Abu Ali ibn al-Banna
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Abū 'Alī al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn al-Bannā' al-Baghdādī al-Ḥanbalī | |
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| Born | c. 1005 (396 AH) |
| Died | 11 January 1079 (5 Rajab, 471 AH) |
| Other names | Abu Ali ibn al-Banna |
| Occupations | Author, Scholar, Diarist |
| Era | Later Abbasid era |
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna, (Arabic: أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْبَنَّاءِ الْبَغْدَادِيُّ الْحَنْبَلِيُّ, romanized: Abū 'Alī al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn al-Bannā' al-Baghdādī al-Ḥanbalī),[1] was an 11th-century author, scholar, and diarist from Baghdad.[1] According to Ibn al-Sam'ani, he was one of the leading Islamic scholars of his day and a prolific author.[1] Ibn al-Banna kept a diary during his lifetime, part of which survives today and is valuable as a primary source about life in 11th-century Baghdad.[1] He was a member of the Hanbali legal guild.[1]
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna was born in 1005 (396 AH); his family background is unknown.[1] He appears to have lived in Baghdad his entire life.[1] He married a daughter of Abu Mansur Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Qirmisini (374-460 AH) and had at least one son with her: Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Banna (434-510 AH), who was the oldest of his sons.[1] He had two other sons: Abu Ghalib Ahmad (445-527 AH) and Abu Abdallah Yahya (453-531 AH); they both went on to become teachers themselves and were among Ibn al-Jawzi's tutors.[1]
Ibn al-Banna studied under some of the most renowned Islamic scholars in Baghdad.[1] Many of his teachers also taught al-Khatib al-Baghdadi.[1] He studied hadith under Abu'l-Hasan al-Hammami (one of the most prominent Qur'an scholars of his day), Hilal al-Haffar, Ibn Rizqawayh, Abu'l-Fath ibn Abu'l-Fawaris, Abu'l-Fadl at-Tamim, Abu Ali ibn Shihab al-'Ukbari, and the brothers Abu'l-Husayn ibn Bishran and Abu'l-Qasim ibn Bishran.[1] His first teacher in fiqh, or jurisprudence, was Abu Tahir ibn al-Ghubari, a close friend of Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi.[1] Ibn al-Banna later became an early student of Qadi Abu Ya'la ibn al-Farra' al-Hanbali, who influenced him in his views on fiqh and theology.[1] Other people who gave him training as a jurist were Qadi Abu Ali ibn Abi Musa al-Hashimi, who was highly regarded by the caliphs al-Qadir and al-Qa'im, Abu'l-Fadl at-Tamimi, and Abu'l-Fadl's younger brother Abu'l-Faraj.[1]
Ibn al-Banna started teaching while his own teacher, Qadi Abu Ya'la, was still alive.[1] He later came to lead two study circles: one in the Jami al-Qasr and the other at the Jami al-Mansur.[1] The wealthy Hanbali merchant Abu Abdallah ibn Jarada also hired him to teach at the Masjid Ibn Jarada in east Baghdad, and he was also employed as a special tutor to members of Ibn Jarada's family.[1]
Among Ibn al-Banna's students were the Qur'anic scholars Abu Abdallah al-Bari, Abu'l-Izz al-Qalanisi, and Abu Bakr al-Mazrafi, and the hadith scholar al-Humaydi.[1] He also taught his three sons.[1]
Others who studied under him include:
- Abu'l-Husayn ibn Abi Ya'la al-Farra[1]
- Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Baqi[1]
- Ibn al-Husayn[1]
- Abu'l-Qasim ibn as-Samarqandi[1]
- Abu'l-Qasim ibn Abi Ya'la al-Farra (eldest son of Qadi Abu Ya'la)[1]
- Abu's-Su'ud al-Mubarak ibn Talib al-Halawi al-Muqri[1]
- Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Khattab al-Hanbali (aka Ibn Sufan)[1]
- Abu Sa'id Safi ibn Abdallah al-Jammali (a freedman of Ibn Jarada who later taught hadith to both Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Sam'ani)[1]
- Ja'far ibn al-Hasan al-Darzijani[1]
- Abu'l-Ma'ali Ahmad ibn Abi Tahir al-Madhari[1]
He died at the age of 75 on 11 January 1079 (5 Rajab 471 AH).[1] Funeral rites were performed at the Jami al-Qasr and the Jami al-Mansur, the two mosques where he had taught, led by Abu Muhammad at-Tamimi.[1] He was buried at the Cemetery of Bab Harb, with a large crowd in attendance.[1] He was succeeded in his study circles at the Jami al-Qasr and the Jami al-Mansur by his eldest son Abu Nasr Muhammad.[1]
