Al-Suyuti named 'supreme qadi' by the caliph, then the nomination is retracted, 902/1496

تولية السيوطي «قاضي القضاة الأعظم» ثم رجوع عنها، ٩٠٢هـ/١٤٩٦م

c. 1496 CE · 902 AH

Cairo

In 902/1496 al-Suyuti succeeded in having himself nominated 'supreme qadi' by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in Cairo, but the caliph had to retract when faced with the hostility of the ʿulamaʾ. For al-Suyuti, the Abbasid caliphs were the incarnation of legitimacy, the best guarantors of the revealed Law and the prophetic Sunna 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Egypt & Nile

In time

1480149015001510 c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Gunpowder Empires · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

In space

Cairo

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

In 902/1496 al-Suyuti succeeded in having himself nominated "supreme qadi" by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil in Cairo, but the caliph had to retract when faced with the hostility of the ʿulamaʾ. For al-Suyuti, the Abbasid caliphs were the incarnation of legitimacy, the best guarantors of the revealed Law and the prophetic Sunna 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Occurred at
Cairo
During the reign of
al-Mutawakkil ala Allah II, Abd al-Aziz ibn Ya'qub

People and things also explored

Al-Suyuti takes charge of the Baybarsiyya and begins to withdraw, 891/1486· Al-Suyuti declares himself a mujtahid, c. 888/1483· Al-Suyuti announces himself as the renewer of the ninth century, c. 898/1492· Cairo· Al-Suyuti begins his formal studies, 864/1460· Death of al-Suyuti’s father, 855/1451· Al-Suyuti revives hadith dictation at the mosque of Ibn Tulun, 872/1467· Al-Suyuti’s complete retreat to Rawda island, 906/1501

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 9 p. 914
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Suyuti named 'supreme qadi' by the caliph, then the nomination is retracted, 902/1496”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/al-suyuti-supreme-qadi-902/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Related

Al-Suyuti takes charge of the Baybarsiyya and begins to withdraw, 891/1486

From 891/1486 al-Suyuti was also placed in charge of the Baybarsiyya khankah. About forty years old, he decided to retire from public life: he progressively resigned his functions and stopped delivering fatwas, giving as reasons the corruption and ignorance in the milieu of the ʿulamaʾ. At the same time his relations with Sultan Qa’it Bay grew acrimonious, for he refused to pay the customary monthly visit to the ruler.