Origins & Early Life

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Qurṭubī (Arabic: أبو عبدالله القرطبي; 1214 – 29 April 1273) was an Arab Andalusian Sunni Muslim polymath, Maliki jurisconsult, mufassir, muhaddith and an expert in the Arabic language. Prominent scholars of Córdoba, Spain, taught him, and he is well known for his classical commentary of the Quran named Tafsir al-Qurtubi. He was born into an Arab family in Qurtubah (modern-day Córdoba), Al-Andalus, in the 13th century. His father was a farmer and died during a Spanish attack in 1230.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

During his youth, he contributed to his family by carrying clay for use in potteries. He finished his education in Qurtubah (Córdoba), studying from renowned scholars Ibn Abu Hujja and Abdurrahman ibn Ahmed Al-Ashari. After the fall of Cordoba in 1236, he left for Alexandria, where he studied hadith and tafsir. He then passed to Cairo and settled in Munya Abi'l-Khusavb, where he spent the rest of his life. In Egypt, he studied under notable teachers, including Aḥmad b.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

ʿUmar b. Ibrāhīm al-Qurṭubī, better known as Ibn al-Muzayyin (578–656/1182–1258), with whom he is sometimes confused; ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī b. Muḥammad al-Iskandarānī; Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Hibat Allāh al-Lakhmī; and...

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