Ibrahim al-Kurani

Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan al-Kūrānī (1616–1690) better known as Ibrāhīm al-Kūrānī, was a 17th-century Islamic scholar and theologian of the Shafi'i school of thought. As a theologian, he was a former proponent of Wahdat al-Wujud before his adherence to Atharism. He was also the teacher of Abd al-Rauf al-Fansuri, a prominent ulama of Aceh, and Yusuf al-Makassari, who spread Islam in South Africa.

Biography Burhān al-Dīn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥasan al-Kūrānī was born in the year 1616. He was of Kurdish descent, with his eptithet al-Shahrānī indicating that he was from the Kurdish-dominated village of Shehrāneh in Safavid Iran. In Syria, he studied under Abd al-Baqi al-Hanbali, a leading authority of the Hanbali school, where he also memorized the Sahih of Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. After he had received his ijazah for becoming an Islamic scholar, he migrated to Medina in 1652, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Another student of his from Nusantara was Yusuf al-Makassari, who was best known for establishing Islam in the Cape Town. Al-Kurani's son Abu Tahir also studied under his father and later became the teacher of Muhammad Hayyat al-Sindhi, an Indian Muslim scholar who was the teacher of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism. He also dedicated a treatise for answering questions from the Malay Peninsula relating to jurisprudence and creed.

Al-Kurani passed away in 1690 and was buried in the Jannat al-Baqi cemetery of Medina.

Sufism Ibrahim al-Kurani was a supporter of Sufism and other forms of Islamic mysticism. He delved into the teachings of Ibn Arabi and Abd al-Karim al-Jilli, encouraging one to follow the views of both Sufi scholars instead of one of them. He was also a former proponent of Akhbarism, including concepts such as Wahdat al-Wujud. He was a supporter of Ibn Taymiyyah, defending him in terms of creed and theology. However, the work al-Ibānah is heavily criticized by Ash'ari scholars, who believe that the work is falsely attributed to Abu al-Hasan because of its contents, which are clearly Hanbali influenced and not adhering to the proper Ash'ari doctrine. Al-Kurani also criticized the Ash'arite doctrine of metaphorically interpreting Qur'anic verses and concepts of tafwid, stating that one should not accept metaphorical interpretations of verses and accept the verses in a literal manner, even if there are anthropomorphic implications. Regarding the Maturidi school, he was indifferent towards them and did criticize them as well although he did assist in uncovering the chain of transmission of the manuscript of Kitāb al-Tawhīd to help with more authentic re-publications of the manuscript. Al-Kurani also attempted to reconcile the theological views of Ash'aris with those of Ibn Taymiyyah.

Works Al-Kurani had written over three hundred works, most of which do not survive to this day. When the fatwa reached Medina, it was largely ignored, before it was later discarded by Al-Kurani's student Muhammad al-Barzanji, who was serving as the Mufti of Medina at the time. Al-Kurani was also accused of having Mu'tazilite leanings when he explained the faith of Amenhotep III.