| ImamMurtada al-Zabidi مرتضى الزبيدي | |
|---|---|
| Title | Al-Ḥāfiẓ |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1732 (1732) Bilgram, Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Died | 1790 (aged 57–58) Cairo, Egypt |
| Era | Early modern period |
| Main interest(s) | Hadith, Lexicography, Linguist, Philology, Genealogy, History, Theology, Tasawwuf, Geography, Medicine |
| Notable work(s) | Tāj al-ʻĀrūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs Itḥāf al-Sadāh al-Muttaqīn Asānīd al-Kutub as-Sittah |
| Occupation | Muslim scholar, Muhaddith, philologist, linguist, lexicographergenealogist, biographer, historian, mystic, theologian |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Muslim leader | |
| Influenced by | |
Al-Murtaḍá al-Husaynī al-Zabīdī (Arabic: المرتضى الحسيني الزبيدي), or Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Murtaḍá al-Zabīdī (1732–1790 / 1145–1205 AH), also known as Murtada al-Zabidi, was an Indian Sunni polymath based in Cairo. He was a Hanafi scholar, hadith specialist, philologist, linguist, lexicographer, genealogist, biographer, historian, mystic and theologian. He was considered one of the leading intellectuals of the 18th century. He was also regarded as the greatest Hadith scholar of his time and one of the foremost philologists of the Arab post-classical era.
Biography
Murtaḍá' was born in 1732 (1145AH) in Bilgram, Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India. His family originated from Wasit in Iraq, from where his parents had emigrated to the Hadramawt region in the east of Yemen – where the Husaynī tribe is situated. Murtaḍá earned his nisba 'al-Zabīdī' from Zabīd in the south western coastal plains of Yemen, which was a centre of academic learning where he had spent time studying. He began studying Hadith in Delhi under the most prominent scholar of his time, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi. He travelled to Hejaz (Jeddah, Mecca and Madinah) and then settled in Egypt. He was renowned in the Islamic world. Rulers from Hejaz, India, Yemen, Levant, Iraq, Morocco, Turkey, Sudan and Algiers corresponded with him; people sent him presents and gifts from everywhere. He was revered and admired so much that some people in Western Africa believed that their Hajj was incomplete if they did not plan to see Murtađa Zabīdī. He died in Cairo during an epidemic plague in the year 1205 AH/1790 CE.
Reception
Al-Kattānī states in his book Fahris al-Fahāris: “Zabīdī was peerless in his time and age. None after Ibn al-Ĥajar al-Ásqalāni and his students can match Az-Zabīdī in terms of his encyclopaedic knowledge of (Prophetic) traditions and its associated sciences; nor in fame or list of students.”
Zabidi's immense proficiency of diverse sciences and his thriving trade with books as well as with his own writings was described with commendation by one of his Maghribi visitors, Ibn 'Abdal al-Salam al-Nasiri:
He was master of hadith, tafsir, Arabic lexigraphy and other diverse sciences, unequalled by any of those scholars whom we met in the East or West You find him continuously buying and copying against payment, borrowing books from remote regions, other books being sent to him as presents. Apart from that he makes gifts and donations. He is a highly prolific author. By Allah (God), he is indeed the Suyuti of his time, like Suyuti himself or Ibn Sahin and Ibn Hajar far beyond ordinary men. (Even) if those came together with him, they would surely admit that superiority is not with the first ones (al-Fadila lam tankin li'l-uwal).
Works
As a polymath and prolific writer, his works cover a range of topics:
- Tāj al-ʻĀrūs min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs ; an expansion of Fairuzabadi's Al-Qamoos, the most frequently cited dictionary of Classical Arabic after Lisān al-ʿArab by Ibn Manẓūr.
- Itḥāf al-Sadāh al-Muttaqīn , the most comprehensive commentary on al-Ghazali's famous Ihya 'Ulum al-Din. It was published in 14 volumes recently and is the second of Zabīdī’s two masterpieces.
- Asānīd al-Kutub as-Sittah : Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasayi, Abū Dawud, Ibn Majah are the six motherbooks of Ĥadīth and termed as Kutub al-Sittah. Zabidi collected the narrators and their chains in this book as is apparent from the title.
- Úqūd al-Jawāhir al-Munīfah fī Adillati Madh’hab al-Imām Abū Ĥanīfah
- Kashf al-Lithām an Ādāb al-Īmān wa’l Islām
- Raf’á ash-Shakwā wa Tarwīĥ al-Qulūb fī Dhikr Mulūki Banī Ayyūb
- Mújam ash-Shuyūkh
- Alfiyyah as-Sanad in Ĥadīth; which is a poem of more than 1500 lines and its explanation.
- Mukhtaşar al-Áyn , the book al-Ayn is attributed to Khalil Ibn Aĥmed, the grammarian .
- At-Takmalah wa’s Şilah wa’dh Dhayl li’l Qāmūs in two hefty volumes.
- Īđāh al-Madārik bi’l Ifşaĥ áni’l Áwātik ; a monograph.
- Íqd al-Jumān fī Bayāni Shuáb al-Īmān
- Tuĥfatu’l Qamāýīl fī Mad’ĥi Shaykh al-Árab Ismāýīl
- Taĥqīq al-Wasāyil li Márifati’l Makātabāt wa’r Rasāyil
- Jadhwatu’l Iqtibās fī Nasabi Banī al-Ábbās
- Ĥikmatu’l Ishrāq ilā Kuttāb al-Āfāq : A book on calligraphy.
- Ar-Rawđ al-Miýţār fī Nasabi’s Sādati Āli Jáfar at-Ţayyār
- Muzīl an-Niqāb al-Khafā’a án Kunā Sādātinā Banī Al-Wafā’a which was probably also named as: Rafá an-Niqāb al-Khafā’a ámman Intamā ilā Wafā wa Abi’l Wafā
- Bulghātu’l Gharīb fī Muştalaĥi Āthār al-Ĥabīb:
- Tanbīh al-Áārif al-Başīr álā Asrāri’l Ĥizb al-Kabīr on the Hizb of Imām Shādhilī.
- Safīnatu’n Najāh Al-Muĥtawiyah álā Biđāátin Muzjāh mina’l Fawāyidi’l Muntaqāh probably a commentary on the book Al-Fawāyid al-Muntaqāh by Shaykh Abū Ábdullāh Al-Qāsim Ibn Fađl ath-Thaqafī al-Aşbahāni – a book on Ĥadīth.
- Ghāyatu’l Ibtihāj li Muqtafī Asānīdi Muslim ibn Al-Ĥajjāj
- Íqd al-La’ālī al-Mutanāthirah fi’l Aĥādīth al-Mutawātirah
- Nishwatu’l Irtiyāĥ fī Bayāni Ĥaqīqati’l Maysiri wa’l Aqdāĥ
- Al-Árāyis al-Majluwwah fi Dhikri Awliyā’yi Fuwwah : Fuwwah is a well-known place in Yemen.
- It’ĥāf al-Ikhwān fī Ĥukmi’d Dukhān
- Irshādu’l Ikhwān ila’l Akhlāq al-Ĥisān
- Al-Ishghāf bi’l Ĥadīth al-Musalsal bi’l Ashrāf
- Iklīl al-Jawāhir al-Ghāliyah fī Riwāyati’l Aĥādīth al-Áāliyah
- Tuĥfatu’l Mawdūd fī Khatmi Sunan Abū Dāwūd
- Ĥusn al-Muĥāđarah fī Ādābi’l Baĥthi wa’l Muĥāđarah
- Badhl al-Maj’hūd fī Takhrīji Ĥadīth ‘Shayyabatnī Hūd
- It’ĥāf al-Aşfiyā bi Silāki’l Awliyā’a
- It’ĥāf Ahl al-Islām bimā Yatállaqu bi’l Muşţafā wa Āli Baytihi’l Kirām
- It’ĥāf Sayyidu’l Ĥayy bi Salāsili Banī Ţayy
- Al-Iĥtifāl bi Şawmi’s Sitti min Shawwāl
- Al-Arbaúūn al-Mutakhallafah fīmā Warada fi’l Aĥādīth fī Dhikri Árafah
- Isáāf al-Ashrāf
- Isáāf ar-Rāghibīn fī Sīrati’l Muşţafā wa Āli Baytihi’t Tāhirīn
- Iýlām al-Aálām bi Manāsiki Bayti’llāhi’l Ĥarām
- Manāqib Aş’ĥāb al-Ĥadīth
- Al-Intişār Li Wālidi’n Nabiyyi’l Mukhtār
- At-Tálīqah álā Musalsalāti Ibn Álīqah
- At-Taftīsh fī Mánā Lafž ‘Durwīsh’
- Tansīq Qalāyid al-Matan fī Taĥqīqi Kalāmi’sh Shādhilī Abi’l Ĥasan
- Ĥadīqatu’s Şafā fī Wāliday al-Muşţafā şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam
- Rashfu Zulāl ar-Raĥīq fi Nasabi Hađrati’s Şiddīq rađiyAllāhu ánhu
- Rashqatu’l Mudām al-Makhtūm al-Bikri min Şafwati Zulāli Şibghi’l Quţub al-Bakrī
- Rafú’sh Shakwā Li Áālimi’s Sirri wa’n Najwā
- Rafú’l Kalal áni’l Ílal assuming that ílal is not ‘disease.’
- Zahr al-Akmām al-Munshaq án Juyūbi’l Ilhām bi Sharĥi Şayghati Ábd as-Salām
- Sharĥ as-Şadr fī Sharĥ Asmāyi Ahli Badr
- Al-Arūş al-Mujliyyah fī Ţuruqi Ĥadīth al-Awwaliyyah
- Al-Íqd ath-Thamīn fī Ţuruqi’l Ilbāsi wa’t Talqīn
- Áqīlatu’l Atrāb fī Sanadi’t Ţarīqati wa’l Aĥzāb
- Qalansuwatu’t Tāj
- Al-Qawl al-Mathbūt fī Taĥqīqi Lafži’t Tābūt
- Kashf al-Ghiţā án Şalāti’l Wustā
- Luqat al-La’ālī mina’l Jawhar al-Ghāli
- Al-Murabbī al-Kābili fīman Rawā án Shams al-Bābilī
- Al-Mirqāt al-Áliyyah bi Sharĥi’l Ĥadīth al-Musalsal bi’l Awwaliyyah
- Al-Maqām al-Índiyyah fi’l Mashāhid an-Naqshbandiyyah
- Al-Minaĥ al-Áliyyah fi’t Ţarīqati’n Naqshbandiyyah
- Minaĥ al-Fuyūđāt al-Wafiyyah fīmā min Sūrati’r Raĥmān min Asrāri’ş Şifati’l Ilāhiyyah
- Al-Mawāhib al-Jalīlīyyah fīmā Yatállaqu bi Ĥadīth al-Awwaliyyah
- Mawāhibu Rabb al-Bariyyah Bi’l Imlāyi’sh Shaykhūniyyah
- An-Nafĥatu’l Qudsiyyah fī Wāsitati’l Biđáti’l īýd ar-Rūsiyyah
- An-Nawāfiĥ al-Miskiyyah ála’l Fawāyiĥ al-Kishkiyyah
- Hadiyyatu’l Ikhwān fī Shajarati’d Dukhān
References
- Brown, Jonathan (30 September 2007). The Canonization of Al-Bukhārī and Muslim The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon. Brill. p. 237. ISBN 978-90-04-15839-9.
The great Indian Hanafi hadith scholar of Cairo, Muhammad Murtada al-Zabidi (d. 1205/ 1791)
- Jens Hanssen, Max Weiss (22 December 2016). Arabic Thought Beyond the Liberal Age Towards an Intellectual History of the Nahda. Cambridge University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-107-13633-5.
In Gran's account, the Maturidi polymath and hadith scholar, Muhammad Murtada al-Zabidi (1732–91), who arrived in Cairo from South Asia in 1767
- Jens Hanssen, Amal N. Ghazal (11 November 2020). The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Middle-Eastern and North African History. Oxford University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-19-967253-0.
- Reichmuth, Stefan (2011). "The World of Murtada Al-Zabidi (1732-91) Life, Networks and Writings". The Arab Studies Journal. 19 (1): 142–146. JSTOR 23265818.
- Martin, B. G. (13 February 2003). Muslim Brotherhoods in Nineteenth-Century Africa. Cambridge University Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-521-53451-2.
- Nelly Hanna, Raouf Abbas (November 2005). Society and Economy in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean, 1600-1900 Essays in Honor of André Raymond. American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-1-61797-240-9.
- Esposito, John L. (27 December 1999). The Oxford History of Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-988041-6.
- Voll, John O. (December 1994). Islam Continuity and Change in the Modern World, Second Edition. Syracuse University Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-8156-2639-8.
- Reichmuth, Stefan (2009-05-04). The World of Murtada Al-Zabidi: 1732-91 Life, Networks and Writings. Gibb Memorial Trust. pp. 54–59. ISBN 9781909724723.
- Robinson, Francis (2001). The 'Ulama of Farangi Mahall and Islamic Culture in South Asia. C. Hurst. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-85065-475-9.
- ^ "MUSLIM BIBLIOPHILIA: Imam Sayyid Murtada al-Zabidi". attahawi.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 7 July 2014.
- Reichmuth, Stefan (2009). The World of Murtada Al-Zabidi (1732-91) Life, Networks and Writings. Gibb Memorial Trust. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-906094-60-0.
- Muhanna, Elias (2017). Humanism and Muslim Culture: Historical Heritage and Contemporary Challenges. Princeton University Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-691-17556-0.
- Stefan Reichmuth, Jörn Rüsen (2012). Humanism and Muslim Culture: Historical Heritage and Contemporary Challenges. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 121. ISBN 9783899719376.
External links
- A short biography and list of works: Imam Sayyid Murtada al-Zabidi
- The entire work of Taj al-Arus in pdf format: تاج العروس - الزبيدي
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- Hanafis
- Maturidis
- Mujaddid
- Hadith scholars
- Lexicographers of Arabic
- Philologists of Arabic
- Sunni Sufis
- Indian Sufis
- Iraqi Sufis
- Naqshbandi order
- Yemeni Sufis
- Yemeni writers
- 1732 births
- 1790 deaths
- 18th-century lexicographers
- 18th-century philologists
- Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
- 18th-century Muslim theologians
- 18th-century Indian jurists
- 18th-century linguists
- Quranic exegesis scholars