Qara Ughli, qadi of Damascus

قرا أوغلي قاضي دمشق

c. 28 June 1534 CE · 11 Dhu al-Hijja 941 AH

The freedman of Ibrahim al-Amasi who became qadi of Damascus in 940 — a lover of Sufis and scholars who proclaimed that no woman or girl go out to the markets; 'of handsome grey hair, sound doctrine, literate and wise' — though 'hands above his hand' curbed his word's reach; died Tuesday 11 Dhu'l-Hijja [941] in office, Bab al-Saghir beside Sidi Bilal 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Jurist · Scholar
Counted among
Sunni
Era
The Gunpowder Empires
Region
Anatolia · Levant & Iraq
Review
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Life in time

14701480149015001510152015301540155015601570158015901600 c. c. c. c. c.
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Gunpowder Empires · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era Contemporaries: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad, mufti of Zabid · 'Abd Allah al-Fakihi, the grammarian · Abu al-Su'ud Afandi · Abu Numayy II, sharif of Mecca · Al-Akhdari, Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad

Law and courts

Overview

Qara Ughli the Hanafi, one of the freedmen of the lands of Rum; the author of the Shaqa'iq says he was a freedman of Sayyid Ibrahim al-Amasi, studied under his patron, then taught in the outskirts of Amasya, at the Amasya madrasa, at Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may God be pleased with him) and at one of the Eight, and was then given the qada' of Damascus which he entered in 840, an old man; loving the Sufis and the poor, he proclaimed in Damascus that no woman or girl should go out to the markets; he loved scholars, was dignified, of handsome grey hair, sound creed, praiseworthy way, and a clever man of letters. 2

Death

Ibn Tulun, after calling him a polymath, says he was bright-haired and loved the righteous — "but there were hands above his hand, which kept his word from being heard and his command from prevailing"; he died while qadi of Damascus on Tuesday 11 Dhu'l-Hijja and was buried at Bab al-Firdaws. 2

People and things also explored

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)· Democracy and the Sharia — compatibility and conflict· Fatwa on the satellite channels — its benefit and harm· Secularism and Islam — conflict or concord· Stoning (rajm) as a penalty for zina· Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Aman (safe-conduct granted to enemies in war)· Amana (trust, deposit and what is entrusted)

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 660-661
  2. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Qara Ughli, qadi of Damascus”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/qara-ughli/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-21.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story.
Related

Ahliyya (legal capacity: to have rights and duties, and to act; its stages from the womb to full maturity, and what impairs it)

Ahliyya is lexically suitability, and it is of two kinds: capacity to have rights and duties, the capacity of liability; and capacity to act, that is to perform acts recognised by the law. Its bearer passes through the stages of the foetus, childhood, discernment, puberty and maturity. Liability is complete from birth and incomplete for the foetus; the capacity to act is partial at discernment and full with puberty and reason. It is affected by heavenly impediments such as madness, imbecility, sleep, fainting, illness, slavery, menstruation, childbirth and death, and by acquired ones such as ignorance, drunkenness, jest, folly, travel, error and coercion.