The Life and Works of Ibn al-Sam'ani

Ibn al-Sam’ani’s full name is: Mansur bin Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Jabbar bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ja’far bin Ahmad bin ‘Abd al-Jabbar bin al-Fadhl bin al-Rabi’ bin Muslim bin ‘Abd Allah al-Sam’ani al-Marwazi. The name al-Sam’ani is an ascription to Sam’an, a village of Banu Tamim. Al-Marwazi alludes to the town of Merv where the imam’s family settled, possibly during the earliest period of expansion into Khurasan, and it was the city in which Ibn al-Sam’ani was born and raised.

Ibn al-Sam’ani was born in the month of Dhul-Hijjah in the year 426 AH. He was raised in a household of knowledge and asceticism. The first among his family to gain notoriety was Muhammad bin ‘Abd Jabbar Abu Mansur (d.450 AH), the Imam’s father. Ibn al-Sam’ani's father was a great scholar of the Hanafi school and the author of many distinguished works, and he was amongst the foremost personalities in the town of Merv. Abu As’ad described him as a man of great piety and virtue who commanded mastery over the Islamic sciences and Arabic language. When Ibn al-Sam’ani reached the age of seven, his father took it upon himself to train his son in various fields of Islamic studies, including Hanafi fiqh and usul al-fiqh. While still in his youth, Ibn al-Sam’ani went on to study with scholars in his hometown, among them, the great muhaddith and musnid of Khurasan, Abu Ghanim al-Kara’i. al-Sam’ani also took knowledge from Abu Bakr Muhammad bin ‘Abd Samad al-Tarabi. The Imam expended all efforts in attaining knowledge, and eventually became one of the leading scholars of Hanafi fiqh in Khurasan. Although Ibn al-Sam’ani benefited greatly from the scholars of his locality, he did not confine his studies to his hometown. He traveled extensively to other towns in order to acquire knowledge and hear hadith and attain high asanid. He traveled to Nishapur, Jurjan, Hamdhan, and Qazwin. Apart from this achievement, the imam was bestowed with superb intelligence and an impeccable memory. Ibn al-Sam’ani once remarked, “I never forgot anything that I committed to memory.”

Around the year 461, Ibn al-Sam’ani decided to make the hajj-journey and along the way he hoped to benefit from scholars in the towns that he passed through during his trip. Every town that al-Sam’ani passed through, he would stop in order to meet the city’s scholars and hear hadith from them. His traveling companion, al-Hasan bin Ahmad al-Marwazi noted: “I accompanied Sheikh Abu al-Mudhaffar on hajj, and whenever we would enter a new city, the imam would request to hear hadith from different scholars. On the way, al-Sam’ani passed through Baghdad and met its scholars and debated with some of the jurists of Baghdad. Of those jurists that al-Sam’ani debated in Baghdad was the great Shafi’i jurist of his era, Sheikh Abu Nasr bin al-Sabbagh (d. 477). He also met Imam Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi and heard hadith from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin al-Naqur, Abu al-Ghana’im al-Hashimi, and others. After spending time in Baghdad and taking knowledge from the city’s luminaries, the imam and his convoy headed for the Hijaz. In order to shorten the length of their trip, the convoy decided to take a road that was not commonly used by travelers. Along the way, a group of locals stopped the convoy and took them all as prisoners. Al-Sam’ani recalls of the incident: “we were held captive and I was in charge of tending to the camels. The leader of their group decided that he wanted to wed his daughter off, and he wanted to travel to a city in order to contract the marriage. One of our traveling companions informed the leader that the person who he appointed to tend to the camels is the jurist of Khurasan. And so the leader and his group asked me some question and I responded, and I spoke to them in Arabic. The group became embarrassed and apologized for what they had done. I contracted the marriage and offered the short customary sermon. The group was very pleased by this and asked me if I would accept some gift or service from them, in return for what I had done, but I refused. In the middle of that year, the band of Arabs escorted my convoy to Makkah.”

When Ibn al-Sam’ani reached Makkah he stayed with Sheikh Ahmad bin Asad al-Kuwji, and entered into the company Imam S’ad bin ‘Ali al-Zinjani al-Shafi’i (d.471). Al-Sam’ani was greatly influenced by al-Zinjani’s character and knowledge. It was before al-Zinjani that the imam decided to leave the Hanafi school, and become a follower of the Shafi’i school. For Ibn al-Sam’ani, this marked the beginning of a personal and intellectual transformation.

During Ibn al-Sam’ani’s stay in Makkah he continually sought knowledge and kept the company of scholars, but it was the scholars of hadith that al-Sam’ani accompanied most. He heard hadith from the Mufti of Makkah Hayyaj bin ‘Ubayd al-Huttayni, Abu ‘Ali al-Shafi’I, Karimah bint Ahmad al-Marwaziyyah. He decided that he wanted to remain in the company of his dear teacher al-Zinjani and take up residence in Makkah. Until one night, al-Sam’ani saw his father in a dream who requested him to return to Merv. Al-Sam’ani related this dream to his teacher and asked him for his counsel on the matter. After discussing the issue, he decided to return home. This journey had a tremendous impact on Ibn al-Sam’ani. During this period the Imam went from being a muqallid to exercising his own ijtihad. 

Ibn al-Sam’ani reached his hometown in the 468, and shortly after his return word spread of his move to the Shafi’i school, and the he left the path which he ardently defended for thirty years. The common people of the city became infuriated by this and turmoil began to ensue between the two schools. It reached a point that the governor ordered Ibn al-Sam’ani to leave Merv. Imam Ibn al-Sam’ani first took up residence in al-Tus and then in Nishapur. He remained in Nishapur for a while. He spent most of his time therein teaching and holding revision gatherings. After a while, Ibn al-Sam’ani returned to Merv. In Merv his repute eventually grew and he gathered a large circle of companions and students. The Imam remained in Merv until his death on the 23rd of Rabi’al-Awwal in the year 489. The Imam was 63 when he passed away and is buried in Sanjadhan, one of the burial places of Merv. 


The scholars of his era, and those who came after, had great admiration and respect for Ibn al-Sam’ani. Some the greatest scholars of Islam had these words to say:

“If fiqh was a folded garment, Abu al-Mudhaffar would have been its fashioner” (Imam Haramayn al-Juwayni).

“Abu al-Mudhaffar al-Sam’ani was the Shafi’i of his time” (Abu al-Qasim bin Imam al-Haramayn).

“When I look at Abu al-Mudhaffar it feels as though I am a looking at one of the tabi’in” (‘Ali bin al-Qasim al-Saffar).

“He sided with people of hadith and sunnah, was a thorn in the eye of his opposition, and was a hujjah for the people of the Sunnah” (al-Dhahabi).

Ibn al-Sam’ani left behind a number of works in different fields. He authored works in ‘Aqidah, Tafsir, Hadith, Fiqh, and Usul al-Fiqh. Every single work that he authored was written after the Imam became a Shafi’i in Makkah. Unfortunately, not every work authored by the great imam survived, but the works that circulate between scholars and students of knowledge today are extremely beneficial and extensive in their coverage. 

The works of Ibn al-Sam’ani include:

In ‘Aqidah

Al-Rad ‘ala al-Qadariyyah: reaching twenty volumes, this is one of the imam’s oldest works. He wrote it shortly after departing from the Hanafi school. This book is considered to be lost.

Minhaj Ahl al-Sunnah: this work covers two main topics: the intricate words in the Qur’an, and the ruling of takfir.

Al-Intisar li-Ashab al-Hadith: a brief work covering three topics: the importance of adhering to the sunnah, the virtue of hadith, and knowledge. Like Minhaj Ahl al-Sunnah, al-Intisar is lost; however, large portions of the work have been reproduced in Suyuti’s work Sawn al-Mantiq wa al-Kalam.

Usul al-Fiqh

Qawati’ al-Adillah fi Usul al-Fiqh: this book is one of the only existing works of Ibn al-Sam’ani, and it is perhaps the work for which he is most well-known. Qawati’ al-Adillah has been published numerous times by various publishing houses. One of the best prints was completed by Maktabah al-Tawbah with ‘Abd Allah Hafidh Ahmad al-Hakami’s extensive notes.

The author also wrote works in fiqh, mainly dealing with ‘ilm al-khilaf, hadith, and tafsir, most of which are lost.

References: ‘Abd Allah Hafidh al-Hakami’s Introduction to Qawati’ al-Adillah. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Maktabat al-Tawba, 1997. Print.