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Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi
15th-century Sufi Muslim scholar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi (Arabic: سراج الدين المخزومي; d. circa 1480) was a 15th-century Muslim scholar and a disciple of contemporary scholar Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini. He was a follower of the Rifa'i Order of Sufism and espoused the ideas of the famous Sufi philosopher, Ibn Arabi.
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Life
Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi was born in the city of Wasit in 1391 but stayed in Damascus for a while before he travelled to Mamluk Egypt to study.[1] In Egypt, he studied under Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini. However, al-Bulqini would later become a disciple of al-Makhzumi instead, after al-Makhzumi initiated him into the Rifa'i order.[1] Later, al-Makhzumi went to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, He briefly visited Yemen after finishing his umrah, and then returned to Baghdad where he stayed for the rest of his life.[1][2]
Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi acquired a large following during his stay in Baghdad.[2] He died there in 1480 and was buried in a mosque named after him.[2] According to Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi, the reason for al-Makhzumi's fame may be due to his mother being from a household of prominence in Iraq. Although it is also noted that al-Makhzumi was more popular than members of his family.[1]
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Views
Takfir (excommunication)
Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi followed the view of al-Shafi'i regarding takfir (excommunication).[3] He agreed that the Khawarij are Muslims and are not excluded by takfir, nor are the Mu'tazilites or the Murji'ah.[3] He also explained the terminology of "people of whims" as referring to the aforementioned groups.[3]
Ibn Arabi
He was a staunch defender of the views and doctrine of the Andalusian philosopher and Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabi.[1][4] Amongst his writings is the Kashf al-Ghita' an Asrar al-Kalam al-Shaykh Muhyi al-Din, a treatise which contains a defense of Ibn Arabi against accusations of pantheism and polytheism.[5]
One of his students recorded the following statement from him:[6]
We seek refuge in Allah from saying that he [Ibn 'Arabi] asserts indwelling or communion-with-the-divine! He is far above that. Rather, he is one of the greatest imams and among those who have probed the oceans of the sciences of the Book and the Sunnah.
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Writings
Legacy
Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi was honourably given the title of Shaykh al-Islam of the Levant.[4][7] A mosque known as the Siraj al-Din Mosque was built at the site of his grave in 1955, while construction was supervised and directed by Iraqi architect, Rifat Chadirji.[2][8] It allegedly contains some relics that belonged to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[9] The Ottoman-Syrian poet Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi, who also held the title of Shaykh al-Islam, praised al-Makhzumi's generosity and character in his book Khazanat al-Amdad saying:[1]
He was of good reputation, great stature, knowledge and action, great esteem, and great status. He was named and became famous, more than his brothers, as al-Makhzumi, because of his mother, Lady Sa'diyya bint Emir Abd al-Rahman al-Khalidi al-Makhzumi, and that was because of the high status of their house in Iraq and Persia.
— Abu al-Huda al-Sayyadi, Khazanat al-Amdad
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See also
References
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