al-Ahmad Nakri
- Died
- 1173 AH
- Born in
- -
Abd al-Nabi al-Ahmadnakri (d. after 1183 AH / 1769 CE) was an Indian Hanafi scholar and judge of Ahmadnagar, best known for his encyclopedic dictionary of technical terminology, Dastur al-Ulama (The Constitution of Scholars).
Early life and education
His full name was Abd al-Nabi ibn Abd al-Rasul ibn Abi Muhammad ibn Abd al-Warith al-Uthmani al-Ahmadnakri. He was born and raised in Ahmadnagar, where he began his studies by reading introductory treatises under his father. Following his father's death, he continued his education under Abd Allah al-Ahmadnakri and Sayyid Bakhsh al-Husayni al-Kirmani al-Khayrabadi.
Al-Ahmadnakri later traveled to Gujarat to pursue higher studies. There, he studied al-Hashiyah al-Qadimah and other curricular texts under Qutb al-Din al-Uthmani al-Gujarati. He read the majority of his advanced texts under Muhammad Muhsin ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Siddiqi al-Gujarati, remaining in his company until he gained renown as an outstanding authority of his time in Arabic grammar and logic.
Career and scholarship
Al-Ahmadnakri was appointed to the judiciary as judge (qadi) of Ahmadnagar. Alongside his judicial duties, he devoted himself to teaching and scholarly instruction, and numerous students studied under him.
His primary scholarly work is Dastur al-Ulama, formally entitled Jami al-Ulum fi Istilahat al-Funun (The Collector of Sciences on the Terminologies of the Disciplines), a four-volume encyclopedia defining technical concepts across both rational and transmitted Islamic disciplines, which he completed in 1183 AH (1769/1770 CE). In Arabic grammar, he authored Jami al-Ghumud wa-Manba al-Fuyud (The Gatherer of Obscurities and Spring of Outpourings), an extensive commentary on Ibn al-Hajib's al-Kafiyah.
Death
Biographical sources do not record the precise year of his death, though he was alive upon completing his major dictionary in 1183 AH (1769/1770 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Dustur al-Ulama, formally titled Jami al-Ulum fi Istilahat al-Funun, is an encyclopedic dictionary of technical terminology spanning the rational and transmitted disciplines. Arranged alphabetically across four volumes, the work defines terms across fields such as jurisprudence, legal theory, theology, linguistic arts, and Quranic sciences, while also incorporating substantive rules, principles, and Persian terminology and explanations.