The Contribution of Bernd Radtke on the Studying Hakim Tirmidhi's Scientific Heritage

European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 1/2019 [email protected] SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES Manuscript info: Received December 12, 2018., Accepted December 17, 2018., Published January 20, 2019. THE CONTRIBUTION OF BERND RADTKE ON THE STUDYING HAKIM TIRMIDHI'S SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE Nodir Karimov Rakhmonkulovich, PhD student, Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan. E-mail:[email protected] http://dx.doi.org/10.26739/2521-3253-2019-1-12 Abstract: The article isaimed at studying the role of Bernd Radtke in the study of the scientific heritage of Hakim Termizi. The research analyzes the scientific works of Bernd Ratke dedicated to the scholar. As Bernd Radtke said: "In the medieval biographical dictionaries and the Sufi handbooks where one woud normally expect to find such information, little is recorded about the life and activities of the author Hakim Tirmidhi dubbed "al-Hakim", the Wise". Bernd Radtke spent many years of his life to study Hakim Tirmidhi's scientific heritage and during this period, he published numerous articles on diverse aspects of Tirmidhi. We can say that he is one of well-known scholars who is well- aware of Hakim Tirmidhi's works. The contribution of Bernd Radtke is very vital in the studying Hakim Tirmidhi's scientific heritage. In this article, it will be an attempt to analyze Bernd Radtke's works. Key words: Bernd Ratke, Hakim Tirmidhi, "al-hakim"(Wise), "Riyozat an-nafs", "Hatm ul-avliyo" , "Kitob ul-akyos val-mughtaryn", "gwavr ul-umur". Recommended citation: Nodir Karimov. THE CONTRIBUTION OF BERND RADTKE ON THE STUDYING HAKIM TIRMIDHI'S SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE. 1 European Journal of Research P. 95-103 (2019). INTRODUCTION Hakim Tirmidhi was apparently born between 820 and 830 AD in Termez, Khorasan, nowadays Uzbekistan. His father was a scholar of hadith and a jurist; his early education appears to have been very orthodox. He was reared as a scholar of hadith and fiqh (law), more specifically, the Hanafi school of law that was dominant in eastern territories of Iran. The range of Tirmidhi's education included the sciences, such as Greek natural science and philosophy. His subsequent reference to learning the use of the astrolabe, implying a knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, has been given different interpretations. "There is no trace of influence from 'natural science' in his writings." But being a Sufi Master is enough to accept that Vienna, Austria Generalization of Scientific Results 95 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 1/2019 [email protected] he did. However, his general pursuit of knowledge gained him the name of "al-hakim" (the title which means he had mastered the five sciences- Mathematics-Logic-Music-Medicine and Astronomy) [7]. His full name is Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ali bin Hasan bin Bashir[1] Al-Hakim At- Termizi.Hakim Termidhi is the author of more than 80 scientific works (more than 400 in some publications) and a famous figure in the Islamic Sufism.Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate his works in the West and the East, among them Bernd Radtke's scientific work is of particular importance.This research analyzes the works of famous scientist Bernd Radtke based on the study of the scientific heritage of Hakim Termidhi. LITERATURE REVIEW In this research, B.Radtke’s following scientific works are analyzed: “The Concept of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism” (Co- author: O'Kane),“Al-Ḥakīm at-Tirmiḏi. Ein islamischer Theosoph”, “Der Mystiker al-Ḥakīm at-Tirmiḏī”, “Drei Schriften des Theosophen von Tirmiḏ”, “Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi on miracles”, “Some recent research on al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī” and “Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi” by G. Gobillot are used efficiently. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is qualitative research using the content analysis approach. About ten Bernd Radtke’s works and other materials are used to explain the contribution of Bernd Radtke on the studying Hakim Tirmidhi’s scientific heritage.. Besides that, the researcher had used journals, manuscripts and articles to collect data related to the research. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION German Orientalist Bernd Radtke has devoted more than 30 years to study the legacy of Hakim Tirmidhi. Bernd Radtke has had an interest in Hakim Tirmidhi for a long time which received encouragement from his teacher of long standing and thesis adviser Professor Fritz Meier. His Ph.D. thesis was published in 1980 as vol. 58 in the series Islamkundiliche Untersuchungen with the title “Al-Ḥakīm at-Tirmiḏi. Ein islamischer Theosoph des 3/9. Jahrhunderts” [5]. This dissertation was a reason for many discussions by different scholars. The most important parts of it were reviewedby G.R.Hawting in “Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies”. The following opinions were given by G. R.Hawting:“This discussion of the early Muslim mystic al- Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. early fourth/tenth century) is a revision of the author's thesis presented at the University of Basel in 1974. Vienna, Austria Generalization of Scientific Results 96 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 1/2019 [email protected] The work consists of a discussion of Tirmidhi's biography, an attempt to establish a list of his literary works, with reference to printed editions and manuscripts, a brief examination of some of his ideas and arguments, and, finally, translations into German of selected passages from his writings. There is a brief examination of Tirmidhi's influence on the mystics of his own and subsequent generations, but the work does not discuss in any detail his place in the development of Sufism. Within the limits which he has set himself Radtke has produced a useful introduction to Tirmidhi, providing more detail than, and some revisions of, earlier discussions of his life and works, notablythose by N. Heer (in The world of Islam: studies in honour of Philip K. Hitti, London, 1959, 121 ff.) and Othman Yahya (in Milanges Massignon, Iri, Damascus, 1957, 411 ff.). The book is a photographically reproduced typescript. No doubt this form is now necessary and generally acceptable, but it does have disadvantages in a work of this nature which contains several lists involving subsections. Unless one starts at the beginning of a chapter (and even these do not seem immediately obvious), the limited repertoire of typefaces and sizes makes it difficult to see exactly where one is. Since the purpose of lists is, presumably, to facilitate speed of reference, the limitations in this area are unfortunate. One valuable section of the book is Radtke's discussion of the authenticity of Tirmidhi's “Kitab al- hajj”, which, he concludes, has been revised after Tirmidhi's death. One might easily miss this discussion, however, since it appears in the section devoted to Tirmidhi's life, rather than in the bibliographical section where one would expect it, and Radtke's index does not refer to the individual works of Tirmidhi. Radtke's bibliography does not include any of the works on Sufism by Annemarie Schimmel. G.R.Hawting was interested to find that, whereas Radtke (pp.16,38) rather implies that he is breaking new ground by suggesting a death date for Tirmidhi “between 295/907 and 310/922”, Schimmel too says that he died in the early tenth century, rather than the more usual 285/898 (Annemarie Schimmel, “Mystical dimensions of Islam”, Chapel Hill, 1975, 55). One should also point out that Radtke's bibliography does not refer to the Ph.D. thesis of M. I.al-Geyoushi (Al- Tirmidhi, his works and his opinions, University of London, 1970), nor to two works which he (does, however, say in his foreword that he was unable to consult: 'Abd al-Fattah Barakat, “al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi wa-nazariyyatuhu fi'l wilaya”, 2 vols., Cairo, 1971, and Yves Marquet, al-Hakim al-Tirmidi et le ndoplatonisme de son temps, Dakar, 1976. For the sake of completeness, these should have been listed in the bibliography” [4,p.578-579]. Vienna, Austria Generalization of Scientific Results 97 European Journal of Research www.journalofresearch.de ¹ 1/2019 [email protected] American scholar Nicholas Heer [8] who is a professor of University of Washington. He gives positive ideas on Bernd Radtke’s thesis. He discusses all dissertation and explains the good parts of Bernd Radtke’s work. He says: “This book, a study of the thought and doctrines of Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, a prominent Sufi of the third Islamic century, consists of six parts. Part I deals with the sparse information concerning al-Tirmidhi’s life. Because the dates of al-Tirmidhi’s birth and death have never been determined with certainty, the author has attempted to set termini a quo and ad quem for each. He concludes that al-Tirmidhi must have been born before 220/835 (very possibly in 210/825), that he lived to be over 65 years of age, and that he died between 295/907 and 310/922. Part II is devoted to an enumeration of al-Tirmidhi’s works and the manuscripts in which they are found. Al-Tirmidhi was a prolific writer and a surprising number of manuscripts of his works have survived to the present day. In fact, it is highly probable that not all the surviving manuscripts of his works have as yet been discovered. For this reason, as the author rightly points out, a complete list of al-Tirmidhi's works remains a task for the future. Presented here, therefore, is a list of all of al-Tirmidhi's works which have been printed or edited as well as information, much of it new, on some of the major manuscript collections of al-Tirmidhi's works. Particular attention is given to the following manuscripts: “Ismail Sa'ib” (1571; Leipzig 212; Paris 5018) and “Wali al-Din” (770).

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