The Hanbali jurist whose al-Mughni is one of the greatest compendia of Islamic law — a monument of comparative jurisprudence.
Life
Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (1147–1223), a Palestinian-born Hanbali scholar who settled near Damascus, wrote al-Mughni, an encyclopedic work of fiqh presenting Hanbali positions alongside the other schools with fairness and rigor. A defender of traditionalist creed against speculative theology, he combined legal mastery with piety; his works remain central to the Hanbali school and respected across Sunni jurisprudence.