Taj al-Din al-Subki

Abū Naṣr Tāj al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAlī ibn ʻAbd al-Kāfī al-Subkī (تاج الدين عبد الوهاب بن علي بن عبد الكافي السبكي), or Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (تاج الدين السبكي) or simply Ibn al-Subki (1327-1370) was a leading Sunni Islamic scholar based in Egypt and Levant. He was a highly regarded juristconsult, hadith expert, historian, grammarian, scriptural exegete, theologian, logician, researcher, literary writer, preacher, judge, debater and one of the greatest legal theoretician in the Shafi'i school.^{[2][4][5][6][7]} Even though he passed away at a young age of 44, he was considered one of the best scholars of his day and held some of the highest academic positions ever documented in the medieval history of Syria. He became well-known and respected for his academic achievements, rising to the rank of ijtihad in jurisprudence and its principles.^[7] Taj al-Din was encyclopedic scholar who produced a great number of works in various fields of science.^[6]

The Subkis were a highly influential and prestigious dynasty, and a powerhouse of knowledge. The reflections on the many members lives demonstrate what a unique family the Subkis were. Among them, at least a dozen were well-known for their intelligence and moral perfection. As the chief judges of Cairo and Damascus, preachers at the grand mosque in Damascus, and teachers at the esteemed schools of study in both cities, they held the highest civil posts in the Muslim world. Among all the Subkis, Taqi al-Din and his son Taj al-Din are the most well-known. In terms of practical scholarship and teaching, Taj al-Din may be surpassed by his father, but when it comes to long-lasting fame as an author, notably because of his two well-known works, Jam' al-Jawami' and al-Tabakat, he surpasses even his father.^[8]