Abu Uthman al-Sabuni

Al-Sabuni, Ismail bin Abdal-Rahman bin Ahmad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Amir, Abu Uthman al-Sabuni al-Shafi'i also known as Abu Uthman al-Sabuni (أبو عثمان الصابوني), was a Sunni scholar known for being the leading hadith expert in Khorasan, a jurist of great authority particularly in the Shafi'i school, a Qur'anic exegete, theologian, preacher, and orator. The Sunnis of his time called him the Shaykh al-Islām, and when they used this word they did not mean anyone else. He was eloquent in dialect, broad in knowledge, and was fluent in both Persian and Arabic. Al-Bayhaqi said: "He was the true Imam of the Muslims and the real Shaykh of Islam."

Biography
Al-Sabuni was born in the suburbs of Herat in the year 373 AH/983 CE. He was an orphan when his father, Abu Nasr, was killed and martyred for preaching Islam when he was just nine years old. Al-Sabuni would later be raised under the famous Imam and saint, Abu al-Tayyib al-Su'luki, who would later attend al-Sabuni's dhikr gatherings, and praise him for his piety, manners, intelligence, eloquence in the Arabic and Persian languages, strong memory and his deep knowledge of the Quran and Hadith, as did many of the other major scholars of his time such as Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini and Ibn Furak. He was very close to his teacher Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni. Al-Sabuni was the head of scholars in Nishapur for 20 years and held a sufi practise by performing dikhr gatherings (remembrance of Allah) for 70 years.

When Abu al-Tayyib al-Su'luki would deliver a sermon, young al-Sabuni out of pure reverence would turn his face away from his teacher and Murshid. Ibn al-Su`luki would tell him: "Face me and do not look away!" Al-Sabuni would reply, "I am ashamed to speak in your face." After that, Ibn al-Su'luki would instruct his other students to "observe his (al-Sabuni's) wisdom."

Al-Sabuni passed away in Nishapur in the year of 449 AH/1057 CE. Ibn al-Sam'ani stated at the grave of al-Sabuni, Allah, the exalted accepts prayers and supplications.

Creed
Al-Sabuni was a staunch defender of the Ash'ari school. He would be given special titles for refuting deviants by highly acclaimed scholars such as "Sword of the Sunnah" and "Repeller of Bid'ah (false innovation)" by Abd al-Ghafir al-Farsi and was given the title "Plague of the Deviants" by his contemporary Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini. Al-Sabuni was among the major scholars who signed the Ash'ari statement written by Imam Al-Qushayri at the time where anti-Ash'ari propaganda was being spread. Abu Uthman al-Sabuni said he would never sit in a setting except with al-Ibāna of al-Ash'ari with him and showed his admiration for the book. The Lebanese Hadith scholar and researcher, Gibril Fouad Haddad states the current al-Ibāna attributed to Imam al-Ash'ari is chainless, anonymous and forged by the Mujassimah (deviant anthropromorphists) with clear anti-Ash'ari and anti-Hanafi intentions. He also states the original and unaltered copy was in the hands of Ash'ari scholars such as Ibn Asakir, Abu Uthman al-Sabuni and others.

Ibn al-Subki reports the Karramiyya from Herat were threatened by the popularity and status of al-Sabuni in the region so they began to attribute his title falsely on Abu Isma'il 'Abdullah al-Harawi, the author of an anti-Ash'ari book 'Dhamm al-Kalam' against the Sunnis, with the same title Shaykh al-Islam.

Reception
Al-Bayhaqi said: "I swear that the Imam Abu Abdallah al-Hakim in spite of his great age, Hadith Mastery, and Scholarly Status - used to get up for the Teacher, Imam Sabuni when he came in to see him and he used to call him "The Unmatched Teacher", making aware to the people of Imam Sabuni's great knowledge, his Merits (qualities) and Virtues, and repeat Imam Sabuni's spoken words in his own Discourse (lectures)."

Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali said: “Sheikh al-Islam… the preacher, the interpreter, the author, one of the scholars.”

Works
Al-Sabuni authored plenty of books on various subjects but his most popular work is called The creed of the Pious Predecessors and People of Hadith (Aqidatu Salaf wa Ahl al-Hadith) where he brings in narrations from the Salaf explaining their creed and principles of faith (Usul al-Din).