Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ramli شمس الدين محمد بن أحمد الرملي

Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Ramli rahimahullah (919-1004 AH / c. 1513-1596 CE) was one of the foremost authorities of the Shafi'i school in the tenth Islamic century. He was born in the village of Ramlah near Manufiyyah in Lower Egypt. His father, Shihab al-Din Ahmad al-Ramli, was himself a distinguished Shafi'i jurist and mufti, and the young Muhammad received his foundational education under his father's guidance. He also studied under two of the most eminent scholars of that era: Shaykh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari and al-Khatib al-Shirbini. Upon his father's death, he succeeded him as the chief mufti of the Shafi'i school in Egypt, a position of extraordinary religious authority. His legal opinions were so highly regarded that many later scholars identified him as the Mujaddid (renewer) of his age. He died in Cairo in 1004 AH. Among his works is the classical poem Riyadat al-Sibyan, a concise guide to Islamic child-rearing written over five centuries ago, which continues to be studied and translated for its timeless guidance on inculcating Islamic manners, Qur'anic education, and prophetic character in children.