al-Kasani

Abu Bakr al-Kasani (d. 587 AH / 1191 CE) was a Transoxanian Hanafi jurist and legal theorist, best known for his comprehensive legal treatise Bada'i' al-Sana'i' al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1.

Lineage and Early Life

His full name was 'Ala' al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Mas'ud ibn Ahmad al-Kasani, and he was accorded the title Malik al-'Ulama' ("King of Scholars") for his proficiency in jurisprudence al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1. His nisba derives from Kasan, a fortified town in Turkestan situated beyond the Jaxartes (Sayhun) and al-Shash al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1.

Al-Kasani pursued his studies in Bukhara under the prominent Hanafi master 'Ala' al-Din Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Samarqandi, reading most of his works with him, including the legal compendium Tuhfat al-Fuqaha' al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1. He subsequently married his teacher's daughter, Fatima bint Muhammad al-Samarqandi, an accomplished jurist who had committed her father's Tuhfa to memory Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. Al-Kasani composed Bada'i' al-Sana'i' fi Tartib al-Shara'i' as an elaborate commentary on the Tuhfa and presented it to his teacher as her bridal gift, prompting contemporary scholars to remark: "He commented on his Tuhfa and married his daughter" al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1. Fatima participated actively in his legal career, frequently correcting him whenever he erred in issued legal opinions (fatwas), which were issued bearing her handwriting alongside his al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar….

Career in Anatolia and Aleppo

Al-Kasani traveled with his wife to the Sultanate of Rum in Anatolia, where he held an esteemed standing Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…. While there, he engaged in a sharp theological debate with a local scholar over legal reasoning (ijtihad); when the interlocutor asserted that every mujtahid is correct, al-Kasani rejected this as a doctrine of the Mu'tazilites, insisting that the truth lies on only one side and raising his whip against him al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1. Following this altercation, the Seljuk court dispatched al-Kasani as an ambassador to Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zangi in Aleppo al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1.

Upon fulfilling his embassy and returning with the sultan's reply, al-Kasani settled in Aleppo at Nur al-Din's invitation Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. He was appointed head professor at the Halawiyya Madrasa, succeeding Radhi al-Din al-Sarakhsi, and also taught at the Jawliyya Madrasa and narrated hadith in the eastern wing of the Great Mosque of Aleppo al-Budur al-Mudiya fi Tar…+1. In theology, he composed al-Sultan al-Mubin fi Usul al-Din and was known for vigorously refuting innovated doctrines in his circles Usul al-Din inda al-Imam …+1.

Death

Al-Kasani died in Aleppo on Sunday afternoon, 10 Rajab 587 AH (1191 CE); other reports record his death in 586 AH or 578 AH al-Mawsua al-Tarikhiyya+1al-Minah al-Shafiyat bi S…. According to a report transmitted by Ibn al-'Adim, al-Kasani recited Surah Ibrahim on his deathbed until reaching the verse: يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ("God keeps firm those who believe with the firm word in the present life and in the Hereafter"), dying immediately upon uttering the final phrase Tabaqat al-Qari al-Athmar…. He was interred alongside his wife Fatima inside the shrine of Abraham (Maqam Ibrahim) outside Aleppo, at a site locally remembered as "the grave of the woman and her husband" Tabaqat al-Qari al-Athmar….