Al-Muhassin ibn Muhammad ibn Karramah Al-Jushami Al-Baihaqi is better known by his title, Al-Hakim. His descent takes him back to Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyah who was a son of Ali ibn Abu Talib, through a later marriage than his first marriage to Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter. Sources differ as to whether Jushami, to which he is affiliated, was his hometown or his tribe, but we know that he was born in Ramadan 413 AH, corresponding to 1023 AD. He grew up in Khurasan, a part of today’s Iran.
Al-Hakim studied under a number of scholars who were students of Justice Abd Al-Jabbar, a scholar of high prominence who documented the intellectual thought and the theological approach of Al-Mu’tazilah. Al-Mu’tazilah was a school of Islamic theology, or Kalam, which went deep into discussing the nature of God’s attributes, leading to much unnecessary controversy. What was wrong with the approach of the Mu’tazilah is that it relied to a large extent on the human mind to go into a realm far beyond its scope or ability. Thus, it applied to God what is essentially relevant to man’s own world.
Al-Hakim had many teachers, but the main ones were Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq Al-Naisapuri (died 433) by whom he was greatly influenced, Ali ibn Abdullah (died 457) and Abdullah ibn Al-Hussain Al-Nassihi, who was Chief Justice (died 447). Apparently he did not frequent the circle of any scholar while the first of these three teachers was alive, but when he died, he frequented the circles of both the other two scholars, as well as attending others. He did not confine himself to the strict Mu’tazilah school. In fact, the third of the above three teachers disagreed with the Mu’tazilah on certain points, and he was a leading Hanafi scholar. Al-Hakim read the Hanafi Fiqh under him, as well as other subjects.
Al-Hakim had many students, but he mentions only four of them: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq Al-Khuwarizmi, Ali ibn Zaid Al-Rawqani, his own son Muhammad ibn Al-Muhassin and Imam Al-Zamakhshari, who wrote a well-known commentary on the Qur’an. The last two were instrumental in publicizing Al-Hakim’s books and teaching them to their students.
Al-Hakim started as a follower of the Hanafi school of law, but he later changed over to follow the Zaidi school, which is prevalent in Yemen, but we do not know when exactly this changeover took place. However, it appears to have taken place after he had become well-known in scholarly circles. Nevertheless, he acquired much fame as a Zaidi scholar, so much so that his Hanafi origins are often overlooked. On the other hand, he belongs to the Mu’tazilah in matters of faith. He was particularly an admirer of Justice Abd Al-Jabbar, who was the chief author of the Mu’tazilah philosophy and theology books. Indeed, Al-Hakim ranks as the second most outspoken author of the Mu’tazilah, particularly the Basrah branch which follows Abu Hashim Al-Jubbaie, its main scholar. Indeed, there are very close links between the Mu’tazilah and the Shia of the Zaidi branch which gives due respect to Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali and considers that the Imams after Ali were his sons Al-Hassan and Al-Hussain, then Zaid ibn Ali Zainul-Abideen.
Al-Hakim achieved a highly distinguished standard of scholarship and authored many books in different disciplines. Perhaps the most important of these is his commentary on the Qur’an, known as Al-Tahdheeb. In this book, Al-Hakim quotes much from earlier commentaries by leading Mu’tazilah scholars, most of which have not survived even in manuscript form. As such, the book has this added value of giving us their views. But he has not confined himself to the Mu’tazilah scholars. He also quotes leading commentators, particularly Ibn Abbas, Mujahed, Qatadah and Al-Hassan Al-Basri, acknowledging their highly valuable contributions.
Needless to say, Al-Hakim follows the Mu’tazilah outlook in his approach to the Qur’an and his explanation of its meanings. However, he does not dwell for long on the question of its being created or not, which was the issue greatly emphasized by the Mu’tazilah in the early part of the third century, to the extent that they persecuted every scholar who did not share their view. We can say that the two main ideas that run through his commentary on the Qur’an are God’s justice and His absolute oneness. He elaborates these through two main themes: 1) All knowledge is acquired; and 2) Refuting the concept that man is bound to do what he does because he has no freedom of choice. The whole of his commentary is practically devoted to these two themes.
Another book of commentary on the Qur’an by Al-Hakim is devoted to the explanation of verses that refer to Ali ibn Abi Talib and other members of the Prophet’s household. He mentions extensively the Hadiths that prove that these verses refer to the Prophet’s household. He also wrote two books of commentary on the Qur’an, but these have not reached us. However, some scholars have mentioned that these two were written in Persian.
Al-Hakim wrote extensively on theology, with no less than 15 books having been mentioned by scholars as part of his work. However, only two have been preserved intact. Other areas in which he wrote include Hadith, to which he devoted his book Jilaa’ Al-Absar, but he is not considered among eminent Hadith scholars.
Al-Hakim also wrote more than one book of history, one of these, Al-Safeenah is in four volumes. He included in this book biographies of a large number of Zaidi scholars and advocates. In this, his book is considered the standard reference work, but this book has not survived, although we find it often quoted by authors who wrote on Zaidi scholars.
Al-Muntakhab is the name of a book on Zaidi Fiqh by Al-Hakim. However, this book has not survived. We only know about it as it is mentioned by other scholars. He also wrote on several other subjects, but none of these books has survived.
This goes to show that Al-Hakim was a scholar of great scholarship and that he wrote extensively. Yet, although he was endowed with a literary style and clear expression, most of his books have been lost.
Al-Hakim died at the age of 81 in Makkah. He was indeed murdered near the outskirts of the city. Mystery surrounded his murder and his arrival in the city. It is perhaps most likely that he arrived in Makkah late in his life, knowing that he was pursued, but his pursuers did not pay much attention to the sanctity of the city and they murdered him only a short while after his arrival there. May God shower His blessings and mercy on Al-Hakim Al-Jushami.
