Badr al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Dimashqi al-Saffuri al-Burini (July 1556-11 June 1615), commonly known as al-Hasan al-Burini, was a
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
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, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
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-based
Ottoman Arab historian and poet and
Shafi'i
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 ...
jurist.
Life
Al-Burini was born in mid-July 1556 in the village of
Saffuriya
Sepphoris (; grc, Σέπφωρις, Séphōris), called Tzipori in Hebrew ( he, צִפּוֹרִי, Tzipori),Palmer (1881), p115/ref> and known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ar, صفورية, Ṣaffūriya) since the 7th century, is an archaeolog ...
near
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
in the
Galilee
Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
, hence his ''
nisba
The Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to:
* Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation
**comparatively, in Afro-Asiatic: see Afroasiatic_lang ...
'' (epithet) "al-Saffuri". His father Muhammad was originally from the village of
Burin near
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
hence the ''nisba'' "al-Burini". At the age of 10 he moved to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
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, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
with his father.
Al-Burini learned 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. ...
at the
Manjak Mosque in the
Midan
Al-Midan ( ar, حي الميدان) is a neighbourhood and municipality in Damascus, Syria, south of the old walled city and near the modern city centre. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 177,456. Today, the neighbourhood is often co ...
neighborhood in his adolescence. Afterward, he received an education in
Arabic grammar
Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...
, ''
qanun'' (secular law) and arithmetic from Damascene ''
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' (religious scholars) at the Madrasa al-Umariyya in the
Salihiyya
Salihiyya ( so, Saalixiya; Urwayniya, ar, الصالحية) is a ''tariqa'' (order) of Sufi Islam prevalent in Somalia and the adjacent Somali region of Ethiopia. It was founded in the Sudan by Sayyid Muhammad Salih (1854-1919). The order is c ...
neighborhood. His studies there were interrupted by a famine, which prompted him to relocate to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
from 1567 to 1571. In Jerusalem he was taught by Muhammad ibn Abi al-Lutf. He moved back to Damascus in 1571, settling in the
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
lodge of Samisatiyya where he expanded his education to literature, ''
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), ''
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 ...
'' (Qur'anic interpretations), and
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
. By 1580 he had mastered
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 ...
, as taught to him by Persian author Hafiz Husayn al-Karbala'i (d. 1588) in
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
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or Damascus. Later in life, he also learned
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
.
After completing his studies, al-Burini became the head of the
Shafi'i
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 ...
''fiqh'' in the
Umayyad Mosque
The Umayyad Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأموي, al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus ( ar, الجامع الدمشق, al-Jāmiʿ al-Damishq), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the ...
in 1580. About the same time he began making sermons at the Sultan Mosque and became a lecturer in a number of Damascus madrasas. He was known by his students for his eloquence, charisma and literary knowledge, while the historians and religious scholars of the period lauded al-Burini for the same qualities, as well as his interest in history and philology. The governors and judges of Damascus trusted and appreciated al-Burini, considering him an accomplished Shafi’i jurist with independent judgements. He served as the ''
kadi'' (Islamic head judge) of the Ottoman
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
pilgrimage caravan from Damascus to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
in 1611. On 11 June 1615 he died in Damascus and was buried in the cemetery of
Bab al-Faradis
Bab al-Faradis ( ar, بَابُ الْفَرَادِيسِ, Bāb al-Farādīs; "The Gate of the Paradise") or Bab al-Amara is one of the seven ancient city-gates of Damascus, Syria. The other name, Bab Al-Amara Al-Amara ( ar, العمارة, al- ...
.
Literary works
One of al-Burini's main bodies of work was ''Tarajim al-A'yan min Abna al-Zaman'', a collection of 205 biographies of notable contemporary scholars, rulers and artisans, completed in 1614 after ten years. Fadl Allah ibn Muhibb Allah edited and published the work in 1667 with a supplement. The work was republished in Damascus in 1959.
Al-Burini often traveled to different parts of Syria, penning two works about his trips to
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
in 1599/1600 and Aleppo in ''al-Rihlat al-Tarabulusiyya'' and ''al-Rihlat al-Halabiyya'', respectively. During his visits to Tripoli and its
Akkar
Akkar District ( ar, قضاء عكار) is the only district in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon. It is coextensive with the governorate and covers an area of . The UNHCR estimated the population of the district to be 389,899 in 2015, including 106,935 ...
countryside he was hosted by the chieftain and governor
Yusuf Sayfa Pasha
Yusuf Sayfa Pasha ( ar, يوسف سيفا باشا, Yūsuf Sayfā Pāsha; – 22 July 1625) was a chieftain and ''multazim'' (tax farmer) in the Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli region who frequently served as the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman ''beylerbey' ...
.
His poetry is mostly found in a ''
diwan'' located in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. His epistle to As'ad ibn Muiin al-Din al-Tibrizi al-Dimashqi is located in
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
, his ''Marathi'' poems for the Sufi Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Barakat al-Qadiri is preserved in Berlin and number of his poems are held in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London.
He penned a commentary on the ''diwan'' of
Ibn al-Farid
Ibn al-Farid or Ibn Farid; (, ''`Umar ibn `Alī ibn al-Fārid'') (22 March 11811234) was an Arab poet. His name is Arabic for "son of the obligator" (the one who divides the inheritance between the inheritors), as his father was well regarded fo ...
in 1591 and a commentary on the latter's ''al-Ta’iyya al-Sughra'' in 1593.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{Authority control
1556 births
1615 deaths
17th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire
17th-century Arabic poets
17th-century travelers
Arabs from the Ottoman Empire
Historians of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Palestine
Writers from Damascus
Shafi'i fiqh scholars