Taj al-Din al-Subki


Abū Naṣr Tāj al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAlī al-Subkī, or Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī or simply Ibn al-Subki was a leading Islamic scholar, a faqīh, a muḥaddith and a historian from the celebrated al-Subkī family of Shāfiʿī ʿulamā, during the Mamluk era.

Life

Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī was born and educated in Cairo, Egypt, in 1327. He was first educated by his father, the celebrated scholar Taqī al-Dīn al-Subkī, an influential figure in the umma. At age 11 years he joined his father in Damascus, where he studied under the leading scholars of his day, such as the historian al-Dhahabi and the jurist Ibn al-Naqīb. Aged 18 he became a mudarris and khaṭīb at the Umayyad Mosque. In his late twenties he began to assist his father as qāḍī of Syria, and on his father's retirement to Cairo in 1354, he replaced him as qāḍī of Damascus. He also held the title Mufti In 1357 he was removed from office but reinstated several months later. In 1368 he was jailed for misappropriation of funds. Following a petition by friends, he was released after 80 days and seems to have been exonerated. He died of the plague in 1370 aged 44 years.

Works