'Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawazin Abū al-Qāsim
al-Qushayrī al-Naysābūrī (, ; 986 – 30 December 1072) was an
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
Muslim scholar,
theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
,
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
,
legal theoretician,
commentator of the
Qur’an
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
,
muhaddith
A muhaddith () is a scholar specialized in the study, collection, and interpretation of hadiths, which are the recorded sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The role of a muhaddith is central to the science of hadith (ʻilm a ...
,
grammarian,
spiritual master,
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, and an eminent scholar who mastered a number of Islamic sciences.
Al-Qushayri, combined the routine instruction of a Shafi'i law specialist and Hadith expert (muhaddith) with a solid slant to
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
and
ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
lifestyle.
He was born in
Nishapur
Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Ni ...
which is in
Khorasan province
Khorasan ( ; also transcribed as Khurasan, Xorasan and Khorassan), also called Traxiane during Hellenistic and Parthian Empire, Parthian times, was a Provinces of Iran, province in northeastern Iran until September 2004, when it was divided in ...
in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. This region was widely known as a center of
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 ...
ic civilization up to the 13th Century CE. He was the grandfather of the hadith scholar
Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi, a student of
Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni.
Biography
Al Qushayri was born into a privileged
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
family from among the
Banu Qushayr who had settled near Nishapur. As a young man he received the education of a country squire of the time: adab, the Arabic language, chivalry and weaponry (istiʿmāl al-silāḥ), but that all changed when he journeyed to the city of
Nishapur
Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Ni ...
and was introduced to the
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 ...
shaykh Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq. Daqqaq was a student of al-Nasrabadhi (d. 367/977), who was the foremost ascetic of his time in Khorasan. Al-Nasrabadhi himself was a student of
Abu Bakr al-Shiblì (d. 946), the student of
Junayd Al-Baghdadi.
[Alexander Knysh, Islamic Mysticism: A Short History. P125
"Around 340/951, in confirmation of his status as an accomplished master, al-Sulami received a Sufi cloak (khirqa) from Abù 'l-Qàsim al-NaBràbàdhì (367/977–8), who, in turn, was initiated into Sufism by Abù Bakr al-Shiblì at Baghdad in 330/942.
His long association with al-Nabràbàdhì further strengthened al-Sulamì’s links with the Baghdad school of Sufism with which he had already been connected via his grandfather and al-Luluki"]
Daqqāq later became the master and teacher of the mystical ways to Qushayri. He later married the daughter of Daqqāq, Fatima. After the death of Daqqāq, Qushayri became the successor of his master and father-in-law and became the leader of mystic assemblies in the
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
that Abu Ali al-Daqqāq built in 1001 CE, which later became known as al-Madrasa al-Qushayriyya or "the school of the Qushayri family".
[''Al-Qushayri's Epistle on Sufism – Al-Risala Al Qushayriyya Fi 'ilm Al-Tasawwuf'' by Abu 'l-Qasim Al-Qushayri (Author) by Professor alexander d. knysh (Translator).
PXXI. (Translator’s Introduction: Al-Qushayri’s "Epistle on Sufism"] Qushayri was also the student of
Al-Sulami, another student of al-Nasrabadhi (d. 367/977).
In later years Qushayri performed the
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
in the company of
Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (d. 438/1047), the father of the great
Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, as well as traveling to
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
and the Hijaz. During these travels he heard
Hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
from various prominent Hadith scholars. Upon his return he began teaching Hadith, which is something he is famous for. He returned to Baghdad where the
Caliph
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
al-Qa'im had him perform hadith teachings in his palace.
After his return to Khurāsān, political unrest in the region between the Ḥanafī and Ashʿarī-Shāfiʿī factions in the city forced him to leave Nishapur, but he was eventually able to return and lived there until his death in 1072/465, when the
Seljuq vizier
Nizam al-Mulk
Abū ʿAlī Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī () (1018 – 1092), better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk (), was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, political philosopher and vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising from a low position w ...
re-established the balance of power between the Ḥanafīs and the Shāfiʿīs.
He left behind six sons and several daughters between Fatima and his second wife and was buried near al-Madrasa al-Qushayriyya, next to his father in-law Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq
Influence
''Laṭā'if al-Isharat bi-Tafsīr al-Qur'ān'' is a famous work of al-Qushayri that is a complete commentary of the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
. He determined that there were four levels of meaning in the Qur'an. First, the ''ibara'' which is the meaning of the text meant for the mass of believers. Second, the ''ishara'', only available to the spiritual elite and lying beyond the obvious verbal meaning. Third, ''laṭā’if'', subtleties in the text that were meant particularly for saints. And finally, the ''ḥaqā’iq'', which he said were only comprehensible to the
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
s.
This text placed him among the elite of the Sufi mystics and is widely used as a standard of Sufi thought.
His fame however, is due mostly to his ''
al-Risala al-Qushayriyya'' (or the ''Epistle on Sufism''). This text is essentially a reminder to the people of his era that Sufis had authentic ancestral tradition, as well as a defence of Sufism against the doubters that rose during that time of his life. Al-Qushayri repeatedly acknowledges his debt to, and admiration for, his
Sufi master throughout his Risala. Daqqaq was instrumental in introducing Qushayri to another outstanding Sufi authority of Khurasan,
al-Sulami, who is quoted on almost every page of the Risala. It has sections where al-Qushayrī discusses the creed of the Sufis, mentions important and influential Sufis from the past, and establishes fundamentals of Sufi terminology, giving his own interpretation of those Sufi terms. Al-Qushayrī finally goes through specific practices of Sufism and the techniques of those practices.
This text has been used by many Sufi saints in later times as a standard, as is obvious from the many translations into numerous languages.
Legacy
Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi said about his grandfather (Al-Qushayri):
Abu al-Hasan al-Bakhirzi, the author of the book Dimyah al-Qasr, said about him:
Shaykh Amin considers Imam al-Qushayri's work to be an inspiration to the better-known work of
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...
:
Works
Among Imam al-Qushayri's writings besides
al-Risala al-Qushayriyya and Laṭā'if al-Isharat bi-Tafsīr al-Qur'an include the following:
* ''Arba’un fi al-Hadith''
* ''Istifadah al-Muradat''
* ''Balaghah al-Maqasid ''
* ''Al-Ta’khir fi 'Ilm al-Tadhkir fi Ma’ani Ism Allah Ta’ala''
* ''Al-Taysir fi 'Ilm al-Tafsir''
* ''Uyun al-Ujubah fi Funun al-As’ilah''
* ''Al-Fusul fi al-Usul''
* ''Kitab al-Mi’raj'', an account of the
Night Journey
* ''Al-Muntaha fi Nukat Ula al-Nuha.''
* ''Nasikh al-Hadith wa Mansukhihi''
* ''Nahw al-Qulub''
* ''Hayat al-Arwah wa al-Dalil ila Tariq al-Salah''
* ''Shikayah Ahl al-Sunnah bi Hikayah Ma Nalahum min al-Mihnah''
* ''Manthur al-Khitab fi Shuhud al-Albab''
Sayings
I heard the master Abu Ali al-Daqqaq say: “Al-Jurayri saw al-Junayd in a
dream
fter his deathand asked him: ‘How are you, Abu al-Qasim?’ He answered:
‘Gone are all those allegorical allusions (isharat), and all those unequivocal
expressions ('ibarat) have vanished. Only those praises of God that we used to
utter in the morning have benefited us
n the Hereafter’ ”
“Al Qushayri”
pg427 ebook, 398
See also
* List of Sufis
* List of Ash'aris
* List of Muslim theologians
* List of Iranian scientists and scholars
The following is a list of Iranian scientists, engineers, and scholars who lived from antiquity up until the beginning of the modern age.
A
* Abdul Qadir Gilani (12th century) theologian and philosopher
* Abu al-Qasim Muqane'i (10th century) ...
* Tassawwuf
References
7. * Chopra, R. M., "SUFISM", 2016, Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi. .
* ''Encyclopedia Islam''
External links
Book market
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qushayri
Asharis
Shafi'is
Sunni Sufis
Sufi mystics
Sufis from Nishapur
11th-century Muslim theologians
Sunni fiqh scholars
Muhaddiths from Nishapur
Quranic exegesis scholars
11th-century jurists
Medieval grammarians of Arabic
Sunni imams
Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
11th-century Arab people
986 births
1072 deaths
Banu 'Amir