Fatima bint Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Samarqandi () was a twelfth-century
Muslim scholar and jurist.
Biography
Early life
Fatima was born to Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Samarqandi, a preeminent
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named ...
jurist who took active part in his daughter’s education. He authored the book ''
Tuhfat al-Fuqaha'''.
Marriage and career
She married
'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani
'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani ( ar, علاء الدين الكاساني), known as Al-Kasani or al-Kashani, was a 12th Century Sunni Muslim Jurist who became an influential figure of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the mo ...
, a student of her father and an expert of
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 ...
. Fatima’s dowry was Al-Kasani’s book, ''
Bada'i' al-Sana'i''' ''(The Most Marvellous of Beneficial Things)'', a commentary that he wrote on her father’s book, ''
Tuhfat al-Fuqaha'''. Her father was so impressed by the book that he accepted it as her dowry on behalf of Ala over the kings that had asked for her hand and offered more.
When her husband had any doubts and erred in issuing a
fatwa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
, she would inform him the correct judgment and explain the reason for the mistake. Although al-Kasani was a competent jurist, Fatima corrected and edited his legal opinions.
Fatima al-Samarqandi was a personal counselor of
Nur ad-Din, the mentor of
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
.
Legacy
According to researcher Hoda Gamal, she is credited with establishing the tradition of setting up voluntary iftars for male fuqaha.
See also
*
List of female Muslim scholars
*
List of Hanafis
The following is the list of notable religious personalities who followed the Hanafi Islamic madhab followed by the section of Contemporary living Hanafi scholars, in chronological order:
*Abu Hanifa (d. 767)
*Ibn al-Mubarak (d. 797)
*Abu Yusuf (d ...
*
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 Man ...
References
{{Authority control
Hanafis
Maturidis
People from Samarkand
Uzbekistani Muslims
Women scholars of the medieval Islamic world
12th-century women
12th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
1185 deaths
Year of birth unknown