Abdul Karim Mudarris

Mala Abdul Karim Mudarris or Shaykh Abdul Karim Mudarris (1901–2005) (Kurdish:Mele Ebdilkerîm Muderîs) also known as Nami was the contemporary Kurdish poet, writer, translator, Faqih and the Mufti of Iraq. Most of his works are in Kurdish and Arabic and a few of them are in Persian. He is known for his numerous literary, historic and religious works like the collection and expounding of the poems of Kurdish poets like Nali, Mahwi and Mawlawi Tawagozi. He has influenced many Kurdish students and many recent imams and polymaths. Many of his works have not been published. Sir Abdulkarim was very good at writing poems and had written a dictionary by the name of (DOO RSHTAH), which defines Arabic words in poem in Kurdish. He was the first person to translate Holy Quran into Kurdish. Kurdistan governmental region has decided to open a place for his works.

Early life

He was born in a small village near Marivan. His father passed out when he was a small child. He started studying in Marivan and studing in arabic grammer and studied other sciences under the guidance of haji mulla aziz who was the imam of a mosque in sulaimaniyah. When the First World War began in 1914 he moved to another village until he eventually ,with some students, settled in a mosque in Sulaimani. Thereafter he moved to the mosque of Shaikh Husam al-Din, where he studied various books on Arabic grammar, logic, the art of debate, argumentation and Fiqh. He then continued his studies in Halabje, Suleimanieh and Baghdad. In 1924, he was appointed as a teacher in Halabja district, then he moved to Biyara to teach the Islamic Sciences where he remained for about 24 years and served as a Khatib for approximately 18 years. In 1951, he moved back to Sulaimani where he taught at the Mosque of Haji Han for about three years. In 1954 he moved to Kirkuk where he taught at the Haji Jamil al-Ialibani Centre. In 1960 Sheikh Mudarris moved to Baghdad where he became Imam and khatib and a teacher at the Sheikh ‘Abdul Qadiri Gaylani Mosque. Sheikh Mudarris retired from official duties in 1973, but continued teaching. After the death of Sheikh Najm al-Din al-Wa’iz, he was appointed as the head of the ‘Ulama’ League of Iraq. Many also regarded him as the Mufti of Baghdad. Sheikh Mudarris died on 30 August 2005 and was buried in the Gaylani tomb in Baghdad.

Some of his Kurdish Works

some of his Arabic works

Persian works

References