Muhammad ibn Al-Waleed ibn Muhammad Al-Fihri is better known as Abu Bakr At-Tortooshi, and he is also known as Ibn Abi Randaqah. His year of birth is uncertain, but it is most probably about the middle of the fifth century of the Islamic calendar, and around A.D. 1060 or perhaps a little earlier. He was born in Tortosa in the Andalus, or Islamic Spain, and his last name, At-Tortooshi, is the Arabic name for affiliation to that city on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. He began his early learning there before moving on to Zaragoza where he studied under his main teacher, Abu Al-Waleed Al-Baji, staying with him under the latter’s death in 474, corresponding to A.D. 1081. At-Tortooshi mentions that he did not leave the Andalus before he had studied Fiqh thoroughly and stayed with Al-Baji for sometime.

At-Tortooshi chose to stay with Al-Baji because the latter was considered the top scholar of the Maliki school of thought in the Andalus at the time. He was renowned for his scholarship. Under him, At-Tortooshi also studied the major areas of Fiqh, including the detailed system of inheritance. He speaks very highly of his teacher and he mentions him frequently, which suggests that he was greatly influenced by Al-Baji.

In 476 At-Tortooshi started his journey to the eastern provinces of the Muslim world, like many scholars of the Andalus. He began by traveling to Makkah for pilgrimage. There he met Abu Ali As-Sudafi, the renowned scholar of Hadith from the Andalus, and he read Hadith under him.

Then he traveled to Baghdad, where he pursued his studies of Fiqh, reading in Adiliyah school under Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ash-Shashi, Abu Al-Mueed Al-Mutawalli and Abu Saeed Al-Jurjani, all of whom were leading scholars of the Shafie school of thought. He also studied under Rizqullah At-Tameemi of the Hanbali school of thought. Thus, he became well versed in practically all schools of thought. Then he traveled to Basrah in southern Iraq, where he read under Abu Ali At-Tostari, before traveling to Damascus where he subsisted on very limited means. Yet he was teaching there for quite sometime. His students were numerous because he was recognized as a top scholar with very broad knowledge, particularly in Fiqh.

Then in Jerusalem he met Abu Bakr ibn Al-Arabi and his father, both were scholars from the Andalus. Ibn Al-Arabi, who was to earn high renown, mentions that he first went with his father to meet At-Tortooshi in Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem where At-Tortooshi was known to sit at a particular place called Al-Ghuwair, close to Zacharia’s door. When he met him and heard him teaching, he was full of admiration, and after the circle was over, the father and son greeted At-Tortooshi and the father explained that Ibn Al-Arabi wanted to study under him. He then learnt from him much in various disciplines.

He then traveled to Lebanon and from there he went to Egypt where he lived in Rashid, on the Mediterranean, not far from Alexandria. There he lived with a close friend subsisting on meager means. However, Egypt was at the time under the Fatimi rule, which Muslim scholars describe as the Ubaidi Shia rule which was resisted by Sunni scholars. At one point, the Fatimi ruler killed a number of scholars in Alexandria who were outspoken against his acts of injustice. Their execution left a vacuum in scholarship circles. Hence, the chief justice of Alexandria and a number of its notables traveled to Rashid to meet At-Tortooshi and request him to move to Alexandria with his friend, Abullah As-Sayeh. He responded and became the main teacher in Alexandria for sometime.

Another development was soon to happen in his life. A rich woman in the city was highly impressed by him. She proposed that they should get married and he accepted. She gave him a large house as a gift. He took residence with his wife on the top floor, allowing the main reception area and the ground floor to students to pursue their studies.

In Alexandria, At-Tortooshi had numerous students. He apparently was a man who loved the open air, and enjoyed staying in a farm or orchard.

Therefore, he went with his numerous students to places like that, where he taught them and encouraged them to give practical evidence of their faith, by being diligent in pursuing their studies and resisting the Ubaidi Fatimi rule. It is reported that on one of these trips, he had no less than 360 of his students.

There was much that he found objectionable among the ruling class, and he felt that his mission was to provide guidance to people who were deep in error. It was characteristic of At-Tortooshi to stay away from people in power, and to speak out against their objectionable practices at every occasion. He found himself in Alexandria holding the banner of returning to the correct practices of the Prophet and his companions.

At one point, the Ubaidi Minister, Al-Afdhal, sent for him, and At-Tortooshi went to meet him in Cairo. The minister received him well, and spoke to him gently, offering him to stay and he would give him a monthly allowance. Apparently the minister wanted to keep watch on him, and he soon was convinced that At-Tortooshi was an opponent of his rule. Therefore, he confined him to a mosque in Al-Fustat, near Cairo and banned him from receiving any students.

At-Tortooshi bore his ordeal patiently, but soon afterward Al-Afdhal was killed by his successor, Al-Mamoon Al-Bataihi, who extended very generous treatment to At-Tortooshi. The latter wrote for him a book called Siraj Al-Mulook, or the Lantern of Kings. That was written about a year before At-Tortooshi’s death in 520 A.H. corresponding to A.D. 1126. However, some reports suggest that he died 5 years later than that date.

At-Tortooshi wrote numerous books, many of which we only know by name as they are mentioned in other books, or by the author. Among these are his summary of a Qur’anic commentary by Ahmad At-Taghlibi, and a summary of the Prophet’s manners and practices by Abullah ibn Jaafar. Some of his books exist in manuscript in some libraries.

A number of his books have been edited and published. Perhaps the most important among these is Kitab Al-Hawadith and Al-Bidaa, or Events and Innovations. In this book, At-Tortooshi speaks in detail about practices that have found their way into Islamic communities when they are disapproved by Islam. The book is divided into four main chapters. The first is devoted to the Qur’an and its warnings against practices that, though they appear harmless, may lead to unlawful deeds. The second chapter warns against following those who do not follow the Prophet’s guidance, but make innovations. He describes these as the worst of people.

The third chapter is mainly an elaboration of this concept, highlighting the practice of the Prophet’s companions who were keen to follow his guidance in every way. The final chapter speaks in detail about innovations which are unacceptable in Islam. He shows why they are unacceptable and urges that they should be discarded from people’s lives.

Another published book by At-Tortooshi is his letter to Yussuf ibn Tashfeen, a commander and ruler in North Africa. He admonishes Ibn Tashfeen to ensure justice in his rule and to look after his people, taking good care of their interests and following the examples of the great rulers of the early Islamic period. He warns him against the consequences of injustice. The letter has been translated into Spanish Maria Jesus Viguera and published by Al-Andalus magazine in Madrid, 1977.

Siraj Al-Mulook, or the Lantern of Kings, is another published book by At-Tortooshi. It was published in Egypt first in 1289 and then in Cairo in 1311 A.H., corresponding to 1872 and 1893 respectively. It was translated by M. Alarcon into Spanish and published in two volumes in Madrid, 1931.

This book is devoted to what rulers generally should do in government. It gives numerous incidents involving kings and rulers of old, in various lands and states. The book is divided into 64 chapters and has been praised by many scholars.

At-Tortooshi had numerous students, some of whom were later to earn wide renown as scholars in their own right. May God bless his soul.