Ethnicity Arab Name Taqi al-Subki Region Arab world Creed Ash'ari Era Middle Ages | Jurisprudence Shafi'i Died Cairo, Egypt Religion Islam Role Jurist Children Taj al-Din al-Subki | |
Title Sheikh ul-Islam Qadi al-Qudah Born AH 683 (1284 CE) Egypt Main interests Schools of Islamic theology, Hadith, Fiqh | ||
Taqi al-Din al-Subki (Arabic: أبو الحسن تقي الدين علي بن عبد الكافي السبكي) was a famous Shafi'i scholar, hadith master, jurist, Qur'anic exegete and chief judge of Damascus
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Birth and Education
Taqi al-Din al-Subki was born in the village of Subk in Egypt. He received his Islamic education in Cairo by such scholars as Ibn Rif'a in Sacred Law, al-Iraqi in Qur'anic exegisis and al-Dimyati in hadith. He also traveled to acquire knowledge of hadith from the scholars of Syria, Alexandria and the Hijaz. Eventually he taught at the Mansuriyya school located in the Ibn Tulun's mosque.
Chief Judge of Syria and Death
Having left Egypt in his youth, al-Subki settled down in Syria where he rose through the ranks to the position of chief judge of Syria, the preacher of the Umayyad mosque at Damascus and a professor in several colleges. He presided as chief judge for seventeen years, at the end of which he became ill, was replaced by his son Taj al-Din al-Subki and returned to Cairo where he died in 756 / 1355
Views
Subki belonged to the Sunni Ash'ari school of theology and in line with his school strongly opposed anthropomorphism. He also vehemently defended the Ashari view that Paradise and Hell Fire are eternal and to that end wrote a comprehensive treatise entitled "Al-I'tibar" in which he stated that: "The doctrine of the Muslims is that the Garden and the Fire will not pass away. Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm has transmitted that this is held by consensus and that whoever opposes it is an unbeliever by consensus". Subki reiterates this elsewhere in the treatise although he is careful to clarify that he does not label any particular person an unbeliever.