Taftazani
Encyclopedia
Sa'ad al-Din Masud ibn Umar ibn Abd Allah al-Taftazani also known as Al-Taftazani and Taftazani (1322 - 1390) was a Muslim
Persian
polymath
. He also wrote a commentary on the Qur'an in Persian
called "Kashf-al-Asrar" and translated the Persian
poetry and prose of Saadi
into Turkic.
in Iran
, then in the Sarbedaran state. He completed his education in various educational institutions in the cities of Herat
, Gujduvan, Feryumed, Gulistan, Khwarizm, Samarkand
and Sarakhs
. He mainly resided in Sarakhs
. He was active during the reign of Timur
, who noticed him as a promising scientist and supported his scholarship, and was part of his court. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
famously remarked about him that "science ended with him in the East" and "no one could ever replace him", due to the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
, which ended the Islamic Golden Age
. He died in Samarkand
in 1390 and was buried in Sarakhs
. He sincerely practiced Islam, and practiced and preached in the Hanafi
and Maturidi
schools. He was of the Hanafi
school in matters of Fiqh
(Islamic jurisprudence) and a Maturidi
with regard to issues of Aqidah (Islamic creed).
and translated a volume of Sa'adi
's poetry from Persian into Turkish. But it was in Arabic that he composed the bulk of his writing.
, Islamic jurisprudence, linguistics
, rhetoric
, logic
and literature
.. His treatises, even the commentaries, are "standard books" for students of Islamic theology and his papers have been called a "compendium of the various views regarding the great doctrines of Islam".
, who is considered by some to be the father of the social sciences
for anticipating many elements of these disciplines centuries before they were founded in the West, said of him:
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
. He also wrote a commentary on the Qur'an in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
called "Kashf-al-Asrar" and translated the Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
poetry and prose of Saadi
Saadi (poet)
Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī better known by his pen-name as Saʿdī or, simply, Saadi, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but he has also been quoted in western sources...
into Turkic.
Early life and education
Al-Taftazani was born in 1322 in Taftazan, KhorasanGreater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, then in the Sarbedaran state. He completed his education in various educational institutions in the cities of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, Gujduvan, Feryumed, Gulistan, Khwarizm, Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and Sarakhs
Sarakhs
Sarakhs is a city in and capital of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs...
. He mainly resided in Sarakhs
Sarakhs
Sarakhs is a city in and capital of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs...
. He was active during the reign of Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
, who noticed him as a promising scientist and supported his scholarship, and was part of his court. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
Al-Haafidh Shihabuddin Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, better known as Ibn Hajar due to the fame of his forefathers, al-Asqalani due to his family origin , was a medieval Shafiite Sunni scholar of Islam who represents the entire realm of the Sunni world in the field of Hadith...
famously remarked about him that "science ended with him in the East" and "no one could ever replace him", due to the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
Mongol invasion of Central Asia
The Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
, which ended the Islamic Golden Age
Islamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
. He died in Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
in 1390 and was buried in Sarakhs
Sarakhs
Sarakhs is a city in and capital of Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs...
. He sincerely practiced Islam, and practiced and preached in the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
and Maturidi
Maturidi
In Islam, a Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidi's theology, which is a close variant of the Ash'ari theology . The Maturidis, Ash'aris and Atharis are all part of Sunni Islam, which makes up the overwhelming majority of Muslims...
schools. He was of the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school in matters of Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
(Islamic jurisprudence) and a Maturidi
Maturidi
In Islam, a Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidi's theology, which is a close variant of the Ash'ari theology . The Maturidis, Ash'aris and Atharis are all part of Sunni Islam, which makes up the overwhelming majority of Muslims...
with regard to issues of Aqidah (Islamic creed).
Career
During his lifetime, he wrote treaties on grammar, rhetoric, theology, logic, law and Quran exegesis. His works were used as textbooks for centuries in Ottoman madrasahs. and are used in Shia madrasahs to this day. He completed "Sharh-i az-Zanjani" which was his first and one of his most famous works at the age of 16.. He also wrote a commentary of the Qur'an in PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and translated a volume of Sa'adi
Saadi (poet)
Abū-Muḥammad Muṣliḥ al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī better known by his pen-name as Saʿdī or, simply, Saadi, was one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is not only famous in Persian-speaking countries, but he has also been quoted in western sources...
's poetry from Persian into Turkish. But it was in Arabic that he composed the bulk of his writing.
Contributions
Al-Taftazani made contributions to theologyTheology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, Islamic jurisprudence, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
.. His treatises, even the commentaries, are "standard books" for students of Islamic theology and his papers have been called a "compendium of the various views regarding the great doctrines of Islam".
Legacy
Ibn KhaldunIbn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
, who is considered by some to be the father of the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
for anticipating many elements of these disciplines centuries before they were founded in the West, said of him:
I found in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
numerous works on the intellectual sciences composed by the well-known person Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani, a native of HeratHeratHerāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, one of the villages of KhurasanGreater KhorasanGreater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
. Some of them are on kalamKalamʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
(speculative theology) and the foundations of fiqhUsul al-fiqhUṣūl al-fiqh is the study of the origins, sources, and principles upon which Islamic jurisprudence is based. In the narrow sense, it simply refers to the question of what are the sources of Islamic law...
and rhetoric, which show that he had a profound knowledge of these sciences. Their contents demonstrate that he was well versed in the philosophical sciences and far advanced in the rest of the sciences which deal with Reason.
Linguistics
- Sharh az Zanjani (aka. Serh ul Izzi fi't-Tasrîf, aka. Sa'diyye). (738 A.H.Hijri yearThe Hijri year is year numbering system used in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the Hijra , or emigration of Muhammad and his followers to the city of Medina in 622 CE. In Arabic, AH is symbolized by the letter هـ...
). His first work. - Al-Irsad (aka. Irsad ul Hadi). (778 A.H.).
- al-Ni'am al-Sawabigh fi Sharh al-Nawabigh.
Rhetoric
- Al-Mutawwal (747 A.H.).
- Al-Muhtasar (aka. Muhtasar ul Ma'ani). (756 A.H.).
- Sharh'u Miftah il Ulum (aka. Mirtah il Ulum). (787 A.H.).
Logic
- Sherh ur Risalet ash Shamsiyye (aka. Sharh ush Shamsiyya). (752 A.H.).
- Maqasıd ut Talibin fi Ilmi Usul id-Din (aka. Al-Maqasid). (784 A.H.).
- Tezhib ul Mantiq Wa al Kalam.(739 A.H.).
- Sharh ul Aqaid in Nasafiyye. (767 A.H.).
Legal Sciences
- at-Talwih fi Kashfi Haqaiq at Tanqih (758 A.H.).
- Hashiye tu Muhtasar il Munteha. (770 A.H.).
- Miftah ul Fiqh (aka. Al-Miftah). (782 A.H.).
- Ihtisaru Sharhi Talhis il jami il Kabir. (785 A.H.).
- Al-Fatawa al Hanaffiya. (759 A.H.). A detailed compilation of gis juristical decisions during his juristicaal career.
- Sharh ul Faraid is Sirajiyya.
Theology
- Hashiyye Al ak-Kashshaf. (789 A.H.). This is an unfinished work of his.
- Kashf ul Esrar ve Uddet ul Ebraar.
- Al Arbain.
- Sharh ul Hadis ul Erbain en Neveviyye.