Bio: Al-Layth ibn Sa’d | الإمام الليث بن سعد
Imam Al-Layth ibn Sa'd
الإمام الليث بن سعدb. 94 - d. 175 H. in Cairo
tabi'i, Shaykh of the Imams Bukhari and Muslim may Allah be pleased with him
﷽
السلام عليك يا إمام الليث يا إمام مع الأئمة الأربة يا فقيه الأمة عامة وفقيه مصر خاصة يا إمام المحدثين رحمة الله وبركاته عليك
Peace be upon you O Imam Al-Layth, o Imam at the rank of the four Imams, o scholar of fiqh of the Ummah in general and of Egypt in particular, o Imam of the hadith narrators, may Allah have mercy on you bless you!
English
Al-Layth ibn Saʿd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Fahmī al-Qalqashandī (Arabic: الليث بن سعد بن عبد الرحمن الفهمي القلقشندي) was the chief representative, imam, and eponym of the Laythi school of Islamic Jurisprudence. He was regarded as the main representative of an Egyptian tradition of law. Imam al-Shafi’i used to say that he was more learned in fiqh than Imam Malik, however his students did not write down his teachings.
When Imam al-Shafi’i came to Egypt and visited Imam al-Layth’s grave, he said, “Your eminence is from Allah O Imam! You attained four characteristics—knowledge, [good] deeds, asceticism, and generosity—no scholar has attained all four of them.”
It is confirmed that Imams al-Layth and Malik were contemporaries and that they both devoted themselves to studying hadiths and jurisprudence; they were almost equal in scholarship. They exchanged letters whose subject matter focused on hadiths, jurisprudence, and edicts. Malik’s letter to al-Layth on jurisprudence is well known and al-Layth replied with a longer letter. Imam Malik’s letter is the epitome of scholarly dialogue between two of the great jurists and scholars of the Islamic community.
The letter shows that these two great jurists considered the opinions of the people during the time of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, tantamount to consensus and must not be contended. Moreover, it demonstrates that it is not possible for those who come after them to change or alter what these Companions agreed upon.
عربي
wiki (2)
كان واحد من اشهر الفقهاء فى زمانه, فاق فى علمه و فقهه امام المدينه المنوره مالك بن انس, بس تلامذته ما دونوش علمه و فقهه و لا نشروه زى تلامذة الامام مالك, و كان الامام الشافعى بيقول: «الليث افقه من مالك الا ان اصحابه لم يقوموا به». كان عنده من العلم و الفقه الشرعى اللى خلا متولى مصر و قاضيها و ناظرها يرجع لرايه و مشورته. اتعرف بانه كان كتير الاتصال بمجالس العلم, قال ابن بكير: «سمعت الليث يقول: سمعت بمكه سنه 3 عشره ومائه من الزهري وانا ابن عشرين سنه».
Maqam
Acknowledgement:
Photos taken by Bruce Allardice 2021-2022 (flickr)
