الرحلةThe Journey

محمد بن سليمان الكردي

Muhammad al-Kurdi (RH)

Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi

Also known as: al-Kurdi, Sulayman al-Kurdi

1127–1194 AH · 1715–1780 CE

Fiqh Shafi'i

Leading Shafi'i jurist of Madinah and teacher of Arshad al-Banjari and other Malay scholars.

Born in Damascus to a Kurdish family, Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi was brought to Madinah as a child and spent his life there. He became the leading Shafi'i authority of the city. His glosses on Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's commentary on the Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah, known as al-Hawashi al-Madaniyyah, became a standard reference in Shafi'i teaching.

Malay students in Madinah, among them Arshad al-Banjari and 'Abd al-Samad al-Palimbani, studied fiqh with him. Through them his teaching entered the Jawi books of law used across the archipelago.

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Life journey

  1. 1715 CE Damascus دمشق
  2. 1717 CE Madinah المدينة
    Died 1780 CE · 1194 AH
    Brought to Madinah as a child; the year is approximate.

Students

Key works

  • al-Hawashi al-Madaniyyah الحواشي المدنية
    The Madinan Glosses
    Glosses on Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's commentary on the Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah; a standard Shafi'i reference.

Places in their life

The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
The courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 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

  • Azyumardi Azra, The Origins of Islamic Reformism in Southeast Asia (2004)
  • al-Muradi, Silk al-Durar (entry on Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi)
Draft, awaiting scholarly review.
Year of arrival in Madinah approximate.