Fasih al-Din al-Haydari
- Died
- 1299 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Fasih al-Din al-Haydari (1235–1299 AH / 1820–1881 CE) was an Iraqi Shafi'i jurist, Ash'ari theologian, and historian from Baghdad, best known for his regional historical study ‘Unwan al-majd .
Lineage and Early Life
His full lineage is Ibrahim ibn Sibghat Allah ibn Muhammad As‘ad ibn ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Sibghat Allah al-Haydari al-Baghdadi . He was also known as Ibrahim Fasih and Haydari-zada . Born in Baghdad into the scholarly Haydari family of Kurdish descent, his birth year is recorded as 1235 AH (1820 CE), with another report placing it in 1236 AH (1821 CE) .
Career and Travels
Al-Haydari served in the judiciary as deputy judge (na’ib al-qada’) in Baghdad and later held a judicial deputy appointment in Basra . He also taught religious sciences in local madrasas, specializing in jurisprudence, Quranic exegesis, history, and logic .
His travels took him from Baghdad to Istanbul, Egypt, the Hejaz, Syria, and parts of Anatolia . During the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, he resided for an extended period in Istanbul, where he held official posts and served on the imperial Board of Education (Majlis al-Ma‘arif) . After adversaries intrigued against him, he was removed from office and returned to Baghdad, where he spent his remaining years dedicated to scholarly writing . Prior to his death, he endowed his personal collection of rare books to the Khalidiyya Sufi lodge (al-Takiyya al-Khalidiyya) .
Doctrinal Affiliation and Scholarship
In creed, al-Haydari adhered to Ash‘ari theology, and he followed the Shafi‘i school in legal jurisprudence . In Sufism, he was affiliated with the Naqshbandi order, having received its spiritual lineage through Khalid al-Naqshbandi, whose life and virtues he documented in al-Majd al-talid fi manaqib Mawlana Khalid . His historical scholarship culminated in ‘Unwan al-majd fi bayan ahwal Baghdad wa-al-Basrah wa-Najd, a detailed account of the topography, tribal lineages, notable figures, and modern history of Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula completed in 1286 AH (1869–1870 CE) . He also authored the polemical theological treatise al-Nukat al-shani‘ah fi bayan al-khilaf bayn Allah Ta‘ala wa-al-Shi‘ah, contrasting Quranic verses with theological positions found in Shia literature .
Death
Al-Haydari died in Baghdad in 1299 AH (1881–1882 CE) . Other sources place his death in 1300 AH (1882–1883 CE), with one report specifying the date as 5 Safar 1300 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Nukat al-Shania fi Bayan al-Khilaf bayn Allah Taala wa al-Shia (The Heinous Points in Explaining the Disagreement Between God Almighty and the Shia) is a theological treatise examining Sunni–Shia doctrinal disputes through the lens of Quranic verses. It is arranged around a series of numbered doctrinal points, contrasting Quranic proof-texts with theological positions maintained in Shia literature on subjects such as the creation of human actions, the status of the Prophet and the Imams, the Caliphate, and the Prophet's household.