View source for Mundhir ibn Sa'īd al-Ballūṭī

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox religious biography|religion=[[Islam]]
|image            =
|caption          =
|name             = Mundhir bin Sa'īd al-Ballūṭī
|title            =
|birth_date       = 887
|birth_place      = [[Los Pedroches]]
|death_date       = 15 November 966
|death_place      =
|burial_place     =
|nationality      =
|ethnicity        = [[Berber people|Berber]]
|era              =
|region           = [[Iberian Peninsula]]
|occupation       = [[Judge]]
|denomination     = [[Sunni]]
|Madh'hab         = [[Zahiri]]
|school_tradition = [[Athari]]
|movement         =
|Sufi_order       =
|disciple_of      =
|alma_mater       =
|awards           =
|main_interests   = [[Sharia|Islamic law]]
|notable_ideas    =
|works            =
|influences       = [[Dawud al-Zahiri]]
|influenced       = [[Ibn Hazm]]
|website          =
}}
'''Abu al-Hakam''' '''Mundhir ibn Sa'īd ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Ballūṭī''' ({{Langx|ar|أبو الحكم المنذر بن سعيد بن عبدالله بن عبدالرحمن البلوطي}}) (887{{Snd}}15 November 966) was a [[Muslim]] legal expert and [[judiciary]] official in [[Al-Andalus]]. In addition to his legal career, he was also considered a prominent [[theologian]], [[academic]], [[linguist]], [[poet]] and [[intellectual]].<ref name=shura>Mishal Fahm al-Sulami, "The West and Islam: Western liberal versus the system of shura," pg. 214. [[Routledge]]</ref><ref name=shadow>Michael G. Carter, "The Andalusian Grammarians: Are they Different?" Taken from ''In the Shadow of Arabic: The Centrality of Language to Arab Culture'', Pg. 34. Ed. [[Bilal Orfali]]. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2011. Print. {{ISBN|9789004215375}}</ref><ref name="pellat">{{Cite encyclopedia|year=1993|title=(al-)Mund̲h̲ir b. Saʿīd|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-mundhir-b-said-SIM_5510|last=Pellat|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Pellat|edition=2nd|volume=VII|page=569|isbn=9004094199|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|editor1-last=Bearman|editor1-first=P.|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor2-first=Th.|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor3-first=C.E.|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor4-first=E.|editor5-last=Heinrichs|editor5-first=W.P.}}</ref>
==Biography==
===Background===
Balluti's exact date of birth is disputed, with historians listing the year as both 886 and 887. He was born and raised in [[Los Pedroches]] in the mountainous region of [[Province of Córdoba (Spain)|Cordoba Province]], northwest of [[Córdoba, Andalusia]].<ref name=pellat/> Balluti's family, however, was originally from [[North Africa]] of [[Berber people|Berber]] origins.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbfORLWv1HkC|title=The Legacy of Muslim Spain|last1=Jayyusi|first1=Salma Khadra|last2=Marín|first2=Manuela|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1992|isbn=9004095993|pages=691|author-link=Salma Jayyusi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqjcxpx2BqgC|title=Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 2 (900-1050)|last1=Thomas|first1=David|last2=Mallett|first2=Alexander|last3=Roggema|first3=Barbara|publisher=[[Brill publishers]]|year=2010|isbn=978-9004169760|pages=358}}</ref><ref name="pellat" /> He came from a religiously active family, and his sister was notable as a Muslim woman who founded her own monastery known as a [[Ribat]] where she and other women could devote their lives solely to piety and religious scholarship.<ref>Linda Gale Jones and [[Madeleine Cosman]], "Handbook to Life in the Medieval World," pg. 154</ref>
===Education===
Balluti initially studied [[Islamic studies]] in the capital of Andalus, later traveling east both for the sake of his education and to perform the Muslim [[Hajj|pilgrimage]] at [[Mecca]], which he completed in 921.<ref name=pellat/> He studied in various regions under a number of different teachers before traveling to [[Cairo]] in order to study [[Arabic grammar]] and literature.<ref name=shadow/> Later gaining some renown as a [[linguist]] in his own right, he was also known as a poet.
===Death===
Balluti died in his hometown of Cordoba in 15 November 966.<ref name=shadow/><ref name="pellat" /> He was 82 years old.<ref name=cachi>[[William Montgomery Watt]] and Pierre Cachi, "History of Islamic Spain," pg. 66. [[Edinburgh University Press]].</ref>
==Judicial career==
===As Chief Judge===
Initially, Balluti served as the chief judge of [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]]. Later, he served as the judge of the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] [[Caliphate of Córdoba|Caliph of Cordoba]] [[Abd-ar-Rahman III]] from 949 until his death under the reign of [[Al-Hakam II]].<ref name=shura/><ref>[[Maribel Fierro]], [https://academia.edu/Documents/in/Muslim_paradise "Madinat al-Zahra, el paraíso y los fatimíes"], Al-Qantara XXV, 2 (2004) 299-327</ref><ref name=chacha>[[W. Montgomery Watt]] and Pierre Chachia, ''A History of Islamic Spain'', pg. 66. [[Edinburgh]]: [[Edinburgh University Press]], 2001.</ref>
During the zenith of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]-Andalusian relations, Emperor [[Constantine VII]] joined a succession of [[Christians|Christian]] rulers meeting with Muslim officials.<ref>Muhammad Abdullah Enan, "Decisive Moments in the History of Islam," pg. 143-144. [[Lahore]]: The Lion Press, 1943. 2nd Edition.</ref> During one of these meetings, Balluti delivered an oration upon the reception of a group of [[Byzantine]] envoys at Abd-arRahman III's palace, expressing his extremely positive views of the caliph and the obligation of the people of Spain to obey their ruler; he was subsequently appointed to the position of the caliphate's top judicial official.<ref>Janina M. Safran, "The Second Umayyad Caliphate: The Articulation of Caliphal Legitimacy in Al-Andalus," pg. 72-73. [[Harvard University Press]].</ref> Balluti's speech is still preserved as an accurate description of the caliph's court and palace at the time.
===Legalistic Views===
Although he did not adhere to the [[Maliki]] [[Madhhab|school of law]] favored by the Umayyad dynasty, Balluti was still the chief judge of Cordoba during his twilight years; it is thought that he kept his [[Zahiri]]te views to himself and his family without attempting to spread them.<ref name=shadow/><ref name=cachi/><ref name=chacha/><ref>Mohammad Sharif Khan and Mohammad Anwar Saleem, ''Muslim Philosophy And Philosophers'', pg. 35. [[New Delhi]]: Ashish Publishing House, 1994.</ref> In addition to his position on the judge's bench, Al-Hakam II also appointed him as a professor.<ref name="shura"/> Balluti's appointment despite his personal convictions was considered by Islamic scholar [[William Montgomery Watt]] to indicate that while the Umayyad remnants favored the Malikite school, they were not willing to grant it absolute monopoly.
Although Balluti was willing to keep his [[Fiqh|juristic]] views to himself, he was not as soft-spoken regarding his views on morality.  When Abd-ar-Rahman III attempted to cover the ceiling of his palace [[Medina Azahara]] in gold and silver, the extravagance was too excessive for Balluti to accept, prompting him to encourage the caliph to stop; he even went as far as to say the [[Iblis|Devil]] was tempting the caliph with such excess.<ref>Robert Hillenbrand, "The Ornament of the World: Medieval Cordoba as a Cultural Center." Taken from ''The Legacy of Muslim Spain,'' pg. 126. Ed. [[Salma Jayyusi]]. [[Leiden]]: [[Brill Publishers]], 1994.</ref>
==Legacy==
Balluti was considered by [[Ibn Khaldun]] to be one of the six individuals from the [[Berber people]] who became well known throughout history for a strong knowledge of [[Islamic studies]].
===Creed===
Balluti was accused of holding to the doctrine of the [[Mu'tazila|Mu'tazilites]], a sect within Islam which had mostly become extinct at the time. Historian Maribel Fierro has argued that this is not possible due to Balluti's polemics regarding [[Christianity and Islam|Christian-Muslim]] [[Interfaith dialog|dialogue]].<ref name=thomas>Alexander Mallett and David Thomas. "Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 2 (900-1050)," pg. 361. [[Brill Publishers]].</ref> When reviewing the conversion document of a [[List of converts to Islam from Christianity|former Christian]], Balluti rejected the individual's Muslim [[Shahada|testimony of faith]] due to the wording: "[[Muhammad]] is [[God in Islam|God's]] [[Prophets in Islam|messenger]], and [[Jesus in Islam|Jesus]] is God's messenger and His word." The wording as an incomplete quote of a verse from the [[Qur'an]].<ref>[[Qur'an]], {{Cite quran|4|171|s=ns|b=n}}</ref>
Balluti argued that if Jesus is God's word, but also a mortal, created being, then God's word – meaning [[Quranic createdness|the Qur'an – would also be created]], rather than eternal; he also pointed out that a [[Byzantine Emperor]] – likely [[Theophilos (emperor)|Theophilos]] – rebuked the [[Abbasid]] caliph [[Al-Ma'mun]] for believing Jesus is the [[Logos (Christianity)|word of God]], and that the Qur'an is uncreated, yet also believing that Jesus was a mortal man.<ref name=thomas/> Thus, if the individual wanted to use the aforementioned verse in their testimony of faith, they would need to quote the verse in its entirety for the sake of context before Balluti would be willing to approve the conversion documents.<ref>Maribel Fierro, "Risala, 'Letter'." Included in the bibliographical study of Mallett and Thomas.</ref> The belief that the Qur'an was created rather than eternal was championed by the Mu'tazilites and opposed by [[Athari|textualists]] such as [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], thus negating the claim that Balluti could have been the former rather than the latter. Later documents of [[Lists of former Christians|Christian conversions]] to Islam in Spain were written in the same formula proposed by Balluti, indicating that his argument had gained official acceptance.<ref name=thomas/>
==See also==
* [[Qadi]]
* [[Ulema]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Islamic Theology}}
{{Zahiri scholars}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundhir bin Sa'id al-Balluti}}
[[Category:887 births]]
[[Category:966 deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century Berber people]]
[[Category:10th-century Berber people]]
[[Category:Berber writers]]
[[Category:Berber scholars]]
[[Category:Islamic philosophers]]
[[Category:Scholars from al-Andalus]]
[[Category:10th-century writers from al-Andalus]]
[[Category:10th-century Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:People from Córdoba, Spain]]
[[Category:Sharia judges]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam]]
[[Category:Zahiris]]
[[Category:10th-century jurists]]