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Abu Ya'qub al-Buwayti

أبو يعقوب البويطي

c. 846 CE · 231 AH

Al-Shafi'i's chosen disciple who filled his place in lesson and fatwa; carried to Baghdad in al-Wathiq's days of the mihna and refusing the created-Qur'an he died in chains — al-Rabi' saw him on a mule, collared and fettered with a forty-ratl iron, vowing to die in his iron so that later folk would know men had died in this cause; each Friday he washed, dressed and walked to the prison gate to answer God's caller 1. Tarikh Baghdad (#7613) adds that he heard Ibn Wahb and al-Shafi'i himself and was transmitted from by al-Tirmidhi, Ibrahim b. Ishaq al-Harbi, Ahmad b. Mansur al-Ramadi and Qasim b. Hashim al-Simsar; it preserves the contest with Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam for al-Shafi'i's sickbed majlis — 'no one has more right to my circle than Yusuf b. Yahya, and no pupil of mine knows more' — and al-Shafi'i's thrice-told prophecy 'you will die in your iron' 2.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Jurist · Scholar
Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Egypt & Nile · Levant & Iraq
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

725750775800825850875900925950975 c. c. c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · Abbasid Fragmentation · The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Umayyad Period Contemporaries: Abd al-Azim al-Hasani · Ibn Abi Dawud al-Sijistani · Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (Umayyad amir of Cordova) · Abu al-Ayna · Abu Al Hudhayl Al Allaf

Overview

Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Yahya al-Misri al-Buwayti, a pupil of al-Shafi'i. Ibn Khallikan describes him as the centre of his circle and the most distinguished of them, and says he took the place of al-Shafi'i in teaching and giving fatwas after his death. 3

The trial and the prison

Ibn Khallikan relates that he was taken from Egypt to Baghdad in the days of al-Wathiq, during the trial, and was asked to say that the Qur'an was created, but he refused. He was imprisoned and remained in prison and fetters until he died. He relates from al-Rabi' ibn Sulayman that he saw him on a mule with a collar on his neck and fetters on his feet. 3

Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi relates that whenever he heard the call to prayer on Friday he would wash, put on his clothes and walk to the door of the prison. 3

Death

He died in prison in Baghdad in 231 AH according to al-Shirazi; the Gregorian conversion (846 CE) is derived. 4

Connections

Explore the connections

Studied under
Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i

People and things also explored

The authority of the Sunna (hujjiyyat al-sunna)· The Shafi'i school (madhhab)· Muwatta 77· Muwatta 88· Muwatta 540· Muwatta 584· Muwatta 587· Muwatta 615

Sources

  1. Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 61-64
  2. Tarikh Baghdad — al-Khatib al-Baghdadi , j.11 p.300-302
  3. Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p.61-64
  4. Tabaqat al-fuqaha' — Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (ed. Ihsan Abbas, Dar al-Ra'id al-Arabi)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abu Ya'qub al-Buwayti”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-buwayti/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

The authority of the Sunna (hujjiyyat al-sunna)