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Al-Shaykh al-Mufid
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Al-Shaykh al-Mufid
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 as al-Shaykh al-Mufid (Arabic: الشیخ المفید) and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c. 948–1022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia Muslim scholar, jurist (faqīh) and theologian of Iraqi descent. 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 by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam, or by al-Rummani, a Mu'tazilite scholar, after a discussion with him. The leader of the Shia community at his time, he was a staunch mutakallim, theologian, and jurist.
He studied and was taught by the prominent Shia scholars al-Shaykh al-Saduq amd Ibn Qulawayh, as well as Mutazilite scholars Abu al-Husayn al-Basri and al-Rummani. His students included Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi, both of whom became important scholars in their own right. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are Amali, Al-Irshad, Al-Muqni'ah, and Tashih al-Itiqadat.
Al-Mufid was born in 'Ukbara, a small town to the north of Baghdad, on 11th Dhul Qa'dah in 336 Hijra. According to Shaykh Tusi, however, he was born in 338 AH, and later migrated with his father to Baghdad, where the Shia Buwayhids were ruling. He studied with Ibn Babawayh. His family belonged to al-Ḥarithi clan from the tribe of Madhhaj.
Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. His career coincided with that of the Mu'tazili theologian and leader of the Bahshamiyya school, 'Abd al-Jabbar. Al-Mufid was often attacked, and his library and school were destroyed.
He was also called Ibn Muallim, meaning "son of the teacher"; Muallim was his father. Among his teachers were the Shia theologian Abu Ali al-Iskafi, Abu Abdallah al-Marzubani, Abu Abdallah al-Basri, Abu al-Hassan, and Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani.
Commonly known as the leader of the Shia, Al-Mufid is regarded as the most famous scholar of the Buyid period and an eminent jurist, mainly due to his contributions in the field of kalam. According to Ibn al-Nadim, who knew al-Mufid personally, he was the head of the Shia Mutekallimun in the field of kalam, and al-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". He was taught the Islamic science of hadith by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.
It is said that al-Mufid earned his name "al-Mufid" as a result of a dispute about the relative merits of two events, the Ghadir 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 on riwayah (transmitted tradition), while the story of the Cave was based on diraya (knowledge). After the lecture, al-Mufid visited al-Rummani and asked him about Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr, who had rebelled against Ali, "a legitimate Imam". Al-Rummani responded that they had repented, and al-Mufid claimed that their repenting was merely based on riwaya, whereas the war was based in diraya. Al-Rummani then sent al-Mufid to al-Basri, with a note nicknaming the bearer "al-Mufid" ("the Instructor"). However, according to Ibn Shahr Ashub, in his Ma'alimul Ulamaa, the name was given to him by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam.
Taught by Abdallah al-Basri, the Mutazili theologian and hanafi jurist, al-Mufid adopted many theological opinions. Macdermott believes[citation needed] that al-Mufid's theology is closer to the old Baghdad 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 of Imamate 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 and Sharif al-Murtaza.
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Al-Shaykh al-Mufid
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 as al-Shaykh al-Mufid (Arabic: الشیخ المفید) and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c. 948–1022 CE), was a prominent Twelver Shia Muslim scholar, jurist (faqīh) and theologian of Iraqi descent. 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 by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam, or by al-Rummani, a Mu'tazilite scholar, after a discussion with him. The leader of the Shia community at his time, he was a staunch mutakallim, theologian, and jurist.
He studied and was taught by the prominent Shia scholars al-Shaykh al-Saduq amd Ibn Qulawayh, as well as Mutazilite scholars Abu al-Husayn al-Basri and al-Rummani. His students included Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi, both of whom became important scholars in their own right. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are Amali, Al-Irshad, Al-Muqni'ah, and Tashih al-Itiqadat.
Al-Mufid was born in 'Ukbara, a small town to the north of Baghdad, on 11th Dhul Qa'dah in 336 Hijra. According to Shaykh Tusi, however, he was born in 338 AH, and later migrated with his father to Baghdad, where the Shia Buwayhids were ruling. He studied with Ibn Babawayh. His family belonged to al-Ḥarithi clan from the tribe of Madhhaj.
Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. His career coincided with that of the Mu'tazili theologian and leader of the Bahshamiyya school, 'Abd al-Jabbar. Al-Mufid was often attacked, and his library and school were destroyed.
He was also called Ibn Muallim, meaning "son of the teacher"; Muallim was his father. Among his teachers were the Shia theologian Abu Ali al-Iskafi, Abu Abdallah al-Marzubani, Abu Abdallah al-Basri, Abu al-Hassan, and Ali ibn Isa al-Rummani.
Commonly known as the leader of the Shia, Al-Mufid is regarded as the most famous scholar of the Buyid period and an eminent jurist, mainly due to his contributions in the field of kalam. According to Ibn al-Nadim, who knew al-Mufid personally, he was the head of the Shia Mutekallimun in the field of kalam, and al-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". He was taught the Islamic science of hadith by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq.
It is said that al-Mufid earned his name "al-Mufid" as a result of a dispute about the relative merits of two events, the Ghadir 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 on riwayah (transmitted tradition), while the story of the Cave was based on diraya (knowledge). After the lecture, al-Mufid visited al-Rummani and asked him about Aisha, Talha, and Zubayr, who had rebelled against Ali, "a legitimate Imam". Al-Rummani responded that they had repented, and al-Mufid claimed that their repenting was merely based on riwaya, whereas the war was based in diraya. Al-Rummani then sent al-Mufid to al-Basri, with a note nicknaming the bearer "al-Mufid" ("the Instructor"). However, according to Ibn Shahr Ashub, in his Ma'alimul Ulamaa, the name was given to him by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam.
Taught by Abdallah al-Basri, the Mutazili theologian and hanafi jurist, al-Mufid adopted many theological opinions. Macdermott believes[citation needed] that al-Mufid's theology is closer to the old Baghdad 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 of Imamate 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 and Sharif al-Murtaza.