al-Safi al-Hindi

al-Safi al-Hindi (644–715 AH / 1246–1315 CE) was an Indian-born Shafi'i jurist, Ash'ari theologian, and legal theorist based in Damascus, best known for his comprehensive work on Islamic legal theory, Nihayat al-Wusul fi Dirayat al-Usul (The Ultimate Attainment in the Comprehension of Legal Theory) al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1.

Background and Travels

His full name was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahim ibn Muhammad al-Urmawi, bearing the kunya Abu Abd Allah and the honorific Safi al-Din al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He was born in India on the eve of Friday, 13 Rabi' al-Thani 644 AH (September 1246 CE), and received his initial training under his maternal grandfather, who was an accomplished scholar al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1.

In Rajab 667 AH, he departed from Delhi on an extensive journey westward al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He first visited Yemen, where its Rasulid ruler, al-Malik al-Muzaffar, received him with honor and bestowed upon him a gift of nine hundred dinars—reported in another account as four hundred dinars al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He then performed the Hajj pilgrimage and resided in Mecca for three months, during which he encountered Ibn Sab'in and listened to his discourse al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. Traveling by sea, he reached Egypt around 670 or 671 AH and stayed in Cairo for four years al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He subsequently journeyed to Anatolia via Antioch, residing there for eleven years across Konya, Sivas—where he spent five years—and Kayseri for one year al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. While in Anatolia, he studied the rational sciences under the chief judge Siraj al-Din al-Urmawi, author of al-Tahsil, and served him closely al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1.

Career in Damascus

He left Anatolia in 685 AH and settled permanently in Damascus al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. There, he heard hadith from al-Fakhr Ibn al-Bukhari and established a regular teaching circle at the Umayyad Mosque al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1. He was appointed to teaching posts at several prominent institutions, including al-Madrasa al-Dawla'iyya, al-Rawahiyya, al-Atabakiyya, and al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyya al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He became a primary reference for legal rulings (fatwas) in the city, instructing numerous prominent scholars, among whom were Sadr al-Din Ibn al-Wakil and the historian al-Dhahabi, who transmitted from him al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1.

In his doctrinal and legal-theoretical scholarship, he authored al-Faiq in legal theory as well as Zubdat al-Kalam in theology al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1. When public doctrinal hearings were convened in Damascus regarding the creed of Ibn Taymiyya before the Mamluk governor Amir Tankiz at Dar al-Sa'ada, he was chosen to lead the scholarly debate al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. During the exchange, noting Ibn Taymiyya's rapid shifting between arguments, he remarked to him: "I see you, O Ibn Taymiyya, only like a sparrow; whenever I wish to catch it in one place, it flees to another" Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K….

Standing and Character

He was regarded by contemporaries as a foremost authority on the theology of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari and an expert in both legal theory and dialectical theology Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. Taj al-Din al-Subki praised his writings as comprehensive and masterful, singling out Nihayat al-Wusul Tabaqat al-Shafiiyya al-K….

Biographers describe him as pious, humble, and generous toward the poor, maintaining a dedicated routine of nocturnal prayers Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1. He retained his non-Arab Indian accent in speech throughout his life, and his handwriting was noted for being exceptionally difficult to read al-Durar al-Kamina fi Aya…+1. He endowed his personal library of books to Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Death

He died in Damascus on the eve of Tuesday, 26 Safar 715 AH (May 1315 CE)—with other reports placing his death on the 19th or 29th of Safar—at his residence in al-Madrasa al-Zahiriyya, which was the only teaching post he still held at the time al-Badr al-Safir an Anas …+1. He was buried in the Sufi cemetery (Maqabir al-Sufiyya) in Damascus Ayan al-Asr wa Awan al-Na…+1.