Burhan al-Din al-Biqai
- Died
- 885 AH
- Born in
- -
Burhan al-Din al-Biqai (809–885 AH / 1406–1480 CE) was a Syrian Shafi'i scholar, Quranic exegete, hadith specialist, and historian based primarily in Cairo and Damascus, best known for his exegesis on the structural coherence of the Quran, Nazm al-Durar fi Tanasub al-Ayat wa al-Suwar (The String of Pearls on the Harmony of Verses and Chapters) .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Abu al-Hasan Ibrahim ibn Umar ibn Hasan al-Ribat ibn Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Khirbawi al-Biqai al-Shafii . He was born around 809 AH (1406 CE) in the village of Khirbat Ruha in the Beqaa Valley . On Sunday night, 9 Shaban 821 AH, when he was twelve years old, an attack on his village by the Banu Muzahim clan resulted in the death of nine of his relatives, including his father and uncles; he himself was wounded by three sword strikes, one of which hit his head . Following the tragedy, his family fled through various villages in Wadi al-Taym and al-Arqub until his maternal grandfather, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sulaymi, relocated him to Damascus .
Education and Career
In Damascus, al-Biqai perfected his memorization of the Quran, studied recitation (qira'at), Arabic grammar, and jurisprudence . When Ibn al-Jazari arrived in Damascus in 827 AH, al-Biqai studied the Quranic reading traditions under him . He traveled extensively in pursuit of knowledge, visiting Aleppo, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Damietta, and the Hijaz, performing the pilgrimage and residing for a period in Mecca . He also participated in sea voyages during military expeditions .
In Cairo, he studied jurisprudence and grammar with Taj al-Din ibn Bahadur, and attended the circles of Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi, Ibn Qadi Shuhba, and Burhan al-Din al-Halabi . He developed a close discipleship with Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, accompanying him continuously, traveling with him to Aleppo, and reading numerous works under his guidance . Ibn Hajar appointed him to recite hadith at the Cairo Citadel . Al-Biqai later taught Quranic recitations at al-Madrasa al-Mu'ayyadiyya, oversaw Jami' al-Fakahani, and served as chief reciter at the Mausoleum of Umm al-Salih (Turbat Umm al-Salih) . His extensive network of masters and peers was documented in his biographical dictionary, Unwan al-Zaman bi-Tarajim al-Shuyukh wa al-Aqran (The Mark of the Era in the Biographies of Shaykhs and Contemporaries) . His students included Ahmad ibn Khalil al-Labudi, Abu Rashid, and Ibn Qurayba, the latter being his dedicated pupil whom he designated as the heir to his writings .
Controversies
Al-Biqai was involved in intense theological disputes in Cairo, notably regarding Sufi doctrines of existential monism (wahdat al-wujud) and union (ittihad) . In early 874 AH, he mounted a vigorous polemical campaign against Ibn Arabi and the poet Umar Ibn al-Farid, authoring treatises declaring them apostates, including Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn Arabi (Warning to the Ignorant on the Declared Disbelief of Ibn Arabi) . This campaign drew sharp responses from defenders of Ibn al-Farid such as Muhyi al-Din al-Kafiyaji and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, the latter writing a refutation titled Qam' al-Mu'arid fi al-Radd 'an Ibn al-Farid . He also sparked contention through his practice of citing passages from earlier scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels, within his Quranic exegesis .
Standing and Reception
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani praised al-Biqai, describing him as an erudite scholar (allama) and counting him among his prominent companions . Conversely, his contemporary al-Sakhawi criticized him sharply, claiming he lacked sound scholarly precision and had not attained the rank of major scholars . Later scholars, including Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shawkani, rejected al-Sakhawi's appraisal as biased peer rivalry, arguing that al-Biqai was a deeply accomplished authority in both rational and transmitted sciences, as evidenced by the depth and insight of his Quranic exegesis .
Death
Al-Biqai returned to Damascus in his final years . He died there on the night of Saturday, 18 Rajab 885 AH (September 1480 CE), at the age of approximately seventy-six .
Answer updated
List of Works
Masra al-Tasawwuf is the combined title given to two theological and polemical treatises: Tanbih al-Ghabi ila Takfir Ibn Arabi and Tahdhir al-Ibad min Ahl al-Inad bi-Bidat al-Ittihad. The work is dedicated to refuting the doctrines of absolute monism (wahdat al-wujud), union (ittihad), and incarnation (hulul) advocated by Ibn Arabi and Ibn al-Farid.
al-Nukat al-Wafiya bima fi Sharh al-Alfiya is a treatise on Hadith terminology composed as critical glosses and commentary on Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi's Sharh al-Tabsirah wa-al-Tadhkirah, which was al-Iraqi's own commentary on his didactic poem Alfiyyat al-Hadith.
Nazm al-Durar fi Tanasub al-Ayat wa al-Suwar is a multi-volume work of Quranic exegesis dedicated to demonstrating structural, rhetorical, and thematic coherence (tanasub) across the entire Quran.
Unwan al-Zaman bi-Tarajim al-Shuyukh wa al-Aqran is a biographical dictionary chronicling prominent men and women of the ninth Islamic century (fifteenth century CE).
Masaid al-Nazar lil-Ishraf ala Maqasid al-Suwar is a work on Quranic sciences and the thematic coherence of the Quran that provides a holistic overview of each sura's purpose and examines the science of textual correlation.