Al-Burini

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Badr al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Dimashqi al-Saffuri al-Burini (July 1556-11 June 1615), commonly known as al-Hasan al-Burini, was a

Shafi'i
jurist.

Life

Al-Burini was born in mid-July 1556 in the village of

Saffuriya near Nazareth in the Galilee, hence his nisba (epithet) "al-Saffuri".[1] His father Muhammad was originally from the village of Burin near Nablus hence the nisba "al-Burini".[2] At the age of 10 he moved to Damascus with his father.[1]

Al-Burini learned the

After completing his studies, al-Burini became the head of the

Shafi'i fiqh in the Umayyad Mosque in 1580. About the same time he began making sermons at the Sultan Mosque and became a lecturer in a number of Damascus madrasas. He was known by his students for his eloquence, charisma and literary knowledge, while the historians and religious scholars of the period lauded al-Burini for the same qualities, as well as his interest in history and philology. The governors and judges of Damascus trusted and appreciated al-Burini, considering him an accomplished Shafi’i jurist with independent judgements.[4] He served as the kadi (Islamic head judge) of the Ottoman Hajj pilgrimage caravan from Damascus to Mecca in 1611.[1] On 11 June 1615 he died in Damascus and was buried in the cemetery of Bab al-Faradis.[1][5]

Literary works

One of al-Burini's main bodies of work was Tarajim al-A'yan min Abna al-Zaman, a collection of 205 biographies of notable contemporary scholars, rulers and artisans, completed in 1614 after ten years.[5] Fadl Allah ibn Muhibb Allah edited and published the work in 1667 with a supplement.[1] The work was republished in Damascus in 1959.[5]

Al-Burini often traveled to different parts of Syria, penning two works about his trips to

Yusuf Sayfa Pasha.[6]

His poetry is mostly found in a diwan located in Istanbul. His epistle to As'ad ibn Muiin al-Din al-Tibrizi al-Dimashqi is located in Gotha, his Marathi poems for the Sufi Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Barakat al-Qadiri is preserved in Berlin and number of his poems are held in the British Museum in London.[1]

He penned a commentary on the diwan of Ibn al-Farid in 1591 and a commentary on the latter's al-Ta’iyya al-Sughra in 1593.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Brockelmann 1960, p. 1333.
  2. ^ a b c d Mullazadih 2013, p. 45.
  3. ^ Mullazadih 2013, pp. 45–46.
  4. ^ a b c Mullazadih 2013, p. 46.
  5. ^ a b c d e Mullazadih 2013, p. 47.
  6. ^ Abu-Husayn 1985, p. 62.

Bibliography

  • Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahim (1985). Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 1575-1650. Beirut: American University of Beirut. .
  • .
  • Mullazadih, Muhammad Hani (2013). "Al-Burini, Hasan ibn Muhammad Dimashqi Saffuri". In .

Further reading