Ibn Qāʿid al-Najdī

Shaykh ʿUthmān ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd al-Najdī al-Ḥanbalī (1022-1097 AH / 1613-1685 CE)

He is Abū ʿAbd Allāh ʿUthmān ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāʿid al-Najdī, known as Ibn Qāʿid, al-Najdī (of present-day Saudi Arabia), al-Dimashqī, al-Qāhirī. He was a distinguished scholar of the Ḥanbalī madhhab, a man of deep learning, devotion, and remarkable precision in legal understanding.

He was born in 1022 H in al-ʿUyaynāʾ, a well-known village in Najd. From an early age, he showed a strong zeal for sacred knowledge.

He traveled to the lands of al-Shām (the Levant) and then to Miṣr (Egypt), where he studied under the noble scholar Shaykh ʿAbd al-Bāqī, a direct student of Imām Manṣūr al-Buhūtī, as well as Imām Muḥammad al-Khalwatī, the nephew of al-Buhūtī. Through them, he absorbed the refined and methodical teachings of the late Ḥanbalī masters.

Historical and Social Context

Shaykh ʿUthmān lived during a period of transition and religious consolidation across the Muslim world. His native Najdin the central Arabian Peninsula was, at the time, largely independent of direct Ottoman control and ruled by local tribal emirates—particularly the Āl Maʿmār clan in al-ʿUyaynāʾ. Najd during this era was known for its strong attachment to the Ḥanbalī school and its informal networks of scholarship and preaching.

Importantly, Shaykh ʿUthmān preceded the rise of the Wahhābī movement by several decades. His birthplace, al-ʿUyaynāʾ, would later become associated with Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (born 1115 AH / 1703 CE). His teachings remained firmly rooted in the traditional Ḥanbalī-Atharī framework inherited from Imām al-Buhūtī and his students.

Meanwhile, in the Ottoman Empire, both Damascus and Cairo—where he studied and later taught—were prominent centers of Sunni orthodoxy. The 17th century witnessed continued Ottoman patronage of religious institutions, including Hanbali teaching circles. Shaykh ʿUthmān served as an intellectual bridge between the largely autonomous Najd and the Ottoman-controlled urban centers of learning.

Globally, the period in which Shaykh ʿUthmān lived saw the early stirrings of European colonial expansion, the height of the Mughal Empire in India, and the continued strength of the Safavid Empire in Persia. While these broader trends had limited direct impact on his immediate scholarly environment, they provide essential context for understanding the shifting centers of power and thought in the wider Muslim world. Shaykh ʿUthmān’s intellectual formation thus occurred at a time of both continuity and transformation, with his legacy firmly grounded in preserving the classical Hanbali tradition.

His Teachers

Among his teachers were:

From Najd:

• ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Dahlān – his cousin, from whom he studied fiqh and became deeply versed in jurisprudence

• Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Bāṣirī al-Najdī

From al-Shām:

• ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Ṭaghlibī

• Ibn al-ʿImād al-Ḥanbalī

• Ibn Balbān al-Ḥanbalī

• Abū al-Mawāhib al-Ḥanbalī – the Shaykh of the Ḥanābilah in al-Shām

From Egypt:

• Shaykh ʿAbd al-Bāqī – student of Imām al-Buhūtī

• Imām Muḥammad al-Khalwatī – nephew of al-Buhūtī

Through this scholarly lineage he is as part of the “golden chain” of Hanbali scholars: Ibn ‘Awādh → Ibn Qāʿid → al-Khalwatī → al-Buhūtī.  Through these teachers he absorbed the refined methods of the late Hanbali masters.

His Students and Influence

Though the names of many of his direct students have not been preserved in detail, his writings spread widely and benefited a broad audience. Later scholars of the Ḥanbalī school relied on his commentaries and annotations, which carried the depth of al-Buhūtī’s tradition and the clarity of his own thought.

A few known students include:

• Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAwāḍ al-Nāblusī – who wrote marginalia for Hidāyat al-Rāghib

• Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥājj Muṣṭafā al-Jītī

• Tāj al-Dīn al-Khalwatī

• Muḥammad al-Jīlī, from whom he received an ijāzah

His Character and Standing

Shaykh ʿUthmān was known for his firmness in creed, clarity in legal reasoning, and precision in scholarly analysis. His reputation in Egypt was such that he became widely known and regularly sought for fatwā. He exemplified humility before knowledge, and his peers recognized him as one of the most trustworthy transmitters of the Ḥanbalī legacy in his time.

His Works

Among his well-known writings are:

• Hidāyat al-Rāghib li-Sharḥ ʿUmdat al-Ṭālib — a clear and accessible commentary on the fiqh text of Imām al-Buhūtī

• Najāḥ al-Khalaf fī Iʿtiqād al-Salaf — a concise theological treatise affirming the creed of the Salaf concerning divine attributes

• Ḥāshiyah ʿalā Muntahā al-Irādāt — detailed marginalia on a foundational Hanbali legal manual

His Passing

He passed away in the year 1097 AH (1685 CE). May Allāh have mercy upon him and reward him for his noble service to sacred knowledge.

His Legacy

Ibn ʿAwāḍ said:

“The scholar of his time, the unique figure of his era, the last of the great researchers, the treasure of grammarians and commentators, the authority of jurists and ḥadīth scholars, one who is well-known for his fame and praise — Shaykh ʿUthmān ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd al-Najdī.”

Al-Ṣaffārīnī (d. 1188 AH), the authority of fiqh and creed in his time, said:

“The most excellent of the later scholars and the last of the great researchers — Shaykh ʿUthmān al-Najdī.”

Shaykh ʿUthmān al-Najdī remained a vital link between the scholars of Najd and the masters of Egypt and al-Shām, uniting in his person both depth of understanding and fidelity to the Ḥanbalī tradition. His works continue to illuminate the path for students of the madhhab and serve as a testament to the enduring vitality of Sunni scholarship.