Imam Ahmad ibn Salih Ash-Shami

1322-1414 AH

One of the Maraji` of Sham

He is Ahmad ibn Salih ash-Shami in the year 1322 in the city of Duma, a hamlet
not far from Damascus. He had a good family and his parents were noble of
character and hard working. At a tender age, he started at his studies and
excelled but upon the death of his father, he left school in the third grade in
search of work to feed his mother and his other brother.
His made his way into the trade of baking and he started out in the town bakery
making bread. While selling bread, he noticed that some of the people were not
very proficient in writing and neither were their children. So for a small fee, he
used to teach people to read. After a stint at the bakery, the Imam found his way
into the market and became a merchant. Imam Salih quickly proved himself to be
trustworthy, thrifty and also good natured to his customers. Of the wealth that
he generated while in the market trade, he only kept a small part for himself and
household needs while the capital he reinvested.
Soon the Imam was married and also had to put aside money to take care of his
wife and children, including his sons Salih and `Abdur-Rahman.
Although busy with work and teaching his own children, this did not stop the
Shaikh from continuing his own studies.
When not busy in pursuit of the Sustenance of Allah sent down, he would
primarily be in the classes of none other than the great marja` and teacher, Imam
Mustafa ibn Ahmad ibn Hasan ash-Shatti ad-Dumi. Classmates included Shaikh
Muhammad as-Sayyid and Shaikh Muhammad Mufid an-Naqshabandi, son of the
Egyptian marja`, Imam Ahmad as-Sa`ati. Indeed it was these men that were the
maraji` of their time and day.
Books covered by the classmates included:
Fiqh:
Beg: Ad-Dalil ut-Talib Li-Nail il-Maarib Imam Mar`ii ibn Yusuf al-Karmi (d. 1033
AH) along with notes on Zad ul-Mustaqni` fi Ikhtisar il-Muqni` by Imam Mansur
ibn Yunus al-Buhuti (d. 1051 AH).
Inter: Ghayat ul-Muntaha by Imam Mar`ii ibn Yusuf al-Karmi. This text was a
joining between the original text of the author, Al-Muntaha, as well as the work
Al-Iqna`, penned by the Palestinian giant, Imam Musa ibn Yahya al-Hajjawi (d.
968 AH).
Adv. Al-Ghayah, a work dually authored and collected by the two authorities,
Imams Hasan ibn `Umar ash-Shatti (d. 1274 AH) and Mustafa as-Suyuti ar-
Ruhaibani, may Allah be pleased with both of them.
Creed:
Beg. and Inter: Lum`at ul-I`tiqad al-Hadi ila Sabil ir-Rishad by Imam Muwaffaq
ud-Din Ibn Qudamah and its associated commentaries. Much fruit was gleaned
by the Imam from these works and his wisdom showed in his later dealings with
people.
Ihsan:
Beg. and Inter: In this area the Imam mostly consulted the works of Imams
Muhammad Ahmad as-Saffarini (d. 1188 AH), Mustafa ash-Shatti (d. 1346 AH),
Ibn al-Mabrid (d. 909 AH) as well as Al-Balbani (d. 1083 AH), may Allah have
mercy upon all of them.
Thus in terms of his attitude and nature, he was upon the way of Imam `Abdul
Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased with him, in his stringency and adherence to
the Revealed Law and humanity; but in his outward manifestation he was upon
the way of the Shaikh Mustafa ash-Shatti and others who had the Khalwati
branch of the Qadiris, that insisted upon dhikr that reached its pinnacle in peace
and blessings sent upon the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
the night of Friday.
The Imam was exultant when his brother became old enough to assist him at the
market and in his other labour tasks. This gave him time to give even more
dedication to study. Seeing the promise in Shaikh Ahmad ash-Shami, the younger
brother pushed the elder to work harder in his efforts and to strive to complete
the noble endeavour.
Imam Ahmad ibn Salih ash-Shami arrived in Damascus not long after ceding
some of the duties in his market job to his younger brother. He sat with
numerous scholars while there and dedicated much to the science of hadith and
its disciplines. Having memorised the Quran in his youth, commentary
literature on the Quran was much easier to work with and opened his mind to
the treasures of the Book of Allah.
Then came the year 1369 AH, which the shaikh was offered marja`iyyah. He flatly
refused it and attempted to resist the position as the weight was too great for
him. However, both scholars in particular and people in general of the laity kept
up their efforts.
Their persistence continued so that this was the year that the Shaikh was
conferred the title of marja`, after having been a mufti for over ten years. Several
shaikhs had conferred marja`iyyah upon him and advised him sincerely that
when he returns from Damascus he is to take responsibility alongside of the sons
of the late marja`, Shaikh Mustafa ash-Shatti, and others at the largest masjid in
the hamlet.
Shaikh Ahmad ash-Shami was humbled by the responsibility and upon return
went to work with enthusiasm and diligence that encouraged those around him
to work to a higher standard.
Now as a marja`, Imam ash-Shami was busier than ever and he had a number of
issues to complete. He had already founded a madrasah as well as a seminary in
the year 1355 AH in an attempt to stamp out illiteracy among young adults and
the elderly who may have left school to support their families.
During this time, a very tiny contingent of Hanafis approached him and asked if
he could give any fatawa based on their madhhab. The Imam was surprised as
there were virtually no Hanafis known in Sham and that in Duma, Ruhaibah and
other areas, there were hardly any books printed and they were mainly in
manuscript form. There were no madrasahs or any other places and the people
of Duma had no use for any school other than their own.
The Imam looked through the manuscripts in Hanafi fiqh and found that no one
had checked them out and almost no one knew about them. They were difficult
to read and almost impossible to decipher.
In his life the Imam busied himself in teaching, preaching and giving people
greater guidance in Islam. He would always ask the name, family and general
state of the person visiting him before giving fatwa as he was sure to learn about
the state of the people before ruling on that condition.
Imam Ahmad ash-Shami was not known to have written down his fatawa by his
own hand; but he would dictate them in prose to gatherings and/or narrate
them to students who would write them down.Death visited the Imam in the
month of Safar, the year of 1414 AH after a brief illness.
In his last days, he stayed at home and allowed visitors. He never turned away
any visitor and fed, gave drank to and showed good cheer towards every
questioner, resident in Duma or visiting from foreign delegations.
Foreign dignitaries, judges, muftis, other maraji` spent time with the Imam.
Much has been left behind of him in the form of his inheritance, the wealth of
knowledge that he has left behind that has touch people directly or indirectly.
This inheritance includes:
Shaikh Salih ibn Ahmad ash-Shami
Shaikh `Abdur-Rahman ash-Shami
Shaikh Isma`il ibn Badran
And Allah has blessed the Shaikh and favoured him with much fruit to where the
Hanbalis of Palestine, Arabia and Egypt have scholars bearing his chain of
transmission. May Allah bless all of our authorities.