Al-Shawkani

Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah al-Shawkani
TitleShaykh al-Islam, Imam, Qadi
Personal life
Born1759 CE /1173 AH
Died1834 CE /1250 AH
NationalityYemeni
RegionSouth Arabia
Main interest(s)Fiqh, Hadith, Aqeedah
Notable work(s)Nayl al-Awtar
OccupationHistoriographer, bibliographer, Islamic scholar, jurist
Religious life
ReligionIslam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceZahiri
CreedAthari
MovementSalafi
Muslim leader
PostChief Qadi of Yemen (1795–1834)
Arabic name
Personal
(Ism)
Muḥammad
محمد
Patronymic
(Nasab)
ibn ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd Allah
بن علي بن محمد بن عبدالله
Teknonymic
(Kunya)
Abu ʻAlī
أبو علي
Toponymic
(Nisba)
Al-Shawkānī
الشوكاني

Muḥammad ibn Ali ibn Muḥammad ibn Abd Allah, better known as al-Shawkānī (Arabic: الشوكاني) (1759–1834) was a prominent Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar, jurist, theologian and reformer. Shawkani was one of the most influential proponents of Athari theology and is respected as one of their canonical scholars by Salafi Muslims. His teachings played a major role in the emergence of the Salafi movement. Influenced by the teachings of the medieval Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Shawkani became noteworthy for his staunch stances against the practice of Taqlid (imitation to legal schools), calls for direct interpretation of Scriptures, opposition to Kalam (speculative theology) as well as for his robust opposition to various Sufi practices which he condemned as shirk (idolatry).