حضرة ابو بكر سلطنتیں

Judge Hashim Bin Abi Bakr ⁽¹⁾: Hashim Bin Abi Bakr Bin Abdel-Rahman Bin Abi Bakr Bin Abdullah Bin Abdel-Rahman Bin Abi Bakr Al-Siddiq was from the tribe of Taym, a sub-clan of the tribe of Quraysh, and a descendant of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq who was also known as Abu Bakr. His ancestors can be traced to Madinah. He lived in Kufa and was a follower of the Hanafi school of thought.

Hashim Bin Abi Bakr was appointed to the judiciary by Al-Amin Muhammad Bin Harun Al-Rashid in Jumada Al-Thani of 194 AH, after the departure of Al-Umari. He transmitted hadiths in Egypt and remained a judge until his death in Muharram of 196 AH. Some sources place his death before the year 180 AH, but 196 is thought to be more accurate. His appointment as judge lasted for a year and six months.

Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani mentioned Hashim Bin Abi Bakr in his book, Raf’ Al-Isr ‘an Qudhat Misr, saying: Al-Tahawi said on the authority of Yahya Bin Uthman that Al-Bakri used to say: I went to Egypt when I was in a state of poverty, so I planted some crops, but they were damaged and got ruined at the time the land-tax was due. I was asked to pay what I owed—and the requests became very demanding. The tax collector was known in that location. So, when they guided him to my house, he said: “Glory be to Allah! This is the descendant of your prophet’s companion and he who ruled after him—and yet he is being asked for something like this? Whatever he owes, I will be responsible for it—and I will be responsible for it every year.” Then when Al-Bakri later became a judge, he took care of his needs.

The reason for Al-Bakri’s appointment as judge was that the judge who preceded him (Abdel-Rahman Bin Abdullah Al-Umari) had declared the people of Alharas (who were Copts) to be Arabs, tracing their lineage to Hawtaka Bin Aslam Bin Al-Haf Bin Qudha’ah, and the people of Egypt, with Abu Rahb Al-Alaa Bin Aasim Al-Khulani and Hashim Bin Hudayj amongst them, sent a delegation to Iraq because of this. Muhammad Al-Amin thus wrote a letter to Al-Bakri, appointing him as head judge and telling him to ban the people of Alharas from being designated as Arabs and to make sure they were reassigned to their original lineages.

Upon receiving the letter, Al-Bakri summoned the people of Alharas and asked them to present the Al-Umari case to him, which they did, assuming that he was seeking additional witnesses. When he held the relevant documents in his hands, however, he took out a pair of shears from under his prayer-rug and cut up the documents, telling them: “Being an Arab does not require a document from a judge. If you were Arabs, no one would dispute you.”

Regarding this, Mu’alla Al-Ta’i said:

O people of Al-Bathra’, may you die with sorrow –

And your eyes be filled with tears over the torn document.

Source: Kitab Al-Sulala Al-Bakria As-Siddiqia – Part II, by Ahmed Farghal Al-De’abassi Al-Bakri

Date of Publication

1 Ramadan 1438 AH / May 26, 2017 AD

(1) Raf’ Al-Isr ‘an Qudhat Misr 1/ 456, Al-Jawaher Al-Mudiya fi Tabaqat Al-Hanafiyah 2/ 203, Tarikh Al-Islam, Bashar Ed. 4/ 759, Al-Muntatham fi Tarikh Al-Mulouk wa Al-Umam 10/ 35, Nuzhat Al-Nuthar fi Qudhat Al-Amsar pg. 120