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al-Suyuti

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Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti(Arabic:جلال الدين السيوطي,romanized:Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī;c.1445–1505),[8][a]oral-Suyuti,was anEgyptianSunniMuslimpolymathofPersiandescent.[9][10]Considered themujtahidandmujaddidof the Islamic 10th century,[11]he was a leadingmuhaddith(hadith master),mufassir(Qu'ran exegete),faqīh(jurist),usuli(legal theorist),sufi(mystic),theologian,grammarian,linguist,rhetorician,philologist,lexicographerandhistorian,who authored works in virtually every Islamic science.[12][13][14]For this reason, he was honoured one of the most prestigious and rarest titles:Shaykh al-Islām.[15]

Al-Suyuti
السيوطي
TitleShaykh al-Islām[1]
Jalal al-Din
Al-Ḥāfiẓ
Personal
Born11 October 1445 CE / 1 Rajab 849 AH
Cairo,Mamluk Sultanate
Died18 October 1505 CE / 19 Jumadi Ula 911 AH
Cairo,Mamluk Sultanate
ReligionIslam
RegionEgypt
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceShafi'i[5][6]
CreedAsh'ari[2][3][4]
Main interest(s)Aqidah,Sharia,Fiqh,Usul al-Fiqh,Hadith,Usul al-Hadith,Tafsir,Arabic grammar,Arabic Literature,Rhetoric,Philology,lexicography,Seerah,History,Mathematics,Medicine
Notable work(s)Tafsir al-Jalalayn,Al-Dur al-Manthur,Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an[ar],Al-Jami' al-Saghir,Tanbih al-Ghabi bi-Tabri'at Ibn 'Arabi
TariqaShadhiliyya
Muslim leader
Influenced by
Influenced
Arabic name
Personal(Ism)'Abd al-Raḥmān
Patronymic(Nasab)ibn Abī Bakr ibn Muḥammad
Teknonymic(Kunya)Abū al-Faḍl
Epithet(Laqab)Jalāl al-Dīn
Toponymic(Nisba)al-Suyūṭī, al-Khuḍayrī, al-Shāfi'ī

He was described as one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages and is recognized today as one of the most prolific authors of allIslamic literature.Al-Suyuti wrote approximately one thousand works.[16]Hisbiographical dictionaryBughyat al-Wuʻāh fī Ṭabaqāt al-Lughawīyīn wa-al-Nuḥāhcontains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology. He was also in his time the leading authority of theShafi'ischool of thought (madhhab).[17]

Biography

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Early life

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Al-Suyuti was born to a family of Persian descent on 3 October 1445 AD (1 Rajab 849 AH) inCairoin theMamluk Sultanate.[10]According to al-Suyuti his ancestors came from al-Khudayriyya inBaghdad.[18]His family moved toAsyut,hence thenisba"al-Suyuti".[19][20]His father taughtShafi'i lawat theMosque and Khanqah of Shaykhuin Cairo, but died when al-Suyuti was 5 or 6 years old.[20][21]

Education

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Al-Suyuti grew up in an orphanage in Cairo. He became aḤāfiẓof the Qu'ran at the age of eight years, followed by studying the Shafi'i andHanafijurisprudence (fiqh),traditions(hadith), exegesis (tafsir), theology, history, rhetoric, philosophy,philology,arithmetic, timekeeping (miqat) and medicine.[20]

He then dedicated his entire life to master the Sacred Sciences under approximately 150 sheikhs. Among them were renowned scholars who were the leading scholars of each sacred Islamic science of their time.[12]

In his thirst for quest for knowledge, Al-Suyuti travelled toSyria,Hejaz (Mecca&Medina),Yemen,Iraq,India,Tunisia,Morocco,andMalias well as to educational hubs inEgyptsuch asMahalla,Dumyat, andFayyum.[12]

Teaching

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He started teaching Shafi'i jurisprudence at the age of 18, at the same mosque as his father did.

Al-Suyuti became the head master of Hadith at the Shaykhuniyya school in Cairo, at the suggestion of ImamKamal al-Din ibn al-Humam.In 1486, SultanQaitbayappointed himshaykhat theKhanqah of Baybars II,aSufi lodge,[21]but was sacked due to protests from other scholars whom he had replaced. After this incident, he gave up teaching and was fed up of others being jealous of him.[12]

Avoiding Public Life

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In his late forties, al-Suyuti began avoiding the public when he argued with the Sufis in the Baybarsiyyah lodge, he disagreed their claim to beSufisand were not following the path of saints in terms of manners and ethics, he was thus dismissed.[22]

Ibn Iyas, in his book called Tarikh Misr, said that when al-Suyuti became forty years of age, he left the company of men for the solitude of the garden of al-Miqyas, close to theRiver Nile,where he abandoned his friends and former co-workers as if he had never met them before. It was at this stage of his life where he authored most of his 600 books and treatises.[12]

Rich and Influential Muslims and rulers would visit him with large sums of money and gifts but he rejected their offers and also refused the king many times when he ordered al-Suyuti's to be summoned. He once said to the king's ambassador:[12]

"Do not ever come back to us with a gift, for in truth Allah has put an end to all such needs for us."

Controversy

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Al-Suyuti had some backlash with some of his contemporaries especially by his own teacherAl-Sakhawiand his fellow studentAl-Qastallaniwho were two major renownedmuhaddithuns.Al-Suyuti was accused for plagiarism which prolific writers were similarly accused of such asIbn Al-JawziandIbn Taymiyyahbut those accusations were later dropped.[23]

Defending Ibn Arabi

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Main article:Tanbih al-Ghabi bi-Tabri'at Ibn 'Arabi

His most famous clash was with one of his teachers, Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i, who staunchly criticizedIbn Arabiin his book calledTanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn 'Arabitranslated in English 'Warning to the Dolt That Ibn Arabi is an Apostate', Al-Suyuti responded with a book calledTanbih al-Ghabi fi Takhti'at Ibn 'Arabitranslated in English 'Warning to the Dolt That Faults Ibn 'Arabi'. Both epistles have been made widely available. In his writing, Al-Suyuti presented that he considered Ibn 'Arabi aWali(Friend of Allah) whose books are prohibited to those who read them without first learning the sophisticated terms used by the Sufis. He quotes fromIbn Hajar's list in his book called Anba' al-Gh which mention the trustworthy and respected scholars who kept a positive opinion of Ibn Arabi or even recognized him to be anWali.[23]

Creed & Spiritual Lineage

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In terms of his theological positions, Al-Suyuti had a contempt feeling towards speculative theology (kalam) and pushed for strict submission (tafwid). He opposed the use oflogicin the Islamic sciences.[24][25]He does, however, agree withAl-Ghazali's conservative view of kalam, which states that the science should be studied by scholars who meet the necessary requirements to administer the appropriate dosages as bitter medicine to people who are in dire need.[15]

Al-Suyuti wasAsh'ariin his creed, as presented in many of his works. InMasalik al-Hunafa fi Walidayy al-Mustafahe said:[26]

"The parents of the Prophet died before he attained Prophethood, and there is no punishment for them. The Qur'an says

'We never punish until We send a messenger [whom they reject]' (al-Isra' 17: 15).

Our Ash'arī Imams, among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh, agree on the statement that one who dies while da'wah has not reached him, dies saved. This has been explained by ImamAl-Shafi'ias follows: 'some of the fuqaha' explained that the reason for the above is, such a person follows fitra (primordial disposition), and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger. "

Al-Suyuti claimed to be amujtahid(an authority on source interpretation who gives legal statements on jurisprudence,hadith studies,andArabic language).[19]

"I did not mean that I was similar to one of the Four Imams, but only that I was an affiliated mujtahid (mujtahid muntasib). For, when I reached the level of tarjih or distinguishing the best fatwa inside the school, I did not contraveneAl-Nawawi's tarjih. And, when I reached the level of ijtihad mutlaq, I did not contraveneAl-Shafi'i's school. "

Al-Suyuti claimed he reached the same level as the major Imams of Hadith and Fiqh.[26]

"When I went on hajj, I drankZamzam Waterwater for several matters. Among them was that I reach the level of SheikhSiraj al-Din al-Bulqiniin fiqh, and in hadith, that of HafizIbn Hajar Al-Asqalani.' "

Al-Suyuti also claimed there was no scholar on Earth more knowledgeable than him:

"There is no one in our time, on the face of the earth, from East to West, more knowledgeable than me inHadithand theArabic language,saveAl-Khidror the Pole of saints or some other wali - none of whom do I include into my statement - and Allah knows best. "

This brought huge attention and heavy criticism by scholars of his contemporaries as he was portrayed by them as an arrogant scholar who viewed himself to be superior and wiser than others. However, Al-Suyuti defended himself stating he was only speaking the truth so that people can benefit from his vast knowledge and accept his rulings (fatwas).[22]

Al-Suyuti was aSufiof theShadhiliorder.[19]Al-Suyuti's chain in Tasawwuf goes way back to SheikhAbdul Qadir Gilani.Al-Suyuti defended Sufis in his book entitled Tashyid al-Haqiqa al-Aliyya:[26]

"I have looked at the matters which the Imams of Shariah have criticized in Sufis, and I did not see a single true Sufi holding such positions. Rather, they are held by the people of innovation and the extremists who have claimed for themselves the title of Sufi while in reality they are not.'"

In his book entitled Tashyid, Al-Suyuti demonstrates a narrative chains of transmission by providing evidence thatHasan al-Basridid in indeed receive narrations directly fromAli ibn Abi Talib.This goes against the mainstream view amongst scholars of Hadith, despite also being a respected opinion ofAhmad Bin Hanbal.[26]

Death

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Considered the greatest scholar of his century, he continued publishing books of his scholarly writings until he died on 18 October 1505 at the age of sixty two.[21]

Reception

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Ibn al-ʿImādwrites: "Most of his works become world famous in his lifetime." Renowned as a prolific writer, his student Dawudi said: "I was with the Shaykh Suyuti once, and he wrote three volumes on that day. He could dictate annotations onĥadīth,and answer my objections at the same time. In his time he was the foremost scholar of the ĥadīth and associated sciences, of the narrators including the uncommon ones, the hadithmatn(text),isnad(chain of narrators), the derivation of hadith rulings. He has himself told me, that he had memorized over two hundred thousand (200,000) hadiths. "Adding that there was no scholar at his time who memorized this much.[27][28][29]

His admirers stated that Al-Suyuti writings reached as far asIndiaduring his time on Earth. His learning and more importantly his incredible prolific output were widely seen as miraculous signs from God due to his merit.[22]

Works

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TheDalil Makhtutat al-Suyuti( "Directory of al-Suyuti's Manuscripts" ) states that al-Suyuti wrote works on over 700 subjects,[20]while a 1995 survey put the figure between 500[30]and 981. However, these include short pamphlets, andlegal opinions.[19]

He wrote his first book,Sharh Al-Isti'aadha wal-Basmalah,in 866 AH, at the age of seventeen.[citation needed]

InḤusn al-Muḥaḍarahal-Suyuti lists 283 of his works on subjects from religion to medicine. As withAbu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawziin his medicinal works, he writes almost exclusively on prophetic medicine, rather than the Islamic-Greek synthesis of medicinal tradition found in the works ofAl-Dhahabi.He focuses on diet and natural remedies for serious ailments such asrabiesandsmallpox,and for simple conditions such as headaches and nosebleeds, and mentions the cosmology behind the principles of medical ethics.[31]

Al-Suyuti also wrote a number of Islamic sexual education manuscripts that represent major works in the genre, which began in the 10th-century in Baghdad. The most significant of these works isAl-Wishāḥ fī Fawāʾid al-Nikāḥ( "The Sash on the Merits of Wedlock" ),[8]but other examples of such manuscripts includeShaqāʾiq al-Utrunj fī Raqāʾiq al-Ghunj,Nawāḍir al-Ayk fī Maʻrifat al-NaykandNuzhat al-Mutaʾammil.[32]

Major works

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Shrine for Galal El-Dean al-Seyoti inAsiut
  • Tafsir al-Jalalayn(Arabic:تفسير الجلالين,lit. 'Commentary of the two Jalals'); aQur'anic exegesiswritten by Al-Suyuti and his teacherJalal al-Din al-Mahalli[20]
  • Dur al-Manthur(Arabic:درالمنثور) a famous and authoritative narration basedtafsir.
  • Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an[de](translated into English asThe Perfect Guide to the Sciences of the Qur'an,ISBN978-1-85964-241-2)
  • Al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik;an extensive work on angels in Islamic tradition.
  • Al-Tibb al-Nabawi(Arabic:الطب النبوي,lit. 'Prophetic medicine')
  • Al-Jaami' al-Kabir(Arabic:الجامع الكبير,lit. 'Large collection')
  • Al-Jaami' al-Saghir(Arabic:الجامع الصغير,lit. 'Little collection' )
  • Sharh Sunan al-Nasaai,a famous commentary ofSunan al-Nasa'i[33]
  • Annotations Sunan Abi Dawood,a complete annotations ofSunan Abu Dawoodwritten by the Hadith scientist Al-Suyuti[34]
  • Alfiyyah al-Hadith[35]
  • Tadrib al-Rawi(Arabic:تدريب الراوي) both inhadith terminology
  • Al-Ashbaahu Wan-Nadhaair,a famous authoritative book of theShafi'i madhab[36]
  • History of the Caliphs(Tarikh al-Khulafa)
    • The Khalifas who Took the Right Way,a partial translation of theHistory of the Caliphs,covering the first fourRashiduncaliphs andHasan ibn Ali
  • Tabaqat al-Huffaz,an appendix toal-Dhahabi'sTadhkirat al-Huffaz
  • Nuzhat al-Julasāʼ fī Ashʻār al-Nisāʼ(Arabic:نزهة الجلساء في أشعار النساء), "An Anthology of Women's Verse'[37]
  • Al-Khasais-ul-Kubra,which discusses the miracles of Islamic prophetMuhammad
  • Al-Muzhir(Arabic Linguistics)[38]
  • Uqud Al Juman(Arabic Rhetoric)
  • Al-Faridah(Arabic Grammar)
  • The Book of Exposition(credited)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^(Arabic:جلال الدين عبد الرحمن بن أبي بكر بن محمد الخضيري السيوطي;Abū al-Faḍl 'Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr ibn Muḥammad Jalāl al-Dīn al-Khuḍayrī al-Suyūṭī(Brill2nd)

References

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  1. ^Sayyid Rami Al Rifai (3 July 2015).The Islamic Journal From Islamic Civilisation To The Heart Of Islam, Ihsan, Human Perfection.Sunnah Muakada. p. 37.
  2. ^"Ahl al-Sunna: The Ash'aris - The Testimony and Proofs of the Scholars".almostaneer.com(in Arabic). Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 2021.
  3. ^Spevack, Aaron (2014).The Archetypal Sunni Scholar: Law, Theology, and Mysticism in the Synthesis of Al-Bajuri.State University of New York Press. pp. 99, 179.ISBN978-1-4384-5371-2.
  4. ^InMasalik al-Hunafa' fi Walidayy al-Mustafa,he says: "The Prophet's parents died before he was sent as a Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since (We never punish until We send a messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ).Our Ash`ari Imamsamong those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da`wa has not reached him, dies saved. This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi`i.... Some of the fuqaha' explained that the reason is, such a person follows fitra or Primordial Disposition, and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger "
  5. ^Barakat, E. R., & Haneef, M. A. (2006). "Must Money Be Limited to Only Gold and Silver?: A Survey of Fiqhi Opinions and Some Implications".Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics,19(1).
  6. ^Sookhdeo, Patrick. "Issues of interpreting the Koran and Hadith." Connections 5.3 (2006): 57-82.
  7. ^Ali, Mufti. "Aristotelianisme Dalam Kacamata Para Tokoh Abad Tengah Penentang Logika." Al Qalam 24.3 (2007): 318-339.
  8. ^abMyrne, Pernilla (2018)."Women and Men in al-Suyūṭī's Guides to Sex and Marriage".Mamlūk Studies Review.XXI.The Middle East Documentation Center (MEDOC) at the University of Chicago: 47–67.doi:10.25846/26hn-gp87.ISSN1947-2404.
  9. ^Anna Kollatz;Miri Shefer-Mossensohn;Yehoshua Frenkel; Bethany J. Walker; Toru Miura; Christian Mauder (11 July 2022).The Mamluk-Ottoman Transition Continuity and Change in Egypt and Bilād Al-Shām in the Sixteenth Century, 2.V&R Unipress.p. 268.ISBN978-3-8470-1152-1.
  10. ^abMeri, Josef W. (January 2006).Medieval Islamic Civilization, Volume 1 An Encyclopedia.Routledge. p. 784.ISBN978-0-415-96691-7.The family of al-Suyuti, of Persian origin, settled during the Mamluk period in Asyut, in Upper Egypt (from where they derive their name).
  11. ^Jaleel, Talib (11 July 2015).Notes On Entering Deen Completely Islam as its followers know it.EDC Foundation. p. 1031.
  12. ^abcdefZulfiqar Ayub 2015,p. 281
  13. ^Esposito, John L. (21 October 2004).The Oxford Dictionary of Islam.Oxford University Press.p. 307.ISBN978-0-19-975726-8.
  14. ^Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwi(30 April 2019).Muslims in India.Claritas Books. p. 36.ISBN978-1-905837-53-3.
  15. ^abGhersetti, Antonella (18 October 2016).Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk Period Proceedings of the Themed Day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca' Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014).Brill.p. 44-259.ISBN978-90-04-33452-6.
  16. ^Jere L. Bacharach, Josef W. Meri (31 October 2005).Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia.Routledge.p. 784-5.ISBN978-1-135-45596-5.
  17. ^Fancy, Nahyan (3 June 2013).Science and Religion in Mamluk Egypt Ibn Al-Nafis, Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrectio.Taylor & Francis.p. 23.ISBN978-1-136-70361-4.
  18. ^Geoffroy, E. (1960–2007)."al-Suyūṭī".In P. Bearman (ed.).Encyclopaedia of Islam(2nd ed.).ISBN978-90-04-16121-4.
  19. ^abcdMeri, Josef W., ed. (2005)."Suyuti, Al-, 'Abd al-Rahman".Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia.Routledge. pp. 784–786.ISBN978-1-135-45603-0.
  20. ^abcdeOliver Leaman, ed. (2006)."Al-Suyuti".The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia.Taylor & Francis. pp. 618–920.ISBN978-0-415-32639-1.
  21. ^abcDhanani, Alnoor (2007)."Suyūṭī: Abū al-Faḍl ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī".In Thomas Hockey (ed.).The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers.New York: Springer. pp. 1112–3.ISBN978-0-387-31022-0.
  22. ^abcMahdi Tourage, Ovamir Anjum 2017,p. 15
  23. ^abZulfiqar Ayub 2015,p. 283
  24. ^Mahdi Tourage, Ovamir Anjum 2017,p. 13
  25. ^Ali, Mufti (2008). "A Statistical Portrait of the Resistance to Logic by Sunni Muslim Scholars Based on the Works of Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūtī (849-909/1448-1505)".Islamic Law and Society.15(2): 250–267.doi:10.1163/156851908X290600.ISSN0928-9380.JSTOR40377962.
  26. ^abcdZulfiqar Ayub 2015,p. 284
  27. ^Al-Kawākib as-Sāyirah 1/228[verification needed]
  28. ^Hasan, Abu,Imām Jalāluddin Suyūţi - Biography and Works(PDF),www.sunniport.com, pp. 6–7, archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-03-04,retrieved2016-01-04
  29. ^Mahdi Tourage, Ovamir Anjum 2017,p. 14
  30. ^Irwin, R. (1998). Julie Scott Meisami; Paul Starkey (eds.).Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature.Taylor & Francis. p. 746.ISBN978-0-415-18572-1.
  31. ^Emilie Savage-Smith,"Medicine." Taken fromEncyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, Volume 3: Technology, Alchemy and Life Sciences,pg. 928. Ed. Roshdi Rasheed.London:Routledge,1996.ISBN0-415-12412-3
  32. ^Ghersetti, Antonella, ed. (2016).Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk Period: Proceedings of the Themed Day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca' Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014).Leiden.ISBN978-90-04-33450-2.OCLC956351174.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  33. ^"SHARH SUNAN AN-NASAAI (AS-SUYUTI ET AS-SINDI)".sifatusafwa.com.
  34. ^"ANNOTATIONS SUNAN ABI DAWOOD - IMAM AS-SUYUTI".sifatusafwa.com.
  35. ^"USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts".Web Archive. 2 January 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 2 January 2008.Retrieved18 March2010.
  36. ^"AL-ASHBAAHU WAN-NADHAAIR - AS-SUYUTI (FIQH & USUL SHAFI'I)".sifatusafwa.com.
  37. ^James Mansfield Nichols, 'The Arabic Verses of Qasmūna bint Ismāʿil ibn Bagdālah',International Journal of Middle East Studies,13 (1981), 155-58.
  38. ^Ghaffari, Talib (7 January 2011)."Writings of Imam Jalaluddin al-Suyuti".Maktabah Mujaddidiyah.Retrieved23 November2013.

Sources

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