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Sayyid Hibatuddin Shahrestani
سید هبة الدین شهرستانی
Born
Sayyid Muhammad Ali Hosseini Shahrestani

May 20, 1884 (Rajab 24, 1301 AH)
Samarra, Iraq
DiedFebruary 7, 1967 (Shawwal 26, 1386 AH)
Baghdad, Iraq
Burial placeAl-Kadhimiya Mosque, Kādhimayn, Baghdad, Iraq
33°22′48″N 44°20′17″E / 33.38000°N 44.33806°E / 33.38000; 44.33806
NationalityIraqis
Occupations
Parents
  • Sayyid Hossein Haeri Kazemi (father)
  • Maryam Shahrestani (mother)
RelativesHis lineage goes back to Zayd ibn Ali through thirty intermediaries

Sayyid Muhammad Ali Hosseini Shahrestani known as Hibatuddin Shahrestani, was an Iraqi Shiite cleric and an Islamic scholar and Mujtahid, Quran exegete.[1][2]

Birth and lineage

Hibatuddin Shahrestani was born in Samarra on the morning of 20 May 1884 (24th of Rajab 1301 AH). His father was Sayyid Hossein Haeri Kazemi, was a scholar and spent most of his time researching religious and spiritual issues. Sayyid Hossein Haeri Kazemi authored four books of "Al-Futuhat Al-Ghaybiyyah Fi Al-Khutum" (Arabic: الفتوحات الغیبیه فی الختوم), "Al-Ahraaz" (Arabic: الاحراز), "Al-Adiyyah" (Arabic: الادعیه) and "Damu'ah Al-Sham'ah Fi Adiyyah Laylat Al-Jum'ah" (Arabic: دموع الشمعه فی ادعیه لیله الجمعه). Hibatuddin Shahrestani 's mother was Maryam from Sayyidahs of Isfahan and the children of Mirza Muhammad Mahdi Shahrestani.[3] Hibatuddin Shahrestani 's lineage goes back to Zayd ibn Ali, the son of Ali ibn Husayn, through thirty intermediaries.[4][5][6]

Educations and careers

Shahrestani spent his childhood in Karbala. From the age of ten, he studied the basics and elementary Islamic courses. In addition to the common Arabic literary sciences (such as morphology, syntax, logic, meanings, expression, novelty), he learned the sciences of Arabic prosody, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, history, Biographical evaluation, Fiqh, Hadith studies and Hadith terminology and graduated in them during 9 years.[7] During this period, he also studied nations sects and creeds and philosophical and theological issues, and with the ability to write at this age, he wrote books in these sciences in prose. His father, Sayyid Hossein Haeri Kazemi, died in February 1902 (Dhu al-Qadah of 1319 AH) at the age of seventy. At the age of nineteen, shortly after the death of his father, he left Karbala for Najaf on 23 November 1902 (21 Sha'ban of 1320 AH).[8] In Najaf, he benefited from the school of masters such as Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani, Mohammed Kazem Yazdi and Fethullah Qa'ravi Isfahani.[7][4][5] In 1905 (1323 AH), he began to learn under Mohammad Bagher Estahbanati and benefited from his lessons. In the same period, he authored the book "Adaae al-Farz fi Sokoun al-Arz" (Arabic: اداء الفرض فی سکون الارض). Shortly afterwards, he became acquainted with new astronomical knowledge. He pursued this knowledge and decided to write the book "Naqz al-Farz fi Isbaat Harakah al-Arz" (Arabic: نقض الفرض فی اثبات حرکه الارض). After a while in 1906, he began to write the book "Al-Hey'ah va al-Islam" (Arabic: الهیئه و الاسلام) and introduced his new theories of astronomy according to Islamic sciences in it.[9] It was a philosophical-political treatise that dealt with the harmonization of Islamic law with some aspects of Western civilization and culture, namely scientific discoveries, especially the science of the astronomy and new philosophies. Of course, he relied mainly on Islamic law and heritage. It probably took until 1912 to write it.[10] Shahrestani continued his religious studies in the Najaf seminary and finally he became one of the Shiite mujtahids.[11]

In addition to conventional Islamic sciences, he also studied new sciences. Shahrestani was known from his youth as a bright, wise, diligent and aware of new and reformist ideas. From the very beginning, he established intellectual relations with famous Sunni scholars and thinkers, including Egyptian Mufti Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida editor-in-chief of Al-Manār magazine, and with the publishers and writers of Al-Muqtataf and Al-Hilal magazines. He established a strong link between the scientific base of the Shiite world and the cultural centers of Egypt and Syria, and as a result, his articles, poems and reports were published in the magazines of the Arab world.[10]

He put the teaching of philosophy and abandoned intellectual knowledge in Islamic seminaries on the agenda and in his various lectures and writings, he called on students and the people to learn new sciences.[10]

Socio-political activities

Shahrestani, went to Bahrain in August 1912 (Ramadan of 1330 AH) and researched Christian missionaries claims and organization, and then established two new Islamic schools called "Islah" and "Islam" for the education of children and adolescents. In addition, he gave speeches and formed various Islamic associations, and finally thwarted all the efforts of Christian missionaries.[10]

He left Bahrain for India because the Muslims of India were under great political-cultural pressure from Britain, the extremist Hindus, and the petrified scholars there. In that country, he gave lectures and published articles in various magazines and founded several Islamic associations and decided to travel to Japan, but with the beginning of World War I in July 1914 (Ramadan of 1332 AH), he gave up that work and went to Yemen and from there to Hejaz and then returned to Najaf. He wanted to unite all Islamic organizations and associations by establishing a central association in Najaf and establish an active link between them, but these efforts failed as World War I continued.[10]

In 1906 (1324 AH), during the Iranian constitutional movement, in addition to publishing articles and giving speeches in support of it, he participated in overt and covert meetings of constitutionalists.[10]

Shahrestani began publishing "Al-Ilm" magazine in 1910 (1328 AH)[14] in Najaf, which lasted for almost two years.[13] It is said that the corrective approach of this magazine was unprecedented in Najaf seminary until that time, and for this reason, there were written conflicts between him and Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi.[4][5][10]

Responsibilities

In 1921 (1339 AH), he was elected as Minister of Education of Iraq, but due to the measures he took to reform the education system,[16] was not favored by the government of the time, so he resigned from this position in 1922 (1340 AH).[17] The term of Shahrestani's ministry lasted about eleven months. However, he was engaged in research and writing. Some of the reforms he made during this time are:[18]

  1. Return the assigned positions from foreign officials and professors to domestic staff and teachers, and vacated the Ministry of Education from foreigners.
  2. Dismissal of British undersecretary in the Ministry of Education of Iraq.
  3. Sending some students to Syria and Europe to acquire knowledge.
  4. Establishing many schools across Iraq and mobile schools for nomads, high schools and vocational schools in the states, without any increasing of government funding.
  5. The formation of education councils in the Iraqi states, under the chairmanship of the governor of each state. And the formation of an association in Baghdad, which was the center of these councils. These councils had a significant impact on the development of science, ethics and morale of the Iraqi people.
  6. Planning and allocating state budgets for educational purposes with the funding from Iraqi capitalists.
  7. Establishment of new buildings for schools and the recapture of the British-occupied Baghdad School of Industry with its other endowments.
  8. Changing the principles of teaching to a good and correct style, with the consultation and agreement of the opinions of great scientists and the division of the educational areas into five regions, which the Ministry of Education of Iran adapted and implemented this scheme too after one year.
  9. Pay special attention to the religion of the students and to the congregational prayers, especially in the teachers' colleges.

In 1924 (1342 AH), by the order of the Iraqi government and the emphasis of the scholars of the time, he took over the presidency of the Supreme Court of Iraq,[20] which became known later as the "Tamyeeze Jafari" parliament. Efforts to organize legal courts and link them to the Supreme Court, selecting competent judges, verdicts definition, and setting the necessary rules of trial procedure are part of the actions of Shahrestani in this position.[20][21]

In 1933 (1352 AH), at the request of the people of Baghdad, Shahrestani was elected as one of the members of the National Assembly of Iraq until the dissolution of the Assembly.[22]

Reforms and measures for Muslims unity

Shahrestani went to India to propagate the Islam religion. He planned to go to Japan to propagate the Islam after meeting with India's scholars and forming a religious association, but his meeting with Jalaluddin Kashani changed his course. Jalaluddin Kashani who was the author of Habl al-Matin magazine, considered the trip to Japan ineffective. Hence, Shahrestani went to Yemen and from there traveled to Hejaz, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and then returned to Najaf.[23] He planned to form a religious association in each land and link it with the central association of Najaf. So that in critical situations, these centers can take action and protect the boundaries of belief and religion.[7]

Defending Iraq

In 1914 (1332 AH), during the First World War, Shahrestani along with clerics such as Fethullah Qa'ravi Isfahani, Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani and Seyyed Mostafa Kashani, raised the flag of Imam Ali Shrine and went to the front to defend the country. He also took an active part in the Iraqi Shiite struggle and played an effective and constructive role in the victory of the Iraqi revolt of 1920 and the independence of the country, for which he was imprisoned for a time in the city of Hillah.[24]

Shahrestani was one of the leaders of the struggle in the Iraqi revolution. From the early of 1905 (1323 AH) to the end of February 1916 (Rabiʽ al-Thani 1334 AH), he traveled across the country for coordination against the enemies of Iraq, during this time he traveled from the Euphrates shores to Basra and from the Tigris shores to Kut-al-Imara. And he always tried to attract the believing popular forces. In 1920 (1338 AH) he joined the Iraqi revolution and under the leadership of Ayatollah Mirza Taqi al-Shirazi fought against the enemies of the country and the western colonizers. In the midst of this battle, Mirza Taqi al-Shirazi passed away and Shahrestani was arrested and taken prisoner with another group and sentenced to death in a general court of war. Nine months had passed since his arrestment until in 1921 (1339 AH) when the British government issued a general amnesty order and he was released from prison.[13][25]

Activities chronology

Here are the chronology of his life and his most important activities:[26]

Hibatuddin Shahrestani, circa 1914.

Works

Shahrestani's writings and works amount to over one hundred volumes of books and treatises in various Islamic sciences and fields in Arabic and Persian languages.[27][12][28] Elsewhere, the number of his writings is mentioned as more than three hundred and fifty volumes. The names of some of which are given here.[13][29][30][31][32][33]

Quranic

Theology and philosophy

Jurisprudence and principles

History

Mathematics and astronomy

Literary sciences

Miscellaneous

Articles

Eye disease

Shahrestani was about forty years old (that is, in 1924 or 1342 AH) when he suffered from eye diseases and decreased vision. Surgery in 1926 (1345 AH) and hospitalization in Damascus did not result and he remained blind until the end of his life, 1967 (1386 AH). That is, he lives about half a century with the effects of low vision and blindness.[31][34]

Death

Shahrestani died on the night of Monday, 7 February 1967 (Shawwal 26, 1386 AH)[35] at the age of 85 and was buried in the shrine of Musa al-Kadhim, Al-Kadhimiya Mosque, Kādhimayn, Baghdad, Iraq.[36] Funeral ceremonies were held in Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad, Iran and other Islamic countries in respect of him.[37]

Commemoration conference

The conference in honor of Allamah Hibatuddin Shahrestani was held by the University of Kufa and The Islamic College of London on Wednesday and Thursday, March 31, 2010, and April 1, 2010, at the Faculty of Literature of the University of Kufa.[38][39] In this conference, dozens of articles were presented by the professors of this university and a number of guests. The book "Sayyid Hibatuddin al-Hosseini al-Shahrestani, his life and scientific and social vitality (1301-1386 AH)" (Arabic: السید هبةالدین الحسینی الشهرستانی، حیاته و نشاطه العلمی و الاجتماعی (۱۳۰۱ _ ۱۳۸۶ق))[40] was commissioned by the Shiite Bibliographic Institute[41] by the efforts of Sayyid Abdul Sattar al-Hassani al-Baghdadi.[42] This book is the most extensive book in the biography of Hibatuddin Shahrestani.[43][44]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "علامه سيد هبه الدين شهرستانی - پایگاه تخصصی نهج البلاغه" (in Persian). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۷-۹. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
  4. ^ a b c امین عاملی, سید محسن. اعیان الشیعه. Vol. ۱۰. بیروت (لبنان): دار التعارف للمطبوعات. p. ۲۶۱. ۱۴۰۶ق.
  5. ^ a b c مدرس تبریزی, میرزا محمد علی. ریحانه الادب فی تراجم المعرفین بالکنیه او اللقب. Vol. ۶. تهران: کتابفروشی خیام. p. ۳۵۰. ۱۳۶۹ ش، سوم.
  6. ^ شهرستانی, هبه الدین. اسلام و هیئت. قم: بوستان کتاب. p. ۵۱۷. مترجم؛ خسروشاهی، سید هادی، ۱۳۹۱ ش، دوم.
  7. ^ a b c شهرستانی, هبه الدین. اسلام و هیئت. p. ۵۵.
  8. ^ موسوی, سید محمدمهدی. هبة‌الدین شهرستانی (in Persian). p. ۷-۸.
  9. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۱۱-۱۶. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
  10. ^ a b c d e f g عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۱۶-۱۹. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
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  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "شرح حال آیت الله العظمی سید هبة الدین حسینی شهرستانی" (in Persian). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b موسوی, سید محمدمهدی. هبة‌الدین شهرستانی (in Persian). p. ۱۱.
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  17. ^ موسوی, سید محمدمهدی. هبة‌الدین شهرستانی. p. ۱۹-۲۰.
  18. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۵۶-۵۸. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
  19. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۵۸. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
  20. ^ a b شهرستانی, هبه الدین. اسلام و هیئت. p. ۵۸.
  21. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۲۵-۲۷. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
  22. ^ شهرستانی, هبه الدین. اسلام و هیئت. p. ۶۰-۶۱.
  23. ^ موسوی, سید محمدمهدی. هبة‌الدین شهرستانی (in Persian). p. ۲۲.
  24. ^ الوردی, علی. لمعات اجتماعیة من تاریخ العراق الحدیث. Vol. ۴. p. ۲۳۶-۲۴۲.
  25. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۱۹-۲۵. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
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  27. ^ شهرستانی, هبه الدین. اسلام و هیئت. قم: بوستان کتاب. p. ۵۲۶. مترجم؛ خسروشاهی، سید هادی، ۱۳۹۱ ش، دوم.
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  30. ^ "فهرست آثار سید هبةالدین شهرستانی - ویکی شیعه" (in Persian). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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  33. ^ عفتی, قدرت الله. آیت الله سید هبۀ الدین شهرستانی، سلسله جنبان خاندان (in Persian). ایران، قم: دفتر فرهنگ معلولین. p. ۷۶-۸۴. پاییز ۱۳۹۱
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  35. ^ حائری, علی. روزشمار شمسی (in Persian). قم: دفتر عقل، 1386: مرکز پژوهش های اسلامی صدا و سیما. p. ۷۸۹. ۱۳۸۶ش، نوبت چاپ: چاپ دوم((cite book)): CS1 maint: location (link)
  36. ^ آقابزرگ تهرانی, محمدمحسن. طبقات اعلام الشیعه "نقباء البشر فی القرن الرابع عشر". Vol. ۴. p. ۱۴۱۶-۱۴۱۷.
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  38. ^ "ياد و خاطره ای از دكتر سيد محمدعلی شهرستانی، مؤسس دانشگاه بين المللی علوم اسلامی" (in Persian). Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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