Title Al-Bannani Jurisprudence Maliki Religion Islam Name Al Bannani | Region Morocco Era Alaouite Morocco | |
 | ||
Died 1780 CE (1194 AH)
Fes, Morocco | ||
Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Bannani (1727 – 1780 CE) (1133 AH – 1194 AH) (Arabic: محمد بن الحسن البناني), more commonly referred to in books of Islamic law simply as al-Bannani or Imam al-Banani, was an important 18th century Muslim jurist from Fes, Morocco. Al-Bannani was an accomplished scholar in the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).
Life
Al-Bannani was born in Fes in 1727, a city where he studied, lived for his entire life and was also buried in. He studied under many of the important scholars of his time including al-Tayyib al-Wazzani and the famous Sufi Ahmad ibn al-Mubarak (author of Kitab al-Ibriz). After a period of study, he became the imam and khatib of the famous Karaouine mosque and university and also taught there. He died in 1780 CE and was buried next to another reputable scholar of Fes, Muhammad Mayyara, in the Darb at-Taweel cemetery near the Karaouine mosque.
Al-Bannani is one of the best known Maliki scholars of Fes outside of Morocco, particularly for his book Al-Fath ar-Rabbani (The Endowment of Divine Grace). The text is a sub-commentary on the classical Mukhtassar (Concise Text) of Khalil (the main source of rulings in Maliki jurisprudence), and is well known and used throughout the Maghreb to this day. A reference to his famous commentary is written on his tomb which reads:
Here lies the tomb of the great scholar The unique and famous learned man The sea of Sacred Law and the ink of the Muslim nation The beaming sun and most elite of the scholars He who God has Bestowed his servants with From His Grace and Gifted with his genuineness The Sheikh, author of Al-Fath ar-Rabbani Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Bannani