Sheikh ul-Islam
Ahmad Huseynzadeh
Portrait by Ali bey Huseynzade, 1900
TitleThird Sheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus
Personal
Born1812
Salyan, Shirvan Khanate
DiedDecember 17, 1887(1887-12-17) (aged 74–75)
Tbilisi, Russian Empire
ReligionIslam
SchoolShia
Muslim leader
Based inTbilisi, Russian Empire
Period in office15 October 1852-1884
PredecessorFazil Iravani
SuccessorMirza Hasan Tahirzadeh
PostSheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus

Ahmad Huseinzadeh (Azerbaijani: Əhməd Hüseynzadə) also known as Sheikh Ahmad Salyani[1][2] — third Sheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus, maternal grandfather of Ali bey Huseynzade.

Early life

He was born in Salyan in 1812 to Ali Huseynzadeh.[3] He was brought up initially from 1822 to 1832 in his hometown by his uncle Akhund Molla Muhammad Hussein.[4] Then he became a student of the Baku mujtahid Akhund Molla Ramazan, and studied with him for another six years, until 1838 when he completed the full course of Arabic sciences.[4]

Career

After graduation he returned to Salyan in 1839 and started teaching various subjects to local children for 6 years. He was later gained higher religious education in Najaf and Tbilisi. He was appointed as Sheikh ul-Islam by Alexander II of Russia after Fazil Iravani's resignation with a monthly pension of 1600 rubles on 15 October 1852. He was appointed as head of Spiritual Council of Transcaucasian Shia Muslims, 5 April 1875. His deputy was Akhund Mustafa Talibzadeh, father of Abdulla Shaig. He was described as a rather liberal thinking cleric by Fatali Akhundzadeh[5] and contributed to Akinchi, first Azerbaijani language newspaper.[3] In his letter to Akhundzadeh in 1862, Yousuf Khan Mostashar al-Dowleh said of Huseinzadeh "I don't even consider him a mullah, but rather a spiritual cleric." Like Akhundzadeh, he was a promoter of Latin alphabet for Azerbaijani, defended the idea that it is not incompatible with Sharia and Islam.[6][3]

He resigned in 1884 and lived in Tbilisi where he died 3 years later.

Family

He was married to the daughter of his uncle Mahammad Ali Huseynzadeh,[4] Husniyya Khanum and had two daughters with her:

  1. Fatima Huseinzadeh (b. April 1, 1844, d. 1890) — married to Hajji Muhammad agha, son of Hajji Mirza Hasan in Shamakhi[4]
  2. Khadija Huseinzadeh — married to Molla Hussein Huseinzadeh, son of Kazim bey Huseinzadeh of Quruzma[3]
    1. Ali bey Huseynzade
    2. Ismail Huseynzade (1868-1941) — married to his cousin Mina (b. 1878), daughter of Fatima Huseinzadeh, had issues

Works

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Photos: Two Quran manuscripts at Salyan Library of Azerbaijan". International Shia News Agency. 2020-06-05. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  2. ^ "Forgotten paintings by Ali bey Huseynzadeh". Nargis magazine | Журнал Nargis. 2018-08-08. Archived from the original on 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e Turan, Azar (2008). Ali bey Huseynzade (in Azerbaijani). Moscow: Salam Press. pp. 4–8. ISBN 978-5-7164-0582-0. OCLC 551019487.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Формулярный список о службе председателя Шиитского духовного правления, Закавказского шейх-уль-ислама Ахунда Ахмеда Гусейн-заде · Russian Perspectives on Islam". islamperspectives.org. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  5. ^ Akhundov, Mirza Fatali (1962). Works (in Azerbaijani). Vol. 3. Baku: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. pp. 265–266.
  6. ^ Ahmad, Huseinzade (6 November 1881). "Ziya". No. 3.
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