Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi
Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi (), known with the honorific title of "Sadr al-Islam", was a prominent Central Asian Hanafi-Maturidi scholar and a qadi (judge) in Samarqand in the late eleventh century. He is known to be teacher to several well-known Hanafi scholars, such as Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi and 'Ala' al-Din al-Samarqandi (who was teacher to Al-Kasani). Name. Abu al-Yusr Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-Hussein b. 'Abd al-Karim b. Musa b. Mujahid al-Nasafi al-Bazdawi. The attribution al-Bazdawi indicates that he or  his family originated from Bazda or Bazdawa, a small town with a castle on the road between Nasaf and Bukhara. He is the younger brother of "Fakhr al-Islam Abu al-Hassan al-Bazdawi", the author of the acclaimed "Kanz al-Wusul", famously known as "Usul al-Bazdawi". Birth. He was born around the year 421 A.H. (1030 A.D.) and received his earliest education in Maturidism disciplines from his father. His grandfather Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Karim b. Musa al-Bazdawi (d. 390 AH/1000–1001 CE), who was a direct student of al-Maturidi, and his elder brother Fakhr al-Islam  'Ali b. Muhammad al-Bazdawi (d. 482–483 AH/1089–1090 CE) were leading Hanafi scholars and authored many books. Students. Some of his well known students are: Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi, and 'Ala' al-Din al-Samarqandi (who was teacher to 'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani). Works. He was the author of several works on law, including a commentary on the major work of Abu Hanifa, after whom the Hanafi school is named, and a commentary on a work of Abu Hanifa's student Muhammad al-Shaybani, who was one of the founders of the Hanafi school. The most important  of his books which remain is Kitab Usul al-Din (edited with a biographical introduction by Hans-Peter Linss). Al-Bazdawi’s Kitab Usul al-Din, as it was described by Hans-Peter Linss, could be classified in: He is also author of "Ma'rifat al-Hujaj al-Shar'iyya" () in Usul al-Fiqh. Dr. Haytham Abdul-Hamid Khazna () said in his book "Tatawur al-Fikr al-Usuli al-Hanafi" () that this book should not be attributed to Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi, because the books of Tarajim (biographies and bibliographies) didn't mention it, and because the book is weak in  style analysis. Death. After serving for a period of time as a magistrate in Samarqand, he eventually moved to Bukhara and died there in 493 A.H. (1100 A.D.).