In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Imam ibn Rislan is the Imam and 'Allamah, Shihab al-Din, Abu al-'Abbas, Ahmad bin Hussain bin Hasan bin 'Ali bin Yusuf bin 'Ali bin Arsalan, al-Ramli, al-Shafi'i, inhabitant of Jerusalem commonly known as Ibn Rislan.
Ibn Rislan was born Palestine in the year 773 or 775 a.h in the town of al-Ramlah,a town in which his spent his childhood. In his youth, he never acquired childish manners, he memorized the Qur'an at the age of ten and busied himself with Nahw, language and poetry at the onset of his studies.
He studied al-Hawi (in Shafi'i Fiqh) with Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi thereafter traveling in acquisition of the Islamic sciences. He heard Hadith from a group of Hadith scholars,hearing Sahih al-Bukhari from Shihab al-Din Abu al-Khair bin al-Ala', al-Muwatta with Yahya bin Bakir's narration from Abu Hafs 'Umar bin Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Salihi. Furthermore, he heard Tirmidhi, ibn Majah, al-Shifa and Sirat ibn Hisham from Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad bin 'Ali al-Maradini. He read most of Sahih al-Bukhari with al-Jalal al-Bilqini who authorized him to give legal verdict and took from Jalal's father, Siraj, and attended his lessons. He read Nahw upon al-Ghamari and al-Nashawari authorized him to give legal verdict.
He persisted in his acquisition of knowledge and continually revised and was attached to reading and staying occupied whilst residing in Jerusalem and al-Ramlah.
He remained this way even after he became an Imam advancing in Fiqh,Usul al-Fiqh and Arabic joined between Hadith, Tafsir, theology and the like. All the while, avidly carrying out other acts of obedience such as prayer and Tahajjud.
He preferred to be unknown and had a distaste for fame. He left what was offered to him from the worldly life and it's concerns.
He was appointed to teach for a period of time, a post which he later left. He turned to Allah Ta 'Ala and treaded the straight Sufi path. He strove and became a luminous light by which seekers were guided and a figure which the worshipers emulated. Love for him was deeply planted into the hearts of people. He was as al-Sakhawi desribed him, "Abstinent, scrupulous, ascetic, follower of the Sunnah and of sound beliefs."
Imam ibn Rislan took from the most prominent scholars of his time, such as;
Sheikh Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi,
Sheikh Shihab al-Din ibn al-Ha'im,
Sheikh Jalal al-Din al-Bistami
Sheikh Shihab al-Din ibn al-Nasih
Sheikh Muhammad al-Qurmi
Sheikh Muhammad al-Qadiri
He took Tasawwuf from the aformentioned Shuyukh, was taught the prescribed Dhikr and wore the mantle given by al-Qurmi, ibn Nasih and Abu Bakr al-Mawsuli.
He took an abundance of knowledge from Abu Hurayrah ibn al-Dhahabi, ibn al-'Izzi, ibn Abi Majid and ibn Sadiq.
Also counted among his teachers are the likes of Jalal al-Din al-Bilqini and his father Siraj al-Din al-Bilqini
His most prominent students are al-Kamal ibn Abi Sharif and Shihab al-Din Abu al-Asbat al Ramli.
Imam ibn Rislan left behind an enormous amount of beneficial works, such as commentaries on the following;
Sahih al-Bukhari
Sunan Abu Dawud
al-Hawi
al-Bahjat al-Wardiyyah
Zahid's Muqaddimah
Jam' al-Jawami'
Mukhtasar ibn Hajib
Nihayat al-Sul
Tayyibat al-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashar
Mulhat al-'Irab
Alfiyyah al-Iraqi (Sirah)
The biography of ibn Abi Jamrah
an 'Irab of ibn Malik's Alfiyyah
a Tabaqat of Shafi'i jurists
He abridged Imam al-Nawawi's Minhaj al-Talibin and Rawdhat al-Talibin and a Tanqih of Nawawi's al-Adkhar. Additionally, he abridged al-Dimiri's Hayat Hayawan.
He was most famous for his versifications, in particular his versification of Imam al-Barizi's al-Zubad entitled Safwat al-Zubad. Safwat al-Zubad is considered to be among his most precious works containing the greatest amount of Barakah.
He passed away on the 24th of Sha'ban, 855 a.h in his place of residence, al-Madrasah al-Khataniyyah in Masjid al-Aqsa, Jerusalem.
