The migration of scholars of Hadith and Fiqh from the regions of Taleqan, Faryab, and Jowzjan: factors, consequences, and solutions

Abstract

The migration of hadith and jurisprudence scholars from the regions of Ṭāliqān, Fāryāb, and Jūzjān during the early Islamic centuries was a complex phenomenon with dual consequences. These migrations were driven by various factors, including political instability, such as Turkic and Mongol invasions and tribal conflicts, the appeal of prominent academic centers like Baghdad and Nishapur, inadequate local infrastructure, and religious tensions.

On one hand, these migrations contributed to the intellectual expansion of the Islamic world. The scholarly legacies of Ṭāliqān, Fāryāb, and Jūzjān were preserved and transmitted through figures such as Abū Isḥāq al-Ṭāliqānī (featured in Sunan al-Nasāʾī), Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf al-Fāryābī (cited in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), and Ibrāhīm ibn Yaʿqūb al-Jūzjānī (a pioneer in hadith criticism [jarḥ wa taʿdīl]), all of whom are recognized in authoritative Islamic sources. On the other hand, their places of origin experienced intellectual decline: Ṭāliqān saw the erosion of its local schools, Fāryāb lost its scholarly significance after the Mongol invasions, and Jūzjān was reduced to a peripheral region with diminished academic influence.

Efforts to revive the scholarly heritage of these regions require a combined historical and contemporary approach. This includes revitalizing academic institutions modeled on the Niẓāmiyya schools, digitizing classical manuscripts, fostering connections between the descendants of migrated scholars and current residents, and encouraging international collaboration in archaeological research. The example of al-Haytham ibn Ayyūb’s return to Ṭāliqān illustrates how migration, when balanced between the dissemination of knowledge and the preservation of local identity, can be a catalyst for renewal rather than a sign of decline.

These experiences highlight the need for an integrated vision that bridges past and future, combining educational reform, technological innovation, and a reimagining of migration as a form of responsible knowledge transmission.