Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of a turkish slave woman”. Today it says “egyptian sunni muslim polymath of persian descent”.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Jalal-ud-din Abd-ur-Rahman bin Abu Bakr As-Suyuti ( 1445 - 1505 ), Arabian encyclopaedic writer, was the son of a Turkish slave woman. His father, who was of Persian descent, had been cadi in Asyut ( Upper Egypt ) and professor in Cairo , but died before his son was six years old. The boy's training was taken in hand by a Sufi friend of the father. He was precocious and is said to have known the Qur'an by heart before he was eight years old. In 1462 he was already a teacher; in 1464 he made the pilgrimage to Mecca ; in 1472 he became a professor, and in 1486 was promoted to a chair in the mosque of Baybars . Here, however, he provoked a revolt among the students and in 1501 was discharged for maladministration of trust funds. Two years later he was offered the same post again, but declined, and worked in seclusion at Rawda , an island of the Nile , and there died. He was one of the most prolific writers of the East, though many of his works are only pamphlets and some are mere abridgments of the work of others. We know of 561 separate titles of his works, and over 316 exist in manuscript. A list of these is given in C Brockelmann's Gesch. der Arabischen Litteratur , ii. 144-158 (Berlin, 1902). They deal with almost every branch of Moslem science and literature. Among the best known are the Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Quran (on the exegetic sciences of the Qur'an), published with an analysis by A Sprenger (Calcutta, 1852-1854) and often in Cairo; the commentary on the Qur'an, known as the Tafsir ul-Jalalain , begun by Jalal ud-Din ul-Mahalli (1389-1459) and finished by Suyuti, published often in the East; and the history of the caliphs , published at Calcutta (1858) and elsewhere.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16211839.
The opening as it stood in 2010 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti ( ) (c. 1445–1505 AD) also known as Ibn al-Kutub (son of books) was an Egyptian writer, religious scholar, juristic expert and teacher whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects in Islamic theology.He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462.In 1486, he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo .He adhered to the Shafi'i Madhab and is one of the latter-day authorities of the Shafi'i School, considered to be one of the Ashabun-Nazzar (Assessors) whose degree of Ijtihad is agreed upon.
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The opening as it stood in 2015
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ) (c. 1445–1505 AD), whose full Arabic name is Abu al-Fadl 'Abd al-Rahman b.Muhammad Jalal al-Din al-Khudayri al-Suyuti , also known as Ibn al-Kutub (son of books) was an Egyptian religious scholar, juristic expert and teacher, and one of the most prolific Arab writers of the Middle Ages, whose works deal with a wide variety of subjects in Islamic theology. He was precocious and was already a teacher in 1462. In 1486, he was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo . He adhered to the Shafi'i Maslak and is one of the latter-day authorities of the Shafi'i School, considered to be one of the Ashabun-Nazzar (Assessors) whose degree of Ijtihad is agreed upon. An alternative spelling of his name is Jalaluddin .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 663921960.
The opening as it stood in 2020 5 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Abū al-Faḍl ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr ibn Muḥammad Jalāl al-Dīn al-Khuḍayrī al-Suyūṭī ( ; c. 1445–1505 CE); aka Jalaluddin ; an Egyptian scholar, historian and jurist.From a family of Persian origin, he was described as one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages.His biographical dictionary Bughyat al-wuʻāh fī ṭabaqāt al-lughawīyīn wa-al-nuḥāh contains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology.He was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo in 1486, and was an adherent of the Shafii madhhab and a late authority of the Hanbali School .He was one of the Ashabun-Nazzar (Assessors) in his degree of ijtihad .In Masalik al-Hunafa' fi Walidayy al-Mustafa , he says: "The Prophet's parents died before he was sent as a Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since (We never punish until We send a messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ).Our Ash`ari Imams among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da`wa has not reached him, dies saved.This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi`i.. . .The family of al-Suyuti, of Persian origin, settled during the Mamluk period in Asyut, in Upper Egypt (from where they derive their name).
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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Egyptian Islamic scholar (1445–1505) Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ) ( c. 1445–1505 CE), or Al-Suyuti , was an Egyptian Sunni polymath .Considered the Mujtahid and Mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century.Foremost leading muhaddith , (hadith master) mufassir (Qu'ran exegete), faqīh (jurist), usuli (legal theorist), sufi (mystic), theologian , grammarian , linguist , rhetorician , philologist , lexicographer and historian , who authored works in virtually every Islamic science.He was described as one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages and is recognized today as one of the most prolific authors of all Islamic literature . His biographical dictionary Bughyat al-Wuʻāh fī Ṭabaqāt al-Lughawīyīn wa-al-Nuḥāh contains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology. He was also in his time the leading authority of the Shafi'i school of thought ( madhhab ). In Masalik al-Hunafa' fi Walidayy al-Mustafa , he says: "The Prophet's parents died before he was sent as a Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since (We never punish until We send a messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ). Our Ash`ari Imams among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da`wa has not reached him, dies saved. This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi`i.. . . Some of the fuqaha' explained that the reason is, such a person follows fitra or Primordial Disposition, and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger" Ali, Mufti."Issues of interpreting the Koran and Hadith." Connections 5.3 (2006): 57-82.Notes On Entering Deen Completely Islam as its followers know it .The Oxford Dictionary of Islam .Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk Period Proceedings of the Themed Day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca' Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014) .Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia .There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178487316.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Egyptian Islamic scholar (1445–1505) Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( Arabic : جلال الدين السيوطي , romanized : Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī ; c. 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti , was an Egyptian Sunni Muslim polymath of Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading muhaddith (hadith master), mufassir (Qu'ran exegete), faqīh (jurist), usuli (legal theorist), sufi (mystic), theologian , grammarian , linguist , rhetorician , philologist , lexicographer and historian , who authored works in virtually every Islamic science. He was described as one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages and is recognized today as one of the most prolific authors of all Islamic literature . His biographical dictionary Bughyat al-Wuʻāh fī Ṭabaqāt al-Lughawīyīn wa-al-Nuḥāh contains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology. He was also in his time the leading authority of the Shafi'i school of thought ( madhhab ). In Masalik al-Hunafa' fi Walidayy al-Mustafa , he says: "The Prophet's parents died before he was sent as a Prophet and there is no punishment for them, since (We never punish until We send a messenger (whom they reject)( (17:15 ). Our Ash`ari Imams among those in kalam, usul, and fiqh agree on the statement that one who dies while da`wa has not reached him, dies saved. This has been defined by Imam al-Shafi`i.. . . Some of the fuqaha' explained that the reason is, such a person follows fitra or Primordial Disposition, and has not stubbornly refused nor rejected any Messenger" Ali, Mufti. "Issues of interpreting the Koran and Hadith." Connections 5.3 (2006): 57-82. Notes On Entering Deen Completely Islam as its followers know it . The Oxford Dictionary of Islam . Al-Suyūṭī, a Polymath of the Mamlūk Period Proceedings of the Themed Day of the First Conference of the School of Mamlūk Studies (Ca' Foscari University, Venice, June 23, 2014) . Medieval Islamic Civilization An Encyclopedia . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of a turkish slave woman”. Today it says “egyptian sunni muslim polymath of persian descent”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
son of a turkish slave woman
Now
egyptian sunni muslim polymath of persian descent
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.