Shia Great Scholars in the past 100 yrs

1130 Pages·2011·4.45 MB·English

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ULAMA PRIOR TO 100 YEARS
Name Pg No
1 Shaikh Mohammed Bin Yaqoob Bin Ishaq Kulaini & Al 2
Kafi
2 Mohammed Ibne Yaqoob Ibne Ishaq Kulaini 14
3 Sheikh Sudooq 32
4 Saheb Ibn E Ibad 82
5 Savvid Razi 95
6 Sayed Murtada Ilm Al Hud& Sayed Radhi 123
7 Sheikh Al-Mufid 145
8 Mohamed Bin Mohammed Bin Noman Baghdadi - 157
Sheikh Mufeed
9 Sheik Abu Jafar Toosi 259
10 Sheik Al Raees Bu Ali Sina- The Great Avicenna 278
11 Sayed Radi Al Deen Abul Qasim Ali Ibne Moosa Ibne 304
Jafar Ibne Taoos
12 Sayed Abd Al Karim Ibne Taoos 335
13 Mohaqqaq Hilli 350
14 Allama Hilli 361
15 Shaheed Awwal- The First Martyr 392
16 Muhaqqiq Al-Karaki 409
17 Shaheed E Saani—The Second Martyr 412
18 Allama Muqdis Ardbeli 458
19 Allama Sheikh Bahai 480
20 Shaheed E Saalis – Qazi Noor Allah Shustari Hindustani 526
21 Mohammed Mohsin Faiz Kashani 561
22 Allama Mohammed Baqir Majlisi 577
23 Molla Mohammad Mahdee 590
24 Molla Ahmad Naraqi 596
25 Llamah Sayed Mahdi Bahrul Uloom(R.A.) 600
26 Shaykh Murtada Ansari 618
27 Kashif Al Ghita 652
28 Ayatullah Mohammed Hussain Kashif Al Githa 655
29 Mohaddis Noori 671
30 Sheikh Abd Al Karim Haeri 680
31 Shaykh Abbas-E-Qummi (R.A.) 714
32 Ayatullah Al-Uzma Shaykh Hasanali Isfahani 720
33 Sayyid Ali Qadhi Tabatabai (R.A.) 733
34 Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharafuddeen 740
35 Imam Khumayni 802
36 Ayatullah Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi 839
37 Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Shah-Abadi 860
38 Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi Title 869
39 Late Ayatollah Borujerdi 873
40 Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari 898
41 Shaheed Beheshti 942
42 Allama Mufti Jafar Hussain 949
43 Ayatullah Seyyid Abulqasim Musawi Al-Khoei (Ra) 969
44 Allama Sayed Safdar Hussain Najafi 985
45 Sayed Arif Hussain Al Hussaini 996
46 Ayatullah Seestani 1008
47 Ayatullah Syed Muhammad Hakeeem 1027
48 Grand Ayatullah Mohamed Taqi Behjat (R.A.) 1040
49 Grand Ayatollah Al-Hajj Sheikh Muhammad Kazim Al- 1098
Shirazi
50 Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtada Al-Taleqani 1107
51 Ayatullah Nasir Makram Shirazi 1116
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Shaikh Mohammed bin Yaqoob bin Ishaq
Kulaini. & Al Kafi

Birth: His exact year of birth has not been recorded.
However, it is mentioned that his birth had already taken
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place by start of the imamate of the 11 Imam, which
lasted from 254 A.H to 2560 A.H. Thus if he was 9-10
years old at this time, (an age when children begin to
understand matters), then he must have been born around
250 A.H. He was born in the village of Kulain, about 38
kms from the Iranian city of Raiy, which was an
important city at that time. His father was also a scholar.
Thus Mohammed bin Yaqoob al Kulayni was born around
250Ah, which was the period of imamate of the
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10 Imam, and then when he was a little older, it was the
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period of the imamate of the 11 Imam.
Kunniyat: His kunniyat (agnomen) was Abu Ja’far.

An interesting coincidence is that the name of all the three
compilers of the 4 basic books of ahadeeth( al-kafi, Man
la Yahdharuhul Faqih, Tehdheeb ul ehkam and Istibsaar
fi mukhtatafil akhbar) is Mohammed, and the kunniyat of
all of them was Abu Ja’far. Together they are called
‘mohammaduna thalatha’ or the three Mohammeds.
Another interesting fact is that even in later times, around
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11 -12 century, three more important books of ahadeeth
have been compiled, and the names of the compilers of all
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these three books are also Mohammed, and are called
Mohammedun Thalatha al Awaqib. . These are (1)
Mohammed Baqar bin Mohammed Taqi, famous by the
name of Allama Majlisi. His book is Biharul Anwar, in 14
volumes. It is a treasure house of the teachings of the
AhleBayt. (2) Mohammed bin Murtadha Muhsin Faidh
Kashani. And the book is Al Wafi, in 26 volumes (3)
Mohammed Hurr e Ameli, the book is Wasael us Shia and
covers Shia Jurisprudence. It was originally in 6 volumes,
but was later divided into 20 volumes. These scholars are
called Mohammedun thalatha al Akhir(the last three
Mohammeds).

Title: His laqab(title) was ‘Thiqatul Islam’, the one
trusted by Islam and Muslims. He was respected and
trusted by all muslims and all have given him this title
Family and early life: His family was very learned and his
father was a very well-known alim(scholar) and the
sheikh and leader of the other Ulema of the village

Teachers: History has recorded the names of 36 of his
teachers, prominent amongst these was Abu Ja’far Barqi
Ali bin Samri, and Ali bin Mohammed Samri who later
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became the 4 special naeb(representative) of the12th
Imam. Another of his teachers was Ali bin Ibraheem
Qummi, the famous author of tafseer e Qummi. Ali bin
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Ibraheem Qummi was a companion of the 11 Imam,
hence this tafseer has been written by a companion of the
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11 imam. This implies that it was written by the author
after hearing it from the Imam himself. Hence this tafseer
is highly regarded in the circles of learning.

Students: History has recorded the names of 15 of his
outstanding students. The kafi has reached us through
three of these. These are: Ahmad bin Ahmad Katib
Toofi,Mohammed bin Ibraheem and Abdullah
Safwani.The latter is a descendent of the companion of
the 7th Imam, safwani, to whom the Imam had
said,”Safwan, we like everything about you, except that
you hire out your camels to a cruel, tyrant king. It is
related that once when the kazi of Mosul was visiting the
king, he entered into a debate wit Abdulla safwan
regarding Imamte. When the debate reached a deadlock,
Safwani invited the kazi to an imprecation( mubahilah).
Thus they invoked the curse of Allah on the liar. The kazi
died the very next day.

Death: Kulaini died in Baghdad in 329 A.H. The year he
died is called ‘tanasirul nujoom’ or the year of the
breaking of the stars, because during this year it was
observed that a lot of stars appeared to break and fall.
Also, it was a year that saw the death of prominent Ulema
– Kulayni, followed by the death of the father of Sheikh
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Sadooq, Ali bin Babwayh Qummi. The 12 Imam’s
special naeb(representative), Ali bin mohammed, too,
died in this year. This year also marked the beginning of
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ghaibat e kubra( major occultation) of the Imam. Hence
this year is called the year of the breaking of the stars, as
it appeared as if the stars of the sky were breaking and
falling towards the earth, and stars of the sky of
knowledge, too, broke and fell.
His age, when he died is calculated to be about 80 years.
According to the Christian calendar it was the year 941
AD. His salatul mayyit (prayer over the dead body) was
recited by Mohammed bin Ja’far Husseini abu Qaraat. He
is buried in Baghdad ,in Bab e Koofa. This is the same
district where he used to live. It is located in
eastern Baghdad . He grave exists there even today.
Baghdad has always been a centre of the opponents of the
Shia faith. After a long time had passed after Kulaini’s
death, a king happened to pass by his grave. He saw a lot
of people coming to the grave. On enquiring he found out
that it was the grave of a Shia alim. He was enraged and
ordered the destruction of the grave. On his orders when
the grave was opened, his body was found to be very
fresh, with not the slightest hint of decay. A child was
also found buried in the same grave. Even the body of the
child had not decayed. The king was impressed and
ordered the closure of the grave.
However Sayyed Ne’matullah Jazaeri had related another
event. According to him, a great opponent of Shias
established his rule in Baghdad He wanted to stop the
people from visiting the graves of the Masoomeen(a), and
decided to destroy them. He decided to begin with the
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grave of The 7 Imam, it being closest to Baghdad.
Preparations got underway, when someone informed him
that the Shias believe that the bodies of their Imams do
not decay in the graves. The king replied,” let the grave
be opened. If what they say turns out to be true, I will
close the grave with great honor. If I find the body
decayed, I will consider my actions justified”. But
someone else told him,” you do not need to go far to
check their claim, because they claim the same thing for
their Ulema as well. One of their Ulema is buried in
Baghdad itself. Open that grave. If the body is still fresh,
it can be concluded that their faith is the correct one. Thus
Kulaini’s grave was opened, the body was found to be so
fresh that he appeared to be asleep. Even the color of
henna on his nails had not faded. The king was impressed.
He ordered the grave to be closed and a dome erected
over it
.
Some details about his life: His initial schooling took
place in the city of Raiy. Later, he came to be known as
Shaykh ul fuqaha (the leader of the jurisprudents) in Raiy.
Then he migrated to Baghdad and started teaching there.
Even in Baghdad he was called Shaykhul Fuqaha. When
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Kulaini came to Baghdad, the 3 nominated
representative of Imam was residing there, but he( the
representative) was doing dissimulation (taqayyah), so
much so that the ordinary Muslims considered him to be
their alim, and his orders and writings were much
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respected, even in the court of the king. Kulaini is known
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as the Mujaddid( the reviver of Islam) of the 3 century.

His Books: Ruqatul Aimma(a collection of letter penned
by the Aimma, Kitab al-rijal( a book about the
transmitters of ahadeeth), Kitab ta’beer ar-ru’ya( a book
on the interpretation of dreams. It is said that a better
book on this topic has not been written till today). Kitab al
madh’ al Aimma( a collection of poetry in praise of the
Aimma),Kitab ra’d al Qaramata(a book denouncing a sect
who had invaded the Kaaba, robbed the Hajar e Aswad,
and kept it in their land for 17 years). However, his
greatest contribution is the al-kafi.

Al-Kafi: This book is Kulaini greatest contribution. It is a
collection of 16,199 ahadeeth, comprising weak and
strong ahadeeth, but no forged ones. One of the principal
features of the work is that the traditions are presented
systematically in chapters according to their subject
matter
The Kafi is divided into 3 parts: 2 volumes of Usool e
Kafi, comprising ahadeeth on beliefs, 5 volumes of
Furoo’ e kafi containing ahadeeth on jurisprudence, and 1
volume of Rawdhatul Kafi. Rawdha means garden. It is a
type of shia encyclopaedia, containing ahadeeth not
covered in the other volumes. Thus it contains assorted
ahadeeth about, eg, the life and times of our Aimma and
their opponents.