Najm ad-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ 'Umar ibn Muḥammad an-Nasafī ( ar, نجم الدين أبو حفص عمر بن محمد النسفي; 1067–1142) was a Muslim jurist, theologian,
mufassir,
muhaddith and historian. A
Persian scholar born in present-day
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
, he wrote mostly in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
.
Works
He authored around 100 books in
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
jurisprudence,
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
, Quran
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
,
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
and history.
Theology
* ''Al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya'' ( ar, العقائد النسفية) or Aqa'id al-Nasafi'' ( ar, عقائد النسفي) is his most celebrated work in
Kalam
''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
, which alongside ''Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar'' ( ar, الفقه الأکبر) of
Abu Hanifa and ''Al-'Aqeedah al-Tahawiyya'' ( ar, العقيدة الطحاوية) of
Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi
Abu Ja'far Ahmad al-Tahawi ( ar, أبو جعفر الطحاوي, translit=Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī) (843 – 5 November 933), or simply aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (Arabic: ), was an Egyptian Arab Hanafi jurist and Athari theologian. He studi ...
is one of the three seminal works in
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
Islamic creed. By 17th century, more than fifty commentaries were written on this work, of which the most famous is
al-Taftazani's commentary named ''Sharh 'Aqaid al-Nasafi'' ( ar, شرح عقائد النسفي).
:Abu Hafs an-Nasafi wrote the ''Al-'Aqaid'' as a direct summary of ''Al-Tamhid le Qawa'id al-Tawhid'' ( ar, التمهيد لقواعد التوحيد) the famous book by his own teacher
Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi
Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi ( uz, Абул-Муин ан-Насафи; ar, أبو المعين النسفي), was considered to be the most important Central Asian Hanafi theologian in the Maturidite school of Sunni Islam after Imam Abu Mansur al-M ...
.
:While a few Arabic sources have shown skepticism in attributing this work to Abu Hafs an-Nasafi, a recently discovered manuscript of the
Persian version of the work confirms the authorship of the work for Abu Hafs al-Nasafi. The Persian version of the work, titled ''Bayan-e Itiqad-e Ahl-e Sunnat wa Jama'at'' ( fa, بیان اعتقاد اهل سنت و جماعت), is reported on the authority of Al-Nasafi's most famous student,
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
Burhān al-Dīn Abu’l-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Abī Bakr bin ‘Abd al-Jalīl al-Farghānī al-Marghīnānī ( ar, برهان الدين المرغيناني) was an Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. He was born in Marghinan nea ...
, the author of ''
Al-Hidayah''. Al-Marghinani explains in the preface of the treatise that Abu Hafs a-Nasafi wrote this work per request made by
Ahmad Sanjar, the
Seljuk ruler and
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
, when he visited
Samarqand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
in 535
AH or 1140 CE.
:
Al-Marghinani explains that one of
Sultan Sanjar
Senjer ( fa, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (''b''. 1085 – ''d''. 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until in 1118,[Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ( ...]
and was accompanying the Sultan, asked the scholars of Samarqand to write a treatise on the creed of
Ahl al-Sunnah so that "no one in Sistan could speak against it". Presumably, Sistan was dominated by the
Karramiyya sect who were advocating for
anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
. In response to this request, the scholars of Samarqand asked Abu Hafs al-Nasafi to write the treatise, and they all put their signatures at the end of the document. Among the scholars present in the gathering with Sultan Sanjar was Shaikh al-Islam Abd al-Hameed al-Ismandi al-Samarqandi (the author of the published book titled ''Tariqah al-Khilaf fi al-Fiqh''). Al-Marghinani writes in the preface of the manuscript that he took a copy of the treatise and run it again with An-Nasafi for final review.
Quranic sciences
* ''Al-Taysir fi al-Tafsir'' ( ar, التيسير في التفسير) is his most celebrated work in
tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
, which has been published in 15 volumes by Darul Lubab in 2019. The work has been widely cited in other leading tafsir works of the
Ottoman period, including in ''Tafsir Ibn Kamal Pasha'' of
Ibn Kemal, ''Roh al-Bayan'' of
Ismail Haqqi, and ''
Ruh al-Ma'ani'' of
Mahmud al-Alusi. Among the
Persian tafsirs,
Kamal al-Din Hussain Wa'ez Kashefi extensively cites ''Al-Taysir'' in both of his tafsir works, i.e. ''Jawaher al-Tafsir'' and ''Mawaheb-e 'Aliyya''.
* ''Tafsir-e Nasafi'' ( fa, تفسیر نسفی) is a Persian translation of the Quran in rhymed prose. It is considered to be the third oldest full translation of Quran in Persian language, and the only translation of Quran in rhymed prose.
* ''Al-Akmal al-Atwal fi Tafsir al-Quran'' ( ar, الأکمل الأطول في تفسير القرآن) was a voluminous work in tafsir, written prior to Al-Taysir fi al-Tafsir.
* ''Risalah fi al-Khata' fi Qira'at al-Qur'an'' ( ar, رسالة في الخطأ في قرائة القرآن) or ''Zillah al-Qari'' ( ar, زلة القارئ), published in 2017 by Dar 'Amar.
Jurisprudence
* ''Manzumah fi al-Khilafyat'' ( ar, منظومة في الخلافيات) is a book in the form of poetry, consisting of 2669 verses, explaining the differences in the views of Abu Hanifa and his students, namely
Abu Yusuf,
Muhammad al-Shaybani
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Farqad ash-Shaybānī ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن الحسن بن فرقد الشيباني; 749/50 – 805), the father of Muslim international law, was an Arab jurist and a di ...
and Zufur, on legal rules, as well as the differences between Abu Hanifa and
Al-Shafii and
Malik ibn Anas. The book was published in 2010
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
.
:Over ten commentaries have been written on this work, the most celebrated one being that of
Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi titled ''Al-Muasaffa'', published in 2020 by Dar al-Noor.
* ''Hasr al-Masa'il wa Qasr al-Dala'il'' ( ar, حصر المسائل وقصر الدلائل) is a commentary on ''Manzumah fi al-Khilafyat'' with detailed exposition of the reasons (''adillah'') for each legal rule. The book is published by Dar al-Fajr in 2020.
* ''Tilbah al-Talabah fi al-Istilahat al-Fiqhiyya'' ( ar, طلبة الطلبة في الإصطلاحات الفقهية) is an acclaimed textbook used over centuries in Hanafi schools and has been published multiple times in recent years.
* ''Manzumah al-Jame' al-Saghir'' ( ar, منظومة الجامع الصغير) in which Al-Nasafi turned
Muhammad Shaibani
Muhammad Shaybani Khan ( uz, Muhammad Shayboniy, also known as Abul-Fath Shaybani Khan or Shayabak Khan or Shahi Beg Khan, originally named "Shibägh", which means " wormwood" or " obsidian") (c. 1451 – 2 December 1510), was an Uzbek leader ...
's seminal work (Al-Jame' Al-Saghir) into poetry consisting of 81 verses.
* ''Sharh Madar al-Usul'' ( ar, شرحُ مَدارِ الأصول) - a commentary on Al-Karkhi's seminal work in
Usul al-Fiqh.
Biographical history
* ''Al-Qand fi Zikr 'Ulama'e Samarqand'' ( ar, القند في ذکر علماء سمرقند) is a
biographical encyclopedia of
Transoxiana's Islamic scholars.
Teachers
He studied under prominent scholars such as
Fakhr al-Islam al-Bazdawi,
Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi, and
Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi
Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi ( uz, Абул-Муин ан-Насафи; ar, أبو المعين النسفي), was considered to be the most important Central Asian Hanafi theologian in the Maturidite school of Sunni Islam after Imam Abu Mansur al-M ...
.
Students
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
Burhān al-Dīn Abu’l-Ḥasan ‘Alī bin Abī Bakr bin ‘Abd al-Jalīl al-Farghānī al-Marghīnānī ( ar, برهان الدين المرغيناني) was an Islamic scholar of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. He was born in Marghinan nea ...
, the author of ''
Al-Hidayah'', was his most famous student.
See also
*
List of Ash'aris and Maturidis
References
External links
Al-Nasafi Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
Tafsir-e Nasafi partial text of his tafsir in Persian
{{Authority control
Hanafis
Maturidis
Hadith scholars
Iranian scholars
Persian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
12th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
1067 births
1142 deaths
12th-century jurists
People from Qashqadaryo Region