Muhammad Birgivi (1523–1573), full name Taqī al-Dīn Muhammad ibn Pīr ʿAlī al-Birgivi and known simply as Imam Birgivi, was a

Hanafi The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...

Muslim jurist and scholar who lived during the rule of 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 ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Life

Imam Birgivi was born in 1523 at

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

, but learned and studied his religion 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 ...

. He also became a member of the

Bayrami Bayramiye, Bayramiyya, or Bayramism, is a Turkish Sufi order (Tariqa) founded by Haji Bayram Veli ''(Hacı Bayram-ı Veli)'' in Ankara around the year 1400 AD. The order spread to the then Ottoman capital Istanbul where there were several Te ...

order of

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. Imam Birgivi and his disciples were vocal critics of degeneracy within the

, particularly decrying the twisting of Islamic teachings for the benefit of the rich. At one point Birgivi traveled to the capital of the Empire and personally took the prime minister to task. This reprimand was taken well by the minister, who consulted him on how to cure the degeneracy affecting the Islamic values. One of his biggest supporters in the Ottoman court was

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (; ; ; 1505 – 11 October 1579) was an Ottoman statesman of Serb origin most notable for being the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Born in Ottoman Herzegovina into an Orthodox Christian family, Mehmed was recruited a ...

. He stayed in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, working there as a religious teacher, until his death in 1573. He was buried in the private cemetery named after him, the ''İmam-î Birgivi Hazretleri Kabri'', which is adjacent to a religious school complex named after him.

Views

Imam Birgivi was a

Maturidi Maturidism () is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. It is one of the three creeds of Sunni Islam alongside Ash'arism and Atharism, and prevails in the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. Al-Maturidi codified a ...

in creed, and a

in his jurisprudence and doctrine. However, Birgivi was against the usage 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 ...

and found it unnecessary. Birgivi's views of Sufism were influenced by

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 his writings also influenced the Kadizadeli movement which opposed Sufism. Birgivi was a critic of

Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni 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 com ...

and refuted him on theological standpoints, including the faith of the

Pharaoh of the exodus The Bible makes reference to various pharaohs (, ''Parʿō'') of Egypt. These include unnamed pharaohs in events described in the Torah, as well as several later named pharaohs, some of whom were historical or can be identified with historical pha ...

Works

Birgivi is famous for his ''eṭ-Ṭarîḳatü' l-Muḥammediyye'', a book which explains his views on

, innovations, Islamic sects and Prophetic traditions, through the viewpoints of the Hanafi school and the Maturidi creed. Some of his views in the book were inspired by Ibn Taymiyyah. In addition to ''eṭ-Ṭarîḳatü' l-Muḥammediyye'', Birgivi also wrote books on language, grammar, and the etiquette when visiting graves.

References

External links

An extensive biography of Imam Birgivi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birgivi, Imam Hanafis Maturidis Mujaddid 1523 births 1573 deaths People from Balıkesir 16th-century scientists from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Ottoman Sufis Islamic scholars from the Ottoman Empire

Life

Views

Works

See also

References

External links