A remarkable change in Al-Silafi’s life took place when he arrived in Alexandria in 511 AH, at the age of 36. Prior to his arrival there, he had spent half his life traveling in pursuit of knowledge, reading under many hundreds of scholars, and leading a life of dire poverty, often traveling on foot. He had met numerous scholars of Hadith and read under them or attended their teaching circles. So, on his arrival in Alexandria, the city with which he fell in love, he was an expert in Hadith of a very high standard. He was also a distinguished scholar of the Qur’an, having read several methods of recitation with a high standard of accuracy. At the same time, he was a scholar of Fiqh following the Shafie school of law. He had an in-depth knowledge of the Arabic language and was well-read in poetry.
With such talent and scholarship, Al-Silafi soon earned a position of high respect among the people of Alexandria who loved him. Some of the attraction of the city for Al-Silafi was seen in the fact that Alexandria was a resting point for travelers from the western parts of the Muslim world on their way to the east for pilgrimage or pursuit of scholarship and on their way back home. Thus, Al-Silafi was able to meet many of the Andalus and Maghrib scholars. Moreover, Alexandria was the place to which many scholars had emigrated from Syria as a result of the Crusades and from Sicily when it was overtaken by Christians. Besides, although Alexandria was part of the Fatimi Shia state, its people were able to enjoy a greater measure of freedom of belief than people in Cairo, the capital city.
When Al-Silafi was well-established in Alexandria, he married a local lady known as Sitt Al-Ahl, whom he describes as a devout woman belonging to a highly religious family. She was wealthy and she allowed him to manage her property, which gave him a settled life. She was to give him only one daughter, Khadeejah, who became a scholar of Hadith in her own right. In fact, some highly distinguished scholars of Hadith, such as Al-Mundhiri, were to read under her and to obtain her certificate confirming their scholarship. Her son, Abd Al-Rahman ibn Makki, was also to become a highly distinguished scholar of Hadith.
Al-Silafi was soon to acquire a reputation of being the top scholar of Hadith in Alexandria. He was renowned for his accuracy of reporting and his diligence in his scholarship. But he continued to give his lessons either in the mosque or in his own home for nearly a quarter of a century. Later, Ali ibn Al-Sillar, who was an admirer of Al-Silafi, was to become the governor of the city. Indeed, in 544 AH, he established a school for Al-Silafi, which was the first in Egypt for teaching the Shafie school of law. The school was first known as Al-Adiliyah, and later was called Al-Silafiyah. This is seen as a step toward undermining the Fatimi influence in Egypt.
At first, Al-Silafi was the only teacher and administrator in the school, but soon the number of students increased, and he had to select some of his best students to help him in teaching. The school had a morning program for young students who were large in number. It also had a late afternoon program of lectures and classes for adults. These covered different subjects, like the Hadith, Fiqh and the Qur’an. What added to the popularity of the school was the fact that it was recognized as a center of Sunni learning, when the Shia scholarship dominated other parts of Egypt. The school also attracted many students from abroad because of the high standing in which Al-Silafi was held.
Al-Silafi was known to be very serious in his life and in his approach to scholarship. This is not surprising because a scholar of Hadith was always expected to demonstrate the highest standard of propriety. A scholar who is seen to be frivolous was discarded, even if he was of the highest standard in his scholarship. The established tradition in Hadith scholarship was that a scholar should always demonstrate a standard of propriety that befits what he learns and teaches. Since Al-Silafi concentrated on Hadith scholarship from his early years, such an attitude was, to him, second nature. When he was due to teach or dictate, whether in Fiqh, Hadith or other related subjects, he would begin by performing his ablutions, and he would sit giving an air of awe. He would make only the necessary moves, laughing only when the occasion arises but his laughter would never be very loud. At no point did he ever give his audience a feeling that he was tired or bored. He would not allow any side discussion, even by the most distinguished personalities in his audience.
It is true to say that Al-Silafi is known in scholarly circles as a highly distinguished scholar of Hadith and Qur’anic recitations. In fact, he attained the position of being the top scholar on Earth with the shortest route of transmission in both Hadith and the Qur’an. This is a quality of distinction, because it means that the number of reporters of Hadith and the Qur’an between him and the Prophet was small, which is a quality that contributes to authenticity. He attained this by having studied in his youth under scholars of old age, and then he lived to an old age. In fact, he was over one hundred years of age when he died. But he was also a distinguished Fiqh scholar, teaching the Shafie Fiqh, and acquiring in-depth knowledge of the Maliki school of law. He was also a poet of a good standard, although he wrote poetry mostly for educational purposes.
Al-Silafi wrote many books. Several scholars have mentioned this, stating that he wrote extensively. However, most of his writings, which are mainly concerned with Hadith, have been lost. Some manuscripts have survived. However, one of his main works, Mu’jam Al-Safar was recently edited although I am not certain if it has been published. Al-Silafi also chose some books by contemporary or earlier scholars which he edited and commented on, before teaching these books to his students. Thus, the books he taught benefited by his meticulous and diligent scholarship. However, none of these has yet been edited and published, although some of these are available in manuscript form in different libraries.
As mentioned earlier, Al-Silafi attained to a very old age, but he retained his fine memory and his sharp mind until his final days. Indeed, he is reported to have been teaching Hadith until sunset on his last day on earth. Some of his students were reading while he was listening and he corrected even the most subtle of mistakes they made. This is remarkable because he died on Friday, Rabie’ Al-Thani 5, 576 AH, at the age of 101 by the lunar calendar, 98 by the Gregorian calendar. May God shower His mercy on him.
(Concluded)
