Ibn Abd al-Hadi

Shams ad-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Hadi ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi al-Hanbali (704-744 AH / 1305-1343 CE) was a Hanbali hadith scholar from the prominent Maqdisi family of Damascus and one of the prominent students of Ibn Taymiyyah. Despite dying at approximately 38 years of age, he left a significant scholarly legacy.

Ibn Abd al-Hadi studied under Ibn Taymiyyah, from whom he absorbed the Hanbali hadith-oriented scholarly methodology, and under the leading hadith masters of Damascus and Egypt. He became a distinguished authority in hadith sciences and biographical literature.

His most important works include as-Sarim al-Manki fi ar-Radd ala as-Subki (The Sharp Sword in Refuting as-Subki), a detailed response to Taqiyy ad-Din as-Subki's defense of the permissibility of visiting the Prophet's ﷺ tomb and seeking intercession — a work that represents an important contribution to a major theological debate within Sunni Islam. He also authored al-Muharrar fil-Hadith (The Purified Work in Hadith), an important hadith anthology used in legal rulings, and al-Uqud ad-Durriyyah fi Manaqib Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, a biographical work on his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah.

He also authored a substantial biographical dictionary of hadith scholars. Ibn Abd al-Hadi was known for his precision and thoroughness in hadith scholarship and his loyalty to the Hanbali-Athari tradition of his teacher. He passed away in Damascus in 744 AH, mourned as a scholar of exceptional ability who died too young.