Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn aṭ-Ṭayyib al-Bāqillānī ( ar, أبو بكر محمد بن الطيب الباقلاني; c. 950 - 5 June 1013), often known as al-Bāqillānī for short, or reverentially as Imām al-Bāqillānī by adherents to the

Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in t ...

aqidah ''Aqidah'' ( (), plural ''ʿaqāʾid'', also rendered ''ʿaqīda'', ''aqeeda'', etc.) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that literally means " creed". It is also called Islamic creed and Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' go beyond concise stat ...

, was a famous

Sunni Islamic 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 disagr ...

theologian 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 the ...

, jurist, and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

ian who spent much of his life defending and strengthening the Ash'ari school of thought within Islam. An accomplished rhetorical stylist and orator, al-Baqillani was held in high regard by his contemporaries for his expertise in debating

theological 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 the s ...

and jurisprudential issues.Ansari, Hassan, Melvin-Koushki, Matthew, Tareh, Masoud, Khodaverdian, Shahram, Omidi, Jalil and Gholami, Rahim, “al-Bāqillānī, Abū Bakr”, in: ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'', Editors-in-Chief: Wilferd Madelung and, Farhad Daftary. Al-Baqillani is often given the honorary epithets ''Shaikh as-Sunnah'' ("Doctor of the Prophetic Way"), ''Lisān al-Ummah'' ("Voice of the Community"), ''Imād ad-Dīn'' ("Pillar of the Faith"), ''Nāsir al-Islām'' ("Guardian of Islam"), and ''Saif as-Sunnah'' ("Sword of the Prophetic Way") by Ash'aris. Born in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

in 330 AH / 950 CE, he spent most of his life in Baghdad, and studied theology under two disciples of

al-Ash'ari Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (; full name: ''Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Ashʿarī''; c. 874–936 CE/260–324 AH), often reverently referred to as Imām al-Ashʿarī by Sunnī Muslims, was an Arab Muslim scholar ...

, Ibn Mujahid at-Ta'i and Abul-Hasan al-Bahili.Richard C. Martín, Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World, Volume 1, p 105. He also studied jurisprudence under the

Maliki The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

scholars Abu 'Abdillah ash-Shirazi and

Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani Ibn Abī Zayd () (922–996), fully Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Zayd ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Nafzawī ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawanī, was a Maliki scholar from Kairouan in Tunisia and was also an active proponent of Ash'ari thought.Herbert J ...

. After acquiring expertise in both Islamic theology and Maliki jurisprudence he expounding the teachings of the Ash'ari school, and taught Maliki jurisprudence in Baghdad. He held the office of chief

Qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

and in 'Ukbara, a town not far from the capital. Al-Baqillani became a popular lecturer, and took part in debates with well-known scholars of the day. Because of his debate skill, the Amir 'Adud ad-Dawlah dispatched him as an envoy to the Byzantine court in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and he debated Christian scholars in the presence of their king in 371/981. He died in 403 AH / 1013 CE. He supported the doctrine of the apologetic miracle being proof of prophecy, the non-creation of the Qur'an, intercession, and the possibility of seeing God.

Ibn Taimiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم � ...

called al-Baqillani 'the best of the Ash'ari mutakallimun, unrivalled by any predecessor or successor'.

Works

Fifty-five titles of works written by al-Baqillani have been listed, the great majority on legal and theological matters, and many written against his opponents.David Richard Thomas, Christian Doctrines in Islamic Theology, p 121. Vol. 10 of History of Christian-Muslim Relations Series. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2008. * '' Al-Inṣāf fīmā Yajib I'tiqāduh'' * ''I‘jāz al-Qur’ān'' (The Inimitability of the Qur'an) * ''Al-Intiṣār lil-Qur’ān'' * ''Al-Taqrīb wal-Irshād aṣ-Ṣaghīr'' * ''Kitāb Tamhīd al-Awāʼil wa-Talkhīṣ ad-Dalāʼil'' (The Introduction) * ''Manāqib al-A’immah al-Arba‘ah''

References

External links

Biography of Imâm Al Bâqillânî by Al Qâdî 'Iyâd Al Yahsubî

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baqillani Asharis Malikis Mujaddid Sunni Muslim scholars Sunni imams People from Basra 10th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 10th-century jurists 11th-century jurists 10th-century Arabs 11th-century Arabs 940s births 1013 deaths Year of birth uncertain