Al-Hakim Abu al-Qasim Ishaq al-Samarqandi ( ar, الحكيم أبو القاسم إسحاق السمرقندي), was a

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

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 aft ...

scholar,

qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

(

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

), and

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

from

Transoxania Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of ...

who studied

Sufism 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, r ...

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

with Abu Bakr al-Warraq. Some sources describe him as a student of

al-Maturidi Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd al-Ḥanafī al-Māturīdī al-Samarḳandī ( fa, أبو منصور محمد بن محمد بن محمود الماتریدي السمرقندي الحنفي; 853–944 CE), often referred t ...

(d. 333/944-45) in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He was proficient in

and authored a Hanafi creedal statement that insists on the need for obedience to any duly appointed ruler. The creed criticizes the harsh

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

of the

Karramiyya Karramiyya ( ar-at, كرّاميّه , Karrāmiyyah) was originally a Hanafi-Murji'ah sect in Islam which flourished in the central and eastern parts of the Islamic worlds, and especially in the Iranian regions, from the 9th century until the Mon ...

and accepts traditional views of saintly marvels (

karamat In Sunni Islam, ''karamat'' ( ar, کرامات ''karāmāt'', pl. of ''karāmah'', lit. generosity, high-mindedness) refers to supernatural wonders performed by Muslim saints. In the technical vocabulary of Islamic religious sciences, the sin ...

). Abu al-Qasim's life marked a turning-point in the formation of the ascetic doctrines and teachings of Hanafi

Sunnis Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...

in the east, and his

al-Sawad al-A'zam Al-Radd 'ala Ashab al-Hawa ( ar, الرد على أصحاب الهوى, lit=Refutation of those holding heretical views), better known as ''al-Sawad al-A'zam 'ala Madhhab al-Imam al-A'zam Abi Hanifa'' ( ar, السواد الأعظم على مذهب ...

( ar, السواد الأعظم) was for a long time a major reference source on doctrine for many Hanafis-

Maturidis Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic th ...

. Although it is not yet clear whether al-Hakim was a disciple of

, or whether his handbook was a mere traditional document on Hanafite doctrine.

Name

Abu al-Qasim Ishaq b. Muhammad b. Isma'il b. Ibrahim b. Zayd al-Hakim al-Samarqandi.

Birth

His exact date of birth is unknown, although some modern biographers place the date to sometime around 260/874.

Life

Little is known about his life. He lived from the end of the 3rd/9th to the first half of the 4th/10th century.

Death

He died in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

and was buried at Jakardiza ( ar, جاكرديزه), a place reserved for prominent scholars and persons of nobility. The date of his death is uncertain, some placing it in 340 AH, others in 342 AH, and others in 345 AH. And it was being said in 402 AH.

Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi ( uz, Абул-Муин ан-Насафи; ar, أبو المعين النسفي), was considered to be the most important Central Asian Hanafi theologian in the Maturidite school of Sunni Islam after Imam Abu Mansur al-M ...

(d. 508/1114) has praised him in his book Tabsirat al-Adilla, and according to him, the date of his death was 335 AH.

Notes

References

External links

Abu al-Qasim Ishaq al-Hakim al-Samarqandi
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Encyclopaedia Iranica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

Folio from a manuscript of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis)
text originally by Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥakīm al-Samarqandī {{DEFAULTSORT:Hakim al-Samarqandi Hanafis Maturidis Sunni Sufis Sunni imams Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam 10th-century Muslim theologians People from Samarkand 870s births 950s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain