The Dār al-Hadīth al-Ashrafiyah and Shaykh Badr al-dīn al-Hasanī
The acquisition and imparting of Islamic knowledge is a religious obligation and an act of worship and the seeker of this knowledge is regarded as being on the path of Allah. Over the centuries, this understanding and approach to knowledge has resulted in Muslims establishing amazing centres of knowledge that became beacons of scholarship and landmarks of the Islamic legacy. Some of these centres and institutions, that have gained the recognition of many, are the prestigious al-Qarawiyiīn in Fez, Morocco, that is over 1000 years old and was established by Fāṭimah al-Fihrī in 859; and al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, which is also over 1000 years old and was established in 970.
There are other institutions about which many of us have very little or no knowledge, but we have most certainly heard about the scholars who were associated with these institutions. Almost every student of Islamic Studies has heard about Imām al-Nawawī and al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr. Have we wondered where such illustrious scholars were based and where they imparted their knowledge?
The following is an attempt to shed some light on one of these institutions and some of the scholars associated with it, with a special focus on Shaykh Badr al-Dīn al-Ḥasanī, one of the last scholars in this line of scholarship,. Much of the information on this institution is based on the work of one of my esteemed teachers, Shaykh Dr. Muḥammad Muṭī’ al-Ḥāfiẓ, who is also a famous historian from Damascus.
We often speak and read about the great leaders like Nūr al-Dīn and Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn and other leaders who were affiliated to the Ayyūbī family. Not only were these men statesmen and military geniuses, they also patronized knowledge by building numerous institutions. One of these leaders was the noble king, Mūsā, known as al-Malik al-Ashraf. The city Damascus received their attention and scholarship flourished as a result. It is for this reason that the Andalusian scholar, Ibn Jubayr, who visited the city in 570 ah (1175 ce) said that there is no excuse for any student of knowledge
who fails to go to Damascus, because everything was easy, convenient and conducive to studying.
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