Al-Juwayni

Muslim scholar
Title	Imam al-Haramayn
Born	1028 CE
Died	1085 CE
Maddhab	Shafi'i
School tradition	Sunni Islam, Ash'arism
Main interests	Usul al-fiqh, Fiqh, Kalam
Influenced	Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

Imam al-Haramayn Dhia' ul-Din Abd al-Malik ibn Yusuf al-Juwayni al-Shafi'i (1028—1085 CE; 419—478 H) was a Sunni Shafi'i hadith and Kalam scholar. His name is commonly abbreviated as Al-Juwayni; he is also commonly referred to as Imam al Haramayn, meaning "leading master of the holy cities", Mecca and Medina.

Biography

Born in 1028CE in a village on the outskirts of Naysabur called Bushtaniqan in present-day Iran, Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni was a prominent Muslim scholar known for his gifted intellect in Islamic legal matters. Al-Juwayni was born into a family of legal study. His father, Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah b. Yusef al-Juwayni, was a well-known master of Law in the Shafi′i community as well as a Shafii teacher and his older brother, Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali al-Juwayni, was a Sufi teacher of Hadith. Al-Juwayni grew up in Naysabur, an intellectually thriving area drawing scholars to it. Naturally, Juwayni did not have to search far for his education. At the time, the teachings of the Shafi'i school were closely linked to the Ash'arite theology which al-Juwayni decided to study for several years after the death of his father. He took over for his father at this point and began his teaching career at only 19 years of age. The Seljuks, at the time, were moving quickly in their conquest of eastern Iran and Tughril Beg became the first sultan. Beg was a Mutazili-Hanafi adherent and at the time, the Ash'arite theological camp and the Hanafi school of legal thought shared a hostile relationship based in differences of opinion regarding doctrine and whenTughril Beg was named wazir in Nishapur he forbid al-Juwayni to practice or teach the Ashari theological perspective. Al-Juwayni traveled to Mecca and Medina in search of an interim home. He taught and studied there in Hijaz for four years. During this time, al-Juwayni became hugely popularized because of his father's prominence in the scholarly world, and his exile He gained a large following and was invited back to Nishapur by the founder of the Shafii Madrasa Nizam. Upon his return was appointed to teach the doctrine of the Ash'arites at the Nizamiyya Madrasa until he died in 1085CE(which would turn out to be about 26 years). Al-Juwayni spent his life studying and producing influential treatises in Muslim government; it is suspected that most of his works (below) came out of this period after his return from Mecca and Medina. Al-Juwayni was the teacher of one of the most influential Imams in the Islamic tradition, particularly Sufism, al-Ghazali.

Doctrine

Al-Juwayni, a Sunni jurist and Mutakallim, or scholar engaged in the study of theological principles, spent his life decifering between what a Muslim ought and ought not to do. He was said to be stubborn and unaccepting of any legal speculation whatsoever. His basic principle was that the law should not be left to speculation on any grounds. Rather, texts hold the answers to any possible legal debate in some capacity or another. He was a master of the Koran and Hadith texts in addition to being well versed in the particular school of Shafi'i and theological practices of the Ash'arite persuasion.

Works

Al-Juwayni's primary work Al-Irshad, his "guidebook to conclusive proofs for the principles of belief" helps to illustrate his doctrine. It is intended to outline exactly what has been proven, what can be proven and how those things can be proven. He focuses much of his attention on God and the fundamental Islamic principle that God is the only and all-powerful creator. He explains that we are often caught up in a temporally contingent existence, lost in continuity but that we should realize God's ability to interrupt this continuity at any time. Al-Juwayni focuses a similar amount of attention on legal methodology and is particularly concerned with the methods for discerning difficult debates. He explains abrogation, for example, in great detail.

In fiqh, usûl, kalām

• Ghiyath al-Umam
• Mughith al-Khalq
• Nihaya al-Matlab fi Diraya al-Madhhab ("The End of the Quest in the Knowledge of the [Shafi'i] School"), his magnum opus, which Ibn 'Asakir said had no precedent in Islam
• Mukhtasar al-Nihaya.
• al-Burhan
• al-Talkhis
• al-Waraqat
• al-Shamil
• Al-Irshad
• al-Nizamiyya

The book Fara'id al-Simtayn is sometimes mistakenly thought to be authored by the Sunni Abd'al Malik al-Juwayni. It was in fact authored by the Shia scholar Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Himaway al Juwayni who died in 1322 AD.

See also

• Islamic scholars

References

• Al-Juwayni,Yusef. A Giude to the Conclusive proffs for the Principles of Belief. 1 ed. Eissa S. Muhammad. The Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, 2000.
• Messick, Brinkley. "Kissing Hands and Knees: Hegemony and Hierarchy in Shari'a Discourse." Law & Society Review 22, no. 4 (1988): 637-660.
• Hallaq, Wael B.. "Caliphs, Jurists and the Saljuqs in the Political Thought of Juwayni." The Muslim World 74, no. 1 (1984): 26-41.
• Fadiman & Frager,James & Robert. Essential Sufism. 1 ed. James Fadiman & Robert Frager. San Francisco : Harper Collins, 1997.
• Johnston, David. "A Turn in the Epistemology and Hermeneutics of Twentieth Century Usul Al-Fiqh." Islamic Law & Society 11, no. 2 (2004): 233-282.

External links

• a site giving the Asharite point of view (English)
• French ashari website (French)
• Author analysis Faraa’d al Simtayn (Arabic)