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Persian Shafi'i-Ash'ari scholar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAlī al-Shīrāzī (Arabic: أبو إسحاق الشيرازي) was a prominent Persian[6] jurisconsult, legal theoretician, theologian, debater and muhaqqiq (researcher).[7] He was one of the leading scholars of Shafiʿi jurisprudence in the eleventh century and arguably the most prolific writer of Islamic legal literature.[8][9]
Abū Isḥāq al-Shīrāzī أبو إسحاق الشيرازي | |
|---|---|
| Title | Amir al-Mu'minin fī al-Fiqh Shaykh al-Islam[1] |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1003 |
| Died | 1083 (aged 79–80) |
| Religion | Islam |
| Nationality | Persian |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Creed | Ash'ari[2][3][4][5] |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Usul al-Fiqh (principles of jurisprudence), Usul al-Din, 'Aqidah, Tawhid, Kalam (Islamic theology), Hadith studies |
| Notable work(s) |
|
| Muslim leader | |
| Successor | Abu Sa'd al-Mutwalli |
He became the second teacher after succeeding Ibn al-Sabbagh at the Nizamiyya school in Baghdad, which was built in his honour by the vizier (minister) of the Seljuk Empire Nizam al-Mulk.[10]
He acquired the status of a mujtahid in the field of fiqh and usul al-fiqh. The contemporary muhaddithun (hadith specialists) also considered him as their Imam. Likewise, he was respected and enjoyed a high status among the mutakallimun (practitioners of kalam) and Sufis.
He was closely associated with the eminent Sufis of his time like Abu Nasr ibn al-Qushayri (d. 514/1120), the son of al-Qushayri (d. 465/1072).[11]
Abu Bakr al-Shashi said: "Abu Ishaq is Allah's proof on the leading scholars of the time."[12] Al-Muwaffaq al-Hanafi said: "Abu Ishaq is the Amir al-Mu'minin (Prince of the Believers) from among the fuqaha' (jurists)."[1] The Azhari scholar 'Ali Jum'a, an inheritor of al-Bajuri's teachings, calls him the "shaykh of the fuqaha' of his era."[11]
He is Shaykh al-Islam, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim b. 'Ali b. Yusuf al-Fayruzabadi al-Shirazi.
He was born in 393 A.H/1003 A.D in Firuzabad in Persia, a town at a distance of about 35 miles from Shiraz.
He studied under various Shafi'i masters in Shiraz and Basra before coming to Baghdad. In Shiraz, he studied under Abu 'Abd Allah al-Baydawi and 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ramin. In Basrah, he had al-Kharzi for master. In 415 AH (1024-1025 AD), he entered Baghdad to study under Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari the foremost Shafi'i jurist of his time. Abu Ishaq became one of his closest companions. He would repeat his lessons and succeed him in his council. He studied hadith from Abu Bakr al-Barqani, Abu Ali bin Shazan and others, and he studied kalam under Abu Hatim al-Qazwini, a student of al-Baqillani. He continued his diligence, toil, and effort until his fame spread throughout the countries and he became the most admired people of his time.[13]
Upon his graduation from his illustrious mentors. He remained most of his lifetime in Baghdad and showcased his profound skills and intelligence in sacred law replacing himself as the mufti of the Muslim Ummah (Islamic community) in his time.[10] This where Abu Ishaq was appointed to become the professor of Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad at the order of vizier Nizam al-Mulk to accommodate many of Abu Ishaq's students. He was known as the mentor of Shafi'is in Iraq at his time.[14] Once, after travelling from Baghdad to Nishapur, Abu Ishaq recounted that he had so many students that he could not pass through any town or village without discovering that one of his students was performing the duties of a judge, secretary, or preacher.[15]
The chief of the Hanbali faction, Abu Ja'far, and the chief of the Shafi'i faction, Abu Ishaq, joined forces for a common cause and battled against the rise of immorality, which was thought to be the cause of the great flood in 467/1071. Energised by their shaykhs, the Hanbalis assembled in the al-Qasr mosque and invited Abu Ishaq and his followers to fight alongside them against prostitution, interest charges, and wine-drinking. The two Shaykhs demanded al-Qa'im, the caliph, to demolish the brothels and eradicate the other customs practiced by the locals. A letter advising the Seljuk Sultan of this demand was also dispatched at the same time.[16]
He had many students, the most famous of whom are: Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, al-Hariri of Basra, Ibn 'Aqil, Abu al-Walid al-Baji, Fakhr al-Islam Abu Bakr al-Shashi al-Qaffal (d. 507/1113), and Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Samarqandi al-Dimashqi (d. 536/1142).[17][18][19]
He died in Baghdad in 476 AH (1083–1084 AD), and the 'Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi (d. 487/1094) attended his funeral.[20] On his death, his pupils sat in solemn mourning in the Nizāmiya college, and after that ceremony, Muwyyad al-Mulk, son of Nizam al-Mulk, appointed Abu Sa'd al-Mutwalli to the vacant place, but when Nizām al-Mulk heard of it, he wrote to disapprove of that nomination, adding that the college should be shut up during a year, on account of Abu Ishaq's death; he then blamed the person who had undertaken to fill his place, and ordered the sheikh Abu Nasr ibn al-Sabbagh to profess in his stead.[1]
Abu Ishaq was a stuanch Ash'arite who defended and propagated the doctrine in his book called Al-Ishara ila Madhhab Ahl al-Haqq. Ibn al-Subki quotes Abu Ishaq in his Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra stating:[21]
Following the arrival of Ibn al-Qushayri (son of al-Qushayri) in 469/1076 to teach at Nizamiyya madrassa, there had been a series of religious riots in Baghdad in 469–70/1076–77 between Hanbalis and Shafi'is. Ibn al-Qushayri denigrated the Hanbalis when he was there, accusing them of anthropromorphism in their discourse with Allah. Leading Nizamiyya scholar Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi backed Ibn al-Qushayri. He wrote to Nizam al-Mulk, complaining about the Hanbalis and requesting assistance.[22] Eventually, Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi succeeded in getting Abu Ja'far Ibn Abi Musa arrested.[3]
He authored many works, among the most famous of them are:
These two works are counted among the five key reference texts for the Shafi'i school, and the Muhadhdhab was considered by al-Nawawi to be one of the two most important works of this school ever produced.[23]
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