| Religion: | Islam | ||||||||||||
| Era: | Islamic Golden Age | ||||||||||||
| Honorific Prefix: | Imam | ||||||||||||
| Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati أبو حيان الغرناطي | |||||||||||||
| Amir al-Mu'minin fī al-Nahw Sibawayh of the century Shaykh al-Qurrāʼ Lisan al-Arab Athir al-Din Al-Ḥāfiẓ | |||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 1256 / 654 AH | ||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Jaén and Granada, Al-Andalus | ||||||||||||
| Death Date: | / 745 AH | ||||||||||||
| Death Place: | Cairo, Mamluk Sultanate | ||||||||||||
| Ethnicity: | Berber[1] [2] | ||||||||||||
| Region: | al-Andalus | ||||||||||||
| Denomination: | Sunni | ||||||||||||
| Jurisprudence: | Zahiri | ||||||||||||
| Creed: | Ash'ari[3] [4] [5] | ||||||||||||
| Main Interests: | Tafsīr, Arabic, Qira'at, | ||||||||||||
| Works: | Al-Bahr al-Muhit | ||||||||||||
| Influenced: | Taqi al-Din al-Subki Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi Ibn Aqil Al-Safadi Ibn Hisham al-Ansari Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini Taj al-Din al-Subki | ||||||||||||
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Abū Ḥayyān Athīr ad-Dīn al-Gharnāṭī (ar|أَبُو حَيَّان أَثِير ٱلدِّين ٱلْغَرْنَاطِيّ, November 1256 – July 1344 CE / 654 - 745 AH), whose full name is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf bin ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ibn Hayyān (ar|مُحَمَّد ٱبْن يُوسُف ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱبْن يُوسُف ٱبْن حَيَّان), better known as Abū Ḥayyān al-Gharnati (ar|أبو حيان الغرناطي,[6] was an Andalusian Sunni Islam scholar. He was the leading commentator on the Quran and foremost Arabic grammarian of his era.[7] [8] He was also regarded as the best scholar on Quranic recitation of his time. In addition, he was recognized for his scholarship in Islamic jurisprudence, hadith, and history.
His magnum opus, Al-Bahr al-Muhit (Explanation of the Ocean) is the most important reference on Qur'anic expressions and the issues of grammar, vocabulary, etymology, recitation, and the transcriber-copyists of the Qur'an. Quite exceptionally for a linguist of Arabic of his day was his strong interest in non-Arabic languages. He wrote several works of comparative linguistics for Arabic speakers, and gives extensive comparative grammatical analysis and explanation.[9]
He was born in Spain in November 1256[7] [10] to a family of Berber origins,[11] [12] from the Berber tribe of Nifza.[13] Historians variously cite Gharnati's place of birth as both Jaén and Granada; his appellation "Gharnati" derives from this latter.[14] At the time Jaén was a dependency of Granada, and the appellation conflict may only be apparent.
At a young age, Abu Hayyan left Spain and travelled extensively for the sake of his studies.[7] [14] Within Spain, he traveled to Málaga, Almería before moving on through Ceuta, Tunis, Alexandria, Cairo, Damietta, Minya, Kush and ‘Aydhab in Africa.[6] [14] Eventually, he reached Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage and visited Medina before returning to Alexandria. It is said he memorized the corpus of Sibawayh's al-Kitab ('The Book') - several volumes of the foundational Arabic grammar that, for some, held revered authority on the Arabic language approaching that of the Hadith in Islamic law.[15]
Abu Hayyan was a man who loved learning so much that he devoted all of his time and effort to learning. It follows that his achievement of attaining the pinnacle of knowledge mastery during his era should come as no surprise. He has acquired Ijazah and learnt from numerous teachers. He stated that he had received instruction from 450 teachers, yet there were a great number of teachers who granted him ijazah. Al-Safadi, one of Abu Hayyan's students, added that he had 400 teachers, whereas 1500 teachers have granted him ijazah. They were from Andalusia, Maghreb, Egypt, Levant, Hejaz, and Iraq. His teachers provide as evidence of his indisputable expertise in a variety of subjects. In actuality, this gives him the right to be recognised as a multidisciplinary figure in his era. Imam Abu Hayyan is credited by historians with writing a book that includes biographies of his masters. Al-Nudar was the name of the book, but the manuscripts are unavailable.
Abu Hayyan left Andalusia and briefly visited Morocco before spending time in other regions of North Africa, including Ceuta and Bougie. The author has spent some time during this time in hadith circles. After that, he spent some time in Tunisia's hadith scientific circles and received instruction in fiqh from the region's recognised authorities. Among his hadith-related experts were the following: Abu Yakub Yousuf ibn Ibrahim, Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Harun, and Abu Abdullah al-Kanani (69A9H/1300AD). He studied under Abu al-Abbas al-Ishbili (699AH/1300AD) in the field of fiqh. After that, he travelled and landed in Mamluk-ruled Egypt. He spent some time studying the hadith and the Qur'an in Alexandria before moving on to Cairo, where he spent the remainder of his days in 679H/ 1279AD23.
Following his residence in Egypt, he studied syntax (nahv) under Baha' al-Din Ibn al-Nahhas (d. 698AH/1299AD), one of Egypt's most illustrious grammar specialists in Arabic philology and an important figure in literature. In terms of sources, in addition to al-Nahhas, his initial qira'at experts were 'Ali ibn Yahya al-Hamadani al-Marbuti (680/1281) and Abu Tahir al-Maliji (681AH/1282AD). He studied prophetic traditions under leading hadith experts such as Ibn Daqiq al-'Id (702AH/1302AD) and al-Dimyati (705AH/1305AD). Furthermore, the author utilised Shams al-Din al-Isfahani in the area of Islamic legal theory (Usul al-Fiqh).
After travelling through Hijaz, it is recorded that Abu Hayyan resided in Egypt. Following the passing of his long-time mentor, Ibn Nahhas, he began teaching in his rightful role as a scholar. Later, while working for the Mamluks, he taught morphology (sarf), syntax (nahv), qiraat, hadith, and tafsir in a few large madrasahs. He also held teaching positions in famous scientific institutions in Egypt, including Madrasah al-Mansuriyya and al-Jami 'al-Aqmar. It is noteworthy that he had a cordial relationship with the sultans and other ruling class members of his era.
In Mamluk Egypt, Abu Hayyan was appointed lecturer of the science of Qur'anic exegesis at the college named after the sultan of Egypt, Al-Mansur Qalawun, in Alexandria.[16] Later, he spent a period teaching tafsir in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo.[7] [15]
Abu Hayyan won favor at the court of an-Nasir Muhammad; the scholar Fatḥ al-Din Ibn Sayyid al-Nās and he, often judged the poetry contests held during al-Nasir's reign.[17]
Imam Abu Hayyan taught a wide range of subjects, including Arabic language, hadith (prophetic tradition), fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), qira'at (Quranic recitation) and tafsir (Quranic interpretation). Many students travelled from all over the world to study under him. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that he taught at Cairo's largest mosque and lived long enough to impart knowledge to benefit his society. The Shafi'i historian al-Safadi mentioned the qualities of Abu Hayyan on the following; “The most hard-working of my scholars were Abu Hayyan. He was always engaged in science, and he set aside all of his time for students or wrote articles.” Among his major students who became leading scholars of their period include:
Abu Hayyan died on a Saturday in July in the year 1344 at his home in Cairo,[7] [10] just after the last evening prayer.[18] He was buried the next day in the cemetery of Bab al-Nasr in Islamic Cairo. When news of his death reached Damascus, the population mourned his death.[18]
Abu Hayyan was reportedly married and has two kids. Zumrud binti Abrak (d. 722H/1322AD) was his wife, and she went by "Ummu Hayyan". The sources state that she taught hadith because she was a learned woman. Abu Hayyan's offspring were a girl named Nudar (d. 730H/1330AD) and a son named Hayyan (d. 763H/1363AD).In addition to having a permission certificate from his father and other instructors, Hayyan was a knowledgeable student of hadith. It is mentioned in the pertinent sources that Abu Hayyan cherished his daughter dearly. Nudar also studied the Arabic language, hadith, and qira'at; she was granted permission in these areas. Al-Dimyati, al-Barzali, and al-Zubayr are a few of Nudar's well-known instructors. In addition, Abu Hayyan requested permission from Sayf al-Din Arghun al-Nasir, the Mamluk Sultan, to bury his late daughter Nudar in his mansion's garden. Nudar died at a young age.[14] Such permissions were not typical, and it seems the request was granted due to his high standing with the royal court. Abu Hayyan was deeply affected by his daughter's death and he composed an elegy in praise of her standing among intellectual circles.[19]
Not only was Abu Hayyan regarded by his followers as a pious scholar, but he was also well-liked and polite in public. In addition, he was someone who gets excited when the Holy Quran is recited. Kamal al-Din claims that although love and heroic poetry moved Abu Hayyan, poetry about charity had no such effect on him. Rather than bragging about his charity, the author complimented himself on his thrift. Al-Safadi, one of his students, explained this attitude by pointing to Abu Hayyan's discomfort on his scientific expedition and the fact that he had visited numerous places.
Abu Hayyan was said to be generally handsome, tall and long haired, which, along with his beard, turned grey in old age.[14]
Instead of adopting the schools of the Mu'tazilah and Mujassimah (Anthropomorphists), Abu Hayyan followed the Sunni creed of Islam which is known as Ahl al-Sunnah Wal-jama'ah. The middle path referring to the Ash'arite school that Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari established. Muhammad bin