- Source: Siraj al-Din al-Makhzumi
Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi (Arabic: سراج الدين المخزومي; d. circa 1480) was a 15th-century Muslim scholar and a disciple of contemporary scholar Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Bulqini. He was a follower of the Rifa'i order of Sufism and espoused the ideas of the famous Sufi philosopher, Ibn Arabi.
Life
Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi was born in the city of Wasit in 1391 but stayed in Damascus for a while before he travelled to Egypt to study. In Egypt, he studied under Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Bulqini. However, al" target="_blank">al-Bulqini would later become a disciple of al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi instead, after al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi initiated him into the Rifa'i order. After al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi had performed the Hajj pilgrimage, he returned to Baghdad where he stayed for the rest of his life.
Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi acquired a large following during his stay in Baghdad. He died there in 1480 and was buried in a mosque named after him. According to Abu al" target="_blank">al-Huda al" target="_blank">al-Sayyadi, the reason for al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi's fame may be due to his mother being from a household of prominence in Iraq.
Views
= Takfir (excommunication)
=Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi followed the view of al" target="_blank">al-Shafi'i regarding takfir (excommunication). He agreed that the Khawarij are Muslims and are not to be made takfir of, nor are the Mu'tazilites or the Murji'ah. He also explained the terminology of "people of whims" as referring to the aforementioned groups.
= Ibn Arabi
=He was a staunch defender of the views and doctrine of the Andalusian philosopher and Sufi mystic, Ibn Arabi. Amongst his writings is the Kashf al" target="_blank">al-Ghita' an Asrar al" target="_blank">al-Kalam al" target="_blank">al-Shaykh Muhyi al" target="_blank">al-Din, a treatise which contains a defense of Ibn Arabi against accusations of pantheism and polytheism.
One of his students recorded the following statement from him:
We seek refuge in Allah from saying that he [Ibn 'Arabi] asserts indwelling or communion-with-the-divine! He is far above that. Rather, he is one of the greatest imams and among those who have probed the oceans of the sciences of the Book and the Sunnah.
Writings
Sahih al" target="_blank">al-Akhbar: A genealogical work on the lineage of those descended from Fatima daughter of Muhammad
Kashf al" target="_blank">al-Ghita' an Asrar al" target="_blank">al-Kalam al" target="_blank">al-Shaykh Muhyi al" target="_blank">al-Din: A treatise defending Ibn Arabi from accusations of pantheism and other heresies.
Legacy
Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din al" target="_blank">al-Makhzumi was honourably given the title of Shaykh al" target="_blank">al-Islam of the Levant. A mosque known as the Siraj al" target="_blank">al-Din Mosque was built at the site of his grave in 1955, while construction was supervised and directed by Iraqi architect, Rifat Chadirji. It contains some relics of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
See also
List of Sufis
List of Ash'aris