Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (; ; c.1027 – c.1115 A.D.) was a

Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

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 ...

scholar who is considered to be the most important theologian in the Maturidi school of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

after Imam

Abu Mansur al-Maturidi Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (; 853–944) was a Hanafi jurist and theologian who is the eponym of the Maturidi school of kalam in Sunnism. He got his from Māturīd, a district in Samarkand. His works include , a classic exegesis of the Qur'a ...

, provided a fairly detailed account of al-Maturidi

predecessors.

Name

His name was Abu al-Ma'in Maymun b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Mu'tamad b. Muhammad Ibn Mak-hul b. al-Fadhl al-Nasafi al-Mak-huli.

Birth

He was born in Nasaf (present Karshi) around 438 A.H. (1046 A.D.) and died in the same city in 508 A.H. (1115 A.D.). It was said that his birth was in 418 A.H. (1027 A.D.) according to Khair al-Din al-Zarkali and Umar Rizo Kahhol, while Qutluwbugha says it was in 438 A.H. (1046 A.D.), based on the age of his death being seventy years in the year of 508 A.H. (1115 A.D.).

Life

Classical sources give no information about his life, but he lived in an age in which Muslim theology was reaching its peak, and he contributed to this development. He was born in an educated family. His ancestors were respected by society as great scholars of "

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

" science. His great-grandfather, Makhul Nasafi, was a disciple of Imam al-Maturidi, and his grandfather, Mu’tamid ibn Makhul Nasafi, was famous as a theologian,

jurist ( Faqih), and mystic (

Sufi 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 ...

) who was reported to have written a number of works. He received his primary education from his father and grandfather.

Kalam

Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi was one of the prominent representatives 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 ...

", the science of

aqeedah ''Aqidah'' (, , pl. , ) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that means "creed". It is also called Islamic creed or Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' goes beyond concise statements of faith and may not be part of an ordinary Muslim's religious ins ...

, and played an important role in the wide dissemination of the teachings of Maturidiyya, founded by

Students

Some of his popular students are: * Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi (d. 537/1142), the author of al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyyah (). * 'Ala' al-Din Samarqandi (d. 539/1144), the author of Tuhfat al-Fuqaha' (). * 'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani (d. 578/1191), the author of

Bada'i' al-Sana'i' Bada'i' as-Sana'i' fi Tartib ash-Shara'i' (''Marvellous artistry in the arrangement of the religious-legal regulations'')() is a classical manual of fiqh for the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. The author of the text is 6th century (Hij ...

(). * Sadr al-A'imma Abu al-Ma'ali Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-Husain al-Bazdawi (d. 542/1147). Sometimes it's assumed that Abu al-Thana' al-Lamishi was a student of him, though this is not known for sure.

Books

He wrote many works aimed at clarifying misconceptions about

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, fighting religious

fanaticism Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. The political theorist Zachary R. Goldsmith provides a "cluster account" of the concept of fanaticism, identifying ten main attributes that, in various com ...

. Some of his popular and widely accepted works are as follows: * Tabsirat al-Adillah (Instructing the Evidences); is considered as the second major work in the

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 ...

curriculum, after Imam al-Maturidi's Kitab al-Tawhid. * Al-Tamhid li-Qawa'id al-Tawhid (Introduction to the Principles of Monotheism); is a summary of Tabsirat al-Adilla (Instructing the Evidences). * Bahr al-Kalam fi 'Ilm al-Tawhid (Ocean of Discussions on the Science of Monotheism); is one of the main sources of "

" science in

Maturidism 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 ...

Death

It is widely accepted that he died in 508 A.H. (1114 or 1115 A.D.). His mausoleum, located in the village of Kovchin in Karshi district, is one of the ancient pilgrimage places. President

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

, during his visit to Kashkadarya region on 24–25 February 2017, gave recommendations on improvement of his mausoleum, creation of necessary conditions for visitors, organization of a library and translation of his works.

References

External links

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits mausoleum of Abu Mouin Nasafi
{{Authority control Hanafis Maturidis 12th-century Muslim theologians Transoxanian Islamic scholars Mujaddid Sunni imams Sunni fiqh scholars Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Uzbekistani Muslims 12th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 11th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 1027 births 1046 births 1114 deaths 1115 deaths 11th-century Muslim theologians