Qadi Baydawi (also known as Naṣir ad-Din al-Bayḍawi, also spelled Baidawi, Bayzawi and Beyzavi; d. June 1319,
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
) was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
jurist, theologian, and
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
commentator. He lived during the post-
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) 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
* Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
and early
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
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
The Salghurids ( fa, سلغُریان), also known as the Atabegs of Fars (), were a Persianate dynasty of Salur Turkmen origin that ruled Fars, first as vassals of the Seljuqs then for the Khwarazm Shahs in the 13th century.
History
Th ...
. 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
The Arabic language, Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to:
* Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation
**c ...
was derived), a small town in the
Fars region of southern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. Since 1148, the region had been controlled by the
Salghurids
The Salghurids ( fa, سلغُریان), also known as the Atabegs of Fars (), were a Persianate dynasty of Salur Turkmen origin that ruled Fars, first as vassals of the Seljuqs then for the Khwarazm Shahs in the 13th century.
History
Th ...
, a family of
Turkoman origin, who would rule as nominal vassals of the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
, the
Khwarazmshahs
Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a to ...
, and the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
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 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 title's use was wit ...
'' (ruler)
Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd
Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd, also known as Muzaffar al-Din Qutlugh Khan, was the Salghurid ''atabeg'' (ruler) of Fars from 1226 to 1260. He was the son and successor of Sa'd I.
Background
Since 1148, the southern Iranian region of Fars had been ruled b ...
(). 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 of the
Shafi'ite
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
''
madhhab
A ( ar, مذهب ', , "way to act". pl. مَذَاهِب , ) is a school of thought within ''fiqh'' (Islamic jurisprudence).
The major Sunni Mathhab are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE an ...
'' (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 Persian philosopher
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
(died 1111).
Works
al-Baydawi wrote on many subjects, including
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 ...
(jurisprudence), history, Arabic grammar,
tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
His major work is the commentary on the
Qur'an
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.: , sing. ...
entitled ''
(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
Abul-Qasim al-Hussein bin Mufaddal bin Muhammad, better known as Raghib aaghibIsfahani ( fa, ابوالقاسم حسین ابن محمّد الراغب الاصفهانی), was an eleventh-century Muslim scholar of Qur'anic exegesis and the A ...
. It has been edited by
Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer
Heinrich Leberecht Fleischer (21 February 1801 – 10 February 1888) was a German oriental studies, Orientalist.
Biography
He was born at Schandau, Kingdom of Saxony, Saxony. From 1819 to 1824, he studied theology and Oriental languages at Univer ...
(2 vols., Leipzig, 1846-1848; indices ed. W. Fell, Leipzig, 1878). A selection with numerous notes was edited by
D. S. Margoliouth
David Samuel Margoliouth, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (; 17 October 1858, in London – 22 March 1940, in London) was an English oriental studies, orientalist. He was briefly active as a priest in the Church of England. He was Laudian P ...
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, mn, Абаха/Абага хан (Khalkha Cyrillic), ( Traditional script), "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler (''Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hul ...
, the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
ruler of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
to legitimize
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
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
''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...
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 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 Mans ...
*
List of Muslim theologians
This is a list of notable Muslim theologians.
Traditional Theologians and Philosophers Ash'aris and Maturidis
* Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari
* Abu Mansur al-Maturidi
* Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi
* Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi
* Shahab_al-Din_Abu_Hafs_Um ...
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
13th-century Muslim theologians
Mujaddid
1226 births
1319 deaths
13th-century jurists
13th-century Iranian people
Scholars of the Ilkhanate
People under the Salghurids