Sarakhsi

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Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl Abu Bakr al-Sarakhsi (from Sarakhs in Khorasan) lived and worked in Transoxiana. His family background is unknown; he died around the year 1106 A.D.

Al-Sarakhsi wrote many books on Islamic jurisprudence; his most important, Kitāb al-Mabsūṭ, a commentary on an epitome (mukhtaṣar) of al-Shaybani's work, is spread over 30 volumes. His other important work, Uṣūl al-Fiqh, is in two volumes. He was thrown into prison for criticising the king and questioning the validity of the king's marriage to the slave woman of a palace servant[1]; there he authored parts of Kitāb al-Mabsūṭ and most of Siyar al-Kabīr. After 15 years of captivity, he was released from prison, and died soon after completing Siyar al-Kabīr.

Al-Sarakhsi has been called the "Hugo Grotius of the muslims"[2]. He is greatly admired for his phenomenal memory, as evidenced from his accurate recollection of the classics while being held in prison. He was a strong advocate of the doctrine of istiḥsān, which he describes as abandonment of systematic reasoning about the scriptures in favor of a different opinion supported by stronger evidence and more accommodating of the population's needs.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ibn Qutlubugha, Taj al-Tarajim, 1962
  2. ^ Hussian Kassim, Sarakhsi, 1939

[edit] Sources

Norman Calder, Jawid Ahmad Mojaddedi, Andrew Rippin, Classical Islam: A Sourcebook of Religious Literature (Routledge, 2003).