Al-Bazdawi
Central Asian Hanafi scholar (c.1010–1089)
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Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Bazdawi (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي بن محمد البَزدَوي) (c. 1010-1089 A.D.), known with the honorific title of Fakhr al-Islam (the pride of Islam), was a leading Hanafi scholar in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence. He is author of the acclaimed Kanz al-Wusul ila Ma'refat al-Usul (Arabic: کنز الوصول إلی معرفة الأصول, lit. 'The Treasure of Obtaining in Knowledge of Legal'), popularly known as Usul al-Bazdawi, a seminal work in Hanafi Usul al-Fiqh.
فخر الإسلام
Abu al-Hasan al-Bazdawi أبو الحسن البَزدَوي | |
|---|---|
| Title | Fakhr al-Islam فخر الإسلام |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 400 A.H. = c. 1010 A.D. |
| Died | 482 A.H.= 1089 A.D. |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Transoxiana (Central Asia) |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Usul al-Fiqh |
| Notable work | Usul al-Bazdawi |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by
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'Abd al-Qadir ibn Abi al-Wafa' al-Qurashi (d. 775/1373) has praised him in his Hanafi biographical dictionary, Al-Jawahir al-Mudiyya fi Tabaqat al-Hanafiyya (Arabic: الجواهر المضية في طبقات الحنفية).[1]
Works
His most famous book is Kanz al-Wusul ila Ma'refat al-Usul (Arabic: کنز الوصول إلی معرفة الأصول), popularly known as Usul al-Bazdawi, which is a seminal book in Hanafi Usul al-Fiqh and was a standard teaching text for centuries.[2]
In this work, he focuses on issues such as rules and methods of determining a variety of sources and methods for making the right decision and discourses on rules of working with texts, and so on. The Uzbek Academy of Sciences has more than a dozen copies of this work.
The book has generated numerous commentaries, the most popular of which being Kashf al-Asrar (Arabic: کشف الأسرار، شرح أصول البزدوي) by 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Bukhari (d. 730/1329).
His other works include:[3]
- Sharh al-Jami' al-Kabeer, and Sharh al-Jami' al-Sagheer (Commentaries on al-Jami' al-Kabeer, and al-Jami' al-Sagheer by Muhammad al-Shaybani).
- Sharh al-Jami' al-Sahih (Commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari).
- Al-Mabsut fi Furu' al-Fiqh (An Extensive Book on Branches of Fiqh).
- Kitab al-Muyassar fi al-Kalam (Elementary Hand-book for Dialectical Theology), a manuscript of which still survives.[4]
He also wrote on Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis).
Teachers
Al-Bazdawi studied under Shams al-A'imma 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Halwani (d. 456/1064) who was also a teacher to Al-Sarakhsi.[2]
Students
- Sadr al-Islam Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi (his younger brother)
- Najm al-Din Abu Hafs Umar al-Nasafi
