al-Asfarayini, Abu al-Muzaffar
- Died
- 471 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu al-Muzaffar al-Isfarayini (d. 471 AH / 1078 CE) was a Shafi'i jurist, legal theorist, and Quranic exegete from Isfarayin who later settled in Tus . He is best known for his heresiographical treatise al-Tabsir fi al-Din wa-Tamyiz al-Firqa al-Najiya 'an al-Firaq al-Halikin ("Insight into Religion and Distinguishing the Saved Sect from the Perishing Sects") .
Life and scholarly career
His full name was Tahir ibn Muhammad, and he was widely known by the title or name Shahfur . Some biographical sources, including Yaqut al-Hamawi and Taj al-Din al-Subki, recorded his name as Shahfur ibn Tahir, though biographical authorities noted that Shahfur was his own sobriquet rather than his given name . He was affiliated with the Shafi'i legal school and was recognized as an accomplished mufti and legal theorist (usuli) .
Al-Isfarayini transmitted hadith on the authority of Ibn Mahmish al-Ziyadi and the students of Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm . He also became the son-in-law of the theologian and jurist Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi . Among those who transmitted from him was the hadith narrator Zahir al-Shahhami . In addition to al-Tabsir fi al-Din, he authored a major Persian commentary on the Quran titled Taj al-Tarajim fi Tafsir al-Qur'an lil-A'ajim .
He died in Tus in Shawwal 471 AH (1078 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Tabsir fi al-Din wa Tamyiz al-Firqa al-Najiya an al-Firaq al-Halikin (Insight into Religion and Distinguishing the Saved Sect from the Perishing Sects) is an eleventh-century heresiographical treatise on Islamic sects and theological doctrines. Composed as a concise manual from an Ash'ari theological perspective, it aims to delineate orthodox Sunni theology from heterodox movements, framing its classification around the prophetic tradition concerning the division of the Muslim community into seventy-three sects.