Khawahir Zada Badr al-Din al-Kurdari

Khawahir Zada Badr al-Din al-Kurdari (d. 651 AH / 1254 CE) was a Transoxanian Hanafi jurist and legal scholar Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He is noted for his legal writings, including Sharh Mushkilat al-Quduri (Explanation of the Obscurities of al-Quduri).

Name and Cognomen

His full name was Muhammad ibn Mahmud ibn Abd al-Karim al-Kurdari, titled Badr al-Din Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He was known by the Persian appellation Khawahir Zada (meaning "sister's son" or "nephew") because he was the nephew of the Hanafi master Shams al-A'immah Muhammad ibn Abd al-Sattar al-Kurdari Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1.

Biographical sources note that while several Hanafi scholars bore the cognomen Khawahir Zada, the title was most commonly applied to two figures: the earlier 5th-century jurist Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Bukhari (d. 483 AH), who was the nephew of Qadi Abu Thabit Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Bukhari, and Badr al-Din al-Kurdari himself Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1.

Education and Scholarship

Al-Kurdari was raised by his maternal uncle, Shams al-A'immah al-Kurdari, who oversaw his upbringing and education until he attained scholarly maturity Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1. He studied Islamic jurisprudence directly under his uncle and became an accomplished jurist Sharh Mushkilat al-Quduri+1.

A number of prominent scholars transmitted legal knowledge from him, most notably Hafiz al-Din Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi and Abu al-Mahamid Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Lu'lu'i al-Afshanji, the author of Haqa'iq al-Manzumah Sharh Mushkilat al-Quduri+1. In addition to his legal commentary on al-Quduri, his scholarly output included al-Jawahir al-Manzumah fi Usul al-Din (The Ordered Jewels in the Principles of Religion) and a commentary on al-Khassaf's work on legal devices, titled Sharh al-Hiyal al-Shar'iyyah Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al….

Death

Al-Kurdari died at the end of Dhu al-Qi'da 651 AH (January 1254 CE) and was buried alongside his maternal uncle Kataib Alam al-Akhyar min…+1.