Abū al-Thanā’ Shihāb ad-Dīn Sayyid Maḥmūd ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī al-Ālūsī al-Baghdādī (‎; 10 December 1802 – 29 July 1854 CE) was an Iraqi

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

best known for writing ''

Ruh al-Ma'ani ''Rūh al-Ma'ānī fī Tafsīri-l-Qur'āni-l-'Aẓīm wa Sab'u-l-Mathānī'' () is a 30-volume tafsir of the Qur'an, authored by the 19th-century Iraqi Islamic scholar Mahmud al-Alusi. Comments of the Scholars of the Later Centuries Yusuf B ...

'', an

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

(''tafsir'') of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

Biography

He was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

on the day of Jumu`ah, 14 Sha`ban 1217 AH (Friday, 10 December 1802). He was a prominent Baghdad scholar in the Ottoman Empire. Because some of his phrases resembled that of the

Ahl al-Hadith () is an Islamic school of Sunni Islam that emerged during the 2nd and 3rd Islamic centuries of the Islamic era (late 8th and 9th century CE) as a movement of hadith scholars who considered the Quran and authentic hadith to be the only authority ...

and Salafis such

ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyya (; 22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328)Ibn Taymiyya, Taqi al-Din Ahmad, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-959 was a Sunni Muslim ulama, ...

and

Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān al-Tamīmī (1703–1792) was a Sunni Muslim scholar, theologian, preacher, activist, religious leader, jurist, and reformer, who was from Najd in Arabian Peninsula and is considered as the eponymou ...

, he was accused of supporting

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

. This led to his dismissal in 1847. He sent his ''tafsir'' to the authorities in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

as proof for his loyalty to the established Islamic tradition and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. ʿĀrif Hikmet Bey was impressed by al-Alusi's deep knowledge and advised him to consult

Reşid Mehmed Pasha Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı (, 1780–1836), was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in the Greek War of Independence.İsmail Hâmi ...

for his concern. Reşid Mehmed Pasha eventually assigned him as a member of the

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

of the

Murjan Mosque Murjan Mosque () is a historic mosque on Al-Rasheed Street, al-Rashid Street located near the Shorja marketplace and the Abboud Building in Baghdad, Iraq. The walled mosque is significant for housing tombs of prominent Islamic scholars, including ...

and the position of a

mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

. He died on 5 Dhul-Q'dah, 1270 AH (29 July 1854)

Works

An exhaustive list of all his works far too long and thus difficult to compile. Indexes in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

and the below are a few examples: *'' Rūḥ al-ma‘ānī fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘aẓīm wa-al-sab‘ al-mathānī'' () *''Nashwat al-shamūl fī al-safar ilā Islāmbūl'' () *''Nashwat al-mudām fī al-‘awd ilá Madīnat al-Salām'' () *''al-Ajwibah al-‘Irāqīyah ‘alá al-as’ilah al-Lāhūrīyah'' () *''al-Ajwibah al-‘Irāqīyah ‘an al-as’ilah al-Īrānīyah'' () *''Ghra'b al-'Ightirab'' () *''Daqaiq al-Tafsir'' () *''Sharh Sullam al-Mantiq'' () *''al-Tiraz al-Mudh-hab Fi Sharh Qasydat al-Baz al-Ash-hab'' () *''al-Maqamat al-Alousiya'' ()

Legacy

Mahmud al-Alusi had five sons who were also scholars: Sayyid Abdullah Bahauddin al-Alusi, Sayyid Sa'ad Abdulbaqi al-Alusi, Nu'man al-Alusi, Sayyid Mohammad Hamid al-Afandi and Sayyid Ahmed Shakir al-Afandi. His tafsir was published for the first time in 1883. Through his son Sayyid Abdullah Bahauddin al-Alusi, Mahmud had a grandson, Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, who was a leading scholar of Baghdad and a religious reformist.

References

1802 births 1854 deaths Writers from Baghdad Iraqi Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Quranic exegesis scholars 19th-century Arab people Hanafis Naqshbandi order Supporters of Ibn Arabi {{Islamic-scholar-stub