Rizaetdin Fakhretdin (1859–1936) as a Founder of Faizkhanov Studies

Abstract

This article is timed to the 165th anniversary of the major Muslim theologian of Russia Rizaetdin Fakhretdin (1859–1936) and deals with the examination of his works on the life and activities of Husain Faizkhanov (1823–1866). The article shows that R. Fakhretdin was the author of the first works specially devoted to Kh. Faizkhanov and thus actually became the founder of Faizkhanov Studies. The article analyses the materials of R. Fakhretdinov’s materials published in the biographical work Asār (1908), the journal Shura (1916), and some unpublished works that appeared later are analysed. The article shows that R. Fakhretdin was purposefully engaged in the study of H. Faizkhanov’s activities and also purposefully collected the related materials. The range of sources he used is wide and varied. The main of them was the manuscript work of Shikhabetdin Marjani (1818– 1889) Vafiyyat al-’aslāf va takḥiyyat al-’akḫlāf, supplemented by documentary materials and oral testimonies obtained as a result of R. Fakhretdin’s own research. He details a number of information reported by Sh. Marjani. Some reports and comments of R. Fakhretdin were confirmed as a result of subsequent research.