Al-Zarnuji

Burhan al-Din or Burhan al-Islam al-Zarnuji also spelled az-Zarnuji (d. 602 AH/1223) was a Muslim scholar and the author of the celebrated pedagogical work Ta'līm al-Muta'allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta'-allum (Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning).

A manuscript of al-Zarnuji's Ta'līm al-Muta'allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta'-allum

Life

Al-Zarnuj was born and lived in Zarnuj, a well-known town beyond the river Oxus in the present Turkistan. Burhan al-Din(proof of Din) or Burhan al-Islam(proof of Islam) al-Zarnuji were his agnomen, or moniker. Collections of biographies believed that his given name was al-Nu'man ibn Ibrahim.

He studied with many shaykhs including: Shaykh Burhān al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Bakr al-Marghīnānī (1152–1197) author of Al-Hidāyah, Shaykh Abu al-Muhamid Qawaduddin Hammad ibn Ibrahim al-Saffar; the great Shaykh Hasan ibn Mansur Qadiykhani; and others.

The exact date of his death is unknown, though it is speculated that he died in 602 AH/1223 or 640 AH/1242-1243 in Bukhara.

Works

Al-Zarnuji's treatise, Ta'līm al-Muta'allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta'-allum, is a short introduction to the secrets of attaining knowledge. Acknowledged by many as a book in which even the most advanced and experienced teachers find advice they have yet to apply in their teaching, this book serves to create the proper framework for the Sharia program and its students and teachers alike.

References

• Vida, G. Levi Della (Jul–Sep 1948). "Review: Az-Zarnūjī, Ta'līm al-Muta'allim-Ṭarīq at-Ta'-allum. Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning by G. E. von Grunebaum; Theodora M. Abel". Journal of the American Oriental Society (American Oriental Society) 68 (3): 155–157. doi:10.2307/595783. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 595783. 
• al-Zarnuji, Imam; von Grunebaum, G.E.; Yusuf, Hamza (Foreword) (January 1, 2001). Instruction of the Student: The Method of Learning (2nd ed.). Starlatch, Llc. ISBN 978-1929694044. 
• Az-Zarnuji Pemandu Santri

Template:Islamic values Huda, M., & Kartanegara, M. (2015a). Islamic Spiritual Character Values of al-Zarnūjī’s Taʻlīm al-Mutaʻallim. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 229. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s2p229 Huda, M., & Kartanegara, M. (2015b). Ethical Foundation of Character Education in Indonesia: Reflections on Integration between Ahmad Dahlan and al-Zarnuji In Persidangan Antarabangsa Tokoh Ulama Melayu Nusantara (PanTUMN) (pp. 404–420). Selangor: Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS). DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.5082.1605