al-Jurjani

Ali ibn Muhammad as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani (740-816 AH / 1339-1413 CE) was a major Ash'ari theologian, Hanafi jurist, and encyclopedic scholar. Born in Jurjan (Gorgan, modern northern Iran), he traveled extensively to study under leading scholars in Persia, Egypt, and the Hijaz. He spent time in Shiraz under the patronage of the Muzaffarid rulers and later returned to Shiraz under the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh.

Al-Jurjani's most enduring contribution is his vast commentary on al-Iji's al-Mawaqif — ash-Sharh al-Mawaqif — which became one of the most studied advanced texts in Ash'ari theology in the traditional madrasa system. This commentary, combined with its marginal glosses (hashiyah) by later scholars, forms one of the most detailed systematic theological discussions in classical Islamic scholarship. He also wrote commentaries on at-Taftazani's works and his own independent works on theology and logic.

His Kitab at-Ta'rifat (The Book of Definitions) is a concise lexicon of technical terms used across the Islamic sciences — theology, philosophy, jurisprudence, grammar, logic, and Sufism. This work became an indispensable reference for students of any Islamic discipline and has been in continuous use since its composition.

Al-Jurjani was renowned for his sharp intellect and his debates with at-Taftazani are famous in Islamic intellectual history. He also authored a commentary on the Miftah al-Ulum of as-Sakkaki (on Arabic rhetoric) and works in jurisprudence and hadith commentary. He passed away in Shiraz in 816 AH, leaving a scholarly legacy that profoundly shaped the madrasa curriculum across the Islamic world.