أحمد محمد شاكر
Ahmad Shakir (RH)
Ahmad Muhammad Shakir
Also known as: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Shaykh Ahmad Shakir
1309–1377 AH · 1892–1958 CE
Hadith
Egyptian hadith scholar and judge who edited the Musnad of Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi.
Ahmad Shakir was born in Cairo, the son of a senior Azhar scholar, and spent his childhood in Khartoum and Alexandria where his father held posts. He studied at al-Azhar and served for many years as a judge in Egypt's Sharia courts.
He devoted his scholarship to editing the classical texts of hadith with careful grading of each report. His editions of the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (left unfinished at his death), the first volumes of al-Tirmidhi's Sunan and al-Shafi'i's al-Risalah set a new standard for Arabic editions. He also abridged the Quran commentary of Ibn Kathir as 'Umdat al-Tafsir and wrote al-Ba'ith al-Hathith on the hadith sciences. His brother was the scholar of Arabic literature Mahmud Muhammad Shakir.
Life journey
- 1892 CE Cairo (al-Qahira) القاهرة
- 1900 CE Khartoum الخرطومHis father was chief judge of the Sudan.
- 1904 CE Alexandria (al-Iskandariyyah) الإسكندريةStudied at the religious institute in Alexandria, which his father headed.
- 1909 CE Cairo (al-Qahira) القاهرةDied 1958 CE · 1377 AHStudied at al-Azhar and served as a judge in the Sharia courts; the year he moved back is approximate.
Key works
- al-Ba'ith al-Hathith الباعث الحثيث شرح اختصار علوم الحديثThe Urgent MotiveA commentary on Ibn Kathir's abridgement of the hadith sciences.
Places in their life
Photo: CumaliOnal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources
- Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli, al-A'lam