Ibrāhīm b. Ḥasan al-Kurdī al-Kūrānī’s Maslak al-Sadād fī Masʾalat Khalq Afʿāl al-ʿIbād

Mln. Yaqub Abdurrahman

Upon reviewing other works discussing this topic while perusing points in the subject of ʿaqīdah at DarusSalam Seminary, I found Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī’s Maslak al-Sadād fī Masʾalat Khalq Afʿāl al-ʿIbād to be occasionally cited by some of the latter-day scholars. Unaware of a published version of his treatise, it seemed appropriate to bring this work out of its manuscript form. The purpose of this is to have the treatise available for reference when mention of it is made in works discussing this topic.

When introducing a work, it is most befitting that some biographical details of its author be presented. Accordingly, I shall mention a few brief details regarding Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī.

Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī

Shaykh Burhān al-Dīn Abū al-Waqt Ibrāhīm b. Shihāb al-Dīn Ḥasan al-Shahrazūrī al-Shahrānī al-Kurdī al-Kūrānī was born in AH 1025. He was born in the mountainous region of Shahrān in Kurdistan. He had a religious upbringing and studied the introductory Islāmic Sciences in his homeland. Thereafter, he studied more advanced subjects and eventually set out in pursuit of ḥadīth.

He traveled by himself in pursuit of sacred knowledge. He traversed vast tracts of land in this effort and journeyed into the Levant, Egypt, and the Hejaz. Eventually, he settled in the Holy City of Madinah.

He studied extensively under the scholars of his time. He mentioned some of them in his thabat, which is entitled al-Umam li Īqāẓ al-Himam.

Some of his teachers are:

– Ṣafī al-Dīn Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Qushāshī.[1]

– Abū al-Mawāhib Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Shināwī.[2]

– Mullā Muḥammad Sharīf al-Kūrānī.[3]

– ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Abī Bakr al-Ḥusaynī al-Kūrānī.[4]

– Najm al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ghazzī.[5]

– Abū al-ʿAzāyim Sulṭān b. Aḥmad al-Mazzāḥī.[6]

– Muḥammad b. ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Bābilī.[7]

– Taqī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Bāqī al-Ḥanbalī.[8]

– ʿImād al-Dīn Yaḥyā b. Muḥammad.[9]

Some of his students are:

– Shāh Walī Allāh al-Dihlawī, including via Ibrāhīm al-Kurdī’s son, Abū Ṭāhir.

– Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Hādī al-Sindī.[10]

– Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Amīn al-Dīn, who is known as al-Dārānī.[11]

– ʿAlī b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, who is known as Ibn Bajaʿ.[12]

– Ibrāhīm b. Ḥamzah.[13]

– Aḥmad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Sharābātī al-Ḥalabī.[14]

– Aḥmad al-Nakhlī.[15]

– Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Kawākibī.[16]

– Taqī al-Dīn al-Ḥisnī.[17]

– Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm, who is known as al-Burrī.[18]

– His son, Abū Ṭāhir al-Kūrānī.[19]

– Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Rasūl al-Barzanjī.[20]

– Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Sharwānī.[21]

– Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā al-Kinānī.[22]

Many eager seekers of knowledge flocked to him from across the world. He was known for his sharp mind, penetrating intellect, and excellent character. Some would say regarding his lessons: “His circle of learning was a Garden from the Gardens of Paradise.”

He passed away in AH 1101 and is buried in Madīnah’s Baqīʿ Cemetery.

The Manuscript

The manuscript that was primarily relied on here is the digitalized version of Maslak al-Sadād that has been made available by the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library of Toronto, Canada. As well, an alternate copy was used to verify some passages and sections.

The Text of Maslak al-Sadād fī Masʾalat Khalq Afʿāl al-ʿIbād

مسلك السداد

[1] Silk al-Durar, 1:5.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Khulāṣat al-Athar, 2:474; Silk al-Durar, 1:5.

[5] Silk al-Durar, 1:5.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Khulāṣat al-Athar, 3:193.

[10] Nuzhat al-Khawāṭir, 6:685.

[11] Khulāṣat al-Athar, 1:356.

[12] Ibid., 3:146.

[13] Silk al-Durar, 1:23.

[14] Ibid., 1:171.

[15] Ibid., 1:172.

[16] Ibid., 1:176.

[17] Ibid., 2:5.

[18] Ibid., 4:17.

[19] Ibid., 4:27.

[20] Ibid., 4:65.

[21] Ibid., 4:67.

[22] Ibid., 4:85.