FAKHR AL-DIN

MS 5320
MS Short Title FAKHR AL-DIN
Text FAKHR AL-DIN: PRINCIPLES OF SHARI’A (USUL), SECOND PART. COMMENTARIES BY JAMAL AL-DIN AHMAD IBN MUHAMMAD IBN ‘UTHMAN IBN ‘ALI
Description MS in Arabic on paper, Kawkaban, Yemen, 1316, 162 ff. (complete) 27x19 cm, single column, (20x13 cm), 26 lines in Naskh script by Yahya ibn Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman.
Binding Yemen, 1316 brown morocco with flap, sewn on 4 cords, stamped knotted border and central medallions.
Provenance 1. Yahya ibn hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman, Kawkaban, Yemen, (1316); 2. Private collection, Hampshire, England (1930’ies); 3. Sam Fogg, London.
Commentary Shari’a consists of 3 main parts: 1. Principles (Usul); 2. Theory; 3. Practical application. The present ms deals with the principles upon which Islamic law is based. Fakhr al-Din Razi (b. 1149) was one of the greatest Islamic medieval scholars, a reputation that earned him the sobriquet "Shaykh al-Islam" among his contemporaries. He opposed the Kurrami heresy and defended ‘Asharite theology. The colophon, besides naming the scribe and dating the ms, gives the place as "place of martyrdom of ‘Abdallah ibn Hamzah, Commander of the Faithful." He was a Zaydi Imam who died in Kawkaban in 1217.
Place of origin Yemen,
Dates 1316