Ibn 'Abd al-Barr

Yusuf ibn Abdallah ibn Mohammed ibn Abd al-Barr, Abu Umar al-Namari al-Andalusi al-Qurtubi al-Maliki, commonly known as Ibn Abd-al-Barr (Arabic: ابن عبدالبر‎‎)was an eleventh-century Maliki judge and scholar in Lisbon. He died in December 2, 1071(1071-12-02) (aged 93).

Ibn Abd al-Barr was born in 978 and died in 1071 in Xàtiva in Al-Andalus.

While initially having been an adherent of the Zahirite school of Muslim jurisprudence, Ibn Abd al-Barr later switched to the Malikite rite, which was the officially recognized legal code of the Umayyad dynasty, under which he lived. His book on the three great Sunni jurists Malik ibn Anas, Al-Shafi'i and Abu Hanifa noticeably excluded both his former patron Dawud al-Zahiri and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Some of his works include:

• The Comprehensive Compilation of the Names of the Prophet's Companions (Arabic: الاستعياب في معرفة الاصحاب) In it, the author intended to list every person who met Muhammad even once in their life;
• Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlihi.
• Al-Ajwiba al-Mû`iba ("The Comprehensive Answers");
• Al-`Aql wal-`Uqalâ' ("Reason and the People of Wisdom");
• Ash`âr Abî al-`Atâhiya ("The Poems of Abû al-`Atahiya[12]");
• Al-Bayân fî Tilâwat al-Qur'an ("The Exposition Concerning the Recitation of the Qur'ân");
• Al-Farâ'id ("The Laws of Inheritance");
• Al-Iktifâ' fî Qirâ'at Nâfi`in wa Abî `Amrin ("The Contentment in Nâfi` and Abû `Amr's Reading");
• Al-Inbâh `an Qabâ'il al-Ruwâh ("Drawing Attention to the Nomenclature of the Narrators' Tribes");
• Al-Insâf fî Asmâ' Allâh ("The Book of Fidelity: On the Names of Allâh");
• Al-Intiqâ' fî Fadâ'il al-Thalâthat al-A'immat al-Fuqahâ' Mâlik wal-Shâfi`î wa Abî Hanîfa ("The Hand-Picked Excellent Merits of the Three Great Jurisprudent Imâms: Mâlik, Shâfi`î, and Abû Hanîfa"). Shaykh `Abd al-Fattâh Abû Ghudda said the order in the title reflects the precedence of Madîna over Makka and that of Makka over al-Kûfa.
• Al-Istidhkâr li Madhhab `Ulamâ' al-Amsâr fîmâ Tadammanahu al-Muwatta' min Ma`ânî al-Ra'î wal-Athâr ("The Memorization of the Doctrine of the Scholars of the World Concerning the Juridical Opinions and the Narrations Found in Mâlik's Muwatta'");
• Jâmi` Bayân al-`Ilmi wa-Fadlihi wamâ Yanbaghî fî Riwâyatihi wa Hamlih ("Compendium Exposing the Nature of Knowledge and Its Immense Merit, and What is Required in the Process of Narrating it and Conveying it");
• Al-Kâfî fî Madhhab Mâlik ("The Sufficiency in Mâlik's School of Jurisprudence");
• Al-Kunâ ("The Patronyms");
• Al-Maghâzî ("The Battles");
• Al-Qasd wal-Umam fî Nasab al-`Arab wal-`Ajam ("The Endeavors and the Nations: Genealogies of the Arabs and Non-Arabs");
• Al-Shawâhid fî Ithbât Khabar al-Wâhid ("The Supporting Evidence for Maintaining Lone-Narrator Reports [as a source for legal rulings]");
• Al-Tamhîd limâ fîl-Muwatta' min al-Ma`ânî wal-Asânîd ("The Facilitation to the Meanings and Chains of Transmission Found in Mâlik's Muwatta'");
• Al-Taqassî fî Ikhtisâr al-Muwatta' ("The Detailed Study in the Abridgment of the Muwatta'");