الرحلةThe Journey

إسماعيل بن يحيى المزني

al-Muzani (RH)

Isma'il ibn Yahya al-Muzani

175–264 AH · 791–878 CE

Fiqh Shafi'i

Al-Shafi'i's foremost student, whose Mukhtasar became the base text of the school.

Al-Muzani was an Egyptian who studied with al-Shafi'i during the imam's final years in Fustat. Al-Shafi'i is reported to have called him 'the champion of my school'. He was known for his asceticism and his deep piety.

His Mukhtasar, a concise summary of al-Shafi'i's teaching, became the text that later Shafi'i scholars studied and commented on for centuries. Al-Tahawi, who later became a Hanafi, was his nephew and studied with him.

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Life journey

  1. 791 CE Fustat (Old Cairo) الفسطاط
    Died 878 CE · 264 AH

Teachers

  • Imam al-Shafi'i (RH) 767–820 CE
    Al-Muzani studied with al-Shafi'i in Egypt; his Mukhtasar became the standard summary of the school.

Students

  • Ibn Khuzaymah (RH) 838–924 CE
    Ibn Khuzaymah studied with al-Muzani in Egypt and narrated from him.
  • al-Tahawi (RH) 853–933 CE
    Al-Tahawi first studied Shafi'i fiqh with al-Muzani, his maternal uncle, before turning to the Hanafi school.

Key works

  • Mukhtasar al-Muzani مختصر المزني
    The Abridgement
    A concise summary of al-Shafi'i's teaching; the base text of the school.

Places in their life

The Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As, al-Fustat
The Mosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As, al-Fustat
Photo: لا روسا, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • Taj al-Din al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra
  • al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
  • Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-A'yan
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.