Al-Suyuti | |
|---|---|
السيوطي | |
| Title | Shaykh al-Islām[1] Jalal al-Din Al-Ḥāfiẓ |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 11 October 1445 CE / 1 Rajab 849 AH |
| Died | 18 October 1505 CE / 19 Jumadi Ula 911 AH |
| Region | Egypt |
| 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 |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[2][3] |
| Tariqa | Shadhiliyya |
| Creed | Ash'ari[4][5][6] |
| Muslim leader | |
| 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 |
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (Arabic:جلال الدين السيوطي,romanized: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī;c. 1445–1505),[8][a] oral-Suyuti, was anEgyptianSunniMuslimpolymath ofPersian descent.[9][10] Considered themujtahid andmujaddid of 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,lexicographer andhistorian, 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]
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-Nuḥāh contains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology. He was also in his time the leading authority of theShafi'i school of thought (madhhab).[17]
Al-Suyuti was born to a family of Persian descent on 3 October 1445 AD (1 Rajab 849 AH) inCairo in 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 law at theMosque and Khanqah of Shaykhu in Cairo, but died when al-Suyuti was 5 or 6 years old.[20][21]
Al-Suyuti grew up in an orphanage in Cairo. He became aḤāfiẓ of the Qu'ran at the age of eight years, followed by studying the Shafi'i andHanafi jurisprudence (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, andMali as well as to educational hubs inEgypt such asMahalla, Dumyat, andFayyum.[12]
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, SultanQaitbay appointed himshaykh at 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]
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 beSufis and 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."
Al-Suyuti had some backlash with some of his contemporaries especially by his own teacherAl-Sakhawi and his fellow studentAl-Qastallani who were two major renownedmuhaddithuns. Al-Suyuti was accused for plagiarism but those accusations were later dropped.[23]
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His most famous clash was with one of his teachers, Burhan al-Din al-Biqa'i, who staunchly criticizedIbn Arabi in his book calledTanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn 'Arabi translated 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 'Arabi translated 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]
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 oflogic in 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'ari in his creed, as presented in many of his works. InMasalik al-Hunafa fi Walidayy al-Mustafa he 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'i as 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 Water water for several matters. Among them was that I reach the level of SheikhSiraj al-Din al-Bulqini in 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 inHadith and theArabic language, saveAl-Khidr or 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 aSufi of theShadhili order.[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-Basri did 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]
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]
Ibn al-ʿImād writes: "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 asIndia during 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]
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-Muḥaḍarah al-Suyuti lists 283 of his works on subjects from religion to medicine. As withAbu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi in 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 asrabies andsmallpox, 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-Nayk andNuzhat al-Mutaʾammil.[32]
The family of al-Suyuti, of Persian origin, settled during the Mamluk period in Asyut, in Upper Egypt (from where they derive their name).
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