al-Tufi
- Died
- 716 AH
- Born in
- -
Najm al-Din al-Tufi (657 or 670s–716 AH / 1259 or 1270s–1316 CE) was an Iraqi Hanbali jurist, legal theorist, and grammarian, widely known for his legal theoretical treatise Sharh Mukhtasar al-Rawda and his extensive hadith commentary al-Ta'yin fi Sharh al-Arba'in.
Origin and Early Life
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Qawi ibn Abd al-Karim ibn Sa'id al-Tufi al-Sarsari was born in the village of Tufa (or Tuf), situated near Sarsar in the vicinity of Baghdad. He was known by the kunyas Abu al-Rabi' and Abu al-Abbas, and bore the title Najm al-Din. Sources record different dates for his birth: Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani places it in 657 AH, whereas Ibn Rajab reports that he was born in the 670s AH (and another account gives 670 AH). During his early years in Tufa, he memorized Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi in Hanbali jurisprudence and al-Luma' in Arabic grammar by Ibn Jinni. He commuted to Sarsar, where he studied jurisprudence under Zayn al-Din Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sarsari.
Education and Travels
In 691 AH, al-Tufi entered Baghdad, where he memorized al-Muharrar in Hanbali fiqh and studied it under Taqi al-Din al-Zarirati. In Baghdad, he studied Arabic grammar and morphology under Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Mawsili, legal theory under al-Nasr al-Faruqi, as well as the law of inheritance (fara'id) and elements of logic. He heard hadith from scholars including al-Rashid ibn Abi al-Qasim, Isma'il ibn al-Tabbal, Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman al-Harrani, and Abu Bakr al-Qalanisi.
In 704 AH, al-Tufi journeyed to Damascus, where he heard hadith from the judge Taqi al-Din Sulayman ibn Hamza and Isa al-Mut'im. In Damascus, he met and engaged with Ibn Taymiyya, al-Mizzi, and Majd al-Din al-Harrani, and read portions of Ibn Malik's Alfiyya with Abu al-Fath al-Ba'li. In 705 AH, he traveled to Egypt, where he heard hadith from Abd al-Mu'min ibn Khalaf and the chief Hanbali judge Sa'd al-Din al-Harithi, and studied Abu Hayyan al-Nahwi's abridgment of Sibawayh's Kitab under Abu Hayyan's instruction.
Career, Trial, and Later Life
In Cairo, Judge Sa'd al-Din al-Harithi initially patronized al-Tufi, honoring him and appointing him to teaching posts (i'ada) at the al-Mansuriyya and al-Nasiriyya madrasas. A dispute later erupted between them after al-Tufi addressed the judge harshly during a lesson. The judge's son, Shams al-Din Abd al-Rahman, took action against him, referring his case to Badr al-Din Ibn al-Habbal. Witnesses testified against al-Tufi, producing verses in his handwriting containing disparagement of the early caliphs and expressions of Rafidism. Al-Tufi was sentenced, beaten, paraded through Cairo on a donkey, stripped of his teaching appointments, and briefly imprisoned.
Following his release, al-Tufi departed for Qus in Upper Egypt, where he resided for several years. The historian Kamal al-Din al-Edfuwi noted that upon his arrival in Qus, al-Tufi stayed with Christians and authored a text from which objectionable expressions were removed upon criticism; thereafter, he engaged quietly in studying hadith, extensive reading across local libraries, and authoring works. He then journeyed to the Hijaz, performing the pilgrimage in 714 AH and residing as a sojourner (mujawir) in the Holy Sanctuaries in 715 AH before returning toward Syria.
Scholarly Contributions and Reception
Al-Tufi was recognized for his broad erudition in jurisprudence, legal theory, Arabic philology, and hadith. In usul al-fiqh, he authored Sharh Mukhtasar al-Rawda—a comprehensive commentary on his own abridgment of Ibn Qudama's Rawdat al-Nazir—which later jurists, such as Ibn Badran, praised as one of the finest, most useful, and lucidly written manuals in the discipline.
In his commentary al-Ta'yin fi Sharh al-Arba'in, al-Tufi articulated a controversial legal doctrine regarding public interest (maslaha), elaborating at length on the thirty-second hadith ("There shall be no harm and no reciprocating harm"). He argued that safeguarding public welfare takes precedence over textual indicators (nusus) and consensus (ijma') in non-ritual transactions and worldly interactions.
Al-Tufi's religious stance drew significant debate among his biographers. While biographers like Ibn Rajab condemned him for alleged Shi'ite leanings and satirical poetry against certain Companions, other contemporaries, such as al-Dhahabi and al-Birzali, noted that he was pious, frugal, and content with little, and reported that he repented before his death.
Death
Al-Tufi died in the month of Rajab in 716 AH (1316 CE) in the town of Hebron (Balad al-Khalil) in Palestine, during his middle age, and his father survived him by several years. Variant reports place his death in 710 AH, 711 AH, or 717 AH.
Answer updated
List of Works
Sharh Mukhtasar al-Rawda (Commentary on the Abridgment of the Garden) is an extensive work on Islamic legal theory (usul al-fiqh). It serves as an elucidation of an abridgment of Ibn Qudama's Rawdat al-Nazir wa Jannat al-Munazir.
al-Intisarat al-Islamiyya fi Kashf Shubh al-Nasraniyya (The Islamic Victories in Uncovering the Doubts of Christianity) is a two-volume polemical work written to refute Christian theological criticisms of Islam and defend the prophethood of Muhammad.
Mawaid al-Hays fi Fawaid al-Qays (The Banquets of Sweetmeats on the Benefits of Imru' al-Qays) is a literary and rhetorical treatise devoted to the critical analysis, imagery, and lexical benefits of the poetry of the pre-Islamic poet Imru' al-Qays.
Dar al-Qawl al-Qabih bil-Tahsin wal-Taqbih (Warding Off the Reprehensible Doctrine of Rational Goodness and Badness) is a theological treatise devoted to examining divine decree (al-qadar) and refuting rational determination of moral value (al-tahsin wa-l-taqbih).
al-Tayin fi Sharh al-Arbain (The Specification in the Commentary on the Forty) is an early, extensive commentary on al-Nawawi's celebrated collection of forty hadiths, examining each narration in terms of its vocabulary and legal and theological significances.
al-Isharat al-Ilahiyya ila al-Mabahith al-Usuliyya (The Divine Indications Towards Foundational Inquiries) is a specialized treatise on Quranic deduction and Islamic legal and theological methodology. The work systematically traverses the text of the Quran to deduce principles belonging both to the foundations of religion (usul al-din) and to the principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh).