Bahraq al-Yamani
- Died
- 930 AH
- Born in
- Hadramaut
Bahraq al-Yamani (869–930 AH / 1465–1524 CE) was a Yemeni Shafi'i jurist, grammarian, Sufi, and poet from Hadramawt who served as a judge in Yemen before settling in Gujarat, India .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Jamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Mubarak ibn Abd Allah ibn Ali al-Himyari al-Hadrami al-Shafi'i, commonly known as Bahraq (and bearing the kunya Abu Abd Allah) . He was born on the night of the middle of Sha'ban in 869 AH (1465 CE) in Hadramawt, where he was raised and commenced his initial religious training under local jurists .
Education, Career, and Travels
He traveled to Aden, where he studied extensively under Abd Allah ibn Ahmad Makhramah . Continuing his studies, he visited Zabid and took from its scholars, receiving the Sufi cloak (khirqah) from al-Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Ahdal . He also studied under Abu Bakr ibn Abd Allah al-Aydarus, as well as scholars in Mecca and Medina .
He was appointed to the judiciary of al-Shihr, but subsequently resigned from the post . He then returned to Aden, where he attained significant standing with its governor, Murjan al-Amiri . He later sailed to Gujarat in India and was welcomed by Sultan Muzaffar Shah II (Muzaffar ibn Mahmud), who honored him, elevated his rank, and studied under him . Among his students in Hadramawt was the jurist Muhammad ibn Ahmad Bajurayfil .
While in Gujarat, he dedicated to Sultan Muzaffar his biography of the Prophet ﷺ, titled Hadaiq al-Anwar wa Matali al-Asrar fi Sirat al-Nabi al-Mukhtar (initially titled Tabsirat al-Hadrah al-Shahiyyah al-Ahmadiyyah bi-Sirat al-Hadrah al-Ahmadiyyah al-Nabawiyyah) . His scholarship spanned multiple disciplines, including Arabic morphology, on which he wrote Fath al-Aqfal wa Hall al-Ishkal (a commentary on Ibn Malik's Lamiyat al-Afal), and theology, where he authored al-Husam al-Maslul ala Muntaqisi Ashab al-Rasul in defense of the Prophet's Companions .
Scholarly Standing
Murtada al-Zabidi described him as the foremost scholar of Yemen (allamat al-Yaman) . Biographical accounts in al-Nur al-Safir praise him as a versatile scholar of wide-ranging expertise in hadith, jurisprudence, grammar, and Sufism, noting his exceptional generosity, dedication to students, and upright character .
Death
He died on the night of 20 Sha'ban 930 AH (1524 CE) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat . Historical reports state that his close standing with the Sultan provoked the jealousy of court ministers, who administered poison that led to his death .
Answer updated
List of Works
Fath al-Aqfal wa Hall al-Ishkal bi Sharh Lamiyat al-Afal, widely known as al-Sharh al-Kabir, is a commentary on Arabic morphology and lexicography. It explicates Lamiyat al-Afal (also titled Abniyat al-Afal), Ibn Malik's didactic poem on verbal conjugation and morphological templates.
al-Husam al-Maslul ala Muntaqisi Ashab al-Rasul is a theological and polemical treatise written to defend the Companions of the Prophet and articulate the Sunni doctrine on the caliphate and the Imamate.
Hadaiq al-Anwar wa Matali al-Asrar fi Sirat al-Nabi al-Mukhtar is a work on the prophetic biography (sirah), also known as Tabsirat al-Hadrah al-Ahmadiyyah al-Shahiyyah bi-Sirat al-Hadrah al-Ahmadiyyah al-Nabawiyyah.