Sharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya () is a commentary written by the

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 ...

Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

scholar

al-Taftazani Sa'ad al-Din Masud ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Taftazani () also known as Al-Taftazani and Taftazani (1322–1390) was a Muslim Persian polymath."Al-Taftazanni Sa'd al-Din Masud b. Umar b. Abdullah", in Encyclopedia Islam by W. Madelung, Brill ...

(d. 791/1389 or 792/1390) on the creed of Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi (d. 537/1142-3), an authoritative compendium on Islamic

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

theology that remained a standard textbook in Ottoman schools. The book is a commentary on al-Nasafi's treatise, in which al-Nasafi systematized

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 ...

theology. However, al-Taftazani adopted an

Ash'ari Ash'arism (; ) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (''mujaddid''), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on ...

perspective in his commentary.

'Aqā'id al-Nasafī

'Aqā'id al-Nasafi, a short summary of the authentic Muslim beliefs by Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi. 'Aqā'id is the plural of

'aqidah ''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 ...

, which means, religious belief, creed, or theology. This short treatise has gained much popularity and acceptance amongst the Islamic community because of its comprehensive summary of the beliefs 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 ...

. In this work, Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi closely followed

Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi (; ; c.1027 – c.1115 A.D.) was a Central Asian Hanafi scholar who is considered to be the most important theologian in the Maturidi school of Sunni Islam after Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, provided a fairly detailed ac ...

's formulations in his Tabsirat al-Adilla. Al-Nasafi compiled and enumerated some 60 points of belief, each one of them being established directly or indirectly by a Qur'anic verse or an authentic Hadith. Although written from the perspective of the

school of theology, there is a consensus about all the fundamental beliefs mentioned in its pages amongst the

scholars and they have only differed on a few of the subsidiary issues dealt with in this work. Many commentaries have been written on this work differing in size; among them are: * ''Al-Durra Sharh 'Aqa'id al-Nasafi'' () by

Ibn al-Nafis ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Ḥazm al-Qarashī (Arabic: علاء الدين أبو الحسن عليّ بن أبي حزم القرشي ), known as Ibn al-Nafīs (Arabic: ابن النفيس), was an Arab polymath whose area ...

(d. 687/1288). * ''Sharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya'' () by (d. 749/1348). * ''Al-Qala'id Sharh al-'Aqa'id'' () by (d. 770/1369). One of the most popular was the commentary written by Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani (d. 792/1390). Since then, it has been taught in Islamic schools and seminaries throughout the world, particularly in Central and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. In 1988, Syed Naquib al-Attas put forward the 'Aqā'id al-Nasafi manuscript as the oldest Malay manuscript with the date of authorship established as 1590 CE (998 AH), during the era of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah's rule in

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

(1589–1604). Like most religious manuscripts in the early stages, this manuscript was a translation from

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

to Malay and this text was written in both languages, with the translated text written below the lines of the original text in Arabic.

Al-Taftazani's commentary

Al-Taftazani Sa'ad al-Din Masud ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Taftazani () also known as Al-Taftazani and Taftazani (1322–1390) was a Muslim Persian polymath."Al-Taftazanni Sa'd al-Din Masud b. Umar b. Abdullah", in Encyclopedia Islam by W. Madelung, Brill ...

started the book by praising

Ash'aris Ash'arism (; ) is a school of theology in Sunni Islam named after Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, a Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer (''mujaddid''), and scholastic theologian, in the 9th–10th century. It established an orthodox guideline, based on ...

after criticizing the

Mu'tazilis Mu'tazilism (, singular ) is an Islamic theological school that appeared in early Islamic history and flourished in Basra and Baghdad. Its adherents, the Mu'tazilites, were known for their neutrality in the dispute between Ali and his opponents ...

. Part of his intention when he wrote this commentary was to thoroughly refute the ''Ahl al-Batil'' (the people of falsehood), such as the Mu'tazila, the Karramiyya, the

Khawarij The Kharijites (, singular ) were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the conflict with his challenge ...

, the Philosophers, etc. Though his commentary in parts reflects an Ash'ari-

synthesis, the main framework was Ash'ari theology. Manuscript of Muhammad al-Buhuti

Al-Taftazani's commentary is the oldest

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

copied on the territory of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. The scribe Muhammad ibn Sinan mentioned that he had copied it in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, 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 ...

(school) of Isa Bey, in 926/1519. There have been many scholars and theologians who have written glosses and notes on al-Taftazani's commentary, among them are the following: * (d. 819/1416). * (d. after 862/1458). * Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i (d. 885/1480), entitled ''al-Nukat wa al-Fawa'id 'ala Sharh al-'Aqa'id''. * Hasan Chelebi b. Muhammad Shah al-Fanari (d. 886/1481). * Ibn al-Ghurs (d. 894/1489). He wrote two commentaries, one long and the other short. * Muslih al-Din al-Qastallani, better known as al-Kastali (d. 901/1495). * (d. 905/1499-1500), entitled ''al-Fara'id fi Hall Sharh al-'Aqa'id''. * (d. 918/1522). * Shaykh al-Islām Zakariyya al-Ansari (d. 926/1520), entitled '. * Ramadan Efendi (d. 979/1571). * 'Isam al-Din al-Isfarayini (d. 943/1536-7 or 951/1543-4). *

Ahmad al-Maqqari Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the schola ...

(d. 1041/1631), entitled '. * Ibrahim al-Laqqani (d. 1041/1631). * 'Abd al-Hakim al-Siyalkuti (d. 1067/1657). * Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 'Ali al-Buhuti al-Khalwati al-Hanbali (d. 1088/1678), the student of Mansur al-Buhuti (d. 1051/1641) and also his nephew and son-in-law. * (d. 1138/1726). * Sulayman ibn 'Umar al-Jamal (d. 1204/1790). * Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 'Arafa al-Disūqī (d. 1230/1815). * (d. 1239/1824). * Diya' al-Din Khalid al-Baghdadi (d. 1242/1827), the founder of the Khalidi branch of the

Naqshbandi order Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

. * Ibrahim al-Bajuri (d. 1276/1859). * Hasan b. al-Sayyid 'Abd al-Qadir al-Juri (d. 1322/1909). The number of glosses ( hawashi) on al-Taftazani's commentary on al-Nasafi's creed has reached around 82.

Takhrij

(d. 879/1474), Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505), and Mulla 'Ali al-Qari (d. 1014/1606) have performed the process of

Hadiths 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 ...

that are mentioned in ''Sharh al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya'' to identify its source and status.

Modern commentators

* 'Abdullah al-Harari (d. 1429/2008). * . * . * Nidal Ibrahim Alah Rashi ().

Translations

English

* A Commentary on the Creed of Islam: Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani on the Creed of Najm al-Din al-Nasafi, translated with introduction and notes by Earl Edgar Elder, New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, and London:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1950. * * *

German

Malay

Persian

*
'Aqa'id al-Nasafi
' (), translated into Persian by Muhammad 'Umar Joya.

Russian

Толкование акиды «Ан-Насафия»
(Шарх ан-насафиййа фи-л-‘акида ал-исламиййа). Книга написана современным иракским ученым, профессором богословия . Translated from

by Adygamov Ramil Kamilovich, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher of the Department of History of Religion and Social thought, S. Mardzhani Institute of History o
Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan

Turkish

* * * *

Urdu

* ''Khulasah Sharh al-'Aqa'id'', by Ibn Habib al-Faiz. * ''Nazm al-'Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya'', by Muhammad Salman Faridi al-Misbahi. * ''Kashf al-Fara'id li-hal Sharh al-'Aqa'id'': a gloss on al-Taftazani's commentary by Mufti Muhammad Aslam Azizi al-Misbahi.

Gallery

Notes

References

External links

Aqīda Nasafiyya
— A website dedicated to the study of the work ʿUmar al-Nasafī
AKĀİDÜ’n-NESEFÎ
—

İslâm Ansiklopedisi The (İA) () is a Turkish academic encyclopedia for Islamic studies published by Presidency of Religious Affairs. History The decision to begin the encyclopedia project was made at the 1st Turkish Publications Congress in Ankara on 2–5 Ma ...

MOTURIDIYLIK TA’LIMOTINING O‘QITILISHI, TARIX VA BUGUNGI KUN
— Imam Maturidi International Scientific Research Center
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