Imom Buxoriy xalqaro ilmiy-tadqiqot markazi bukhari.uz
On August 18, an international online academic seminar titled “Al-Azhar and the Scholars of Mawarannahr: A Bridge for Scholarly and Cultural Relations” was held in cooperation between the Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center and Egypt’s Al-Azhar University.
The scholarly dialogue was attended by representatives of IRCICA, IIQ Jakarta, the International Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, the Center for Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, the Imam Tirmidhi International Scientific Research Center, the Imam Bukhari Tashkent Islamic Institute, the Higher school for Hadith Sciences, and a number of higher education institutions.
At the event, Professor Dr. Mahmoud Abdullah Abdurrahman Abdulhalim, Dean of the Faculty of Usul al-Din and Islamic Da‘wah at Al-Azhar University, delivered a presentation on the scholarly ties between the scholars of Mawarannahr and Egyptian scholars, as well as the preservation of manuscript sources and their integration into contemporary research. In particular, he noted that Tafsir al-Nasafi had been part of educational curricula for many years and continues to be taught at Al-Azhar University today.
The Egyptian scholar also highlighted the significant contributions of such great scholars as Imam al-Bukhari, Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, Abu Hafs al-Nasafi, Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi, and Imam al-Tirmidhi to the development of Islamic civilization. He emphasized, in particular, Imam al-Bukhari’s exceptionally meticulous approach to narrators, chains of transmission, distinctions between different narrations, and the identification of hidden defects in Hadith, as well as his integrated study of Hadith and jurisprudence. Regarding the legacy of Imam al-Tirmidhi, he noted that it encompasses important scholarly methodologies, including the classification of Hadith, providing information about narrators, comparing different narrations, and highlighting differences among scholars in their jurisprudential views.
Speaking about the preservation, cataloguing, digitization, and scholarly study of the heritage of earlier generations, Mahmoud Abdullah Abdurrahman familiarized the participants with Al-Azhar Library’s efforts to restore and preserve manuscripts. He stressed that rare sources should not merely be preserved as historical monuments, but should also become an active part of contemporary academic research. In this regard, he emphasized the importance of working through a comprehensive chain: “manuscript – critical edition – education – scholarly research – application.”
The seminar also focused on further developing academic relations between research institutions in Uzbekistan and Al-Azhar. It was emphasized that the rich legacy of the scholars of Transoxiana provides an important foundation for joint research, manuscript cataloguing, the preparation of scholarly publications, and the development of educational programs.
Press Service
