Ibn Jurayj

Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj al-Makki (80–150 AH / 699–767 CE), universally known as Ibn Jurayj, was one of the founding figures of systematic Islamic scholarship and is credited as one of the first Muslims to compile organized works of hadith and fiqh. He was of Roman or Byzantine origin through his grandfather Jurayj, and was a mawla (client) of the Umayyad family. He lived and worked entirely in Mecca.

He studied under the leading Meccan Tabiun, most importantly Ata ibn Abi Rabah, from whom he transmitted a vast body of material. He also learned from Amr ibn Dinar, Mujahid ibn Jabr, and other Meccan authorities. His compilation of material from Ata and others into organized books (musannafat) pioneered the hadith compilation genre that would culminate in the classical collections.

His Musannaf — organized by topic — survives in fragments and is referenced by later scholars. He was among the first to systematically record not only the matn (text) of hadith but to organize them by subject matter for legal use, a methodological innovation of enormous consequence for the development of Islamic jurisprudence.

He was known for his practice of mut'a (temporary marriage), which he reportedly entered into multiple times, citing his understanding of the legal evidence. This practice brought him some criticism from scholars who considered it definitively prohibited, though he maintained his position throughout his life. He died in Mecca around 150 AH and is remembered as one of the most important scholars of the second Islamic century.