Abu Ishaq al-Isfara'ini was a medieval
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 theologian, Shafi'i jurist, legal theoretician
and commentator on the Qur'an. al-Isfara'ini's scholarship was focused on the sciences of
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 sta ...
,
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
Fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
. He was along with
Ibn Furak
Ibn Furak or Ibn Faurak ( ar, ابن فورك;
c. 941–c. 1015 CE / 330–406 AH) was a Muslim Imam, a theologian of Ash'arite school, a specialist of Arabic language, grammar and poetry, an orator, a jurist, and a hadith scholar from the ...
the chief propagator of Sunni
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 th ...
theology in
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...
at the turn of the 5th Islamic century.
Biography
Al-Isfara'ini was born in the town of
Isfarayin in northwestern
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
. There is little known of his childhood except that he received a comprehensive Islamic education centered on Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic theology, and Aqidah (creed). In his youth, al-Isfara'ini traveled to
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 ...
to further his studies and attended the lectures of some of the most famous Sunni scholars of his time including Bahili,
Baqillani and
Ibn Furak
Ibn Furak or Ibn Faurak ( ar, ابن فورك;
c. 941–c. 1015 CE / 330–406 AH) was a Muslim Imam, a theologian of Ash'arite school, a specialist of Arabic language, grammar and poetry, an orator, a jurist, and a hadith scholar from the ...
.
Al-Isfara'ini then chose to leave Baghdad and return to his native town of Isfarayin despite the esteem and favour shown to him by the scholars of Iraq.
Later he accepted an invitation to
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...
, where a school was built for him.
From 411 AH he held sessions teaching hadith in the congregational mosque of Nishapur.
Views
Al-Isfara'ini adhered to the Sunni Ash'ari school of theology and spent much of his time refuting the views of the
Karramiyya
Karramiyya ( ar-at, كرّاميّه , Karrāmiyyah) was originally a Hanafi-Murji'ah sect in Islam which flourished in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic worlds, and especially in the Iranian regions, from the 9th century until the Mon ...
sect who held anthropomorphic views of God.
Death
Al-Isfara'ini died in the Islamic month of
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...
in 418 AH (February 1027 CE), and was buried in Isfarayin. His tomb continued to attract pious visitors in the 6th/12th century.
See also
*
List of Ash'aris and Maturidis
The list of Ash'aris and Maturidis includes prominent adherents of the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools of thought. The Ash'aris are a doctrinal school of thought named after Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, and the Maturidi school is named for Abu Mans ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Isfara'ini, Abu Ishaq
Asharis
Shafi'is
Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Year of birth missing
418 deaths