Al-Baydawi
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Qadi Baydawi (also known as Naṣir ad-Din al-Bayḍawi, also spelled Baidawi, Bayzawi and Beyzavi; d. June 1319,
Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
) was a jurist, theologian, and
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
commentator. He lived during the post-
Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...
and early
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
era. Many commentaries have been written on his work. He was also the author of several theological treatises. He lived in the period of the Salghurids. Iranian region was a sheltered place because the Salgurs got along with the Mongols in this period. For this reason, this region became a safe region preferred by scholars. He also benefited from the scholars who came here. Details about his life are available in his book titled al-Gayah al-Kusvâ. Aykaç, Mustafa, Nâsıruddin el-Beyzâvî ve Osmanlı Kelâm Geleneğindeki Yeri = Naser Addin al-Baidawi and His Place on Ottoman Theology Tradition, İslami Araştırmalar, 2016/27, vol. 3, p. 389 Baydawi's only Persian work, the ''Kitab Nizam al-Tawarikh'', is the first historical book to showcase the ethno-national history of Iran.


Biography

Baydawi was a native of Bayda (from which his nisba was derived), a small town in the Fars region of southern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Since 1148, the region had been controlled by the Salghurids, a family of Turkoman origin, who would rule as nominal vassals of the
Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...
, the Khwarazmshahs, and the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
until their downfall in 1282. Baydawi's date of birth is unknown, however, assessing his accomplishments throughout his career, it can be deduced that he was born sometime during the reign of the Salghurid ''
atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...
'' (ruler) Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd (). During this period, culture flourished in Fars; Abu Bakr ordered the construction of many hospitals and high-level religious establishments which attracted many scholars. Like the majority of the population of Fars, Baydawi was a
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...
of the Shafi'ite ''
madhhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni Islam, Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi school, Hanafi, Maliki school, Maliki, Shafi'i school, Shafi'i and Hanbali school, Hanbali. They ...
'' (school). Baydawi's education is obscure. According to the historian al-Yafi'i, Baydawi was tutored by his father Umar, who had been a student of Mujir-ad-Din Mahmud ibn Abi-al-Mubarak al-Baghdadi ash-Shafi'i, a former student of Mui'in-ad-Din Abi-Sa'id Mansur ibn Umar al-Baghdadi, who had studied under the prominent philosopher
al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...
(died 1111). His father, Qazi Imam al-Din Abu al-Qasim 'Umar bin al-Sa'id Fakhr ad-Din Abdullah al-Baydawi was a disciple of Sufi Saint, Abu Talib 'Abd al-Mohsin bin Abi al-'Umaid al-Shafi', al-Khafifi al-Abhari (d. 624/1227) who was well versed in religious laws and was illustrious Muslim scholar in the last 6th and early 7th century A.H. Baydawi became the disciple of a Sufi Saint in Tabriz, Shaikh Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Kunjani. Once he wanted to become the Qadi of Fars under the rule of Arghun Khan so he requested the saint to help him in the matter, as Arghun Khan had a high opinion of Shaikh and used to pay homage to the Shaikh on every Thursday. One day when Arghun Khan visited him, the Shaikh told him that ''"a Persian scholar had begged a piece of hell from him equal to a prayer rug"''. Arghun Khan wanted further explanation regarding the statement. On this, Shaikh explained to him that Qadi Nasir ud-Din Baydawi wanted the office of the Qadi of Fars. Arghun Khan, on Shaikh's recommendation again appointed him as the Qadi. Baydawi heard of the Shaikh's remarks made and consequently was much disturbed. He took the words as a warning and became penitent, finally giving up the idea to achieve his desired post. Eventually, he lost his interest in the worldly affairs and settled permanently at Tabriz and spent the rest of his life there. While staying at Tabriz, he began to visit his Shaikh regularly till his death at Tabriz. A narration is also there that he completed his Quranic commentary on a hint by the same Shaikh. He spent his old age in mystic activities at Tabriz. Imam Baydawi, according to Zarkobe, died at Tabriz and was buried in the Charand-ab graveyard and his grave stood near the shrine of his spiritual guide, Shaikh Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Kunjani. Muhammad Ma'sum Shirazi reports his burial on the east of the shrine of Shaikh Zia ud-Din Yahya in the same graveyard.


Works

al-Baydawi wrote on many subjects, including
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica
''Fiqh'' is of ...
(jurisprudence), history, Arabic grammar,
tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...
and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. His major work is the commentary on 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 ...
entitled ''
The Lights of Revelation and the Secrets of Interpretation ''Anwār al-Tanzīl wa-Asrār al-Ta’wīl'' (), better known as ''Tafsīr al-Bayḍāwī'' (), is one of the most popular classical Sunni Qur'anic interpretational works (''tafsīr'') composed by the 13th-century Islamic scholar, Muslim schol ...
(Anwar al-Tanzil wa-Asrar al-Ta'wil). This work is largely a condensed and amended edition of al-Zamakhshari's ('' al-Kashshaf''). That work, which displays great learning, is affected by Mu'tazilite views, which al-Baydawi has tried to amend, sometimes by refuting them and sometimes by omitting them. In addition to drawing heavily from al-Kashshaf, al-Baydawi's tafsir also relied on the tafsirs of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and al-Raghib al-Isfahani. It has been edited by Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer (2 vols., Leipzig, 1846-1848; indices ed. W. Fell, Leipzig, 1878). A selection with numerous notes was edited by D. S. Margoliouth as ''Chrestomathia Beidawiana'' (London, 1894), and his commentary on Sūra 12 was edited and translated by A. F. L. Beeston.A. F. L. Beeston, ''Baiḍawiʼs Commentary on Surah 12 of the Qurʾan: Text, Accompanied by an Interpretative Rendering and Notes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963). His historical work ''Nizam al-Tawarikh'' (The Ordering of Histories) was written in Persian, his native language. It seems to be part of an effort to encourage
Abaqa Khan Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, , "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler ('' Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 ...
, the
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
ruler of
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
to legitimize
Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...
rule in Iraq by conversion to Islam. This work played a key-role in the formation of the ethno-national history of Iran, being the first book devoted to its national history. His theological/kalamic work ''"Tawali' al-Anwar min Matali' al-Anzar"'' is about the logic of
kalam ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology ('' aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fai ...
in the Islamic theological tradition. His other works: ''al-Gayah al-Kusvâ'', ''Minhaj al-Usul ila Ilm al-Usul'', ''Lub al-Albâb'', ''Risala fî Ta'rifat al-Ulûm'', ''Tuhfeh al-Abrâr'', ''Havâs al-Quran''. Aykaç, Mustafa, Nâsıruddin el-Beyzâvî ve Osmanlı Kelâm Geleneğindeki Yeri = Naser Addin al-Baidawi and His Place on Ottoman Theology Tradition, İslami Araştırmalar, 2016/27, vol. 3, p. 390


See also

* List of Ash'aris * List of Muslim theologians


References


Sources

* * * * This in turn cites: ** C. Brockelmann, ''Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur'' (Weimar 1898), vol. i. pp. 416–418. * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baidawi Asharis Shafi'is Quranic exegesis scholars 13th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam 13th-century Muslim theologians Mujaddid 1226 births 1319 deaths 13th-century jurists 13th-century Iranian people Scholars from the Ilkhanate People under the Salghurids