Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī ٱلطَّحَاوِيّ | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | 853 CE / 239 AH[1] Taha al-Amidah,Abbasid Caliphate |
| Died | 5 November 933 CE / 14 Dhul Qa’ada 321 AH[1] Cairo, Abbasid Caliphate |
| Era | Abbasid Caliphate |
| Main interest(s) | Islamic jurisprudence,Islamic theology,Hadith |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi[2][3][4] (formerlyShafi'i) |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (Arabic:أَبُو جَعْفَر أَحْمَد ٱلطَّحَاوِيّ,romanized: Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī)[5] (853 – 5 November 933), commonly known asat-Tahawi (Arabic:ٱلطَّحَاوِيّ,romanized: aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī), was anEgyptianArab[6][7][8]Hanafijurist andTraditionalisttheologian.[9] He studied with his uncleal-Muzani and was aShafi'i jurist, before then changing to the Hanafi school. He is known for his workal-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, a summary ofSunniIslamic creed[10][11] which influenced Hanafis inEgypt.[12]
According toal-Dhahabi, his name was Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salamah ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Salamah,al-Azdi al-Hajarial-Misri al-Tahawial-Hanafi.[13]
Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī was born in the village of Ṭaḥā inupper Egypt in 853 (239 AH)[14][1] to an affluentArab family ofAzdī origins.[15] He began his studies with his maternal uncle, Ismāʿīl ibn Yaḥyā al-Muzanī, a leading disciple ofash-Shāfiʿī,[14][1][16][17] but in 873 (259 AH), at approximately 20 years of age, aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī abandoned theShāfiʿī school of jurisprudence in favour of theḤanafī school.[17] Different versions are given by his biographers of his conversion to theḤanafī school,[17] but the most probable reason seems to be that the system ofAbū Ḥanīfa appealed to his critical insight more than that ofash-Shāfiʿī.[1]
Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī then studied under the head of the Ḥanafīs in Egypt, Aḥmad ibn Abī ʿImrān al-Ḥanafī, who had himself studied under the two primary students ofAbū Ḥanīfa,Abū Yūsuf andMuḥammad ash-Shaybānī.[17] Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī then travelled toSyria in 882 (268 AH) for further studies in Ḥanafī jurisprudence and became pupil to Abū Khāzim ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, the chiefqāḍi ofDamascus.[17][18]
Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī gained a vast knowledge ofḥadīth in addition toḤanafī jurisprudence[19] and his study circles consequently attracted many students of knowledge who relatedḥadīth from him and transmitted his works.[17] Among them were al-Da'udi, the head of theZahiris in Khurasan, andaṭ-Ṭabarānī, well known for his biographical dictionaries ofḥadīth transmitters.[17][20]
Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī was famed for his expertise in both ḥadīth and Ḥanafī jurisprudence even during his own lifetime, and many of his works, such asKitāb Maʿāni al-Āthār andʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwīyyah, continue to be held in high regard by Sunni Muslims today.[19]
He died on the 14th day ofDhū-l Qaʿdah, 321 AH (5 November 933 CE), and was buried inal-Qarāfah,Cairo.
Many of aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī's contemporaries praised him and noted him as both a reliablescholar and narrator of ḥadīth. He was widely held as a distinguished and prolific writer and became known as the most learnedfaqīh amongst the Ḥanafīs inEgypt, despite having knowledge of all themadhāhib. Over fifteen commentaries have been produced on his creedal treatise,ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwīyyah, includingshuruh by the Hanafi jurist Ismail ibn Ibrahim al-Shaybani and theTaymiyyan-inclinedIbn Abi al-Izz.[21]
He authored many other works, close to forty different books, some of which are still available today, including:
Al-Tahawi became a Hanafi, but his methodology in both law and theology retained a distinctively traditionalist character.
