Abu Ahmad Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Karaji, better known as al-Qassab, was a Muslim warrior-scholar, exegete and specialist in Hadith studies.[1][2] He has, at times, been confused with his son Abu al-Hasan Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad al-Karaji.
Al-Qassab | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | Muhammad al-Karaji |
| Died | 970 |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Iranian plateau |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i |
| Creed | Athari |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced | |
Life
editQassab lived in Karaj in Central Iran. He died in the year 360 according to the Islamic calendar, corresponding to 970 on the Gregorian calendar.[3] Having been a soldier under the Abbasid Caliphate, he received the nicknamed Qassab or "the butcher" due to his skill on the battlefield and the large number of opponents he slayed.[4]
Qassab was considered among mainstream dogmatics, and was staunchly opposed to both the Mu'tazila and the Jahmites.[5][6][7] In his exegesis of the Qur'an, he would often refer to linguistic arguments in order to prove his point.[1] Qassab was noted among Muslim theologians as holding the view that the testimony of a convicted criminal could later be accepted in unrelated cases if they performed a public repentance for their own crime.[8] Like Ibn Hazm who would come after him, Qassab did not accept the Hadith regarding rejection of the convict's testimony as authentically linked to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[9] The issue is a much debated one in Islamic law.
Works
editQassab authored an exegesis of the Qur'an centered on its applications in Islamic law.[10]
Edited works
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Hussein Abdul-Raof, Theological Approaches to Qur'anic Exegesis: A Practical Comparative-Contrastive Analysis, pg. 147. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2012.
- ^ a b Ahmad Al-Saiid Zaki Hemeidah, Repentance as a Legal Concept, pg. 26. Master's thesis for the University of Arizona's Department of Near Eastern Studies, 2011.
- ^ Hemeidah, pg. 117.
- ^ Dr. Abdul-Baqi al-Sayyid Abdul-Hadi, Soldiers and Martyrs of the Zahirites. Alhady Alzahry, September 30, 2010.
- ^ Um Abdullah al-Misawi, Are Allah's Attributes Real or Figurative?. Beliefs of The Righteous Salaf, February 21, 2012.
- ^ Um Abdullah al-Misawi,The Belief In The Throne of Allah. Beliefs of The Righteous Salaf, June 25, 2011.
- ^ Um Abdullah al-Misawi, The Belief of the Salaf In Allah's Elevation & Istiwa on the Throne: Scholars After the Salaf, part 3 of 3. Beliefs of The Righteous Salaf, September 19, 2010.
- ^ Hemeidah, pg. 121.
- ^ Hemeidah, pgs. 127-128.
- ^ Hemeidah, pg. 149.
- ^ Abdul-Raof, pg. 282.