al-Ghaznawi, Siraj al-Din

Siraj al-Din al-Ghaznawi (c. 704–773 AH / c. 1304–1372 CE) was a Hanafi jurist, legal theorist, and chief judge of Egypt, known for works such as his legal commentary al-Tawshih and his comparative defense of Hanafi doctrine, al-Ghurra al-Munifa Nuzhat al-Khawatir wa Bah…+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was Abu Hafs 'Umar ibn Ishaq ibn Ahmad ibn Mahmud (in another record, ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Ahmad ibn Mahmud) al-Ghaznawi al-Hindi Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He was born around 704 AH Nuzhat al-Khawatir wa Bah…+1. He was of Ghazni origin and received his initial education in India, where he studied Hanafi jurisprudence in Delhi under Wajih al-Din al-Dihlawi, Shams al-Din al-Khatib al-Dawli, Siraj al-Din al-Thaqafi, and Rukn al-Din al-Bada'uni Nuzhat al-Khawatir wa Bah…+1.

Travels and Career

He traveled to the Hijaz to perform the pilgrimage, where he studied Sufism in Mecca, hearing the 'Awarif al-Ma'arif from Shaykh Khidr at Ribat al-Sidra al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1. He relocated to Cairo around or before 740 AH, where he heard hadith from Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Jawhari and studied legal theory, logic, and substantive law under scholars including Shams al-Din al-Isbahani and Jamal al-Din ibn al-Turkumani Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1.

In Cairo, he taught in several colleges, was appointed to teach at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, and served for a long period as a deputy judge under Jamal al-Din ibn al-Turkumani, as well as serving as judge of the army (qadi al-'askar) Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. Following the death of Ibn al-Turkumani, he was appointed chief judge (qadi al-quda) of the Hanafis in Egypt in Sha'ban 764 AH (another report dates the appointment to Sha'ban 769 AH), a post he held until his death Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …+1. He was succeeded in the chief judgeship by Sadr al-Din ibn al-Turkumani Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…. Among those who transmitted from him was Sadr al-Din al-Yasufi Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al….

Standing and Intellectual Life

Biographers characterized al-Ghaznawi as an articulate and formidable dialectician in juristic disputation, possessing wide learning in both legal theory and positive law Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani noted that he possessed immense stature and boldness, while observing his strong affinity for monistic Sufism (al-Sufiyya al-Ittihadiyya) Mujam al-Mufassirin "min …. In defense of these mystical views, he composed a commentary on the Ta'iyya of the poet Ibn al-Farid Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1.

Death

Al-Ghaznawi died in Cairo on the night of Thursday, 7 Rajab 773 AH (alternate reports place his death on 4 Rajab, or in late Rajab, while another passage notes 763 AH), between the ages of sixty and seventy Nayl al-Amal fi Dhayl al-…+1. He was buried in Cairo Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…+1.