Al-Sharif al-Radi

Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn bin Mūsā al-Abrash al-Mūsawī (Arabic: ابو الحسن محمد بن الحسين بن موسى الأبرش الموسوي; 970 – 1015), also known as al-Sharīf al-Raḍī (Arabic: الشريف الرضي; Persian: شريف رضی) was a Shia scholar and poet.

Sayyid
Muhammad bin al-Husayn al-Musawi
الشريف الرضي محمد بن الحسين الموسوي
Tomb of Sayyid al-Radi in Baghdad
Titleal-Sharif al-Radi
Personal
Born970
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Died1015 (aged 44–45)
Kadhimiya, Baghdad
ReligionIslam
EraIslamic golden age
DenominationShia
JurisprudenceJa'fari
CreedTwelver
Main interest(s)Tafsir, Arabic literature
Notable work(s)Peak of Eloquence (collection of Imam Ali quotations)
Muslim leader
Influenced by

Al-Radi wrote several books on Islamic issues and interpretation of the Quran. His most well-known book is Nahj al-Balagha.[1][2]

His elder brother al-Sharif al-Murtada was also a theologian and poet. His work is still published in the universities of Cairo and Beirut, and is part of the course of Arabic literature.[3]

Family tree

Al-Radi was a descendant of Ibrahim al-Asghar, the son of the seventh Shia imam, Musa al-Kazim. There are also claims that he is the descendant of Ibrahim al-Mujab, the grandson of al-Kazim. His mother was the granddaughter of Hasan al-Utrush, a descendant of the fourth Shia imam, Ali Zayn al-Abidin. For this reason, he was also known as thil hasabayn (the possessor of two lineages), since he relates back to the Ahl al-Bayt paternally and maternally.

Biography

Al-Radi was born in 970 in the Abbasid capital, Baghdad, and died in 1015 in his hometown. His grave is located in Kadhimiya, Baghdad. Al-Radi was the third of four children, having two sisters and a brother. For a long time, his father, Husayn, occupied the post of naqib of the Talibids of Iraq. After his father's death, he took the post.

Al-Radi's family was affluent, as his mother Fatima inherited a good fortune from her father. She sponsored the family when the property of her husband was confiscated by the Buyid prince 'Adud al-Dawla.

Education and teaching

After al-Radi completed primary education, his mother took her two sons to al-Shaykh al-Mufid for their education. He started teaching at the young age of 17 when he was himself studying. In addition to al-Mufid, he also studied Arabic under Abu Sa'id al-Hasan ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Marzban al-Sirafi, an expert in Arabic language and literature. His teacher in fiqh was Muhammad ibn al-Abbas al-Khwarizmi.[4]

He also founded a school named Dar ul'Ilm (Arabic: دار العلم, literally House of knowledge) in which he trained many students.

Character and literary status

In al-Radi's lifetime, Abbasid rulers of Baghdad were at war with the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, and attempted to have all important Sunni and Shia figures sign a mahzur (public attestation decree) in favour of the legitimacy of war with the Egyptian rulers; al-Radi, his father, and brother were also coerced to sign it, but refused to sign.[5] He devoted twenty years of his life in compiling Nahj al-Balaghah, and traveled to many libraries to collect texts that had recorded the lectures, letters, and sayings that Ali had written or delivered on different occasions.[6][7]

Works

The Nahj al-Balagha (Peak of Eloquence) is considered a masterpiece of literature in Shia Islam. The book is a collection of sermons, precepts, prayers, epistles, and aphorisms of Ali and compiled by al-Radi in the tenth century.[8][9] As the reference material came to his attention at different times, the materials have no chronological sequence with respect to content or topic.[10] A number of his contemporaries wrote commentaries on al-Radi's compilation.

Extent and scope of compilation

Ali's sermons were compiled, read, and taught before al-Radi was born.[11] The services of al-Radi are now regarded as significant in the philosophy of monotheism.[12]

Collected sermons in the Nahj al-Balagha mainly cover Islam and the Quran; humans and humanity; theology and metaphysics; path and worship, including prayers; social justice and administration; wisdom and admonition; prophecies; philosophy and critique over contemporary society; Ahl al-Bayt; and piety and the afterlife.[13][14]

However, critics of the Nahj al-Balagha generally raise two objections: they claim that al-Murtada is the actual author, and most of the contents are falsely attributed to Ali.[15]

Offspring and death

Some historians believe al-Radi died at 47 years of age on the sixth of Muharram, 406 A.H (1015 AD), while others his death at 45 years of age in 404 Hijri (1013 AD). His funeral prayer was performed by the Abu Ghalib Fukhrul Mulk, then vizier in the kingdom of Sultan al-Dawla.

Abu Ahmad Adnan was the only son of al-Radi. His son was also a prominent scholar of his time and after death of his uncle the official post of Naqib al-Nuqqab was entrawarded to his grandfather. Adnan died without progeny in 449 Hijri Calendar, and consequently the physical line of al-Radi came to an end.[16][17][18]

See also

References
  1. Prof. S. M. Azizuddin Husain, Director Rampur Raza Library, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. "Shah Nama's Rare Manuscripts of Raza Library – A study" (PDF). Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Alulbayt (28 May 2015). "Nahjul-Balagha Manuscript". Alulbayt Foundation, London. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. Ali Islam Abu (Durham e-Theses) (24 October 2012). Al-Sharif Al-Radi (Doctoral). Durham University Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK. Retrieved 11 July 2015. PDF version
  4. Ali Islam Abu (24 October 2012). Al-Sharif Al-Radi (Doctoral). Durham University Stockton Road Durham DH1 3LE UK. Retrieved 11 July 2015. PDF version
  5. "Compiler Syed Mohammed Razi". Nahjul Balagha Org. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. Ali Islam Abu (Durham e-Theses) (24 October 2012). "Al-Sharif Al-Radi" (PDF). Durham University UK. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  7. Yusuf Morales (8 September 2014). "HIKMAT SHARQUIYAH: Looking at a Muslim's responsibility towards others". Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  8. Abbas Deygan Darweesh Al-duleimi, Ph D General Linguistics (June 2013). "Some Functions of Ellipsis in Religious Texts" (PDF). Conference Proceedings. EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE Publishing. II (1st Annual International Interdisciplinary Conference, AIIC 2013 24–26 April 2013, at University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada Azores Islands, Portugal): 128–129. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  9. Translated by Ali Sharif. "ON THE MILLENIUM OF AL-SHARIF AL-RADHI". Rafed.net (Trasha). Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  10. "NAHJUL-BALAGHA (Peak of Eloquence)". The official website of Professor Hossein Ansarian. 24 October 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. Ayatollah Dr. Sayyid Fadhel Milani (6 June 2002). "The Authenticity of Nahj al-Balagha (Victor News Magazine Articles)". School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK.
  12. Church \ Church in Dialogue (25 November 2014). "Card Tauran: Muslims, Christians must be credible believers". Vatican Radio. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  13. Dr. Ali Raza Tahir Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy, University of Punjab, Lahore-Pakistan (2 June 2012). "Special Reference to Nahjul Balagha" (PDF). Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business. Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research. 4.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. Feryal Abdollah Hodeb, Mohammad Al-Shraydah (2014). "Metaphysics in the Oratory Quotes of Nahj al-Balagha (A documentary Study in Arabic)". DIRASAT (HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ) by Deanship of Academic Research, University of Jordan. 41 (2014).
  15. Web Admin. "NAHJ AL-BALAGAH in Encyclopedia Topic". First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  16. Nahj al-Balagha. 1956 (in Urdu and Arabic) (Supplemented 2010 ed.). Lahore: Imamia Kutub Khan, Mughal Havaili, Lahore. pp. 56–58.
  17. Nahj al-Balagha (in Urdu and Arabic) (Second April 2000 ed.). Karachi: Tanzeem-ul-Makatib, Lucknow and Mahfooz Book Agency Karachi. pp. 5–6.
  18. Nahj al-Balagha/Peak of Eloquence (Seventeenth Impression 2012 ed.). Karachi: Islamic Seminary Publications, Accra Bombay Freetown Karachi London New York City. 1984. pp. 122–123. ISBN 0-941724-18-2.
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