Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī جلال الدين القزويني | |
|---|---|
| Title | Jalāl al-Dīn Al-Khatib |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1267 |
| Died | 1338 (aged 70–71) |
| Era | Mamluk period |
| Region | Levant and Egypt |
| Main interest(s) | Fiqh, Rhetoric, Linguistics |
| Notable work(s) | Talkhis al-Miftah Al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha |
| Occupation | Scholar, Muslim Jurist, Rhetorician, Linguist, Judge, Preacher |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[1] |
| Creed | Ash'ari[2] |
| Muslim leader | |
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qazwīnī (Arabic: جلال الدين محمد بن عبد الرحمن القزويني), commonly known as Jalāl al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī (Arabic: جلال الدين القزويني; 739–666 AH/ 1267–1338 CE) was a renowned Shāfiʿī jurist, linguist, judge, preacher, and scholar of Arabic rhetoric.[3] He is most famous for refining and popularizing the science of balāgha (Arabic rhetoric), particularly through his two influential works: Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ and Al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha. His writings became foundational in Islamic rhetorical education from the late medieval period onward, earning him recognition as one of the most influential scholars in the history of Arabic eloquence.
Life
Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini was born in 666 AH (c. 1267 CE), most likely in Mosul, although his family originated from Qazwīn in Iran—hence his nisba "al-Qazwīnī". He lived during the post-Abbasid era, a time marked by the expansion of scholarly institutions in the Islamic world. He lived in the lands of Rūm with his father and brother, where he studied and trained in jurisprudence until he was appointed as judge (qāḍī) in Rūm while still under the age of twenty.[3]
Then he travelled to Damascus and studied under a number of its scholars. He pursued knowledge in various sciences and mastered uṣūl al-fiqh, Arabic language, semantics (maʿānī), and eloquence (bayān). Al-Qazwīnī belonged to the Shāfiʿī school of law and held multiple public and scholarly. He taught at the Bādariyyah Madrasa and when his brother was appointed judge of Damascus, he deputized for him. He then deputized for Najm al-Dīn ibn Ṣaṣrā, until the Sultan al-Nāṣir summoned him and appointed him to the judiciary of Greater Syria (al-Shām) in the year 724 AH (1324 CE). He was also appointed as the preacher (khaṭīb) at the Umayyad Mosque.[3]
He had arrived to meet Sultan al-Nāṣir on a Friday, and coincidentally, he met him within an hour of his arrival. The Sultan ordered him to deliver the Friday sermon in the Citadel Mosque, which he did. After finishing, he kissed the Sultan’s hand and apologized, saying he had just arrived from travel and did not expect the Sultan to command him to preach. The Sultan thanked him and asked how much debt he owed. He replied, "Thirty thousand (dirhams)," so the Sultan ordered that his debts be paid off. He remained in office as the chief judge of al-Shām until he was summoned in the year 727 AH (1327 CE) and appointed as Qāḍī al-Quḍāt (Judge of Judges) of Egypt when Badr al-Dīn ibn Jamāʿah fell ill. He remained there for a period before being dismissed and reinstated as Chief Judge in Greater Syria (Levant). The Sultan did not reject any of his intercessions (requests for favours). His prominent students include Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, al-Safadi, and Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Aqil. He died in Damascus in 739 AH (1338 CE).[3]
Legacy
Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini is considered one of the most influential figures in the codification of Arabic rhetoric (ʿilm al-balāgha) during the post-classical period. Building upon the theoretical foundations laid by ʿAbd al-Qāhir al-Jurjānī (d. 471/1078) and the systematization initiated by al-Sakkākī (d. 626/1229), al-Qazwini played a central role in refining and organizing the field into a teachable, concise structure that shaped Islamic rhetorical education for centuries.[4]
His two principal works — Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ and Al-Īḍāḥ fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha — became standard texts in madrasas across the Islamic world. Talkhīṣ al-Miftāḥ is a succinct summary of the rhetorical sections of al-Sakkākī's Miftāḥ al-ʿUlūm, focusing on the three core branches of rhetoric: maʿānī (semantics and sentence structure), bayān (figurative clarity), and badīʿ (stylistic embellishment).[5] Its clarity and brevity made it a foundational primer, while al-Īḍāḥ served as a more detailed companion, offering elaboration and examples for advanced students.[6]
Al-Qazwini's works became the subject of extensive commentary by later scholars, most notably al-Taftāzānī (d. 792/1390), whose al-Mutawwal on the Talkhīṣ became a core text in its own right.[7] Through these contributions, al-Qazwini helped transform balāgha into a formal science distinct from Arabic grammar and literary criticism. His legacy endures in both the curriculum of traditional Islamic education and the broader study of Arabic eloquence.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Calder, Norman (22 March 2010). Islamic Jurisprudence in the Classical Era. Cambridge University Press. p. 118. ISBN 9781139485715.
- ^ Yassin Ghanem Jassim al-Aridi (2024). The Biographical Layers of the Ash'aris: Notable Figures of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jama'ah. Dar al-Kotob al-'Ilmiyya. p. 738. ISBN 9786144962350.
- ^ a b c d "Jalal al-Din al-Qazwini's biography in several biographical dictionaries". tarajm.com (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 25 January 2025.
- ^ Heinrichs, Wolfhart (2002). "Balāgha". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. ISBN 9789004161214.
- ^ Gutas, Dimitri (1998). Greek Thought, Arabic Culture. Routledge. p. 151. ISBN 9780415061322.
- ^ Smyth, William (4 October 1992). "Controversy in a Tradition of Commentary: The Academic Legacy of Al-Sakkākī's Miftāḥ Al-ʿUlūm". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 112 (4). American Oriental Society: 221. doi:10.2307/604474. JSTOR 604474.
- ^ Laher, Suheil (2017). The History of Balagha. Fawakih Institute. p. 11.
- ^ Brockelmann, Carl (2016). Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur. Vol. 1. Brill. p. 468. ISBN 9789004326262.
