The Life and Legacy of Ibn al-Jawzī

One of the greatest Islāmic polymaths and reformers of the sixth century (AH) was Abul-Faraj ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī Ibn al-Jawzī al-Ḥanbalī, a descendant of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allāh Taʿālā be pleased with him).

He was born in Baghdād around 510 AH and began his journey of knowledge from a young age. He said about his childhood,

Instead of witnessing the performance of the jugglers who frequently held their shows in their field in front of the mosque where I studied, I used to attend the lectures on traditions.

He received a very thorough education, studying with the great scholars of Baghdād from his time.

Due to his vast research, he had encyclopedic knowledge. He says,

It would appear to be an exaggeration if I say that I had gone through 20,000 books during my student days.

He was a prolific writer, starting his writing career at an early age. He authored hundreds of books in many sciences, including tafsīr, ḥadīth, fiqh, tazkiyah, and tārīkh.

He wrote a work of tafsīr called Zād al-Masīr, in which he gathered the opinions of mufassirūn. This genre of tafāsīr is known as jamʿ al-aqwāl.

He was one of the first to compile a comprehensive collection of fabricated aḥādīth, titled…