International Online Seminar Explores the Legacy of Imam al-Sarakhsi

The Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center hosted an international online seminar entitled “The Approach of Imam al-Sarakhsi in the Forming Central Asian Hanafit School” The event brought together scholars and researchers to discuss the enduring scholarly legacy of one of the most influential jurists of the Hanafi tradition.

The keynote lecture was delivered via Zoom by Dr. Ayitmamat Kariyev, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Theology of Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.

In his presentation, Dr. Kariyev examined the historical development of the Hanafi school of Islamic law, tracing its formative stages and its expansion throughout Central Asia. He highlighted the pivotal role of Bukhara as a major center of Hanafi scholarship and discussed the contributions of the intellectual successors of Imam Abu Hanifa, as well as scholars from the renowned academic centers of Bukhara, Samarkand, Khwarazm, and Uzgen, to the advancement of Islamic jurisprudence.

The main focus of the lecture was the life and scholarly legacy of the eminent jurist Imam al-Sarakhsi. The speaker analyzed the significance of his landmark works – including Al-Mabsut, Usul al-Sarakhsi, and Sharh al-Siyar al-Kabir – and their lasting contribution to the development of Hanafi legal thought. He also emphasized Imam al-Sarakhsi’s methodological approach of taking local customs into account when addressing legal issues, his role in shaping the religious and legal thought of the peoples of Central Asia, and his contribution to the flourishing of the region’s Turkic-Islamic scholarly tradition.

The seminar also provided a platform for discussions on the continued study of Imam al-Sarakhsi’s intellectual heritage, contemporary approaches to analyzing his legal methodology, and further research into the distinctive characteristics of the Central Asian Hanafi scholarly tradition.

Participants engaged in an active question-and-answer session and exchanged ideas on expanding academic cooperation and promoting further collaborative research in this important field of Islamic studies.