Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللّٰهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ بْنِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ | |
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| Title | al-Shaykh al-Mufid,Ibn al-Mu'allim |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 948 CE Ukbara, Iraq |
| Died | 1022 (aged 73–74) |
| Era | Islamic golden age |
| Main interest(s) | Kalam,Hadith,Ilm ar-Rijal,Usul andFiqh |
| Notable work(s) | Al-Amali,Awail Al Maqalat andKitab al-Irshad |
| Occupation | Muslimscholar |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Shia |
| Jurisprudence | Ja'fari |
| Creed | Twelver |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
| Part ofa series on Shia Islam |
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Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man ibn 'Abd al-Salam al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi (Arabic: أَبُو عَبْدِ ٱللّٰهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ بْنِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلسَّلَامِ ٱلْحَارِثِيُّ ٱلْعُكْبَرِيُّ ٱلْبَغْدَادِيُّ), known asal-Shaykh al-Mufid (Arabic:الشیخ المفید) andIbn al-Mu'allim (c. 948–1022 CE), was a prominentTwelverShia Muslim scholar,jurist (faqīh) andtheologian ofIraqi descent.[1][2] His father was a teacher (mu'allim), hence his nickname Ibn al-Mu'allim ("son of the teacher"). The title "al-Mufid" ("the beneficient [one]") was given to him either byMuhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam,[3] or by al-Rummani, aMu'tazilite scholar, after a discussion with him.[4] The leader of the Shia community at his time,[5] he was a staunchmutakallim, theologian, and jurist.
He studied and was taught by the prominent Shia scholarsal-Shaykh al-Saduq amdIbn Qulawayh, as well as Mutazilite scholarsAbu al-Husayn al-Basri and al-Rummani. His students includedSharif al-Murtaza andShaykh Tusi, both of whom became important scholars in their own right. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which areAmali,Al-Irshad,Al-Muqni'ah, andTashih al-Itiqadat.
Al-Mufid was born in'Ukbara, a small town to the north ofBaghdad, on 11thDhul Qa'dah in 336Hijra. According to Shaykh Tusi, however, he was born in 338 AH,[1] and later migrated with his father toBaghdad, where theShiaBuwayhids were ruling. He studied withIbn Babawayh. His family belonged to al-Ḥarithi clan from the tribe ofMadhhaj.
Sharif al-Murtaza andShaykh Tusi were among his students. His career coincided with that of theMu'tazili theologian and leader of theBahshamiyya school,'Abd al-Jabbar. Al-Mufid was often attacked, and his library and school were destroyed.[6]
He was also called Ibn Muallim, meaning "son of the teacher";[7] Muallim was his father. Among his teachers were theShia theologian Abu Ali al-Iskafi, Abu Abdallah al-Marzubani, Abu Abdallah al-Basri, Abu al-Hassan, and Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani.[4]
Commonly known as the leader of the Shia,[5][8][9] Al-Mufid is regarded as the most famous scholar of theBuyid period and an eminentjurist,[2][5] mainly due to his contributions in the field ofkalam. According toIbn al-Nadim, who knew al-Mufid personally, he was the head of the ShiaMutekallimun in the field of kalam, andal-Tawhidi, who was also personally familiar with al-Mufid, described him as "eloquent and skillful at dialectic (jadal)". His skill in polemical debate was such that he was said to be capable of convincing his opponents "that a wooden column was actually gold".[4] He was taught the Islamic science ofhadith byAl-Shaykh al-Saduq.[2]
It is said that al-Mufid earned his name "al-Mufid" as a result of a dispute about the relative merits of two events, theGhadir Khumm and the Cave. Al-Mufid participated in a lecture given by Isa al-Rummani, where in a response to a question al-Rummani claimed that Ghadir Khum was based merely onriwayah (transmitted tradition), while the story of the Cave was based ondiraya (knowledge). After the lecture, al-Mufid visited al-Rummani and asked him aboutAisha,Talha, andZubayr, who had rebelled againstAli, "a legitimate Imam". Al-Rummani responded that they had repented, and al-Mufid claimed that their repenting was merely based onriwaya, whereas the war was based indiraya. Al-Rummani then sent al-Mufid to al-Basri, with a note nicknaming the bearer "al-Mufid" ("the Instructor").[4] However, according toIbn Shahr Ashub, in hisMa'alimul Ulamaa, the name was given to him byMuhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam.[1][3]
Taught by Abdallah al-Basri, theMutazili theologian andhanafi jurist,[10] al-Mufid adopted many theological opinions.[11] Macdermott believes[citation needed] that al-Mufid's theology is closer to the oldBaghdad school of Mutazilism than to Abdul Jabbar's late Basran system. His methodology is closer to that of the Baghdad school, and he seems to have followed the Baghdad school and Mutazilism in his views concerning such questions as God's unity and justice. However, al-Mufid differs from Mutazilism on the problem ofImamate and the position of grave sin in this life. Al-Mufid tried to defend the role of reason – he described it as Al-Nazar – and also disputed for the truth and put away faults with the help of argument and proofs. Also, al-Mufid believed that the task of a theologian was according to reason and argument. His views were adopted by his pupils,'Abd al-Jabbar andSharif al-Murtaza.[6]
Al-Mufid defined God's unity in this way:
I say that God is one in divinity and eternity. Nothing resembles Him, nor can anything be compared with Him. He alone deserves adoration. He has no second with Him in this, in any respect or connection.[6]
According to al-Mufid, all believers in God's unity, save for "some eccentric anthropomorphists", agree with this. LikeMutazilis, al-Mufid rejected "the simple realism of the Ash'arite theory of attribution". However, al-Mufid and 'Abd al-Jabbar give different explanations of what an attribute is, and whether it is in an object or in the mind.[6]
According to al-Mufid, there is an absolute necessity forprophets, since in order to knowGod and moral principles man needsrevelation, and he noted that "everyapostle (rasul) is a prophet but every prophet (nabi) is not an apostle". Although he took care to make a distinction between an apostle and a prophet as theQuran does, he did not believe that there was a difference in their functions, which enabled him to put theImams on the level of the prophets and the apostles except in terms of their names.[6]
Al-Mufid defined theImamiya as those who believe in the necessity ofImamah,Ismah and personalnass, i.e., personal designation. He tended to the belief that theImams are superior to all the prophets and apostles, with the exception ofMuhammad. According to al-Mufid, Imams can "take the place of the prophets in enforcing judgments, seeing to the execution of the legal penalties, safeguarding the Law, and educating mankind", a definition which makes an Imam not only "the head of the community in administrative, judicial, and military matters", but an "authoritative teacher of mankind". This attitude regarding Shia Imam is the basis of other teaching in Mufid theology such as Imam's immunity from sin and error, the necessity of having an imam in all the times and the way the Imam should be designated.[6]
On a number of occasions al-Mufid was critical of his teacher,Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, and hisTashih al-Itiqadat was a correction of al-Saduq'sRisalat al-Itaqadat. Not limiting himself to theological matters, al-Mufid rejected al-Saduq's resort toakhbar al-ahad (single tradition), particularly when a legal statement is to be issued. However, he did not object to al-Saduq's views concerning the extent of theQuran; he only criticized his views on the nature of the Quran.[5] Unlike al-Saduq, al-Mufid accepted "religious and speculative theology".[4] While al-Saduq allowed controversy "only in the form of quoting and explaining the words of God, the Prophet, and the Imams", reporting a tradition fromJa'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam of Shia, al-Mufid believed that there were two kinds of disputation – namely, "true" and "vain".[6]
Shaykh al-Mufid is said to have written 200 works, of which only a few more than ten have survived.[2] Some of his works are as follows:
Al-Mufid received twoTawqīʿs byMuhammad al-Mahdi duringmajor occultation.[17]
Al-Mufid died on the third day ofRamadan in 413 AH. According to theShia writerShaykh Tusi, "The day of his death drew the largest crowd ever seen in any funeral, and both friends and foes wept uncontrollably". He remained buried in his own house for two years, after which his body was moved toAl Kadhimiya Mosque and buried next to his teacher, Ibn Qulawayh al-Qummi.[18][19] His grave is near the feet of two of theShiaImams,Musa al-Kadhim and his grandsonMuhammad al-Jawad.[3]
The ninth day ofAzar inIran's official calendar is the commemoration day of Shaykh al-Mufid.[20]An image of Mofid has been shown as imaginary in a paint.[21]
