لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Transliterated
Al-Tawhid
An Introduction
to Imamiyyah Scholars
Major Shi'i
Thinkers of the Fifth/Eleventh Century
Wahid Akhtar
Vol. IV, No. 4 (1407 AH) Shaykh
al-Ta'ifa al-Tusi's works in tafsir, hadith, kalam, and fiqh
mark the culmination of many a generation's efforts in developing
these sciences and their methodology. Besides al-Kulayni, al-Saduq,
al-Mufid, al-Murtada and al-Radi, a host of scholars specializing in
various branches of Islamic learning contributed to the flowering of
intellectual activity in the Shii Islamic world, laying down the
foundations of a school that could be distinguished from other schools of
Muslim thought. The above-mentioned scholars developed Imamiyyah kalam,
the Shii school of hadith, and a unique approach to the Qur'an
and tafsir, mainly based upon the teachings of the Imams of the Ahl
al-Bayt of the Prophet. In ilm al-kalam the Imamiyya approach is
basically rationalist but free from the extremist strains of the Mutazili
emphasis on reason and the anti-rationalist reaction of the Asharites. In
this field, the works of al-Mufid, al-Murtada and al-Tusi deserve special
attention, which has not been paid to them either by Muslim or Western
scholars in the context of the evolution of ilm al-kalam.
In hadith, which was held to be the foremost and fundamental
branch of Islamic learning, Shii Imamiyya compendiums were compiled with
a more critical insight into the questions of authenticity. Shia
muhaddithun employed meticulous methods to test and authenticate
hadith literature. They evolved tools of analysis and laid down
criteria to assess the veracity of ruwat and, as a consequence of
this concern, ilm al-rijal was developed. This science required
the study of ansab (genealogy), biographies, and history, which
produced among the Shia eminent historians, biographers, and
genealogists.
Historiography was taken up by the Imamiyya scholars as a need of the
time also, with a view to project the Shii interpretation of Islamic
history for a better understanding of the tenets of the Imami faith.
Without any doubt, most of the controversies and differences of faith
which arose in the Muslim world, emerged because of divergent views of
history. Apart from the first maqtal of Karbala' compiled by Abu
Mikhnaf, Ibn al-Wadih al-Yaqubi, Ibn Miskawayh and al-Masudi wrote the
earliest histories of Islam. Works in this field also contributed to the
development of a critical approach to understanding of theological and
philosophical issues in a historical perspective.
The study of the Qur'an and its interpretation in the light of the
teachings of the Imams of the Prophet's Family, found its full blossoming
in al-Tibyan of al-Shaykh al-Tusi, who made use of various Islamic
sciences and his expertise in Arabic language, literature, and grammar to
write the first comprehensive Shii tafsir. This tradition was
later extended to new horizons by Amin al-Din al-Tabarsi and Abu al-Futuh
al-Razi.
We have not discussed pure philosophers, although it is generally
acknowledged that most of the original philosophers in the Muslim world
during the early phase of the development of Muslim thought were of Shii
inclination, such as al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Miskawayh. In Sufism,
also, we find names of eminent theoreticians like Shihab al-Din
al-Suhrawardi (al-Maqtul) and Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadani. All these
thinkers were products of a particular Shii intellectual tradition. It is
important to note that this intellectual climate was not brought into
existence by a few eminent scholars alone. In the books of the Shii
rijal and bibliographies (faharis), the names of thousands
of ruwat of hadith, fuqaha', mutakallimun, mufassirun, and
scholars of mathematics and natural sciences are recorded meticulously
with dates and names.
The development of any school of jurisprudence depends on a particular
set of principles of fiqh and a definite method of deducing
subsidiary laws. Study of the Qur'an, tafsir, hadith, ilm al-kalam
and ilm al-rijal provided tools to develop such principles and
methods. This is the reason that early Imamiyya scholars devoted the best
of their intellectual energies to evolve Imamiyya fiqh and usul
al-fiqh. In these areas of study we find the most outstanding of the
names of Imamiyya scholars. No picture of Imamiyya scholarship is complete
without a general account of the developments in various fields of
theology and philosophy. Apart from the detailed study of the works of
leading scholars in different fields, it is essential to have a
comprehensive picture of the intellectual activity in the framework of the
Imamiyya faith, and such a general picture needs to take into account even
the contributions of, comparatively, not-very-original thinkers and
scholars. This part of the present series of articles is aimed at giving
an account of the Imamiyya scholars' works in the fifth/eleventh century.
Some of the scholars discussed in this article are outstanding in their
specialized areas of study, such as Abu al-Abbas al-Najashi, whose work
on the rijal of the Shia still remains the most authentic work in
the field.
The fourth and fifth/tenth and eleventh centuries are considered to
form the golden age of Muslim intellectual and cultural developments. In
Imamiyya thought, these two centuries, together with the sixth/twelfth
century, constitute the era of the flowering of the Shii mind. We have
selected only a few scholars as representatives of the general scholarly
tradition among the Imamiyya, but many of those who are lefi also deserve
the historian's attention. Paucity of literature about Imamiyya scholars
is the main obstacle in the way of a comprehensive study of many a
scholar. Almost all early works on the rijal of the Shia remain in
Arabic and even the most important of them have not yet been translated
into any other language. Despite their authenticity, these books, for
instance al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim and al-Tusi and the Rijal
of al-Najashi, give only very brief accounts of the scholars. If one
wishes to form a comprehensive picture of various scholars' works in
different fields, one has to refer to a large number of books in Arabic
and Persian. Most of the works of the Imamiyya scholars, like those of
other Muslim schools, were written in Arabic and were destroyed in the
course of wars, invasions of the Muslim world, and intersectarian riots.
The Imamiyya scholars were more unfortunate than others in this respect.
Approximately ninety per cent of the works listed in early biographies
have totally disappeared, and those that are extant are scattered all over
the Muslim world in obscure libraries and corners. This is a factor that
had been responsible for the paucity of material on Imamiyya
scholarship.
For political reasons and extra-academic motives, orientalists have
been mainly interested in the study of the majority sect of the Muslims.
The Shii school has been systematically neglected and, at the same time,
maligned by non-Shii scholars and the orientalists. It is still the main
target of the hostile Wahhabi petro-Dollar propaganda machinery. In an
unbiased and objective view of the issue of Islam, the differences between
the Sunnis and the Shia, apart from the issue of the Imamate, concern
subsidiary and secondary issues, mostly of historical and political
nature. The points of difference between the two in matters of fiqh
are no more pronounced than those among the officially accepted four
schools of Sunni fiqh. A comparative study of the five schools of
fiqh (the four Sunni and the Jafari) is essential for a better
understanding of Islam. This study requires as a prerequisite a general
survey of the work done by Imamiyya scholars in different areas of Islamic
learning. The present study is a beginning in this direction - an attempt
to fill up some obvious gaps. If one ignores polemical writings on
controversial issues, one would find a spirit of co-operation and mutual
appreciation among Sunni and Shii scholars of the early centuries in
developing various Islamic sciences. Imamiyya thought is a part of general
Islamic thought and needs to be studied in this perspective.
With this introduction I present brief accounts of a few selected
Imamiyya scholars of the fifth/eleventh century. A similar survey of the
scholars of the earlier centuries is also essential for a better and more
comprehensive understanding of Islam.
1. The al-Ghada'iris
Two of the earliest scholars of the fifth/eleventh century are the
al-Ghada'iris, father and son, Husayn b. Ubayd Allah al-Ghada'iri (d.
411/1020) and Ahmad b. al-Husayn. The former was a contemporary of
al-Shaykh al-Mufid and a teacher of al-Shaykh al-Tusi and al-Najashi,
while the latter was a class-fellow and intimate friend of al-Tusi and
al-Najashi).
Shaykh al-Ta'ifa, in al-Rijal, mentions his name in the chapter
dealing with those that did not directly narrate traditions from the
Imams. He writes:
Husayn b. Ubayd Allah al-Ghada'iri, known as Abu Abd Allah, has
narrated a number of ahadith and was an expert of ilm al-rijal.
He has many works to his credit, which have been mentioned in
al-Fihrist. [1]But
al-Tusi did not give any list of Abu Abd Allah's works in his
al-Fihrist. This omission on his part may be explained as a matter
of forgetfulness only. [2]
Al-Najashi, in his work on rijal, writes:
Husayn b. Ubayd Allah b. Ibrahim al-Ghada'iri Abu Abd Allah is my
teacher. May Allah bless his soul. Among his books are:
Kitab kashf al-tamwih wa-l-ghumma,
Kitab al-taslim ala Amir al-Mu'minin bi imrat al-mu'minin,
Kitab tadhkir al-aqil wa tanbih al-ghafil fi fadl al-ilm,
Kitab adad al-A'imma wa-ma shadhdha ala al-musannifin min
dhalik,
Kitab al-bayan an habwat al-Rahman,
Kitab al-nawadir fi l-fiqh,
Kitab manasik al-hajj,
Kitab mukhtasar manasik al-hajj,
Kitab yawm al-Ghadir,
Kitab al-radd ala al-Ghulat wa-l-Mufawwida,
Kitab sajdat al-shukr,
Kitab mawatin Amir al-Mu'minin,
Kitab fi fadl Baghdad, and
Kitab fi qawl Amir al-Mu'minin: Ala ukhbirukum bi khayr hadhihi
al-umma.
He permitted us to narrate these books and all his traditions. He
died, may Allah bless his soul, in the middle of Safar 411/1020. [3]Al-Allama
al-Hilli in al-Rijal, al-Tafrashi in Naqd al-Rijal, Shaykh
Abbas al-Qummi in Hadiyyat al-ahbab and al-Fawa'id
al-Ridawiyya, have added nothing to the accounts given by al-Tusi and
al-Najashi. [4]
Al-Dhahabi, in Mizan al-Itidal, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, in
Lisan al-Mizan, both make mention of him. Al-Dhahabi makes special
mention of his 'lack of insight', by which he actually means to refer to
his Shii faith.[5] Ibn Hajar
also referred to him as a leader of Shii ulama' but without any
derogatory remark, and adds that his decrees are more respected and are
obeyed more faithfully than those of kings.[6]
Ayatullah al-Khu'i is of the view that it is impossible for a scholar
of the stature of al-Tusi that he should refer to something in one of his
works regarding his other work in which he actually did not make mention
of the subject referred to. Therefore, he argues that most probably in
al-Fihrist of al-Shaykh al-Tusi a list of the works of al-Ghada'iri
was given but was omitted in its copies that are extant today.[7]
Abu Abd Allah received instruction under the greatest of ulama'
of his time, a list of whom is given in Qamus al-Rijal. The
most eminent among them were Ahmad b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. al-Walid
al-Qummi, Abu al-Qasim Jafar b. Muhammad Qulawayh, Harun b. Musa
al-Tallukbari, al-Shaykh al-Saduq Ibn Babawayh, Abu Abd Allah Ahmad
al-Saymari, and Muhammad b. Ali al-Ashari al-Qummi.[8] Among his
pupils we have already mentioned the names of al-Najashi and al-Tusu.
Besides them, we may add the name of his celebrated son Ahmad b. al-Husayn
al-Ghada'iri.
Al-Ghada'iri the junior, Ahmad, attended the classes of his father with
al-Najashi and al-Shaykh Tusi. Inayat Allah Quhpa'i, in Majma
al-Rijal, mentions him as a teacher of al-Najashi and al-Tusi.[9] But he
seems to have confused the father with the son. Similarly, many an author
of books on Rijal have mistakenly attributed Ahmad b. al-Husayn's
work on Rijal to his father. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, in al-Fihrist,
refers to two books of Ahmad b. al-Husayn, saying one is on usul
and the other is on Rijal.[10]
Al-Allama Shaykh Aqa Buzurg al-Tihrani, in Musaffa al-maqal fi
musannifi al-rijal, is of the view that these two books might have
been in addition to two of his known works on rijal, of which one
is about authentic ulama' and the other is about inauthentic or
weak narrators of hadith.[11] Sayyid
Ahmad b. Tawus (d. 673/1273) has reproduced an entire book of al-Ghada'ri,
that is his book al-Duafa', in his own work, Hall
al-ishkal. This copy of the book reached Mulla Abd Allah al-Shushtari
(d. 1021/1612), who in his turn reproduced the book in his work on
rijal, and this was the version of al-Ghada'iri's Rijal that
is available to us today.[12] It
seems strange that these two books were not mentioned by al-Tusi, but were
available to Ibn Tawus, and that two of his pupils, al-Allama al-Hilli
and Ibn Dawud also quoted from it. Aqa Buzurg al-Tihrani, in Musaffa
al-maqal fi musannifi al-rijal, says that Ibn Tawus himself had not
established its authenticity, but he merely described it as one attributed
to Ibn al-Ghada'iri, and his pupils accepted it on his authority.
Al-Allama al-Hilli and Ibn Dawud could also discover Ibn al-Ghada'iri's
book on mamduhun.[13] There
is no evidence that al-Najashi had these books, but he referred to another
work of Ibn al-Ghada'iri, al-Ta'rikh, in his account of Ahmad b.
Abi Abd Allah al-Barqi.[14] It is
just possible that by al-Ta'rikh he meant the same two books. In
al-Dharia, also, Aqa Buzurg has discussed the authenticity of
Kitab al-Duafa; and concluded that most probably this work was
compiled by an anti-Shia author in order to malign rijal of the
Imamiyya, and it was wrongly attributed to Ibn al-Ghada'iri.[15]
However, two points are clear: the son al-Ghada'iri is the author of the
often quoted book on rijal, and secondly that the book about
inauthentic Shii rijal is a spurious one, wrongly attributed to
him.
2. Abu al-Hasan al-Umari
Abu al-Hasan al-Umari was a descendant of Umar b. Ali b. Abi Talib.
Umar was the progeny of the marriage of Amir al-Mu'minin with Umm Habib
bint Rabia.[16]
Al-Umari is reported to have lived until 443/1051,[17] and is
acknowledged as an authority on genealogies of Arab tribes in general and
the descendants of the Prophet and Abu Talib in particular. His
forefathers were among Shii scholars of eminence. He was a contemporary
of al-Sharif al-Murtada and al-Sharif al-Radi, whom he knew very well. His
father Abu al-Ghana'im was also an expert in the genealogy of the Arabs.
Abu al-Hasan al-Umari's teacher, besides his father, was Abu al-Hasan
Muhammad b. Abi Jafar, known as al-Shaykh al-Sharaf (d. 435/1042), a
descendant of Husayn al-Asghar, son of al-Imam Zayn al-Abidin Ali b.
al-Husayn, who was also a teacher of al-Murtada and al-Radi.[18]
Ahmad b. Ali Dawudi al-Hasani, known as Ibn Anbah, (d. 828/1424),
author of Umdat al-talib fi ansab Al Abi Talib, which is
considered to be the most authentic book on the genealogical tree of the
descendants of the Prophet and Abu Talib, has liberally borrowed material
from al-Umari's works in the field. He acknowledges:
Abu al-Hasan Ali b. Abi al-Ghana'im Muhammad b. Ali b. Muhammad
represents the culmination of the science of genealogy. His views are
accepted as the last word in this field by later scholars. He met all the
great experts of this science and compiled in this field al-Mabsut,
al-Shafi, al-Mujdi and al-Mushajjar. Abu al-Hasan al-Umari
lived in Basra but shifted to Mosul after 423/1032, where he married and
had children. . . . We narrate the works of Abu al-Hasan al-Umari on the
authority of the Naqib Taj al-Din Muhammad b. Muayya al-Hasani, who
narrated them from his teacher, Sayyid Alam al-Din Murtada b. Sayyid
Jalal al-Din Abd al-Hamid b. al-Sayyid Shams al-Din Fikhar b. Mabad
al-Musawi, who narrated from his father, Sayyid Jalal al-Din Abd al-Hamid
b. Taqi al-Husayni, who narrated from Ibn Kulthum al-Abbasi, the
genealogist, who quoted from Jafar b. Hashim b. Abi al-Hasan al-Umari,
who narrated from his grandfather, Abu al-Hasan Ali b. Muhammad
al-Umari.[19]The
author of Umdat al-talib was a pupil and son-in-law of Taj al-Din
b. Muayya.
Sayyid Ali Khan al- Shirazi (d. 1120/1708), in al-Darajat al-rafia
fi tabaqat al-Shia, acknowledges the greatness of al-Umari in the
field of genealogy, and says that all later scholars and researchers in
this field are indebted to him.[20]
In Maalim al-ulama' and al-Fawa'id al-Ridawiyya,
al-Umari is said to have been known by the nickname 'Ibn al-Sufi'.[25]
3. Salar b. Abd al-Aziz
One of the most eminent scholars of the fifth/eleventh century is Abu
Yala Hamza b. Abd al-Aziz al-Daylami (d. 448/1056), known as Salar, or
Sallar, an eminent pupil of al-Shaykh al-Mufid and al-Sayyid al-Murtada,
who himself educated and trained a number of great Shii scholars. He is
sometimes confused with Abu Yala al-Jafari, son-in-law of al-Shaykh
al-Mufid. Abu Yala is a common kunya (patronymic) of all those
persons whose name is Hamza, such as Hamza b. al-Qasim (grandson of Abbas
b. Ali b. Abi Talib), Hamza b. Yala al-Ashari al-Qummi (a companion of
the eighth Imam of the Prophet's Family, al-Imam al-Rida), for Hamza b.
Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of the Prophet, was called by this
kunya.[22]
Shaykh Muntajab al-Din al-Razi (d. 600/1203), in his al-Fihrist,
mentions one of his works, al-Marasim al-Alawiyya fi l-ahkam
al-Nabawiyya.[23] Ibn
Shahr Ashub (d. 588/1192) refers to his other works, viz. al-Muqni fi
l-madhhab, al-Taqrib fi usul al-fiqh, al-Radd ala Abi al-Husayn
al-Basri's al-Shafi, and Kitab al-tadhkira fi haqiqat al-jawhar wa
al-arad.[24] Mir
Mustafa al-Tafrashi (d. 1021/1612), regarding the book in refutation of
Abu al-Husayn al-Basri's al-Shafi, writes in the footnotes of
Naqd al-Rijal:
Kitab al-radd is written in refutation of Abu al-Husayn
al-Basri's al-Shafi, a famous book. The reason for writing this
book was that al-Qadi Abd al-Jabbar al-Mutazili al-Hamadani wrote a book
in refutation of the Shia faith and named it al-Kafi. Afterward
al-Sayyid al-Murtada compiled a book, entitled al-Shafi, a
refutation of which was written by Abu al-Husayn al-Basri, which found its
rejoinder in Salar's book.[25]Al-Allama
al-Hilli (d. 726/1326) mentions Salar as an intellectual leader of the
Shia in the fields of fiqh and literature.[26] Hasan
b. Dawud, a contemporary of al-Allama al-Hilli, besides al-Marasim,
mentions another of Salar's works, al-Abwab wa l-fusul in
fiqh.
Shaykh Fakhr al-Din al-Turayhi (d. 1058/1648), in his famous dictionary
Majma al-bahrayn, writes that Salar was from Mazandaran and
attended lectures of al-Murtada. He quotes Ibn al-Jinni saying that he met
Salar and learned some lessons from him.[27] Ali
Dawani refutes both these assertions, saying that Daylam was situated near
the present Qazwin and Gilan, and has no relation with Mazandaran. He
argues that al-Turayhi, being an Arab, was not familiar with the
geographical position of Daylam. Al-Turayhi changed the places of Abu
al-Fath Uthman b. al-Jinni and Salar, describing the former as pupil and
the latter as teacher, while Salar was a pupil of Ibn al-Jinni (d.
392/1002). Ibn al-Jinni was also a teacher of al-Sayyid al-Murtada and
al-Radi, and he died 56 years before the death of Salar.[28]
Al-Allama Bahr al-Ulum, in al-Rijal, quotes Izz al-Din Hasan
b. Abi Talib b. Rabib al-Din Abu Muhammad al-Yusufi writing in Kashf
al-rumuz, that Salar was a leader of the Shia, and mentions that
Hasan b. Husayn b. Babawayh, Mufid al-Nishaburi al-Razi, and Shaykh Abd
al-Jabbar al-Muqri al-Razi, all of whom were eminent Imamiyya scholars,
were among Salar's well-known pupils.[29] Allama
Bahr al-Ulum adds that al-Sayyid al-Murtada, in the beginning of
Ajwibat al-masa'il al-Sallariyya, writes that very critical
questions, which reveal Salar's insight and expertise in fiqh, were
answered by him at the instance of his teacher, al-Shaykh al-Mufid. This
compliment paid by al-Murtada to Salar serves as a testimonial of his
scholarship.[30]
Salar, a contemporary of al-Tusi and a pupil of al-Mufid and
al-Murtada, lefi behind him scores of pupils that were eminent scholars of
their times and included both Shii and Sunni experts in fiqh, kalam,
hadith, nahw (Arabic grammar), and literature. Outstanding among them
are: Abu al-Salah al-Halabi, Abu Fath al-Karajiki, Shams al-Islam Hasaka
and his son Ubayd Allah b. al-Hasan (father and grandfather of Shaykh
Muntajab al-Din), Mufid al-Nishaburi, Mufid al-Razi, and Abu al-Makarim
Fakhir al-Nahwi.[31]
Shaykh Abbas al-Qummi, with reference to Rawdat, writes that
Salar was the first faqih to issue a decree that congregation
prayer on Friday was prohibited due to the Occultation of the Twelfth
Imam.[32] He also
writes on the authority of the same book that Salar died in 448/1056 or
463/1070, and was laid to rest in Khusrow Shah, one of the villages in the
province of Tabriz.[33] Ali
Dawani is hesitant to accept the place of Salar's burial in Khusrow Shah,
for this report is based on Tadhkirat al-ulama' by Mulla Hashri.
He argues that the same author claims that the grave of Qutb al-Din
al-Rawandi is at Khusrow Shah, while it is situated in the courtyard of
the shrine of the Masuma of Qum.[34] Ali
Dawani accepts the date of his death as given by al-Safadi, that is
448/1056.[35] He
further says that Salar lived till his end at Baghdad, and, therefore,
there was no reason to bury him in the suburbs of Tabriz.[36]
4. Abu al-Salah Al-Halabi
Halab has been a centre of Shia learning and activities since the
early days of Islam. It is said that one of the wives of al-Imam
al-Husayn, while being taken to Dimashq along with other prisoners of Ahl
al-Bayt after the tragedy of Karbala', miscarried a child, Mahassan b.
al-Husayn, at this place, who was buried there. Yaqut al-Hamawi (d.
626/1229), in Mujam al-buldan, wrote that Qala-ye Halab was the
Palace of Ibrahim (Maqam Ibrahim), where the severed head of Yahya b.
Zakariyya was put in a trunk. He also says that according to a tradition
someone saw in a dream that the grave of Imam Ali was also beside Bab
al-Jinan. He says further that inside Bab al-Iraq is situated the Mosque
of Ghawth (Masjid Ghawth), and there on a stone is an inscription
attributed to Amir al-Mu'minin Ali. Yaqut also refers to the grave of
Mahassan b. al-Husayn at Kuh-e Jawshan in the eastern part of the town. He
adds that the fuqaha' of Halab issue fatawa according to
Shii fiqh.[37]
Jalal al-Din al-Balkhi al-Rumi (d. 672/1273), in his Mathnawi,
ironically refers to the mourning ceremonies at Halab commemorating
the martyrdom of al-Imam al-Husayn, which is indicative of the devotion of
the residents of Halab for AhI al-Bayt.[38] Sayf
al-Dawla al-Hamdani and the rulers of his family, who professed Shii
faith, chose Halab as their capital and later the Fatimids ruled the city
and its adjoining areas. All these factors contributed to the development
of Halab as a centre of Shii scholarship. Halab came into prominence in
the world of Shii learning because of the family of Abu al-Makarim b.
Zuhra, but the first Shii scholar of Halab to win fame in the Muslim
world was Abu al-Salah Taqi al-Din b. Najm al-Din al-Halabi.[39]
Taqi al-Din b. Najm al-Din al-Halabi (d. 449/1057) was among the most
prominent pupils of al-Sayyid al-Murtada and al-Shaykh al-Tusi, and was
deputed at Halab as representative of his teacher. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, in
his al-Rijal, in the chapter dealing the 'ulama' that did
not narrate directly from the Imams, mentions Abu al-Salah's name, saying
that he is a reliable scholar and has to his credit many books. Al-Tusi
also certified that he had been a pupil of both himself and al-Sayyid
al-Murtada.[40] This
testimony by a teacher of the repute of al-Tusi for one of his pupils is a
rare thing, for al-Tusi never mentioned any of his pupils among the
eminent ulama' of the post-Occultation period. This honour, if not
unprecedented, is rarely won by a scholar in the annals of Shii
scholarship.
Ibn Shahr Ashub, in Maalim al-ulama', mentions the following
works of Abu al-Salah: Kitab al-bidaya in fiqh, and a
commentary on al-Dhakhira by al-Sayyid al-Murtada.[41]
Al-Allama al-HilIi (in Khulasat al-aqwal ), Ibn Dawud, and
al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-Amili (in Amal al-amil) paid tribute to his
scholarship.[42] The
latter mentions his name as Taqi al-Din, which seems to be his full name,
and probably al-Tusi, naming him Taqi, used only the first part of his
full name. Al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-Amili refers to another work of Abu
al-Salah, Taqrib al-maarif.
It is worth mentioning that though many scholars of Halab are known as
al-Halabi, whenever al-Halabi alone as a title is referred to in the
terminology of fuqaha' it is meant to refer to Abu al-Salah only;
and whenever al-Halabiyyan is used, it refers to Abu al-Salah and Sayyid
Abu al-Makarim b. Zuhra. The Shafii scholar, Nur al-Din al-Halabi (d.
1044/1634), the author of Insan al-uyun fi sirat al-Amin wa-l-Ma'mun,
popularly known as al-Sira al-Halabiyya, is also remembered as
al-Halabi.[43]
However, the first person who won universal acclaim as al-Halabi and who
placed Halab on the map of Islamic learning was Abu al-Salah.
5. Abu al-Fath al-Karajiki
