Birth and Education Ibn Furak was born in around 941 CE (330 AH) in
Isfahan. He studied the Ash'ari theology under
Abu al-Hasan al-Bahili along with
Al-Baqillani and
Abu Ishaq al-Isfarayini in
Basra and
Baghdad, and also prophetic traditions under 'Abd Allah bin Ja'far al-Isbahani. From 'Iraq he went to
Rayy, then to
Nishapur, where a madrasa was built for him beside the Khanqah of the Sufi al-Bushandji. He was in Nishapur before the death of the Sufi
Abu 'Uthman al-Maghribi in 373/983, and the
saint would instruct Ibn Furak to lead the burial prayer over him prior to his death.
Scholarly career Ibn Furak was the teacher and master of
al-Qushayri and
al-Bayhaqi who both would frequently cite in their popular works
Al-Risala and
Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat, respectively. He debated and won against the anthropomorphist
Karramiyya in Rayy, then he travelled to
Nishapur where he trained and taught the next generation of
jurists at a school established in his honour, which was an extension of the previous Sufi school (
Khanqah) built by Abû al-Hasan al-Bushanji. In Nishapur, he brought the transmissions of the narrators of
Basra and
Baghdad, both from
Iraq, and also authored a number of books in various fields and Islamic sciences.
Dispute and Death The
Karramiyya tried to initially have him executed by the Sultan
Mahmud of Ghazni but failed after the Sultan summoned him to
Ghazni and questioned him then exonerated him of the erroneous charges they had brought against him as Ibn Furak was found innocent from the false accusations laid out by his enemies. However, upon returning from Ghazni, he was poisoned by the angered Karramiyya, fell on the road, and died in 1015 CE (406 AH) while another version says that he was attacked from behind from them. He was carried back to Nishapur and buried in
al-Hira. According to
Ibn Asakir, the grave of Ibn Furak is a place where people go to seek healing (istishfâ') and have their prayers granted. ==Controversy over Ibn Furak==