Al-Kiya al-Harrasi

{{Infobox religious biography

| religion = Islam

| occupation =

| era = Islamic golden age

| image =

| caption =

| name = al-Kiyā al-Harrāsī

| title = S̲h̲ams al-Islām
Imad al-Din
Al-Ḥāfiẓ

| birth_date = 1058

| birth_place = Tabaristan

| death_date = {{death year and age|1110|1058}}

| death_place = Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate

| ethnicity =

| region =

| denomination = Sunni

| jurisprudence = Shafi'i

|creed = Ash'ari{{cite book|last1=Shihadeh|first1=Ayman|author-link=Ayman Shihadeh|title=The Teleological Ethics of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|publisher=Brill|date=2006|isbn=9785872504658|page=52}}

| main_interests = Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Hadith, Tafsir, Kalam (Islamic theology)

| notable_ideas =

| works =

| influences = Al-Shafi'i
Abu Hasan al-Ash'ari
Al-Juwayni

| influenced = Abu Tahir al-Silafi
Ibn Tumart
Abu Mansur Muhammad
Ibn Al-Saad Al Khair Al Balancy

}}

al-Kiyā al-Harrāsī, S̲h̲ams al-Islām ʿImād ad-Dīn Abû ’l-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad b. ʿAlī aṭ-Ṭabarī ({{langx|ar|إلكيا الهراسي}}), commonly known as al-Kiya al-Harrasi was a prominent Shafi'i jurisconsult, legal theoretician, traditionist, scriptural exegete, preacher, orator, judge, and Ash'ari theologian, a dialectician who was once regarded as among the foremost practitioners of disputation.{{cite journal|title=al-Kiyā al-Harrāsī, S̲h̲ams al-Islām ʿImād ad-Dīn Abu 'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī|first=Makdisi|last=G|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-kiya-al-harrasi-shams-al-islam-imad-ad-din-abu-l-hasan-ali-SIM_4412|journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|isbn=9789004161214|year=2012|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4412|url-access=subscription}}{{cite book|last1=Sharīf|first1=Wilyam|title=The Dearest Quest: A Biography of Ibn Tumart|publisher=Lulu Press|date=2010|isbn=9781445278254|page=66-67}}{{cite book |last1=Abdullah|first1=Abdul-Samad|title=American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 25:4|publisher=International Institute of Islamic Thought|date=22 September 2008|page=35}} He was the famous pupil of Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni and the class-mate of Al-Ghazali.{{cite book|last1=Meri|first1=Josef W.|author-link=Josef W. Meri|title=Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia|publisher=Routledge|date=2006|isbn=9780415966900|volume=1|page=428}}

Early life

He was born in the year 450 AH/1058 CE in the region of Tabaristan and studied under the ulama. He departed from his native land to seek knowledge at the age of eighteen years to Nishapur and studied jurisprudence under the direction of Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni until he excelled in Islamic law. He was handsome, his voice was clear and loud, his manner was elegant, and his language was appealing.{{cite book|author=Ibn Khallikan|translator=William McGuckin de Slane|title=Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|date=9 June 2008|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|isbn=|volume=2|page=229-232}}

Career

He then proceeded to the town of Bayhaq, where he spent several years teaching the doctrine of the Shafi'i school. Eventually, he reached to Baghdad where he came in contact with Sultan Berkyaruq. It was through the Sultan's favour where al-Kiya al-Harrasi status rose to wealth and prestige. He served under the dynasty as the chief judge of Baghdad and fulfilled his duties. Al-Kiya al-Harrasi became a popular lecturer and was appointed as the professor of Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad. He was a famous preacher and his gatherings would be described by visitors as being huge.

He was a scholar of Shafi'i-Ash'ari background, but unlike his contemporary Al-Ghazzali, he specialized in hadith as a separate subject and would frequently use hadith to cite evidence in his theological debates and preaching discourses. Some of the notable hadith scholars of Baghdad and elsewhere are stated to have been taught under him. The quote attributed to him: "When the horsemen of the traditions gallop about in the battlefield, the heads of analogical deductions are struck and carried off by the wind," amply illustrates his position that hadith should be prioritised over individual reason.{{cite book|last1=Ephrat|first1=Daphna|title=A Learned Society in a Period of Transition The Sunni 'Ulama' of Eleventh-Century Baghdad|publisher=State University of New York Press|date=3 August 2000|isbn=9780791446454|volume=1|page=53-62}} Al-Kiya al-Harrasi and Ibn Aqil, the head of the Hanbalis in Baghdad were close sparring-partners in disputation.{{cite book |last1=Makdisi|first1=George|author-link=George Makdisi|title=Ibn'Aqil - Religion and Culture in Classical Islam|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|date=21 January 2015|isbn=9789670526133|pages=141}}

Students

He had numerous students with some becoming renown of their age; amongst them:{{cite book|author=Ibn Khallikan|translator=William McGuckin de Slane|title=Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary|date=5 August 2019|publisher=Cosimo Classics|isbn=9781474470636|page=306}}

Death

He passed away in Baghdad during the time of afternoon on the specific date of Thursday, 1st of Muharram at the year of 504 AH corresponding to July, 1110 AD. He was buried next to the grave of the Amir al-Muʾminin Fī al-Fiqh because of his excellent scholastic standing among Shafi'i ulama. Large crowds attended his funeral, and leaders from various Sunni schools would recite poetry. Some praised him, referring to him as "Shams al-Islam" (the Sun of Islam), while others expressed sorrow over the tragic loss.

Reception

Al-Hafiz Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi said in his book, Continuation of the History of Nishapur on page 170 about Al-Kiya al-Harrasi: "He was one of the Imām al-Haramain's principal under-tutors (1); a second Abú Hāmid al-Ghazāli; nay, more profound in learning, more holy in life, more pleasing in voice, and more agreeable in countenance."

Works

Ahkam al-Qu'ran ("Rulings of the Qu'ran"), it is a book on jurisprudential interpretation of the Qur’an.
Sharh Usul al-Fiqh ("Commentary on the principles of jurisprudence")
Tawdih al-Ahkami ("Illustrate judgments")
Ard al-Ahkami ("View the provisions")
Shifa' al-Mawjudin Fi al-Tahqiqat al-Dawwba ("Healing those who are guided in the diligent investigations")
Shawahid Mudiyat Fi Zawaya al-Qadaya ("Luminous evidence in the corners of the issues")