you attend solely to delivering the greeting to the lone-eyed houri.
May God water the shrine you inhabit until you witness fresh growth of blooming flowers.”
(7) Dhayl al-Rawdhatayn, p. 92.
(8) The printed edition reads “al-awtad” (the pegs), whereas here, in Dhahabi’s hand (via Abu Shama, per Bashar), the variant is transmitted differently.
(9) The printed text has “li-ajli qubbat al-nisr” (for the dome of the eagle); manuscript A reads “li-ajli nisr al-jami‘” (for the mosque’s eagle); B reads “li-ajli nisr qubbat al-jami‘” (for the eagle of the mosque’s dome). Here it follows the tail.
(10) The wording follows that of the tail.
(11) In al-Usul it appears as “dhira‘an” with al-Najjar; here it follows the tail.
(12) The printed edition reads “tajdid” (renewal).
(13) Manuscript A has “bab al-minbar” (chapter of the pulpit), B has “bab al-qabr” (chapter of the tomb); here it follows the tail.
(14) The printed text reads “Baniyas,” but here, in Dhahabi’s hand (via Bashar), the correct reading is given.