Uzbekistan: a land multifarious geniuses. ABU-L-LAYS AS-SAMARQANDI (911-985)
Among the scientific legacy of our ancestors, tafsirs (commentaries on the Suras of the Holy Qur’an) written especially by the representatives of the Hanafian order play a very important role. The place occupied by our ancestors who lived in Maveraunnahr and the study of the legacy left by Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi should always be taken into consideration as one of the urgent problems of the Islamic science.
Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim as-Samarqandi also called by the titles "Abul-l-Lays", "Imam al-Huda" and "al-Faqih" was born in 298/911 in Samarkand and died there in 375/985. This scholar had an intention of learning tafsir, fiqh, usul, aqida and zuhd, and created a number of works in these fields of knowledge.
A historian Abdulkarim ibn Muhammad as-Sam’ani (506/1113 — 562/1167) was the first to write in his book "Al-ansab" about Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi. Unlike other historical sources, he mentions the birthplace of Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi at the very beginning of his work: "Abu-l-Lays Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim at-Tuzi was the lawyer of Abu Hanifa’s order. He was famous in debates. He lived and died in Samarkand. His teacher was Abu Ibrahim at-Termizi and he used to cite Hadiths from his teacher. His follower was Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sayyid as-Samarqandi an-Navai" The author Sam’ani considers that Abu-l-Lays Samarqandi was born in the village of Tuz.
Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi was taught by the estimated scholars of his time and reached the highest level of respect as a great expert in the Islamic science. He had no equal in the debates and this fact is always mentioned everywhere he is spoken of.
One of Abu-l-Lays’s titles was "al-Faqih" and it was often added to his kunya like "Faqih Abu-l-Lays". He became famous by (his very name. Because he had no equal in the field of law, he always carried or was called "al-Faqih".
According to legends created about him, he liked this title. One flay when he was sleeping, he dreamed about Prophet Muhammad (saas) and His Excellency called him "Faqih". The second title he earned in his scientific career was "Imam-al-huda" which was also given to mutakallim Abu Mansur al-Maturidi.
Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi was also estimated as "zahid". Under the term of "zahid" the Muslims understand the person who gave up the pleasures of the world and devoted themselves to the study of sciences and teachings of the religion.
Historical sources inform us that Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi’s lather Muhammad ibn Ibrahim at-Tuzi was also one of the famous lawyers of his time. A historian Sam’ani gives us important information that he lived in the village called Varsanin and then moved to one of the neighbouring villages of Samarkand called Tuz. I Ie had lessons from such well-known scholars of his time as Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Abbas ibn al-Fazl ibn Yahya an-Nadabi, Muhammad ibn Ghalib as-Samarqandi and Ahmad ibn Bakr as-Samarqandi. A scholar Abu Ja’far ibn al-Makki an-Navai made citations from him.
Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi was born in a well-educated family. I lis father urged his interest to the science of Islam, as his ancestors were also greatly interested in science and knowledge. In his book "Kitabu-l qand fi zikri ulamai Samarqand" (A Sweet Book about the Estimated People of Samarkand) the historian Najmiddin Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad an-Nasafi (died in 537/1155) writes that Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi’s grandson Abu Sayyid Balkhi’s name was mentioned alongside with famous experts in the science of Hadiths.
He borrowed commentaries of the Holy Qur’an, interpretations of Hadiths and decrees given by the leaders of the religious organizations from twenty-four experts in these fields. All of his teachers were of the Hanafian order and the dynasties of most of them reached the estimated Nu’man ibn Sabit Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad ibn Hasan. Some information about them is mentioned in his works. The names of such well-known figures who were his teachers come across in most of his books. Such experts were Muhammad ibn Fazl, Khalil ibn Ahmad, Abu Ja’far al-Hinduvani, etc. They were the estimated experts in the fields of the Islamic science and Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi’s tutors.
Most of his teachers were estimated scholars of the Hanafian order and were originally from Holy Bukhara, Balkh and Samarkand, which were the centres of science and culture in the 10th century. They mostly created works dealing with tafsir, hadith and fiqh and, of course, they had great influence on Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi’s scientific, spiritual development and formation as one of the leading specialists in the Islamic world. Some of his followers and students tried to comment and interpret the main ideas of his books. Among such followers, we can mention the names of Luqman ibn Hakim al-Fergani, Naimu-l-Khatib Abu Malik, etc.
Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi left a great amount of scientific legacy. A number of books he left that have reached us may prove this opinion. These works spread throughout the Islamic world and may be a considerable contribution to the Islamic science dealing with tafsir, hadith, fiqh and zuhd. His scientific activity can be subdivided into four directions:
1. Scientific views of the scholar and his commentaries on the
knowledge he gained during his studies.
2. His call to morality, belief and prayer.
3. His attitude towards different parties and branches in the Islamic world, their teachings and laws.
4. Collecting the legal views of the scholars of his time and expressing his own critical relations to them.
About thirty books written by Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi have reached us. His works dealing with fiqh, tafsir and maviza are famous in the Islamic world, and they have been republished several times. Such works as "An-Navazil", "Khizana al-Fiqh" and "Al-Muqaddima fi-s-salat" are highly appreciated in the Hanafian law, and they have become very precious sources of the Islamic science. Among his works of didactics, "Tanbih al-ghafilin" and "Bustan al-arifin" have been republished several times since the past centuries. His tafsir is also of great importance because he comments firstly on the rules and laws of the Holy Qur’an, Hadiths through the sahabi and tabi’i words. The width of the content of Abu-l-Lays as-Samarqandi’s works show that he had a great amount of knowledge in different fields of science. His works on Hadiths, tafsir and fiqh had a considerable influence on the later period of development of these branches of the Islamic science. He did not have a collection of Hadiths. However, using the Hadiths and on the basis of Hadiths, he created a number of precious works on didactics. His commentaries and interpretations on Hadiths demonstrate his abilities as a rare and leading expert in these fields of science.
Ubaydulla Uvatov Professor, Doctor of HistoryPress service of ISRCIB