Imam Jār Allah al-Zamakhsharī
Name: Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar Jār Allah al-Zamakhsharī al-Khawārizmī
Born: 467 AH/ 1075 CE
Demise: 538/ 1144
His Life and Works
His Life
Imam Jār Allah al-Zamakhsharī raḥimahullāh was born in Zamakhshar. He grew up in a modest house with a simple upbringing. His father was deeply devout leading to Imam al-Zamakhsharī commending his father’s piety in some couplets.
At a very young age, he began his studies in his hometown of Zamakhshar under the tutelage of the local scholars. After completing his studies locally, he set off on a journey to further pursue knowledge. His travels took him to Bukhārah, Baghdad, Makkah, and Damascus, wherein he studied various sciences such as grammar (naḥw), rhetoric (balāghah), language (lughah), ḥadith and fiqh. It was during his travels that he was introduced to the Muʾtazilī school of theology and embraced its doctrines. Whilst on his travels in the quest for knowledge, whenever he visited a town, the inhabitants would eagerly gather for his lessons. In the year 502/1109, at the age of thirty-five, he made a second journey to Makkah, during which he authored his renowned tafsīr over a span of two years.
In 533/1139, he returned to his hometown of Khawārizm, and in 538/1144 at the age of seventy-one, he returned to his Master concluding a distinguished life devoted to scholarship. May Allah have mercy on him and grant him the highest abode in Jannah.
He followed the Ḥanafī madhhab in fiqh and the Muʿtazilī madhhab in theology.
His Works
Al-Zamakhsharī authored approximately fifty works, spanning diverse fields such as lughah, ḥadīth, naḥw, tafsīr, fiqh and geography. Al-Zamakhsharī’s principal area of expertise lay in lughah, establishing himself as a prominent author in the field. Below is a list of some of his extant works:
- Al-Aḥājī al-naḥwiyyah (naḥw)
- Al-Mufrad wa al-muʾallaf (naḥw)
- Asās al-balāghah (balāghah)
- Al-Fāʾiq fī gharīb al-ḥadīth (lughah)
- Ruʾūs al-masāʾil (fiqh)
Scholars Praise of Him
Imam al-Dhahabī (d. 749/ 1348) narrated from al-Samʾānī (d. 562/ 1166) regarding al-Zamakhsharī:
قال السمعاني: برع في الآداب، وصنف التصانيف، ورد العراق وخراسان، ما دخل بلدا إلا واجتمعوا عليه، وتلمذوا له، وكان علامة نسابة، جاور مدة حتى هبّت على كلامه رياح البادية، مات ليلة عرفة، سنة ثمان وثلاثين وخمس مائة.
Al-Samʿānī said: He excelled in etiquette, authored many works, and travelled to Iraq and Khurasān. Whichever town he entered, the people gathered around him, seeking knowledge from him. He was a prominent figure in genealogy. He resided in Makkah for such a time that the (language) of the Bedouins had an effect on his speech. He passed away on the night of ʿArafah, in the year 538 AH.
Imam al-Suyūṭī (d. 910/ 1505) quoting Ibn Khallikān (d. 681/1282) says:
وقال ابن خلكان: كان إمام عصره وكان متظاهراً بالاعتزال داعية إليه.
Ibn Khallikān said: He was the leading scholar of his time. He was an open Muʿtazilī and propagated it.