| Region: | Transoxiana and Samarqand |
| Abu Hafs 'Umar al-Nasafi Arabic: أبو حفص عمر النسفي | |
| Shaykh al-Islām,[1] [2] Najm al-Din (The star of religion), Mufti al-Thaqalayn | |
| Birth Date: | 1067 CE |
| Birth Place: | Nakhshab, Uzbekistan |
| Death Place: | Samarqand |
| Denomination: | Sunni Islam |
| Jurisprudence: | Hanafi[3] |
| Creed: | Maturidi |
| Main Interests: | Islamic Jurisprudence, Tafsir, Hadith, Theology (Kalam), History |
| Notable Works: | Al-'Aqida al-Nasafiyya, At-Taysir fi at-Tafsir, Tafsir-e Nasafi (in Persian) |
| Influences: | Abu Hanifa Abu Mansur Maturidi Al-Bazdawi Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi |
| Influenced: | Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani Al-Taftazani Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi Hussain Kashefi |
Najm ad-Dīn Abū Ḥafṣ 'Umar ibn Muḥammad an-Nasafī (Arabic: نجم الدين أبو حفص عمر بن محمد النسفي; 1067–1142) was a Muslim jurist, theologian, mufassir, muhaddith and historian. A Persian scholar born in present-day Uzbekistan, he wrote mostly in Arabic.
He authored around 100 books in Hanafi jurisprudence, theology, Quran exegesis, Hadith and history.
Abu Hafs an-Nasafi wrote the Al-'Aqaid as a direct summary of Al-Tamhid le Qawa'id al-Tawhid (Arabic: التمهيد لقواعد التوحيد), the famous book by his own teacher Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi.[4]
While a few Arabic sources are sceptical about attributing this work to Abu Hafs an-Nasafi, a recently discovered manuscript of the Persian version of the work confirms the authorship of the work for Abu Hafs al-Nasafi. The Persian version of the work, titled Bayan-e Itiqad-e Ahl-e Sunnat wa Jama'at (Persian: بیان اعتقاد اهل سنت و جماعت), is reported on the authority of Al-Nasafi's most famous student, Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, the author of Al-Hidayah. Al-Marghinani explains in the preface of the treatise that Abu Hafs a-Nasafi wrote this work in response to a request made by Ahmad Sanjar, the Seljuk ruler and Sultan, when he visited Samarqand in 535 AH or 1140 CE.[4]
Al-Marghinani explains that one of Sultan Sanjar's governors who was the governor of Sistan and was accompanying the Sultan, asked the scholars of Samarqand to write a treatise on the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah so that "no one in Sistan could speak against it". Presumably, Sistan was dominated by the Karramiyya sect who were advocating for anthropomorphism. In response to this request, the scholars of Samarqand asked Abu Hafs al-Nasafi to write the treatise, and they all put their signatures at the end of the document. Among the scholars present at the gathering with Sultan Sanjar was Shaikh al-Islam Abd al-Hameed al-Ismandi al-Samarqandi (the author of the published book titled Tariqah al-Khilaf fi al-Fiqh). Al-Marghinani writes in the preface of the manuscript that he took a copy of the treatise and showed it again to An-Nasafi for a final review.[4]
Over ten commentaries have been written on this work, the most celebrated one being that of Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi titled Al-Muasaffa, published in 2020 by Dar al-Noor.
He studied under prominent scholars such as Fakhr al-Islam al-Bazdawi, Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi, and Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi.
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, the author of Al-Hidayah, was his most famous student.