Imam Isma`il ibn Badran ad-Dumi

1354 AH

One of the Maraji` of Sham

He is Isma`il ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abdur-Rahim ibn Mustafa ibn
`Abdur-Rahim ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn `Abdur-Rahim ibn Khalil ibn
Muhammad ibn Shams ud-Din ibn Muhammad ibn `Abdul Qawi ibn `Abdullah
Ibn Badran as-Sa`di ad-Dumi.

Birth and Upbringing

The noble marja` and Imam was born in the year 1354 AH in Duma and began
his schooling in the area. He learned the rules of tajwid and Quran from Shaikh
Ahmad ibn `Abdul Majid who was a student of Shaikh Muhammad Salim al-
Halwani and the Imam excelled in his Quran hifz and commentary.
After this, the Imam then went to Damascus and sat with the Shaikh, the great
`Alim and sage, Ahmad Quwaidir. This began an odyssey of 15 years of
knowledge at the Dar ul-Hadith in Damascus.
He also spent five years learning from this same Imam texts such as the Sharh of
Akhsar ul-Mukhtasarat of Imam Al-Balbani (d. 1083 AH) which he read to him
twice as well as Sahih Muslim with the Sharh of Imam an-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)
and the Imam benefited greatly from this time along with studying the other
books of hadith.
The Imam suffered a tragedy when his noble teacher, Imam Al-Halwani, died and
this had a great impact on the personal life of Imam Ibn Badran. He moved to
Duma and then took up residence with the great marja` and wise man, Imam
Ahmad ash-Shami. He stayed with the Imam some three years and studied the
Kashf ul-Mukhdarat of Imam `Abdur-Rahman ibn `Abdullah al-Ba`li (d. 1192 AH)
again during that time.
A Setback but Continued Knowledge
After this, Imam Isma`il Ibn Badran headed to Imam `Abdul Majid ibn
Muhammad `Abdul Majid known as Al-Hanbali us-Saghir and spent 2 years
with him, reading out to him Dalil ut-Talib by Imam Mar`ii ibn Yusuf al-Karmi (d.
1033 AH).
After that, he read to the Shaikh Manar us-Sabil by Imam Ibrahim ibn Duwayyan
(d. 1353 AH). This text, due to its brevity and easy notes, was well loved by the
Imam. Right after this, the Imam moved on to sit with the man he calls, The
Pillar, the Ocean of Sciences, the Understander of the Religion, the Mujtahid, the
Linguist and scholar of Usul. This was none other than Al Imam ul-Kabir, `Abdul
Qadir ad-Dumi al-Hattawi.
The texts studied together were Ghayat ul-Muntaha fi Jam`ii il-Iqna` wal-
Muntaha by Imam Mar`ii ibn Yusuf al-Karmi.
He spent three years with Al-Imam ul-Kabir until he died. Imam Isma`il ibn
Badran was given ijazah by him on three separate occasions and was declared by
this as marja` in the year 1401 AH and put in charge of teaching fiqh.

Current activities
As of now, the Imam teachers fiqh most days of the fiqh, focusing on Dalil ut-
Talib by Imam Mar`ii ibn Yusuf al-Karmi, Nail ul-Maarib by Imam `Abdul Qadir
at-Taghlabi (d. 1133 AH), which Imam Isma`il loves very much indeed.
He also does readings in Manar us-Sabil, Kashf ul-Mukhdarat, Al-`Uddah Sharh ul-
`Umdah by Baha ud-Din al-Maqsidi (d. 624 AH). As for those students who are
advanced, he will do the opening portions of Al-Mughni by Imam Muwaffaq ud-
Din ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH).
Students also have to incorporate the study of Arabic into their time with the text
Al-Ajrumiyyah by Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Dawud as-Sinhaji (d. 723 AH)
and its commentary by Imam Zayni Dahlan (d. 1304 AH). He has taught this text
with commentary so many times that he has memorised not just the text but also
the commentary.
In an interview the Imam was asked about the most knowledgeable scholars of
today and to name some for the people at home. The answer he gave was, In
this time by the praise of Allah, there are noble scholars and sages who are
working hard and they are great scholars of fiqh.
We have in Sham some respected and trustworthy scholars, for example
Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan al-Buti, Muhammad Ratib, Muhammad Karim Rajih,
Mahdi Mustafa an-Nuri. These scholars are indeed head over the Muslim world
and not just Sham alone.
Imam Isma`il ibn Badran will often take 80 students at a time through a series of
books, the students coming from such places as ar-Ruhaibah, Damascus but even
further afield from countries such as Algeria, India, US and the UK. Some
students have sat with the Imam for many years.
Day by day, this is how the Imam spends his time and he is dedicated to the
knowledge and trying to produce the scholars for tomorrow. These people have
been steadfast and diligent in the quest to learn. We ask Allah that He reward the
Imam and those studying diligently with him.