Al-Juwayni, `Abd Allah ibn Yusuf ibn `Abd Allah ibn Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Hayyuya, Rukn al-Din Abu Muhammad al-Ta'i al-Sinbisi al-Naysaburi al-Shafi`i al-Ash`ari, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (), was a Sunni scholar based in Khorasan. He was a leading jurist (faqih), legal theoretician (usuli), Arabic grammarian, (nahwi), Qu'ran exegete (mufassir) and a scholar of theology, man of letters, and Hadith. He was the father of the great Imam al-Haramayn.
Early life He was born in the town of Juwayn in modern-day northeastern Iran, where he spent his early years, and from which he derived the nisbah "al-Juwayni". Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni was raised in Juwayn, where he began his education under the guidance of his father. He initially studied literature with his father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf al-Juwayni, before learning jurisprudence (fiqh) from Abu Ya'qub al-Abyurdi. He later left Juwayn for Nishapur, where he became a student of Abu al-Tayyib al-Su'luki. Eager to further his studies, he then travelled to Merv to study under al-Qaffal al-Marwazi, from whom he gained extensive knowledge of both fiqh and theology (kalam). He also studied Hadith from Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, Ibn Mahmish, Abu al-Husayn ibn Bishran, and others.
Scholarly life Career He settled in Nishapur after his intense educational journeys and began to issue fatwas, teach, and debate in the year 407 of Hijri. He became popular for his assiduous worship and the great dignity, majesty, and earnestness of his scholarly gatherings.
Students His famous students who became giants of their time include:
Al-Juwayni Al-Bayhaqi Abu Uthman al-Sabuni Ali ibn Ahmed ibn Al-Akhram Sahel bin Ibrahim Al-Masjidi
Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni related that he once saw Prophet Yusuf in his dream whereupon he fell to his knees in order to kiss his feet, but Yusuf prevented him as a mark of honour for the Imam, so the latter kissed Yusuf's heels. Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni said: "I interpreted it to mean that there would be blessing and honour in what I would leave behind." Ibn al-Subki commented: "What greater blessing and honour than his son (Al-Juwayni)!"
Death He died in Nishapur on the Dhu'l-Qa'da 438 (May 1047). Abu Salih al-Mu'adhdhin said: "I gave Abu Muhammad his funeral bath. When we were wrapping him in the shroud I saw his right arm to the arm-pit luminous like the moon. I was bewildered, then I said to myself: these are the blessings of his legal responses."
Reception Abu Uthman al-Sabuni said: "If Shaykh Abu Muhammad had been born among the Israelites, they would have transmitted his immense merits to us and he would have made their pride."
Ibn Asakir narrates from his maternal uncle, `Abd al-Wahid ibn `Abd al-Karim al-Qushayri the son of Imam Abu al-Qasim: "In his time our [Ash`ari and Shafi`i] imams and the verifying scholars among our companions saw in him such perfection and high merit that they used to say: If it were permissible to hold that Allah sent another prophet in our time, it would not have been other than he."
Works Al-Furuq Al-Jam` wa al-Farq Mawqif al-Imam wa al-Ma'mum Al-Muhit, in which the imam intended to compile a fiqh manual in disregard of the Shafi`i school and based only on hadith proof-texts. Al-Bayhaqi criticized the weakness of the hadiths he saw him adduce and pointed out to him that Al-Shafi`i was meticulous enough in inferring his jurisprudence from hadith proof-texts. The imam accepted Al-Bayhaqi's advice and abandoned its completion Al-Mu`tasar fi Mukhtasar, an abridgment of Al-Muzani's abridgment in Shafi'i fiqh Al-Silsila in fiqh Al-Tabsira fi al-Waswasa on acts of worship Al-Tadhkira Al-Tafsir al-Kabir, reported by Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi in his history of Naysabur to contain, for each verse, a different explanation according to ten different disciplines or perspectives. Al-Ta'liqa
See also List of Ash'aris
References
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