(1067–1142 CE)
Sunni jurist, theologian, mufassir, muhaddith and historian. Born in Transoxiana, Imam Nasafi spoke Persian but he wrote mostly in Arabic.
He authored around 100 books in Hanafi jurisprudence, theology, Quran exegesis, Hadith, Tasawwuf and history. One of his famous books is Al-`Aqeedah al-Nasafiyya details the Sunni creed, on which al-Taftazani wrote his famous commentary.
Some of his famous works in Arabic include Al-Taysir fi `ilm al-Tafsir, Talabah al-Talabah, Al-Qand fi Zikr `Ulama'e Samarqand, and Manzumah al-Jame` al-Saghir. Both Al-Dhahabi and Al-Sama`ani reported on his works.
He authored a famous Quran exegesis in Persian, called Tafsir-e Nasafi.
The Arabic word Sunnah lexically means "road" or "practice." In the language of the Prophet {saw} and the Companions it denotes the whole of lawful practices followed in the Religion, particularly the pristine path of Prophets, whether pertaining to belief, religious and social practice, or ethics generally speaking.