Khayr al-Din al-Ramli
Encyclopedia
Khayr al-Din ibn Ahmad ibn Nur al-Din Ali ibn Zayn al-Din ibn Abd al-Wahab al-Ayubi al-Alami (1585-1671), better known as Khayr al-Din al-Ramli , was a 17th century Islam
ic jurist, teacher and writer in then Ottoman
-ruled Palestine
. He is well-known for issuing a collection of fatwa
s that became highly influential in Hanafi
(one of four major schools of thought in Sunni Islam
) jurisprudence in the 18th and 19th centuries.
in what is today central Israel
. At the time, al-Ramla was a major garrison town in Ottoman-ruled Palestine (and in the early years of Islamic rule
it had been the administrative capital of the Jund Filastin
, or military district of Palestine). Al-Ramli receives his name from the town; al-Ramli translates as "from Ramla." Not much is known about al-Ramli's early life other than he began reading the Qur'an
as young child.
In 1598-99 CE, al-Ramli traveled to Egypt
with his elder brothers to study in al-Azhar
, the highest scholarly authority in Sunni Islam. There he befriended Sheikh Fayed, a well-known sage in Egypt. Fayed taught him lessons on Islam as well as how to cut hair. At the time, al-Ramli was interested in studying the Shafi'i
school of Sunni Muslim thought (madhab), but was discouraged by his older brother, Shams al-Din, who preferred he focus on the Hanafi madhab. According to his biographer Muhammad al-Muhibbi, al-Ramli had a dream in which the founder of the Shafi'i madhab, Imam Shafi'i
, stated to him "We are all on the straight path." A senior figure in the 'ulema
(council of scholars) of al-Azhar told al-Ramli that the dream signaled he should follow his brother's advice and study the Hanafi madhab.
Muhibbi states that al-Ramli "worked hard" and "outdid" Shams al-Din, eventually gaining the attention of the lead scholar of al-Azhar, Sheikh Abdullah al-Nahiri. Al-Nahiri regularly invited al-Ramli and Shams al-Din to his home and gave them private lessons on the Hanafi thought. In 1603, al-Ramli graduated from al-Azhar and received honorary certificates from al-Nahiri as well as from another senior scholar, Sheikh Abd Allah. Prior to his return to al-Ramla, al-Ramli stopped in Gaza
where he met the local ulema and the governor of the Gaza District
, Ahmad ibn Ridwan
. Ibn Radwan was impressed by al-Ramli's new credentials and encouraged him to remain in Gaza which he did for a few months.
, al-Ramli ordered the rehabilitation of a number of mosque
s and shrines in the surrounding area. He also funded religious personnel and his students who came from various parts of the Ottoman Empire. It is understood that al-Ramli used the revenues of his agricultural pursuits to bankroll most of his financial activities, allowing him to become a philanthropist in his community. According to biographer Ibrahim al-Janini, he collected roughly 1,200 books with multiple copies which he provided to provincial officials, ulema, and sheikh
s who requested them.
Al-Ramli immediately issued numerous fatawa once he settled in al-Ramla, although he was not officially appointed the position of mufti
by the state. Nonetheless, his rulings—which apparently were able to override fatawa issued by official muftis—reportedly reached Jerusalem, Damascus
, Mecca
, Istanbul
and the Maghreb
(northwestern Africa
). He awarded legal certificates of approval to several Muslim
scholars from these places. According to Muhibbi, "anyone who asked received one, either orally or in written form." Muhammad al-Ashari, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
who adhered to the Shafi'i madhab, was one of many high-ranking Muslim jurists who requested a certificate from him. The muftis (Shafi'i and Hanafi) of Damascus and other major cities in Damascus Province would consult al-Ramli whenever problems arose regarding religious rulings. It was noted that even the Bedouin
of the region who generally disregarded sharia
law respected any fatwa issued by him due to cordial relations between them and al-Ramli. During this time period, al-Ramli also began importing various seeds from Egypt, and introduced them to Ramla.
. It was originally thought that term died out during the Mamluk and Ottoman states, as they did not use this concept, however, the way that al-Ramli used the term suggests otherwise. When it is brought up, he never defines the term, and uses it only in passing, suggesting that his audience would have an understanding of what he meant.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic jurist, teacher and writer in then Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-ruled Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. He is well-known for issuing a collection of fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
s that became highly influential in Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
(one of four major schools of thought in Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
) jurisprudence in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Early life and Islamic studies
Khayr al-Din al-Ramli was born in al-RamlaRamla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
in what is today central Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. At the time, al-Ramla was a major garrison town in Ottoman-ruled Palestine (and in the early years of Islamic rule
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
it had been the administrative capital of the Jund Filastin
Jund Filastin
Jund Filastin was one of several sub-provinces of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Syria, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. According to al-Biladhuri, the main towns in the district at its capture by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastiya,...
, or military district of Palestine). Al-Ramli receives his name from the town; al-Ramli translates as "from Ramla." Not much is known about al-Ramli's early life other than he began reading the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
as young child.
In 1598-99 CE, al-Ramli traveled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with his elder brothers to study in al-Azhar
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque is a mosque in Islamic Cairo in Egypt. Al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh of the Fatimid Caliphate commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, a revered figure in Islam...
, the highest scholarly authority in Sunni Islam. There he befriended Sheikh Fayed, a well-known sage in Egypt. Fayed taught him lessons on Islam as well as how to cut hair. At the time, al-Ramli was interested in studying the Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
school of Sunni Muslim thought (madhab), but was discouraged by his older brother, Shams al-Din, who preferred he focus on the Hanafi madhab. According to his biographer Muhammad al-Muhibbi, al-Ramli had a dream in which the founder of the Shafi'i madhab, Imam Shafi'i
Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i
Abū ʿAbdullāh Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shafiʿī was a Muslim jurist, who lived from 767 CE to 820 CE. He was active in juridical matters and his teaching eventually led to the Shafi'i school of fiqh named after him. Hence he is often called Imam al-Shafi'i...
, stated to him "We are all on the straight path." A senior figure in the 'ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
(council of scholars) of al-Azhar told al-Ramli that the dream signaled he should follow his brother's advice and study the Hanafi madhab.
Muhibbi states that al-Ramli "worked hard" and "outdid" Shams al-Din, eventually gaining the attention of the lead scholar of al-Azhar, Sheikh Abdullah al-Nahiri. Al-Nahiri regularly invited al-Ramli and Shams al-Din to his home and gave them private lessons on the Hanafi thought. In 1603, al-Ramli graduated from al-Azhar and received honorary certificates from al-Nahiri as well as from another senior scholar, Sheikh Abd Allah. Prior to his return to al-Ramla, al-Ramli stopped in Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
where he met the local ulema and the governor of the Gaza District
Liwa of Gaza
The Sanjak of Gaza was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire. It administrative center was within the Gaza City....
, Ahmad ibn Ridwan
Ahmad ibn Ridwan
Ahmad ibn Ridwan better known as Ahmad Pasha was the governor of the Vilayet of Damascus in the early 17th century. Before that, he was governor of the Sanjak of Gaza, a subprovince of Damascus under the Ottoman Empire.-Governorship of Gaza:...
. Ibn Radwan was impressed by al-Ramli's new credentials and encouraged him to remain in Gaza which he did for a few months.
Career
Upon returning to al-Ramla in 1604, he began teaching the Hanafi madhab to the residents of the area. He rapidly began to acquire estates in and around the city which he used to plant thousands of orchards including olives, figs and other fruits. Although he did not receive funds from the Ottoman state nor from the waqfWaqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
, al-Ramli ordered the rehabilitation of a number of mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s and shrines in the surrounding area. He also funded religious personnel and his students who came from various parts of the Ottoman Empire. It is understood that al-Ramli used the revenues of his agricultural pursuits to bankroll most of his financial activities, allowing him to become a philanthropist in his community. According to biographer Ibrahim al-Janini, he collected roughly 1,200 books with multiple copies which he provided to provincial officials, ulema, and sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
s who requested them.
Al-Ramli immediately issued numerous fatawa once he settled in al-Ramla, although he was not officially appointed the position of mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
by the state. Nonetheless, his rulings—which apparently were able to override fatawa issued by official muftis—reportedly reached Jerusalem, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
(northwestern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
). He awarded legal certificates of approval to several Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
scholars from these places. According to Muhibbi, "anyone who asked received one, either orally or in written form." Muhammad al-Ashari, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is the Sunni Muslim cleric in charge of Jerusalem's Islamic holy places, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque.-Ottoman era:...
who adhered to the Shafi'i madhab, was one of many high-ranking Muslim jurists who requested a certificate from him. The muftis (Shafi'i and Hanafi) of Damascus and other major cities in Damascus Province would consult al-Ramli whenever problems arose regarding religious rulings. It was noted that even the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
of the region who generally disregarded sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law respected any fatwa issued by him due to cordial relations between them and al-Ramli. During this time period, al-Ramli also began importing various seeds from Egypt, and introduced them to Ramla.
Legacy
Al-Ramli died in his hometown in 1671 at the age of 86. Al-Muhibbi described him as "the last of the great ulema." Al-Ramli's fatawa("multiple edicts") were compiled into final form in 1670, in a collection entitled al-Fatawa al-Khayriyah. These fatawa are a contemporary record of the time, and also give a complex view of agrarian relations. Modern scholars are using his works to trace the path of embryonic territorial awareness, specifically that of Palestine. His fatawa reference the Roman province of Palaestina Prima, or as it was known in the early Islamic period, Jund FilastinJund Filastin
Jund Filastin was one of several sub-provinces of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Syria, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. According to al-Biladhuri, the main towns in the district at its capture by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastiya,...
. It was originally thought that term died out during the Mamluk and Ottoman states, as they did not use this concept, however, the way that al-Ramli used the term suggests otherwise. When it is brought up, he never defines the term, and uses it only in passing, suggesting that his audience would have an understanding of what he meant.