Zakariyyā al-Ansārī was a leading

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 ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

ʿĀlim of the 15th century.

Biography

Birth

He was born in or around 1420 CE, in Sunaika, located in the Egyptian province of Sharqiyya.

Education

During his adolescence, al- Ansārī moved to Cairo to study at

al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

. He lived in such poverty there, that he would venture out into the night in search of water faucets and the rinds of watermelon. However, according to al-Ansārī's own account, after a few years at al-Azhar, a mill worker came to his aid. He provided the young al-Ansārī with money for his food, clothing and books. al-Ansārī told of a remarkable encounter with his benefactor told him, Eventually, this foretelling would prove to be accurate. While a student, al- Ansārī studied under al-Qāyāti, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalāni, Jalāl al-Dīn al Mahallī, Al-Kamal ibn al-Humam and Sharaf al-Din al Munawi.

Teaching

Zakariyyā al-Ansārī held the office of Shāfi’ī

qādī 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 ...

for a twenty-year period during the reign of Qā’it Bey. Over the course of his lifetime, al-Ansārī spent eighty years engaged as a teacher and muftī. One of al-Ansārī students was al-Sha’rānī, who was responsible for much of the information that survives in regards to the life of al-Ansārī. Of his teacher, al-Sha’rānī wrote that al-Ansārī was, "a pillar of the fiqh and the tasawwuf". Al-Ansārī held several teaching positions over the course of his life, which included professorships at the madrasa of the mausoleum of al-Shāfī and the madrasa Jāmaliyya.

Death

Al-Ansārī died in 1520, in Cairo, at the age of 100. He was given the honorary title "Shaikh al-Islam" and is known for the legacy of his mystic and legal writings. Al-Ansārī gained fame especially in Indonesia and Malaya due to his frequent mention as a source for Malay writers.

Legacy

In terms of al-Ansārī's Sufi legacy, his name is also remembered in connection to his student al-Sha’rānī. Al-Sha’rānī established Neo-Sufism, also known as the "middle course". Neo-Sufism combines tasawwuf and fiqh.

Works

Fifty-two writings are listed under al-Ansārī's name in Brockelmann's Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur. These writings include, but are not limited to, topics of logic, grammar, philosophy, scientific terminology, rhetoric,

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

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 ...

, Holy Tradition, the life of Muhammad, jurisprudence (''

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 ...

''), dogma and mysticism. Some of al-Ansārī's most famous works include: Manhaj al-tullab ("The Way of the Students"), Fath al-Wahhab ("The help of the Bountiful"), Tuhfat al-tullāb (“The Gift offered to the Students"), Lubb al-usul ("The Kernel of the Science of the roots"), and his commentary on al-Qushairī's Risāla fī ‘l-tasawwuf. From an early age, Zakariyyā al-Ansārī was attracted to

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

. So encompassing was his interest, that al-Ansārī claimed no one expected much of anything from him in the way of legal studies. Al-Ansārī studied, and was initiated as a Sufi under Muhammad al-Ghamrī. He wrote several treaties on Sufism, but al-Ansārī is especially well known for his commentary on al-Qushairī’s Risāla fī ‘l-tasawwuf. In this commentary he defines

tasawwuf Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

in a number of ways, complete earnestness in the progression towards the King of all kings;... it is the devotion to works of good and the avoidance of defects."'' His commentaries on the Sahih of

Bukhari Bukhari or Bokhari () means "from Bukhara (Uzbekistan)" in Persian, Arabic, Urdu and Hebrew, and may refer to: People * al-Bukhari (810–870), Islamic hadith scholar and author of the *Bukhari Daud (1959–2021), Indonesian academician and reg ...

, Abhari’s adaptation of

Isagoge The ''Isagoge'' ( el, Εἰσαγωγή, ''Eisagōgḗ''; ) or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his ...

al-Jazari Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206, ar, بديع الزمان أَبُ اَلْعِزِ إبْنُ إسْماعِيلِ إبْنُ الرِّزاز الجزري, ) was a polymath: a scholar, ...

’s tajwid and his Futuhat al-ilahiyya on mysticism are among Ansārī's most popular texts in Indonesia.

References

{{Authority control Asharis Shafi'is Sunni Sufis Shaykh al-Islāms Mujaddid 15th-century Egyptian historians 1420 births 1520 deaths 15th-century people from the Mamluk Sultanate 16th-century Egyptian historians 15th-century jurists 16th-century jurists Supporters of Ibn Arabi