al-Bayquni
- Died
- 1080 AH
- Born in
- -
'Umar ibn Muhammad al-Bayquni (d. c. 1080 AH / 1670 CE) was a Shafi'i scholar and hadith specialist associated with Damascus, best known for his introductory didactic poem on hadith terminology, al-Manzuma al-Bayquniyya.
Identity and Background
His name is recorded in manuscripts as 'Umar—or alternatively Taha—ibn Muhammad ibn Futuh al-Bayquni al-Dimashqi al-Shafi'i. Commentators have differed over the origin of his nisba al-Bayquni; Badr al-Din al-Hasani noted that most writers refrained from determining its origin, though some attributed it to Bayqun, a village in the region of Azerbaijan near the Kurdish territories. His nisba al-Dimashqi indicates that either he or his ancestors resided in Damascus.
Historical sources do not preserve a definitive death date for him; he is commonly reported to have died around 1080 AH (1670 CE), while other records indicate that he was alive prior to 1065 AH (1655 CE) or alive in 1080 AH.
Obscurity and Scholarly Legacy
Very little is documented regarding al-Bayquni's early upbringing, education, teachers, or students. The seventeenth-century commentator Ahmad al-Hamawi (d. 1098 AH) remarked in Talqih al-Fikr that he could find no biographical notice detailing al-Bayquni's personal circumstances or the exact nature of his nisba.
Al-Bayquni is not known to have authored any work other than al-Manzuma al-Bayquniyya. Composed in the rajaz meter and spanning 34 verses, this concise primer defines foundational categories and classifications within hadith nomenclature. Designed primarily for beginners in hadith studies, the poem achieved widespread circulation and became the subject of numerous commentaries by later scholars, including Muhammad al-Zurqani.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Manzuma al-Bayquniyya is a didactic poem in Hadith terminology designed as an introductory primer for beginners in the field. Composed in the rajaz meter, the 34-verse work enumerates and defines core categories and concepts of Hadith nomenclature.