Be the Rain: The Great Imam Al-Jazari
The greatest Martial Arts Master, Bruce Lee said, "Be like water." From Imam Al-Jazari's life, we take the note to be like rain.
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| Be Like Rain |
The benefits reaped from a great teacher are analogous to those of a tree,
who provides a home, fruits, shade and clean air to breathe.
But the teacher of teachers is like the rain that gives sustenance to those trees.
That was Shams -ud-Deen, Imam Al-Jazari.
Imam Al-Jazari was the rain that showered and still blesses our ummah through time and across national borders.
His teachings and the ijazzahs he awarded, gave life to seeds of trees that became and still yet to come of our scholars.
His greatest legacy is to teach us to be like the rain,
Wherever he went,
whether as Qadi(judge) over Sham or unfairly detained,
he shared beneficial knowledge; truly heaven sent.
The Dua of a Righteous Father and Blessed Beginnings
The blessed story of Imam Al Jazari begins before his birth. His
father was well known as a righteous businessman in Damascus. After 40
years,his father had still not had any children. He made hajj, drank from the
well of ZamZam and made dua for a righteous child. In less than a year, the dua
was answered and Shams al-Dīn Abū ‘l-Khayr
Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Ali al-Jazarī was born in Damascus on
the 25th of
Ramadan, 751 AH (or 1350 CE). By the time he was about 15, he was a hafidh
Quran, leading prayers and had memorized the notable book of Shafi’ī law al-Tanbīh, as
well as two books on qirā’ah: the Shātibiyyah and al-Taysīr.
People say he was very eloquent in language which is evident in his care for
the qira'ah of the Quran, his
poetry and books.
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| Kaba, Mecca, Arabia |
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One of Imam Jazari's Original Books
Kept at Yale University
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Imam Al-Jazari was one of the most dynamic scholars who was also a great judges, imam, author, teacher and even a warrior as he picked up arms to fight along side the early Osmani/Ottoman army. Why don't we know about him? I hadn't heard of Imam Al Jazari until 2014 in a conversation I was having with Sheikh Ahmed Musa Jibreel from Michigan.
Once we hung up the phone, I was so intrigued to learn more. Now that I've found out a little about this illustrious Islamic figure, I can't believe I haven't heard of him before. I know there are other Muslims in the world who share my desire to preserve the legacies of our great predecessors in our deen. If that's you, I implore you to share this great teacher's legacy.
Once we hung up the phone, I was so intrigued to learn more. Now that I've found out a little about this illustrious Islamic figure, I can't believe I haven't heard of him before. I know there are other Muslims in the world who share my desire to preserve the legacies of our great predecessors in our deen. If that's you, I implore you to share this great teacher's legacy.
Listen briefly to the struggles and twists of Imam Al Jazari's life story and you'll see it is a testament to patience and perseverance. We should aspire to be as great as him. Greatness here is not in the Western sense. His greatness is attributed to how highly beneficial he was to the people of his time and to us today.
What He's Mainly Known for
Imam Al Jazari is most famous for the poem known as, "The Jazzariyya". If you have taken a serious study of tajweed or qira'ah, then you have at least heard of The Jazarriya which is a great work I'mam Jazari wrote in order to help people learn the rules of tajweed. It is worth it to read the poem at least once to appreciate what he did for us. Here are a few lines in his introduction:
"It is without any doubt required for the recitor to know before starting recitation: The articulation points ( ج ِ خخار مَ ِ حف وُ رُح ) الح and characteristics of letters ( خات فِص ِ حف وُ رُح الح) So that they can articulate in the most eloquent of languages."
Link to the poem: The Jazaria Poem
Links to Sheikh Al-Ghamdi reciting the Jazaria Poem: Recitation of The Jazaria
He Actively Pursued Knowledge Around the World
I've just come back from a month long study of Arabic in Turkey. In order to travel and study for just one month, you have to be able to leave a lot of the world behind. But Imam Al Jazari studied the sciences of qirā’ah from approximately 40 scholars by traveling through Damascus, the Hejaz (in Makkah and Madinah) as well as Egypt (in Cairo and Alexandria). I can only imagine that a person has to have no attachment to this dunya in order to be able to freely travel to pursue knowledge for years in this manner; truly inspirational.
Was Revered and Placed in High Positions; but Not Without Struggle
After many years of studying, he obtained the high position as Sheikh Al-Qurra in Damascus. Damascus and the whole of the Levant aread was under the control of the regime of Egypt. Imam Al Jazari was later honored with being appointed by the king of Egypt (Malik al-Žāhir Sayf al-Dīn Barqūq) to the position of Al-Jamiah al-Salahiyyah's Head of the Educational Department.
Imam Al Jazari Became the Qadi (Judge) over All of Sham
He was blessed with this high position over Sham by the governor of the Levant (Amir Altamash) in 1395 AD. Due to disagreements and some plotting by some people who were envious of judicial position, Imam Al Jazari began to receive unfair treatment from the government.
This prompted him to migrate to Bursa, Turkey. Turkey's king, Bayazid bin Uthman Yaldaram, who already knew of the great status of Imam Al Jazari, received Imam Al Jazari with great honor and respect and invited him to make his stay in Bursa permanent. What a blessing for the people of Bursa and the areas around who benefited from Imam Al Jazari's lectures and writings for roughly half a decade. Students of Qira'ah there were especially blessed to have him there.
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| Bursa, Turkey July, 2019 |
Imam AlJazari meets Timurlane the Mongol Tyrant in 1402
After about 5 peaceful years of teaching and preaching in Bursa, Timurlane came to overthrow the government of the Turkish King Bayazid. He imprisoned the king who ended up dying in captivity. Timurlane didn't only want to gain land and riches in his Mongolian empire, he also sought out the best of the best scholars in various sciences. For this reason, he took Imam Al Jazari along to travel with the royal army across multiple cities of knowledge in the Kingdom of Samarkand.
In the time they spent together, Timurlane came to hold Imam Al Jazari in great esteem and trust.
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| Timurlane/Tamerlane, a Mongol-Turk Sought to Reestablish the Mongolian Empire |
The Muslim scholars who Imam Al Jazari met and taught along the way were ecstatic to meet him as they had already been aquainted with is published written works.
Timurlane would tell people that Imam Al Jazari would have visions of Muhammad saws and experienced clairvoyance known as kashf in Arabic.
After about 3 years together in 1405, Timurlane died in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Imam Al Jazari is Appointed as a Qadi/Judge Once Again
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| Shiraz, Iran |
Hordes of Qurra and Scholars Seek Ijazzah from Imam Al Jazari in Cairo
After around 20 years in Shiraz, he took off for Hajj (827AH). After Hajj, he went to Cairo where hordes of scholars and qurra came in order to receive the blessing of their ijazzah from Imam Al Jazari. Among those scholars was the famous commentator of Sahih-Al-Bukhari, young Hajr Al-Asqalani. The people also benefited from Imam Al Jazari's lectures on Musnad Ahmad and Musnad Al Shafi.
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| Cairo, Egypt |
His Legacies
- After completing hajj and spending time teaching and awarding ijjazzahs in Cairo, he came back to Shiraz, Iran. This is when he founded a great seminary. He didn't find a more suitable name than the name he gave to the seminary he he founded in Damascus, "Dar Al-Quran."
- Today, you will find institutes named directly after Imam Al-Jazari such as Ibn Al Jazari Institute for Qira'at, Hifdth and Tajweed in Birmingham, UK and Al Jazari Research Centre Institute Al Quran Wal Qira'at in Singapore.
- Wrote over 45 books with originals protected around the Muslim world and a few kept in the USA at Yale University. Here are the names of some of his books: al-Nashr fi Qirā’āt al-`Ashr, Taqrīb al-Nashr, al-Durrah, Munjid al-Muqriīn, al-Muqaddamah al-Jazariyyah, Tahbīr al-Taysīr, Tabaqāt al-Qurrā, al-Tamhīd fi `Ilm al-Tajwīd, Tayyibat al-Nashr fi al-Qirā’āt al-`Ashr, and al-Hišn al-Hašīn.
- The legacy of knowledge he passed through teaching and giving ijazzah
- Refined and advanced the science of qira'ah and tajweed with "The Jazariyyah" Poem and volumes of books written on these Islamic Sciences.
A Few Interesting Last Points
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The beautiful name Jazari comes from the name
of the geographical region of his Kurdish ancestors. This area is in today's
southern Turkery border region. It is also known as the Kurdistan/Turkmenistan/Iraq
region.
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Was born in 1350AD which was roughly 25 years after Ertugrul
Gazi's son Osman (the founder of the Osmani/Ottoman Empire) died. So he lived
his life in the turbulent changing times of the early Ottoman Empire helping to
advance the Islamic Sciences and even physically fighting to help firmly
establish the Islamic Empire.
The New Season of Dirilis Will Continue with Osman Gazi, the Founder of the Ottoman Empire
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What people said about Imam Al Jazari:
The Great Imam Al Jazari passed away at about 82 years old, may Allah have mercy on him.
"Allāmah Shawkāni mentions, “He was unmatched in the science of qirā’ah in the entire world.”
"Since his era till present, no one has reached the level of Imam Jazari in the sciences of qirā’ah. al-Hāfiž Ibn Hajr al-Asqalāni states, “He held the highest position in the world in the science of qirā’ah.”
Mawlana Abd al-Hayy Farangi Mahalli mentions, “Amongst the glorious personalities of Islam in the 8th century were Zayn al-Dīn Iraqi, Shams al-Dīn Jazari, and Sirāj al-Dīn Balqīnī.”
I pray I adequately conveyed the significance of learning about this great Imam. May Allah help us all strive to be as beneficial as rain. I pray Allah bless our future generations to continue in the footsteps of the great scholars perserving our beautiful deen. May Allah reward you and me for spreading a good word. Ameen.
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