Al-Baghawi
Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn ibn Masʻūd ibn Muḥammad al-Farrā' al-Baghawī, also known as al-Baghawī was a Persian Sunni Muslim scholar based in Khorasan. He was a prominent Quran exegete (mufassir), traditionist (muhaddith), and Shafi'i jurist (faqih). He is best known for his two major works, Maʻālim at-Tanzīl and Masabih as-Sunnah.
His last name, al-Baghawī, comes from where he was born, and he is not the only scholar with this name; according to Yāqūt al-Ḥamawī (d. 626/1229), a number of scholars were born in this village and also had the same name. Al-Baghawī is also known as Ibn al-Farrāʾor al-Farrāʾ, which means “the furrier” or “son of the furrier.” Scholars disagreed as to whether this denotes his own occupation or his father's.
His birthdate is only mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi in his Muʿjam al-Buldān to be in Jumādā al-Awwal, 433/January 1042. However, subsequent sources, like Miftāḥ al-Saʿāda by Ṭāsh Kopruzādeh and al-Aʿlām by Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli, report that he was born in 436 AH. According to every source, his hometown is Baghshûr, also known as Bagh, in Khurāsān, a city that lies between Herat and Merv. A greater understanding of the scholar's thoughts and the intellectual environment around them is made possible by knowing their educational background. The names of the academics who taught al-Baghawī and their areas of expertise are described in detail in biographical pages. His professors are spread out among different Khurāsān residents and are highly knowledgeable and diversified. al-Qāḍī Ḥusayn was al-Baghawī's main teacher, and he studied fiqh and received hadith from him as well as from many other experts. Qāḍī Ḥusayn's influence on al-Baghawī can be assessed by the many ḥadīths that he transmitted in Sharḥ al-Sunna and the frequent references to his legal judgements in al-Tahdhīb.
Taqi al-Din al-Subki said: “Very little do we see al-Baghawi choosing something unless if he researched it he would find one that was stronger than the others, besides that he could also express it concisely, this shows that he was given extraordinary intelligence, and he is careful in such matters.” Al-Dhahabi said: “Al-Baghawī was an imam who had a lot of knowledge, a role model, an expert on hadith, Shaikh al-Islām, life of the Sunnah, and many of his compositions.”
Al-Dhahabi said: “His works were blessed and received complete acceptance due to his righteous purpose and sincere intention.”
