Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Hirzihim

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Hirzihim was a Maghribi jurist whose story appears in Ta'rif al-Ahya' bi-Fada'il al-Ihya' by Abd al-Qadir al-Aydarus, quoting Abd Allah ibn As'ad al-Yafi'i, who calls him "the great shaykh and imam" and "the famous Maghribi jurist". ¹ His well-known story is that of his rejection of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din and his retraction. ^{1 2}

Al-Yafi'i relates, as al-Aydarus quotes him, that Ibn Hirzihim denounced the Ihya' vehemently and, being "obeyed and listened to", ordered all the copies he could find gathered and intended to burn them in the congregational mosque on a Friday. ¹

According to the story, on the eve of that Friday he dreamt that he entered the mosque and saw the Prophet ﷺ there with Abu Bakr and Umar, and al-Ghazali standing before him, complaining of his opponent and handing him the book. The Prophet leafed through it page by page and approved of it, then Abu Bakr, then Umar; he ordered Ibn Hirzihim stripped and given the punishment for false accusation, and after five lashes Abu Bakr interceded, and al-Ghazali was satisfied and accepted the intercession. ^{1 2}

The story goes on: Ibn Hirzihim woke with the marks of the lashes on his back, told his companions, repented of his objection and sought forgiveness, and suffered from the marks for a long time until another dream after which he was healed; he then devoted himself to reading the Ihya', "and God opened it to him", and he became one of the great masters of both inward and outward knowledge. ²

Al-Yafi'i says, "We have related this with sound chains," and gives his chain through Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn al-Mayliq al-Shadhili, from Yaqut al-Shadhili, from Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, from Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili. He states that al-Shadhili was Ibn Hirzihim's contemporary and said that Ibn Hirzihim died with the marks of the lashes on his back. ²

• The scan reads the name both as "Hirzim" and "Hirzihim"; "Hirzihim" is used here.
• No death year is given in the pages read, so none is recorded.