Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man ibn Muhammad ibn Mansur ibn Ahmad ibn Hayyun al-Tamimi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 896/897 |
| Died | 974 |
| Occupation(s) | Historian, Jurist, Islamic scholar |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Main interests | Islamic jurisprudence, History, Esoteric interpretation of the Quran |
| Notable works | Kitab Da'a'im al-Islam (ThePillars of Islam) |
| Notable ideas | Founder of Fatimid Ismaili jurisprudence |
Abū Ḥanīfa al-Nuʿmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Manṣūr ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥayyūn al-Tamīmiyy (Arabic:النعمان بن محمد بن منصور بن أحمد بن حيون التميمي, generally known asal-Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān (القاضي النعمان) or asibn Ḥayyūn (ابن حيون)[1] (died 974 CE/363AH) was anIsma'ilijurist and the official historian of theFatimid Caliphate. He was also calledQāḍī al-Quḍāt (قَاضِي القضاة) "Jurist of the Jurists" andDāʻī al-Duʻāt (داعي الدعاة) "Missionary of Missionaries".
Born inKairouan,[2] in what is nowTunisia, al-Nu'man converted to Isma'ilism and began his career inIfriqiya (now Tunisia, westernLibya and easternAlgeria) under the first Fatimid caliph,Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah (r. 909-934 CE/297-322 AH), quickly rising to become the most prominent judge (qadi) of the Fatimid state.
His father, Muhammad ibn Mansur (d. 351 H/923 CE), had trained as aSunniMaliki jurist inQayrawan. Some have suggested that al-Qadi al-Numan's father converted to Isma'ili Shi'ism prior to the founding of theFatimid Caliphate, suggesting that al-Qadi al-Nu'man was raised an Isma'ili.Ibn Taghribirdi has alternatively suggested however that al-Qadi al-Nu'man was aHanafi prior to his own conversion to Isma'ili Shi'ism. This has largely been dismissed due to the assumption that Ibn Taghribirdi based this on the apparently erroneous idea that theHanafi school had been pre-dominant in North Africa untilal-Mu'izz ibn Badis imposed theMaliki school. However,Ibn Taghribirdi's assertion may have alternatively been based on the fact that al-Qadi al-Numan's patronymic, "Abu Hanifah," matches with the name of theeponymous founder of the Hanafi school. This may lend support to the idea that his father, Muhammad, may have converted to theHanafi school prior to any conversion to Isma'ili Shi'ism. Regardless, al-Qadi al-Numani certainly was an Isma'ili when he entered the employ of the Fatimids at a young age.[3]
During his lifetime, al-Qadi al-Nu'man served four Fatimid Caliphs:[4]
During al-Nu'man's fifty years of service to the Fatimids, he wrote a vast number of books under the encouragement of the caliphs on history, biography,fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and theesoteric interpretation of the Quran. After the Fatimid conquest of Egypt and Syria, al-Nu'man left Ifriqiya and travelled to the newly founded city ofCairo, where he eventually died in 974 CE/363 AH.[4]
Under al-Mahdi began the career of Qadi al-Numan (d. 974), the founder of Ismaili law and author of its most authoritative compendium, the Kitab da'a'im al-Islam (Book of the pillars of Islam). In the absence of an Ismaili legal tradition, Qadi al-Numan relied primarily on the legal teaching of ImamsMuhammad al-Baqir andJa'far al-Sadiq, transmitted by Twelver Shii traditionists, and secondarily onZaydi traditions.
It gives the imam authority for determining the beginning of the month without regard to the sighting of the new moon as required by all other Muslim legal schools. Since the early Fatimid period the beginning of the months was generally established in practice on the basis of astronomical calculation and thus often fell one or two days earlier than for other Muslims; this discrepancy often caused intercommunal quarrels about the beginning and end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Al-Nu'man's work consists of over 40 treatises on fiqh, history, religious beliefs and Quranic esoteric exegesis.[4]Fuat Sezgin cites 22 works by him.[5]
Al-Nu'man's most prominent work, theDa'a'im al-Islam (Arabic:دعائم الاسلام "The Pillars of Islam"),[6] which took nearly thirty years to complete, is an exposition of Isma'ili jurisprudence.[7] This work was finally completed during the reign of the fourth caliph,al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (r. 953-975 CE/ 341-365 AH), was accepted in its time as the official code of the Fatimid Caliphate, and serves to this day as the primary source of religious law (sharia) for someMusta'li communities, particularlyTayyibi Isma'ilis.Iran incorporated theDa'a'im al-Islam into their constitution.[8] The book consists of 32 chapters in two volumes. The first volume consists of 7 chapters discussing theSeven pillars of Ismailism. The second volume consists of 25 chapters about various topics relating to different facets of life.
Alongside hisPillars of Islam, theFoundation of Symbolic Interpretation (Asās al-Taʾwīl), is one of al-Nu’man's most celebrated works and deals with esoteric interpretation (taʾwīl). In the author's own words, “Our aim [with theAsās al-Taʾwīl] is to explain theinner dimension (bāṭin) of what we laid out in the bookDaʿāʾim al-Islām, so that this book may be a source for the inner meaning (bāṭin), just as that one is for theexternal form (ẓāhir).[9]
Qadi al-Nu'man believed that it is important to recognize and understand the symbolism behind the stories in theQuran based on certain verses that point to an inner meaning such as: “Thus your Lord will choose you and teach you the symbolic interpretation (taʾwīl) of events (aḥadīth)” (Quran 12:21). In his workFoundation of Symbolic Interpretation (Asās al-Taʾwīl), he indicates thatGod made theQuran the miracle ofMuhammad and its inner meaning the miracle of theImams. Just as nobody can replicate the miracle of theBook, nobody can produce its inner meanings except for theImams. This sacred knowledge is passed down through generations in their lineage and is entrusted to them.[9]
Another major work, theKitab iftitah al-da‘wa wa-ibtida’ al-dawla ("The Beginning of the Mission and Establishment of the State") narrates the rise of the Fatimids. It mentions the initial stages of the Isma'ilidawah inYemen underIbn Hawshab. It also discussesAbu Abdallah al-Shi'i's correspondence with theKutama Imazighen and their military expeditions, leading to the conquest of theAghlabids, who ruled Ifriqiya. It discusses Imam al-Mahdi's emigration fromSalamiyah, his captivity inSijilmasa and eventual release, culminating in the establishment of the Fatimid state in 909. The book also gives an account of the circumstances leading to the revolt of al-Shi'i, for which it holds responsible the incitement of his elder brother Abu al-Abbas, and his later execution. It also gives a description of the Fatimid state up to the year 957, when the book was completed.
Ikhtilaf usul al-madhahib ("Differences Among the Schools of Law") was a refutation ofSunniprinciples of Islamic jurisprudence written at roughly the same time as the earliest of such works.[10] Nu'man's book borrows heavily from those ofDawud al-Zahiri,Muhammad bin Dawud al-Zahiri andal-Tabari, three Sunni authors about whom Nu'man displays complex mixed feelings. It has been noted that while Nu'man's book is famous, it was not the first Ismali refutation of Sunni juristic principles.
Al-Nu'man's other major works are theKitab al-majalis wa’l-musayarat ("The Book of Sessions and Excursions"), in which he has entailed in detail words of Imams inmajlis, or just while walking which he had taken note of, and the wisdom encased within them) and theKitab al-himma fi adab atba‘ al-a’imma ("The Book of Etiquette Necessary for Followers of the Imams").
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