Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Ibn Sina : The Renowned PhilosopherAnd Physician Of The East

Among the greatest intellectuals of Islam is the name of Abu Ali Husain ibn Abdullah ibn Sina, the well-known philosopher. Abu Sina is called “Bu Ali Sina” and “the chief Shaykh”. This great personality was a national of Bukhara, which at that time was a part of the Iranian kingdom. His father had come from Balkh but they had settled down in Bukhara.

Not only this intellectual is the matter of pride for the Islamic world and the people of the East, he is counted among the greatest thinkers and intellectuals of the world.

Ibn Sina was an expert of all the sciences of his time like Rationalism, philosophy, medicine, logic, and mathematics and also wrote books on these subjects.

The writings of Ibn Sina even after a period of a thousand years are considered valuable not only in the Islamic world but non-Islamic centers of knowledge are also studying and doing research on these writings. Thousands of scholars and students have benefited from his books and continue to do so in every corner of the world. The fact is that Ibn Sina was one of the enlightened brains of the world. He was of those who have few equals and who possessed an outstanding position over the rest of the people.

Regarding his natural gift ofintellect it is written that during his infancy when a child has not even reached the age of understanding, lying in his cradle he used to study the stars in the heavens, and committed all this to his memory for the rest of his life. He possessed an extraordinary ability of memorization and many episodes are recorded to illustrate these qualities. Other incidents connected with him prove his insight, understanding and God-given knowledge and perfect manners.

His respected father was in the service of theSasanid government. When it was felt that Husain has reached the age of understanding he was put under a teacher to learn the holy Quran.

After that he went to the teachers of literature for further education. So sharp was the mind of the child that he committed to memory whatever the teacher taught to other students.

Within a brief period of one and a half years he completed the study of books likeGharibul Musannif ,Adabul Katib ,Tasrif Mazani , Al-Kitabul Sibuya ,Riyaziyat ,Hisab Hindi and Jabr-o-Muqabela etc. At thattime he was only ten years old. By the time he was twelve he had become proficient in jurisprudence and religious law and became capable to deliver religious edicts (Fatawa ).[139]

Umar Abu AbdullahNayli was the foremost scholar of that time. Once when he came to Bukhara, the father of Ibn Sina invited him to their residence and kept him as a guest for some days during which Ibn Sina studied under him the books of logic and philosophy. It is apparent that how much Ibn Sina must have gained from the knowledge of this scholar can only be known to the teacher. This much however is known that after the

study he posed such questions to his teachers and raised such points and doubts that even the teacher was unable to solve them.

After that, the teacher went towardsKhwarizm and during this time Ibn Sina was busy in the study of natural and divine sciences and other areas of research, especially medicine. He collected many books of philosophy and medicine and he made such a deep and vast study that he became the most accomplished and expert physician of his time.

During this period many researchers from far-off places began to come to him. They used to study under him and learn the knowledge he had obtained through his own experiments. By the time he was eighteen, Ibn Sina had mastered all the sciences of his age. In spite of this he used to be engrossed in studies and did not waste a single moment. Whenever he was confronted with a difficultproblem he used to perform ablution, go to theJame Masjid of Bukhara, pray two units of prayer and invocate Allah for the solution.

In that periodNuh ibn Mansur, theSamanid ruler, fell ill. He summoned Ibn Sina for his treatment. The treatment provided by this youthful physician cured the illness and the Sultan accorded him a permanent place in his court.

TheSamanid dynasty had a huge library having all the books on every subject prevalent in that period. Some of the books were priceless and very rare. Ibn Sina used them to further his knowledge and even committed to memory the most important treatises. When this library was burnt to ashes all the rare manuscripts perished but they were safe in the memory of Ibn Sina.

When he was twenty-one, he began writing and compilation. When he was twenty-two, his father passed away and the same year he was appointed as the Diwan (Prime Minister) of theSamanid Kingdom. When theSamanid kingdom began to decline and the royal treasury was almost empty, Ibn Sina bid adieu to Bukhara and moved toGurganj inKhwarizm , the seat of theMaimoniya kingdom. There he became close to the ruler ofKhwarizm , Ali Ibn Mamun Ibn Muhammad and his Vizier, Abul Hasan Ahmed ibn MuhammadSahli who was a great intellectual of his time. He stayed there for many years and wrote many books.

Later when MahmudGhaznavi planned that all the intellectuals ofKhwarizm should move to his court, Ibn Sina leftKhwarizm and went to Nishapur, Tus and

Samangan towardsGurgan , since he was of Shia faith and he feared that there would be discrimination at the court ofGhazna and he may be a target of the Sultan’s bigotry and enmity.

But the ruler ofGurgan , towards whom Ibn Sina headed, was killed in 403 A.H. and Ibn Sina went towardsDahsan . After some days he leftDahsan again and traveled toGurgan and there he completed most of his writings. In 405 A.H. he went toRayy . There he treatedMajdud Dawla the son ofFakhrud Dawla Daylami and wrote his book,Maad .

This young philosopher and physician leftRayy also and went toQazwin and from there to Hamadan. He lived there forsometime and wrote his famous booksShifa . He was approximately thirty-seven years of age whenShamsud Dawla the son ofFakhrud Dawla appointed him as Vizier. After

some days there was a mutiny and he was stripped of his post.However after some months he was reinstated in his position. However, the hectic life of a Vizier did not deter him from his studies. He continued to write books after books.

After the death ofShamsud Dawla he went to Isfahan and became a close confidant of the ruler,Alauddin Kakooya . In 468 A.H. he traveled with his mentor to Hamadan and died there at the age of 58, where he was buried.

Ibn Sina was an expert of two languages: Arabic and Persian, thus he wrote in both the languages. He was also a poet. His well-known writings are:Shifa ,Isharat , Danish NamaAlayee (Persian),Nijat , Commentary onShifa andQanun Tibb . These books are very famous in the East. In spite of his difficulties and homeless wanderings he wrote more than a hundred volumes on different subjects.[140]

Ibn Sina was a strong, active and an elegant young man. He possessed the delicacy of manners andwell articulated behavior. Despite his intense studies, research and writings he never felt tired and indolent. That is the reason that royal posts, company of rulers and extensive travels never became barriers in his writing work. For the most part of the nights he was buried in pages of books and journals but all this never affected his presence of mind. He was always witty and never did he fall short intellectually. Many strange episodes are recorded about his exceptional capabilities.

He became an expert physician at the age of eighteen and discovered the modern methods of diagnosis and cure.[141]

Muhammad Ibn Babawayh : An Enlightened AdolescentAnd A Teacher Of Aged Pupils

Muhammad ibn Babawayh, known as ShaykhSadooq in the world of knowledge, lived in the fourth century Hijri. He is considered the father of the science of traditions and is a well-known personality of Shias. His father was Ali Ibn Babawayh and he was the most prominent scholar of Qom and he wrote twenty books, which are well known in the literary circles. He had married the daughter of his uncle but even after the passage of so many years they did not have any issue. In 305 A.H. he traveled to Baghdad and met Husayn IbnRauh Nawbakhti , the special deputy of the twelfth Imam (a.s ) and through him sent a request letter to the Imam of the time. Husain ibnRauh conveyed his request to the Imam who replied as follows:

“You will not have any children with this wife. I have petitioned Allah in this regard and soon you will get two righteous and worthy sons from a lady ofDaylam .” ShaykhSadooq has mentioned this episode in the introduction to his book, Kamaluddin .Thus not many days passed when Ali Ibn Babawayh married aDailamite lady and two sons were born through her. One he named Muhammad andother Husain. The two became well known scholars of their time.

The elder was Muhammad who later became famous as ShaykhSadooq . He had extraordinary intelligence and an analytical mind and he was incomparable in his intellect, wisdom and perfections.

Muhammad was born in Qom. He first studied under his respected father, and then received instructions from Muhammad ibn Walid Qummi and other scholars of Qom. Not much time passed when he earned for himself a distinguished place in the literary circles.

While yet in his youth he occupied the position of a teacher and also initiated the work of writing and compilation. His honorable father expired in 329 A.H. and from that very year he acquired the position of “point of reference” (Marjaiyat ) and the people of areas around Qom used to refer to him regarding their problems and religious questions.

Traditionalists and jurists, senior in age used to attend his classes. Despite the fact that he had just stepped into his youth, many senior scholars used to attend his daily lectures on the science of traditions. This proves that he possessed extraordinary capabilities and an exceptional memory.

Scholars of traditions and intellectuals were perplexed at his memory and intellectual perfections. And when people expressed their astonishment tohim he said, “What is astonishing about it? I am born through the prayers of the Imam of the time.”

When his fame spread beyond the areaRuknud Dawla the ruler ofRayy invited him. He went toRayy upon the royal invitation where he was accorded the most honorable welcome by the vizier, Sahib ibnAbbad .Thus he spent most of his life inRayy . The spiritually inclined Shias of this province used to visit him and benefit from his knowledge.

Later Ibn Babawayh traveled to Khorasan, Nishapur, and Balkh and performed the Hajj pilgrimage and Ziarat of the holy Imams in Hijaz and Iraq. During his stay in Kufa and Baghdad, the Shias there gained from his

religious knowledge and continued to visit him one after the other. Then he returned to Iran and passed away inRayy in the year 381 A.H. Many of his students later became famous as great scholars of their times, like Shaykh Mufid and Husain ibnUbaidullah Ghazaeri etc.

ShaykhSadooq has written three hundred books on religious sciences, of which the most important are Man LaYahzarul Faqih, which is one of the four canonical books of Shias. Other famous books,Khisal ,Maniul Akhbar ,Ilalush Sharai ,Itiqadat ,Uyun Akhbar Reza andTawheed .

The tradition scholars and jurists of the Shia world look upon ShaykhSadooq with utmost respect due to his scholarly services and since the last thousand years till today they all agree about his greatness, reliability, truthfulness and insight. They consider him so well versed in the science of traditions that they say, ‘as if he understands even the modulation and accent ofAhle Bayt (a.s )’.

SayyidRazi : The Young ScholarOf Great Fame Who Had Just Entered Youth

Doubtlessly, SayyidRazi is the most famed Shia scholar and he possessed an enlightened disposition and was a high caliber intellectual. He is the luminous star that shone on the skies of Baghdad, which had always been the center of the world of knowledge in every age. This brilliant scholar was born in 359 A.H. in the city of Baghdad.

He belonged to a family, every member of which, whether male or female possessed a sound mind, was accomplished in every aspect and faithful to religious laws. All of them were appointed to rear and train this child. During his childhood itself he was endowed with all the good qualities and fine traits of character and intellect. His fame began to spread while he was just a young boy and people prophesied that oneday he would become a distinguished scholar.

When SayyidRazi joined theschool he astonished his teacher and classmates by his exceptional abilities.Therefore as he scaled the steps of progress his retractors and enemies also increased. But there also was no dearth of intellectuals who accorded him due respect and honor.

Thus among the strange anecdotes connected with his life is also the mention about the fact that his classmates and teachers used to be perplexed at his accomplishments. SayyidRazi and his brother SayyidMurtada became famous scholars in their adolescence when they obtained knowledge of religious jurisprudence and other sciences from their teacher Shaykh Mufid. SayyidRazi studiedSharh Usul-e-Khamsa and Al-Umdah under Qadi Abdul Jabbar the renownedMutazalite scholar of Sunni faith. In the same way he studied traditions under Muhammad ibn ImranMurzabani and Abu MusaTalakbar , both of whom were great Shia scholars.

According to the report of AbuHafs ibn UmarKattani , his teacher in jurisprudence was AbuWabi and in recitation it was Muhammad ibnAmwani Khwarezmi and it is said that he studied Tahani under MuhammadAsadi Ikfani and Syntax and Arabic grammar from Ali Ibn IsaRumani . He was trained in prosody under AbuIshaq Zajjaj , who was considered the father of prosody. He obtained knowledge of rhyming fromAkhfash , who is considered a master of Arabic grammar. He also studied some Arabic under IbnHaba and eloquence and literature under IbnNabaya . SayyidRazi had obtained expertise in all the above-mentioned sciences even before he reached the age of maturity, and he began to be considered an expert of Arabic language and literature.

This young lad, whose fame spread among the common people as well as the nobles regarding his intellectual capacities and his insight, began to compose verse while he was yet ten years old. When he wastwelve he composed a panegyric in the honor of his chaste and accomplished mother, which reflected the extent of his literary merits. A collection of the panegyrics he composed at that age is present and people with literary taste read it and are perplexed at his deep insight, control over the language and God-given intellectual capabilities.

He began to write and teach from the age of eighteen. By the time he was twenty he had mastered all the sciences of his age.

SayyidRazi was very much obsessed about acquiring knowledge. If he had any opportunity to learn something fromanybody he did not hesitate to disregard his self-esteem and went ahead to learn it. In this matter he did not discriminate between Shia or Sunni, Muslim or non-Muslim.

By the time he was twenty he had become a master of jurisprudence, traditions, exegesis of Quran and other religious sciences in Arabic. According toThalabi who was his contemporary: SayyidRazi was the inheritor of his ancestor Abu Talib as regards his literary arts. This was so because great luminaries of the literary world have appeared in the progeny of Abu Talib.

Though many great men of letters lived during theBuwayhid period there was none who could surpass the eloquence and literary merits of SayyidRazi either in prose or poetry.

Sahib ibnAbbad was a scholar and a litterateur of theBuwayhid dynasty. He served the royalty as a vizier. He had collected the couplets ofMutanabbi , a renowned poet of Arabia that he used to quote now and then. When he heard the verses of SayyidRazi , he sent a messenger to him with instructions that he should compile the verses of SayyidRazi for him. At that time SayyidRazi was twenty-six years old.

When he was twenty-three, he composed an ode about Abu TahirNasirud Dawla . Such were the beautiful words and expressions of this composition that the teacher of SayyidRazi , “Janna” wrote a commentary on the verses.Thus at such a young age he earned great accolades from his teacher. Such a relationship between a teacher and a student is rare.

SayyidRazi was a man of self-respect, honor, chastity, generosity and all the perfect qualities. There was none who could equal him during his time. He was very particular in performing religious duties. He did not like flattery and false praise.

He never accepted any recompense for the verses he composed in honor of the rulers. He refused many times the gifts sent byBahaud Dawla Dailami . Even when he composed verses in praise of his own father and the father tried to make a present to him inreturn he refused to accept it saying: Is gift a recompense of a couplet? But SayedRazi himself was very generous and charitable.

SayyidRazi had a friend named AbuIshaq . For years they communicated through letters. This person was aSabian and a man of letters of his time. He also had mystic tendencies. When he died SayyidRazi composed a dirge in his favor while theAhle Sunnat people made fun of him. Upon this SayyidRazi justified, “I have expressed sorrow at the passing away of a man of letters and the loss incurred to the literary world. I am not concerned about the way he looked or what type of body he had.”

Before SayyidRazi , his father was the Amir of Hajj for the Shia pilgrims and also an ambassador between different Islamic kingdoms. He was responsible for working out treaties and agreements between various principalities. After his demise the exalted post came to SayyidRazi when

he was just twenty-one years old. This proves the extraordinary merits and excellence of this young scholar.

The duty of the Amir of Hajj was to make arrangements for the Hajj pilgrims and provide them with all the facilities on the way to and from Mecca and Medina. The curatorship of the two holy sanctuaries were also included in this.

Though previously this duty was discharged by his father and brother jointly, now the responsibility was solely his at the age of twenty-one.

SayyidRazi was only 47 years old when he passed away from this world in 406 A.H. leaving behind a legacy for those in quest of knowledge. The voice of his writings still echoes in the world of knowledge.

The news of the untimely and sudden demise of SayyidRazi spread in the city like forest fire. People rushed barefoot to his residence. All the scholars, intellectuals and jurists whether Shia or Sunni rushed to participate in his funeral. His elder brother, SayyidMurtada was so shocked that he saw the bier once and went to the shrine of the seventh Imam and sat there in grief. He did not even have the strength to accompany the funeral procession.

The Shia vizier,Fakhrul Mulk performed the funeral prayer and buried the late scholar. Then he came to the shrine of the seventh Imam and took SayyidMurtada back to his residence from there. We should remember that SayyidRazi is the compiler ofNahjul Balagha , which is a book second in importance only to the Holy Quran. Shias and Sunnis both accept that it is a priceless gift for the world of Islam.

Nahjul Balagha is such a book that since the time it was compiled till today, that is, even after a thousand years, it remains an object of attention for the litterateurs, scholars and intellectuals of the world. Not only this, it also shows the high merits of the compiler and his enlightened thinking.

SayyidRazi collected the sermons, letters, advices and sayings of his ancestorAmirul Momineen (a.s ) and arranged them in a beautiful way. The book contains the secrets of a successful life and a prosperous hereafter. Treasures of wisdom are found in this book of the sayings and writings of the Master of the Faithful. The arrangement is very convenient and presentable. SayyidRazi labored a great deal sifting through the multitudes of books and manuscripts to make the collection. In addition to this he wrote an eloquent and meaningful introduction where he mentioned subtle points and delicate matters of the expressions of Ali (a.s ).

SayyidRazi has performed such a magnificent service by compiling this book that it would continue to provide enlightenment to all those who are in search of knowledge and research.

This is so because the personality of Ali (a.s ) is only next to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s .) that provides directions for salvation to mankind.Thus such a comprehensive, authoritative and a perfect book is a great service to mankind in general and the Shias in particular.

Thus the influences of SayyidRazi would endure as long asNahjul Balagha survives.[142]

Shaykh Tusi : SuchAn Intelligent Youth Whose Fame Regarding His Foresight Would Endure Forever

Muhammad ibn Tusi, famous as Shaykh Tusi is the mostwell known jurist and Mujtahid of the Shias who lived during the first half of the 5th century A.H. He was originally an inhabitant of Tus and was born there in 385 A.H. He received primary education in his homeland of Iran and after that he moved to Baghdad for higher studies.

During those times Baghdad was the seat ofAbbaside caliphate and a great center of learning in that period. Without any exception theAbbaside rule stretched from Spain and south Arabia to China and from the Mediterranean coast to North Africa. Baghdad was a seat of learning and scholars and intellectuals from all parts of the world flocked there.

The greatest personality of this period was Shaykh Mufid who resided in the Shia neighborhood ofKarkh in an opulent atmosphere. He commanded great respect and influence. Shaykh Mufid was a great intellectual personality having knowledge in every field and subject and he was a poet and a literary critic also.

In this period ofhistory theBuwayhid rulersMuizud Dawla Daylami andAzdud Dawla were of Shia faith and they were very powerful and influential; therefore theAbbaside caliphs were in awe of them. They did not dare to take any action against them or engage with them in a martial conflict.

The great scholars and intellectuals of Islam continued to gather in Baghdad and remained engaged in their pursuits of teaching and learning, writing and compilations etc. with absolute freedom. A youth aged twenty-three, whose name was Muhammad ibn Tusi also arrived in Baghdad for higher studies. Since he belonged to the Shiafaith he lodged in theKarkh area and enrolled into the classes of Shaykh Mufid.

The powerful thinking of this intelligent youth, his unlimited capabilities and fervor were worth paying attention to.Therefore when he found himself an alien in this city he immersed himself, day and night in the acquisition of knowledge, deep study and research.

Muhammad ibn Tusi remained under the care of Shaykh Mufid for five years and all this time he did not ignore his studies even for a moment. He also attended the lectures of other scholars, like Ibn Abi Junaid Baghdadi, IbnSult Ahwazi , AbdullahGhazaeri and Ibn Abduh, from whom he learnt Islamic jurisprudence, science of narrators and traditions. However, the best training he received was from Shaykh Mufid, whose fame had spread all over the country.

At the age of twenty-five Shaykh Tusi wrote a commentary of ShaykhMufid’s Al-Muqna , a book of religious jurisprudence and Shaykh Mufid expired in 413 A.H. During the lifetime of Shaykh Mufid itself, Shaykh Tusi had completed his book,Taharat and also concluded the commentary on The Book of Prayer. After the demise of his teacher this brilliant youth completed other commentaries and named the collection,Tahzibul Ahkam . At the age of twenty-five, he brought out the volumes of his book,Tahzib in

which he had based his arguments on traditions and also explained the method through which he has arrived at a particular conclusion.

Tahzib is a collection of 13590 traditions. In the beginning of this book he writes about the conflicting traditions in Shia collections and goes on to state thatAhle Sunnat people had raised the objection that though Shias initially criticized them for conflicting reports in their books, the Shias themselves are having such traditions.

Replying to the objection Shaykh Tusi says, “Such doubts are entertained only by those who are deficient in knowledge and who are not capable to view the meanings of the words of traditions from different angles.Thus they are unable to understand the type of differences…”

“However, it is necessary to collect all such traditions and write them with explanations as such a venture would be a great service to religion and earn the pleasure of Almighty.

A gentleman suggested to me that an exegesis of ShaykhMufid’s Al-Muqna must be composed so that the opponents come to know that the apparently conflicting traditions in Shia texts are not actually conflicting. Rather it is requirement of a manifest religion and they are within the ambit of variable meanings.”

A noteworthy point here is that this book is one of the four canonical books of Shias. Jurists and scholars have been using this book since the last one thousand years. We must remember that Tusi wrote this book in his youth. Later this man became famed as Shaykh Tusi and due to his exceptional expertise also was referred to as Shaykh-ut -Taifa. The fact is that all the jurists and intellectuals have considered him their teacher and leader.Thus though we have a long list of scholars and intellectuals but none was ever given the appellation of Shaykh-ut -Taifa.

It is astonishing that from the aspect of his age he is described as a young man while on the basis of his accomplishments he is given the title usually reserved forthose senior in age. The fact is that he was unique in having expertise in all fields since his youth. He wrote books on various branches of jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, exegesis, traditions, science of narrators; scholastic theology, history and Arabic literature. Among the four canonical books of Shias two are written by Shaykh Tusi:Tahzib andIstibsar . The other two books are Al-Kafi of Muhammad ibnYaqub Kulayni andMan LaYahzarul Faqih of ShaykhSadooq .

After the passing away of his teacher, for twenty years, Shaykh Tusi studied under SayyidMurtada Alamul Huda. After him, he took over the responsibility of imparting knowledge to the Shia world and administration of their religious affairs. In 468 A.H. communal riots erupted in Baghdad. Shaykh Tusi left Baghdad and settled in Najaf al-Ashraf.

During that time Najaf was not even worth calling a hamlet. However, gradually it became a center of Shia learning and people flocked from all over the world to obtain religious instruction. Shaykh Tusi also is considered the founder of the first religious college in Najaf al-Ashraf.

Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin : The SonOf Allamah Hilli

Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin , Muhammad, the worthy son ofAllamah Hilli is among the enlightened minds of the Shias. Like his fatherAllamah Hilli this young man was such a great juristic scholar that he became famous in the world of knowledge.Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin was born in the Islamic month ofJamadius Thani in 682 A.H. in his native town ofHilla , which was a center of education and was situated in southern Iraq. His father, his grandfather,Sadidul Deen and the mentor of his father, MuhaqqiqHilli were all jurists of the Shia faith and each of them holds a special place in the field of Islamic knowledge.

Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin obtained his primary education and knowledge of the prevalent sciences of that time like, theology, logic and traditions etc. from his father. It is noteworthy that he had already completed his studies in the above sciences before he reached the age of maturity.

The famous personality, Martyr QadiNurullah Shustari writes in his book,Majlisul Momineen :Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin was the revivalist of the textual and rational sciences. He was a researcher of great insight and had a broad vision.

Thus aShafei intellectual narrates that when he came to the court of Sultan MuhammadKhuda Banda inQazwin with his father he showed himself to be an accomplished and meritorious personality.

HafizAbroo writes in Majma-ut -Tawarikh that in 709 A.H. when Sultan MuhammadKhuda Banda acceptedShiaism at the behest ofAllamah Hilli ,Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin accompanied his father to Iran. At that time his age was twenty-five years and in thosedays he was considered a first class scholar.

QadiNurullah says that due to the teachings and training of his respected father the brilliance of Ijtihad (Islamic jurisprudence) shone from his forehead. He himself writes in his commentary onQawaid that he suggested to his father to write a comprehensive book on Shia Islamic Jurisprudence. He says that at that time he had already studied numerous books of Shia scholars. QadiNurullah says that at the time his age must not be more than ten years because the difference between his year of birth and the writing ofQawaid is less than that.Therefore when his father wrote it he had already become a Mujtahid. However, it is not surprising because there are instances of people mastering the religious sciences even at the age of as young as four years. An example is of ShaykhTaqiuddin Hasan ibn Dawood, a friend and classmate of SayyidGhayasuddin (Abdul Karim) IbnTawus , who had become needless of a teacher at the age of four.

It is narrated from Ibrahim ibn SaeedJauhari that he saw a four-year child being brought in arms to the court of caliph Mamun theAbbaside . The child recited the Holy Quran and spoke about religious topics, and as his age demanded when he felthungry he began to cry like ordinary children. Ibn Sina has also testified to this episode.

The famous jurist and intellectual Muhammad ibn HasanIsfahani , known by the title ofFazil -e-Hindi writes in the beginning ofKashful Itham , which

is a commentary onAllamah Hilli’s Qawaid quoting the words ofFakhrul Muhaqqiqin that, “It is possible that many people may be surprised how a ten-year-old lad could reach the level ofjurisprudence. But I know that he was born in 682 A.H. and his father wrote in 692 or 693 A.H. thatFakhrul Muhaqqiqin has at the age of ten already crossed the last step of Ijtihad. Then he writes that it is the grace of Allah. He bestows it to whomsoever He wishes; nothing is beyond His power.

However, the most noteworthy point is thatAllamah Hilli addressesFakhrul Muhaqqiqin and says, “O my son! I have written in detail for you in this book all the Islamic laws and religious verdicts.”

Thus in other words the text of this book is also very eloquent and very unambiguous.

As we have mentioned above,Fakhrul Muhaqqiqin accomplished the lofty levels of an intellectual and scholarly qualities while in his youth. The father and son were unique in their level of intellectual merits. When they reachedHilla from Iran they again focused their attention on the completion of their writings and immersed themselves in teaching and training students who went out to become famous scholars whose fame still endures in the world of knowledge. The most famous student was ShahidAwwal , the first martyr, who is a great Shia luminary.

Important writings ofFakhrul Muhaqqiqin includeSharh Mubadi Al-Usul,Sharh Tahzibul Usul,Sharh Nahjul Mustarshideen andAl-Fawaid dar Sharh Mushkilate Qawaid . Most of these were commentaries on the books of his father and they show the depth of his insight.

ThoughFakhrul Muhaqqiqin occupied an outstanding position in the field of religious knowledge, he also possessed incomparable expertise in literature and ethics. One never finds such a father and son pair who in spite of each of them being so much accomplished accorded so much respect and honor for each other.

Forexample Allamah Hilli writes in the introduction of his book,Alfayn that consists of two thousand proofs in support of the Imamate of Ali (a.s ), “I have dictated the text of this book at the behest of my dear son, Muhammad. May Allah improve his affairs of the world and the Hereafter. He is also never deficient in according honor and respect to his parents. May Allah give him the joys of the two worlds as he spends all his mental and emotional capacities in my obedience. I am satisfied with his words and actions.”

Allamah Hilli completed the last volume of this book in the year he traveled to Iran with his son who was twenty-five years old at that time.