Al-Khatib ash-Shirbini

Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khatib ash-Shirbini al-Qahiri (d. 977 AH / 1570 CE) was a distinguished Shafii scholar from Shirbini in the Egyptian Delta who became one of the most important Shafii jurists and Quran commentators of the Ottoman period. His epithet al-Khatib (the Preacher) indicates his role as a congregational preacher, while al-Qahiri reflects his long residence in Cairo.

He studied under the leading scholars of al-Azhar and Cairo, learning jurisprudence, tafsir, Arabic sciences, and hadith. Among his teachers was Shams ad-Din ar-Ramli, one of the most eminent Shafii authorities of the era, from whom ash-Shirbini absorbed the most authoritative Shafii positions of his generation. He taught at al-Azhar and produced works in multiple disciplines that became widely used in teaching institutions across the Muslim world.

His most influential jurisprudential work is Mughni al-Muhtaj ila Marifat Maani Alfaz al-Minhaj (The Enricher of the Needy in Knowing the Meanings of the Words of the Minhaj), a detailed four-volume commentary on Imam an-Nawawi's Minhaj at-Talibin. This work is valued for its thoroughness, clarity, and its careful balance between explaining the text and identifying the relied-upon positions of the school. It became one of the most widely studied commentaries on the Minhaj and remains a standard reference in Shafii legal education across Egypt, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.

In Quranic exegesis, he authored as-Siraj al-Munir fi al-Iana ala Marifat Kalam Rabbina al-Hakim al-Khabir (The Illuminating Lamp: An Aid in Understanding the Speech of Our Wise and Aware Lord), a comprehensive multi-volume tafsir that synthesizes the interpretations of earlier scholars while presenting the material accessibly.

He also wrote al-Iqna fi Hall Alfaz Abi Shuja, a commentary on the popular introductory Shafii legal text of Abu Shuja al-Isfahani (al-Ghayah wat-Taqrib) that remains one of the most widely used texts in basic Shafii legal education, particularly in Egypt and Southeast Asian madrasas. Ash-Shirbini died in 977 AH (1570 CE) and his works continue to be printed and studied across the Shafii world.