الرحلةThe Journey

عبد الرحمن بن القاسم

Ibn al-Qasim (RH)

'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim

c. 132–191 AH · c. 750–806 CE

Fiqh Maliki

Imam Malik's closest student for twenty years, whose answers form the core of al-Mudawwana.

Ibn al-Qasim was an Egyptian who stayed with Imam Malik in Madinah for about twenty years, recording his answers to countless legal questions. He was known for his piety and for turning down gifts from rulers.

Back in Egypt, he answered the questions of the North African scholars Asad ibn al-Furat and then Sahnun, reporting what Malik had held and giving his own views where Malik had not spoken. Sahnun's edition of these answers, al-Mudawwana, became the foundational book of the Maliki school, and Ibn al-Qasim's opinions are generally preferred within it.

Open on the map →

Life journey

  1. c. 750 CE Fustat (Old Cairo) الفسطاط
  2. 775 CE Madinah المدينة
    Studied with Imam Malik for about twenty years; the dates are approximate.
  3. 795 CE Fustat (Old Cairo) الفسطاط
    Died 806 CE · 191 AH

Teachers

  • Imam Malik (RH) 711–795 CE
    Ibn al-Qasim studied with Malik for about twenty years; his accounts of Malik's views form the core of the Mudawwana.

Students

  • Sahnun (RH) 777–854 CE
    Sahnun travelled to Egypt and went through Malik's legal opinions with Ibn al-Qasim; the result became the Mudawwana.

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
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
al-Masjid al-Nabawi, the Prophet's Mosque, Madinah
Photo: TheHadiRahim, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sources

  • al-Qadi 'Iyad, Tartib al-Madarik
  • al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Birth reported as 128 or 132 AH.