IMAM AL-MATURIDI

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   Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem
assalamu alaikum

IMAM AL-MATURIDI

      
      by Dr. G. F. Haddad 
      Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Abu Mansur al-Samarqandi 
      al-Maturidi al-Hanafi (d. 333) of Maturid in Samarqand, Shaykh al-Islam, 
      one of the two foremost Imams of the mutakallim�n of Ahl al-Sunna, 
      known in his time as the Imam of Guidance (Im�m al-Hud�), he studied 
      under Abu Nasr al-`Ayadi and Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Jawzajani. Among his senior 
      students were `Ali ibn Sa`id Abu al-Hasan al-Rustughfani,1 Abu Muhammad `Abd 
      al-Karim ibn Musa ibn `Isa al-Bazdawi, and Abu al-Qasim Ishaq ibn Muhammad 
      al-Hakim al-Samarqandi. He excelled in refuting the Mu`tazila in 
      Transoxiana while his contemporary Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari did the same in 
      Basra and Baghdad. He died in Samarqand where he lived most of his life. 
      The founder of the Egyptian Muniriyya Salafiyya Press, Munir `Abduh Agha 
      wrote:
      "There is not much [doctrinal] difference 
      between Ash`aris and Maturidis, hence both groups are now called Ahl 
      al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a."2
      Al-Maturidi surpasses Imam al-Tahawi as a transmitter 
      and commentator of Imam Abu Hanifa's legacy in kal�m. Both al-Maturidi 
      and al-Tahawi followed Abu Hanifa and his companions in the position that 
      belief (al-�m�n) consists in "conviction in the heart and 
      affirmation by the tongue," without adding, as do Malik, al-Shafi`i, 
      Ahmad ibn Hanbal and their schools, "practice with the limbs." 
      Al-Maturidi, as also related from Abu Hanifa, went so far as to declare 
      that the foundation of belief consisted only in conviction in the heart, 
      the tongue's affirmation being a supplementary integral or pillar (rukn 
      z�'id).3
      Among al-Maturidi's works:
      * Kitab al-Tawhid on the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna. 
      In it he states the following:
      
        "The Muslims differ concerning Allah's place. 
        Some have claimed that Allah is described as being 'established over the 
        Throne' (`al� al-`arshi mustawin), and the Throne for them is a 
        dais (sar�r) carried by the angels and surrounded by them [as in 
        the verses]: {And eight will uphold the Throne of their Lord that 
        day, above them} (69:17) and {And you see the angels thronging 
        round the Throne} (39:75) and {Those who bear the Throne, and all 
        who are round about it} (40:7). They adduced as a proof for that 
        position His saying: {The Merciful established Himself over the 
        Throne} (20:5) and the fact that people raise their hands toward the 
        heaven in their supplications and whatever graces they are hoping for. 
        They also say that He moved there after not being there at first, on the 
        basis of the verse {Then He established Himself over the Throne} 
        (57:4).
        "Others say that He is in every place because 
        He said {There is no secret conference of three but He is their 
        fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more 
        but He is with them wheresoever they may be} (58:7), and {We are 
        nearer to him than his jugular vein} (50:16) and {And We are 
        nearer unto him than ye are, but ye see not} (56:85) and {And He 
        it is Who in the heaven is God, and in the earth God} (43:84). This 
        group consider that to say that He is in one place at the exclusion of 
        another necessitate a limit for Him, and that every limited object comes 
        short of whatever is greater than it, which would constitute a 
        disgraceful defect. Further, they consider that to be in one place 
        necessitates need to that place together with the necessity of 
        boundaries....
        "Others deny the ascription of place to Allah, 
        whether one place or every place, except in the metaphorical senses that 
        He preserves them and causes them to exist.
        "Shaykh Abu Mansur [al-Maturidi] - may Allah 
        have mercy on him - says: The sum of all this is that the predication of 
        all things to Him and His predication - may He be exalted! - to them is 
        along the lines of His description in terms of exaltation (`uluw) 
        and loftiness (rif`a), and in terms of extolment (ta`z�m) 
        and majesty (jal�l), as in His saying: {the Sovereignty of 
        the heavens and the earth} (2:107, 3:189, 5:17-18, 5:40 etc.) {Lord 
        of the heavens and the earth} (13:16, 17:102, 18:14, 19:65, etc.), 
        "God of all creation" (il�h al-khalq), Lord of the 
        worlds (1:2, 5:28, 6:45, 6:162, 7:54, etc.), "above 
        everything" (fawqa kulli shay') and so forth. As for the 
        predication of specific objects to Him, it is along the lines of His 
        specific attribution with generosity (al-kar�ma), high rank (al-manzila), 
        and immense favor (al-tafd�l) for what is essentially meant to 
        refer to Him, as in His sayings {Lo! Allah is with those who keep 
        their duty unto Him} (16:128), {And the places of worship are 
        only for Allah} (72:18), {The she-camel of Allah} (7:73, 
        11:64, 91:13), "The House of Allah" (bayt All�h), and 
        other similar instances. None of these examples is understood in the 
        same way as the predication of created object to one another....
        "Abu Mansur - may Allah have mercy on him! - 
        further says: The foundation of this issue is that Allah Almighty was 
        when there was no place, then locations were raised while He remains 
        exactly as He ever was. Therefore, He is as He ever was and He ever was 
        as He is now. Exalted is He beyond any change or transition or movement 
        or cessation! For all these are portents of contingency (hudth) 
        by which the contingent nature of the world can be known, and the proofs 
        of its eventual passing away....
        "Furthermore [concerning the claim that Allah 
        is on the Throne], there is not, in the context of spatial elevation, 
        any particular merit to sitting or standing, nor exaltation, nor any 
        quality of magnificence and splendor. For example, someone standing 
        higher than roofs or mountains does not deservedly acquire loftiness 
        over someone who is below him spatially when their essence is identical. 
        Therefore, it is not permissible to interpret away the verse [20:5] in 
        that sense, when it is actually pointing to magnificence and majesty. 
        For He has said {Verily, it is your Lord Who created the heavens and 
        the earth} (7:54, 10:3, 21:56) thereby pointing to the extolment of 
        the Throne, which is something created of light, or a substance [or 
        jewel] the reality of which is beyond the knowledge of creatures. It was 
        narrated that the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - while describing 
        the sun, said: "Gibr�l brings it, in his hand, some of the light 
        of the Throne with which he clothes it just as one of you wears his 
        clothes, and so every day that it rises"; he also mentioned that 
        the moon receives a handful of the light of the Throne.4 Therefore, the 
        predication of istiw�' to the Throne is along two lines: first, 
        its extolment in the light of all that He said concerning His authority 
        in Lordship and over creatures; second, its specific mention as the 
        greatest and loftiest of all objects in creation, in keeping with the 
        customary predication of magnificent matters to magnificent objects, 
        just as it is said: "So-and-so has achieved sovereignty over 
        such-and-such a country, and has established himself over such-and-such 
        a region." This is not to restrict the meaning of this sovereignty 
        literally, but only to say that it is well-known that whoever owns 
        sovereignty over this, then whatever lies below it is meant a 
        fortiori."5
      
      * Kitab Radd Awa'il al-Adilla, a refutation of 
      the Mu`tazili al-Ka`bi's book entitled Awa'il al-Adilla;
      * Radd al-Tahdhib fi al-Jadal, another 
      refutation of al-Ka`bi;6
      * Kitab Bayan Awham al-Mu`tazila;
      * Kitab Ta'wilat al-Qur'an ("Book of the 
      Interpretations of the Qur'an"), of which Ibn Abi al-Wafa' said: 
      "No book rivals it, indeed no book even comes near it among those who 
      preceded him in this discipline."7 Hajji Khalifa cites it as Ta'wilat 
      Ahl al-Sunna and quotes as follows al-Maturidi's definition of the 
      difference between "explanation" (tafs�r) and 
      "interpretation" (ta'w�l):
      
        "Tafs�r is the categorical conclusion 
        (al-qat`) that the meaning of the term in question is this, and 
        the testimony before Allah Almighty that this is what He meant by the 
        term in question; while ta'w�l is the preferment (tarj�h) 
        of one of several possibilities without categorical conclusion nor 
        testimony."8
      
      * Kitab al-Maqalat;
      * Ma'akhidh al-Shara'i` in Usul al-Fiqh;
      * Al-Jadal fi Usul al-Fiqh;
      * Radd al-Usul al-Khamsa, a refutation of Abu 
      Muhammad al-Bahili's exposition of the Five Principles of the Mu`tazila;9
      * Radd al-Imama, a refutation of the Shi`i 
      conception of the office of Imam;
      * Al-Radd `ala Usul al-Qaramita;
      * Radd Wa`id al-Fussaq, a refutation of the 
      Mu`tazili doctrine that all grave sinners among the Muslims are doomed to 
      eternal Hellfire.
      Most of the Hanafi school follows al-Maturidi in 
      doctrine, but he evidently achieved lesser fame than al-Ash`ari because 
      the latter entered into countless debates to defeat the opponents of Ahl 
      al-Sunna while al-Maturidi, as Imam al-Kawthari said, "lived in 
      an environment in which innovators had no power." The absence of a 
      notice on Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in al-Dhahabi's Siyar is a 
      major omission in that masterpiece of biographical history.
      NOTES
      1He narrated from Imam Abu Hanifa the 
      saying: kullu mujtahidin mus�bun wa al-haqqu `inda All�hi w�hid 
      which means "Every scholar who strives [towards truth] is correct 
      [whatever his finding], even if the truth in Allah's presence is 
      one." Accordingly, al-Rustughfani differed with al-Maturidi who 
      considered that the mujtahid is wrong in his ijtih�d if his finding 
      differs from the truth. Ibn Abi al-Wafa', Tabaqat al-Hanafiyya (p. 
      310, 362-363).
      2In Namudhaj min al-A`mal al-Khayriyya 
      (p. 134).
      3Al-Tahawi, `Aqida �62: 
      "Belief consists in affirmation by the tongue and acceptance by the 
      heart." See "Ibn Abi al-`Izz," Sharh al-`Aqida al-Tahawiyya 
      (4th ed. p. 373-374, 9th ed. p. 332). See also Risala Abi Hanifa ila `Uthman 
      al-Batti in `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda, Namadhij (p. 21-28).
      4Something similar is narrated - 
      without naming the angel - as part of a very long hadith from Ibn `Abbas 
      by Abu al-Shaykh with a very weak chain in al-`Azama (4:1163-1179). 
      Another hadith states: "The Messenger of Allah - Allah bless and 
      greet him - told me that the sun, the moon, and the stars were created 
      from the light of the Throne." Narrated from Anas by Abu al-Shaykh in 
      al-`Azama (4:1140). See also al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar 
      al-Mala'ik.
      5Al-Maturidi, Kitab al-Tawhid (p. 
      72).
      6Cf. Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun 
      (1:518).
      7Ibn Abi al-Wafa', al-Jawahir al-Mudiyya 
      (p. 130).
      8In Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun 
      (1:334-335).
      9The "Five Principles" of 
      the Mu`tazila are: 
      
          Tawh�d entailing a denial 
          of the Divine "Attributes of Meanings" (sif�t al-ma'�n�) 
          and of the vision of Allah Most High by the believers in the next 
          world - although both tenets are mentioned in the Qur'an; 
        

          'Adl or Divine Justice, 
          entailing the position that Allah Most High cannot possibly create the 
          evil deeds of His servants, therefore they are in charge of their own 
          destinies and create the latter themselves through a power which Allah 
          deposited in them - a denial of the verse {Allah creates you and what 
          you do} (37:95); 
        

          Reward and Punishment, entailing 
          the belief that Allah Most High, of necessity, rewards those who do 
          good and punishes those who do evil, and He does not forgive grave 
          sinners unless they repent before death, even if they are Muslims - a 
          denial of the verses that state explicitly that Allah forgives whom He 
          wills and punishes whom He wills and a denial of the intercession of 
          the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - for grave sinners among the 
          Muslims; 
        

          Belief, whereby they held that 
          grave sinners were considered neither believers nor disbelievers and 
          so construed for them a "half-way status" between the two (al-manzila 
          bayn al-manzilatayn) in Hellfire; 
        

          Commanding good and forbidding 
          evil is obligatory upon the believers, and this is the sole principle 
          in which they are in agreement with the majority of Muslims.
      
      Wallahu ta`ala a`lam wa ahkam.
      Main sources: 
      Al-Lacknawi, al-Fawa'id al-Bahiyya fi Tarajim al-Hanafiyya 
      p. 319-320 #412; Ibn Abi al-Wafa', al-Jawahir al-Mudiyya fi Tabaqat al-Hanafiyya 
      p. 130, 310, 362-363; Al-Kawthari, introduction to al-Bayadi's Isharat 
      al-Maram.
       Allah 
      bless and greet our Master Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
rami Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Male Joined: 01 March 2000 Status: Offline Points: 2549	Post Options Post Reply Quote rami Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: IMAM AL-MATURIDI Posted: 25 February 2006 at 4:07pm
	Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem assalamu alaikum IMAM AL-MATURIDI by Dr. G. F. Haddad Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Abu Mansur al-Samarqandi al-Maturidi al-Hanafi (d. 333) of Maturid in Samarqand, Shaykh al-Islam, one of the two foremost Imams of the mutakallim�n of Ahl al-Sunna, known in his time as the Imam of Guidance (Im�m al-Hud�), he studied under Abu Nasr al-`Ayadi and Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Jawzajani. Among his senior students were `Ali ibn Sa`id Abu al-Hasan al-Rustughfani,1 Abu Muhammad `Abd al-Karim ibn Musa ibn `Isa al-Bazdawi, and Abu al-Qasim Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Hakim al-Samarqandi. He excelled in refuting the Mu`tazila in Transoxiana while his contemporary Abu al-Hasan al-Ash`ari did the same in Basra and Baghdad. He died in Samarqand where he lived most of his life. The founder of the Egyptian Muniriyya Salafiyya Press, Munir `Abduh Agha wrote: "There is not much [doctrinal] difference between Ash`aris and Maturidis, hence both groups are now called Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a."2 Al-Maturidi surpasses Imam al-Tahawi as a transmitter and commentator of Imam Abu Hanifa's legacy in kal�m. Both al-Maturidi and al-Tahawi followed Abu Hanifa and his companions in the position that belief (al-�m�n) consists in "conviction in the heart and affirmation by the tongue," without adding, as do Malik, al-Shafi`i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and their schools, "practice with the limbs." Al-Maturidi, as also related from Abu Hanifa, went so far as to declare that the foundation of belief consisted only in conviction in the heart, the tongue's affirmation being a supplementary integral or pillar (rukn z�'id).3 Among al-Maturidi's works: * Kitab al-Tawhid on the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna. In it he states the following: "The Muslims differ concerning Allah's place. Some have claimed that Allah is described as being 'established over the Throne' (`al� al-`arshi mustawin), and the Throne for them is a dais (sar�r) carried by the angels and surrounded by them [as in the verses]: {And eight will uphold the Throne of their Lord that day, above them} (69:17) and {And you see the angels thronging round the Throne} (39:75) and {Those who bear the Throne, and all who are round about it} (40:7). They adduced as a proof for that position His saying: {The Merciful established Himself over the Throne} (20:5) and the fact that people raise their hands toward the heaven in their supplications and whatever graces they are hoping for. They also say that He moved there after not being there at first, on the basis of the verse {Then He established Himself over the Throne} (57:4). "Others say that He is in every place because He said {There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be} (58:7), and {We are nearer to him than his jugular vein} (50:16) and {And We are nearer unto him than ye are, but ye see not} (56:85) and {And He it is Who in the heaven is God, and in the earth God} (43:84). This group consider that to say that He is in one place at the exclusion of another necessitate a limit for Him, and that every limited object comes short of whatever is greater than it, which would constitute a disgraceful defect. Further, they consider that to be in one place necessitates need to that place together with the necessity of boundaries.... "Others deny the ascription of place to Allah, whether one place or every place, except in the metaphorical senses that He preserves them and causes them to exist. "Shaykh Abu Mansur [al-Maturidi] - may Allah have mercy on him - says: The sum of all this is that the predication of all things to Him and His predication - may He be exalted! - to them is along the lines of His description in terms of exaltation (`uluw) and loftiness (rif`a), and in terms of extolment (ta`z�m) and majesty (jal�l), as in His saying: {the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth} (2:107, 3:189, 5:17-18, 5:40 etc.) {Lord of the heavens and the earth} (13:16, 17:102, 18:14, 19:65, etc.), "God of all creation" (il�h al-khalq), Lord of the worlds (1:2, 5:28, 6:45, 6:162, 7:54, etc.), "above everything" (fawqa kulli shay') and so forth. As for the predication of specific objects to Him, it is along the lines of His specific attribution with generosity (al-kar�ma), high rank (al-manzila), and immense favor (al-tafd�l) for what is essentially meant to refer to Him, as in His sayings {Lo! Allah is with those who keep their duty unto Him} (16:128), {And the places of worship are only for Allah} (72:18), {The she-camel of Allah} (7:73, 11:64, 91:13), "The House of Allah" (bayt All�h), and other similar instances. None of these examples is understood in the same way as the predication of created object to one another.... "Abu Mansur - may Allah have mercy on him! - further says: The foundation of this issue is that Allah Almighty was when there was no place, then locations were raised while He remains exactly as He ever was. Therefore, He is as He ever was and He ever was as He is now. Exalted is He beyond any change or transition or movement or cessation! For all these are portents of contingency (hudth) by which the contingent nature of the world can be known, and the proofs of its eventual passing away.... "Furthermore [concerning the claim that Allah is on the Throne], there is not, in the context of spatial elevation, any particular merit to sitting or standing, nor exaltation, nor any quality of magnificence and splendor. For example, someone standing higher than roofs or mountains does not deservedly acquire loftiness over someone who is below him spatially when their essence is identical. Therefore, it is not permissible to interpret away the verse [20:5] in that sense, when it is actually pointing to magnificence and majesty. For He has said {Verily, it is your Lord Who created the heavens and the earth} (7:54, 10:3, 21:56) thereby pointing to the extolment of the Throne, which is something created of light, or a substance [or jewel] the reality of which is beyond the knowledge of creatures. It was narrated that the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - while describing the sun, said: "Gibr�l brings it, in his hand, some of the light of the Throne with which he clothes it just as one of you wears his clothes, and so every day that it rises"; he also mentioned that the moon receives a handful of the light of the Throne.4 Therefore, the predication of istiw�' to the Throne is along two lines: first, its extolment in the light of all that He said concerning His authority in Lordship and over creatures; second, its specific mention as the greatest and loftiest of all objects in creation, in keeping with the customary predication of magnificent matters to magnificent objects, just as it is said: "So-and-so has achieved sovereignty over such-and-such a country, and has established himself over such-and-such a region." This is not to restrict the meaning of this sovereignty literally, but only to say that it is well-known that whoever owns sovereignty over this, then whatever lies below it is meant a fortiori."5 * Kitab Radd Awa'il al-Adilla, a refutation of the Mu`tazili al-Ka`bi's book entitled Awa'il al-Adilla; * Radd al-Tahdhib fi al-Jadal, another refutation of al-Ka`bi;6 * Kitab Bayan Awham al-Mu`tazila; * Kitab Ta'wilat al-Qur'an ("Book of the Interpretations of the Qur'an"), of which Ibn Abi al-Wafa' said: "No book rivals it, indeed no book even comes near it among those who preceded him in this discipline."7 Hajji Khalifa cites it as Ta'wilat Ahl al-Sunna and quotes as follows al-Maturidi's definition of the difference between "explanation" (tafs�r) and "interpretation" (ta'w�l): "Tafs�r is the categorical conclusion (al-qat`) that the meaning of the term in question is this, and the testimony before Allah Almighty that this is what He meant by the term in question; while ta'w�l is the preferment (tarj�h) of one of several possibilities without categorical conclusion nor testimony."8 * Kitab al-Maqalat; * Ma'akhidh al-Shara'i` in Usul al-Fiqh; * Al-Jadal fi Usul al-Fiqh; * Radd al-Usul al-Khamsa, a refutation of Abu Muhammad al-Bahili's exposition of the Five Principles of the Mu`tazila;9 * Radd al-Imama, a refutation of the Shi`i conception of the office of Imam; * Al-Radd `ala Usul al-Qaramita; * Radd Wa`id al-Fussaq, a refutation of the Mu`tazili doctrine that all grave sinners among the Muslims are doomed to eternal Hellfire. Most of the Hanafi school follows al-Maturidi in doctrine, but he evidently achieved lesser fame than al-Ash`ari because the latter entered into countless debates to defeat the opponents of Ahl al-Sunna while al-Maturidi, as Imam al-Kawthari said, "lived in an environment in which innovators had no power." The absence of a notice on Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi in al-Dhahabi's Siyar is a major omission in that masterpiece of biographical history. NOTES 1He narrated from Imam Abu Hanifa the saying: kullu mujtahidin mus�bun wa al-haqqu `inda All�hi w�hid which means "Every scholar who strives [towards truth] is correct [whatever his finding], even if the truth in Allah's presence is one." Accordingly, al-Rustughfani differed with al-Maturidi who considered that the mujtahid is wrong in his ijtih�d if his finding differs from the truth. Ibn Abi al-Wafa', Tabaqat al-Hanafiyya (p. 310, 362-363). 2In Namudhaj min al-A`mal al-Khayriyya (p. 134). 3Al-Tahawi, `Aqida �62: "Belief consists in affirmation by the tongue and acceptance by the heart." See "Ibn Abi al-`Izz," Sharh al-`Aqida al-Tahawiyya (4th ed. p. 373-374, 9th ed. p. 332). See also Risala Abi Hanifa ila `Uthman al-Batti in `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda, Namadhij (p. 21-28). 4Something similar is narrated - without naming the angel - as part of a very long hadith from Ibn `Abbas by Abu al-Shaykh with a very weak chain in al-`Azama (4:1163-1179). Another hadith states: "The Messenger of Allah - Allah bless and greet him - told me that the sun, the moon, and the stars were created from the light of the Throne." Narrated from Anas by Abu al-Shaykh in al-`Azama (4:1140). See also al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik. 5Al-Maturidi, Kitab al-Tawhid (p. 72). 6Cf. Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun (1:518). 7Ibn Abi al-Wafa', al-Jawahir al-Mudiyya (p. 130). 8In Hajji Khalifa, Kashf al-Zunun (1:334-335). 9The "Five Principles" of the Mu`tazila are: Tawh�d entailing a denial of the Divine "Attributes of Meanings" (sif�t al-ma'�n�) and of the vision of Allah Most High by the believers in the next world - although both tenets are mentioned in the Qur'an; 'Adl or Divine Justice, entailing the position that Allah Most High cannot possibly create the evil deeds of His servants, therefore they are in charge of their own destinies and create the latter themselves through a power which Allah deposited in them - a denial of the verse {Allah creates you and what you do} (37:95); Reward and Punishment, entailing the belief that Allah Most High, of necessity, rewards those who do good and punishes those who do evil, and He does not forgive grave sinners unless they repent before death, even if they are Muslims - a denial of the verses that state explicitly that Allah forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills and a denial of the intercession of the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him - for grave sinners among the Muslims; Belief, whereby they held that grave sinners were considered neither believers nor disbelievers and so construed for them a "half-way status" between the two (al-manzila bayn al-manzilatayn) in Hellfire; Commanding good and forbidding evil is obligatory upon the believers, and this is the sole principle in which they are in agreement with the majority of Muslims. Wallahu ta`ala a`lam wa ahkam. Main sources: Al-Lacknawi, al-Fawa'id al-Bahiyya fi Tarajim al-Hanafiyya p. 319-320 #412; Ibn Abi al-Wafa', al-Jawahir al-Mudiyya fi Tabaqat al-Hanafiyya p. 130, 310, 362-363; Al-Kawthari, introduction to al-Bayadi's Isharat al-Maram. Allah bless and greet our Master Muhammad, his Family, and all his Companions.
	Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.