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Al-Sharif al-Radi

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Abul-Hasan Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn Al-Musawi
Tomb of Syed Razi in Baghdad, Iraq
Titleal-Sharif al-Radi
Personal
Born970 CE
Baghdad
Died1015 CE
Baghdad
ReligionIslam
EraIslamic golden age
DenominationShia
Main interest(s)Tafsir, Arabic literature
Notable work(s)Peak of Eloquence (collection of Imam Ali quotations)
Muslim leader
Influenced by

Abul-Hasan Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn Al-Musawi known in Arabic as al-Sharif al-Radi (Arabic: الشريف الرضي) and in Persian as Sharif Razi (Persian: شريف رضی) or Seyyed Razi (Persian: سید رضی) was a Shi'ite Muslim scholar and poet, who was born in 359 AH/970 CE in Baghdad and died in the year 406/1015 in his hometown. His grave is located in Kazmain, Iraq. He is popularly known by his laqab (nickname) Razi. He wrote several books on Islamic issues and interpretation of the Quran. His best-known book is Nahj al-Balaghah, whose manuscript copy dating from 1158 AD is preserved in the Raza Library established by Nawab Faizullah Khan of Rampur, India in 1774 AD.[1][2]

Family and lineage

Razi was the third of four children, having two sisters and a brother. Khadija and Zaynab were his two sisters. His younger sister died in his lifetime, and he lamented her death in a mournful elegy expressing deep sorrow. His father, Abu Ahmed Husayn bin Musa, held fifth position in line of descendant from the 7th Imam Musa al-Kazim as follows:

(i) Husayn bin Musa (ii) bin Muhammad (iii) bin Musa (iv) bin Ibrahim Mujab (v) bin Imam Musa al-Kazim

Sayyid Razi's mother Fatimah also traced her lineage to the Prophet and was the daughter of Husayn bin Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Utrush bin Ali bin Hasan bin Umar al-Ashraf the son of the 4th Shia Imam, Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. His father, Abu Ahmad, for a long time occupied the post of Naqib of the Talibiyyin, a position that empowered him to look after the affairs of the Prophet's descendants ( Sadat). His father was first appointed as Naqueeb and later as "Naqib al-Nuqaba" an official responsibility as a chief which required the managing of affairs of Sadat. After death of father, the portfolio "Naqib al-Nuqaba" of Iraq, was transferred to Sharif Razi who had already been assisting his father in his official duties.

His family was well-to-do on both the paternal and maternal side. 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. She used to help people who suffered hardships and patronized her relatives. Her interest in theology was respected by theologian Shaikh Mufid.

His elder brother Sayyid Murtadhā, popularly known by his nickname Alum-ul-Hudda was also a theologian and poet. His work is still published in the universities of Cairo and Beirut and form part of the course of Arabic literature.[3]

Education and teaching

Upon completion of his primary education, his mother took her two sons to Shaykh al-Mufid for their education. He started teaching at the young age of 17 when he was himself studying. He completed his education at the age of twenty with different teachers. Most of his teachers were scholars and writers of Arabic. Due to the climate of tolerance prevailing in that era, Shia and Sunni students used to attend classes of teachers belonging to different sects, that is why many of the teachers of Sharif Razi were Sunni and Mu'tazili e.g. (i) Abu 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Farsi (307-77/919-87) belonged Mutazili school (ii) Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Tabari (d. 393/1002-3), follower of Maliki school). In addition to his Master al-Mufid, he also studied Arabic language and grammar under Abu Sa'id al-Hasan ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Marzban al-Sirafi (284-368/897-979), an expert in Arabic language and literature. His teacher in fiqh, was Muhammad ibn al-Abbas al-Khwarizmi (d. 383/993).[4]

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

Character and literary status

Syed Razi was a significant figure in his time. He occupied responsible positions both secular as well as religious. Since his childhood he was a student of learning, acquiring Islamic Sciences of his time and applied his life span as a man of principle and collector of wisdom from literature. In his lifetime Abbasid rulers of Baghdad were at war with Fatimid Caliphs of Egypt and attempted to have all Sunni and Shia important figures to sign a Mahzur (public attestation decree) in favour of the legitimacy of war with the Egyptian rulers. Sharif Razi, his father and brother were also asked forcefully to sign it. But Sayyid Razi refused to sign this Mahzur at the cost of losing political privilege and official status of his family, even many a times he refused to accept financial support from the ruling kings in order to save himself from undue government influence.[5] He devoted twenty years of his life in compiling Nahj al-Balaghah, and travelled to many libraries to collect texts that had recorded the lectures, letters, and sayings that Ali had written or delivered on different occasions. However, Nahj al-Balaghah does not contain all of Ali’s speeches, it is the most complete of any book to date. His life reflects the quote he has compiled in his compilation (Nahj al-Balagha) that Muslims are our brothers in faith; those who are non-Muslims are our brethren in creation.[6][7]

He was a scholar, a poet and a man of cultivated taste. Al-Tha’alibi, his contemporary regarded Syed Razi as the most remarkable man among scholars of his time and the noblest amongst the Sayyids of Iraq. He was the most remarkable poet among the descendants of Ali Ibn Abi Talib, though there were many distinguished poets during Golden age of Abbasid and Fatimid caliphs.[8]

Works

Sayyid Razi was an Arabic poet and writer. Besides Peak of Eloquence and his poetry, nearly 40 books are credited to him, including Talkhis al-Bayan an Majazat al-Quran, Al-Majazatul nabaweyyah, Haqa'iq al-Ta'wil fi Mutashabih al-Tanzil, Ma'ani al-Quran and Khasais of Al Aemmah

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 Imam Ali compiled by Sayyid Radi in the tenth century. The Nahj al-Balagh literary means peak or way of eloquence, it comprises a wide variety of topics ranging from the creation of the Universe, the creation of first man and end of universe.[9][10] Syed Razi had inserted every sentence in the same form as he found it, so that the writing should not suffer any meddling. He refrained from applying his own approach of writing or expression. In his compilation work he only did classification of collected materials into sermons, letters and sayings of Imam Ali. As the reference material came to his attention at different times, the extracted materials had no chronological sequence according to content or topic. He died just after five years of his compiled book Nahjul Balagha, his compilation promptly gained the popularity even in his lifetime.[11] A number of his contemporaries started writing commentaries on the compilation of Sayyid Razi, this work of commenting on the text and interpretation of meaning of the words used by Ali Ibn Abi Talib and the historical events mentioned therein is continued till today. A Lebanese Christian scholar, George Jordac, reveals that he has repeatedly studied the Peak of Eloquence up to 200 times.

Extent and scope of compilation

The sermons of Imam Ali were compiled, read and taught long before Sayyid Razi was born.[12] The compilation of Nahj al-Balagha was a holy job for Sharif Razi and he accomplished the duty with dedication and carefulness. During his collection he had been so cautious and left no lacuna refraining himself from adding or subtracting a singular word beyond the text he obtained from the scattered Islamic literature. Even the sermons he received in divided portions were placed in compilation without joining the pieces into a continuous part. This incoherent scripture was criticized by a number of critics. The services of Sharif Razi are now regarded as significant in the philosophy of[13] monotheism. More than 30 writers with name of their books/compilations are generally discussed while compilation work of Nahj al-Balagha is scrutinized[14] e.g.

(i) Ibn Nadeem and his book Kitabul Jumal
(ii) Ibn Qutayba Daynawari and his book Uyunul Akhbbar
(iii) Imam Hakim and his book al-Mustadarak
(iv) Shaikh Mufid and his book al-Irshad; etc

Collected sermons in the Nahj al-balagha mainly reflects the coverage of topics (i) Islam and the Quran (ii) Human and humanity (iii) Theology and metaphysics (iv) Path and worship, including prayers (v) Social justice and administration (vi) Wisdom and admonition (vii) Prophecies (viii) Philosophy and critique over contemporary society (ix) Ahl-ul-Bait (x) piety and afterworld.[15][16] Many research scholars in the modern age have presented their theses and published in the journals of different countries.[17][18] The book compiled by Sharif Razi has also been quoted by the UN Secretary General as a role model of governance in the year 2002 during a meeting of the Arab Development Fund.[19]

However, critics of Nahj al-Balagha generally raise two objections over compilation of Sharif Razi[20]

  • Firstly they claim that Sayyid Murtaza (the elder brother of Sharif Razi) is its author; and
  • secondly they allege that most of the contents of this book are forged and falsely attributed to Imam Ali
Ibn Khallikan seems to have been the first to raise doubts on its authenticity. The majority of later writers, beginning with Dhahabi in Mizan al-Itidal, Ibn Hajar in Lisan al-Mizan, Haji Khalifa in Kashf al-Zunun, etc. have in their turn revived these suspicions.

Various commentators and researchers have examined the authenticity of objections and concluded that had al-Sharif al-Radi not collected that which he selected from among the sermons and words of the Imam Ali in Nahj al-Balaghah, we would have been definitely deprived thereof as well.[21][22] The Urdu translator of Nahjul Balagha Syed Zeeshan Haider Jawadi[23] has compiled a list of 61 books and name of their writers from 204 to 488 AH, in negation of the above-mentioned two objections and pointed the sources in which compilation work of Sharif Razi can be traced out.

Offspring and death

A number of writers traced the death of Razi at 47 years on 6th of Mohurram 406 A.H (1015 AD), whereas some historians recorded his age as 45 years and death in 404 Hijri (1013 AD). His funeral prayer was performed by the Abu Ghalib Fukhrul Mulk then Prime Minister in the kingdom of Sultan al-Dawla.

Abu Ahmed Adnan was the only son of Sayyid Razi. 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 issueless in 449 Hijri Calendar, and consequently the physical line of Sayyid Razi came to an end.[24][25][26]

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. Retrieved 11 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Alulbayt (28 May 2015). "Nahjul-Balagha Manuscript". Alulbayt Foundation, London. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. ^ Ali Islam Abu (Durham e-Theses) (24 October 2012). "Al-Sharif Al-Radi". 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". 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. ^ Yasin T. Al-Jibouri (ed.). Nahj al-Balagha (PDF) (2009 ed.). New Yark: Tahrike Tarsile Quran, Inc. Publishers & Distributors of Holy Qur’an 80-08 51st Avenue Elmhurst, New York 11373-4141. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-879402-34-8. Seventh U.S. Edition 2009.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Abbas Deygan Darweesh Al-duleimi, Ph D General Linguistics. Some Functions of Ellipsis in Religious Texts. Conference Proceedings by EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE Publishing. June 2013 [archived 13 July 2015; Retrieved 8 July 2015];II(1st Annual International Interdisciplinary Conference, AIIC 2013 24–26 April 2013, at University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada Azores Islands, Portugal):128–129.
  10. ^ Translated by Ali Sharif. "ON THE MILLENIUM OF AL-SHARIF AL-RADHI". Rafed.net (Trasha). Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  11. ^ "NAHJUL-BALAGHA (Peak of Eloquence)". The official website of Professor Hossein Ansarian. 24 October 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. ^ Ayatollah Dr. Sayyid Fadhel Milani. The Authenticity of Nahj al-Balagha (Victor News Magazine Articles). School of Oriental and African Studies, London, UK. 6 June 2002.
  13. ^ Church \ Church in Dialogue (25 November 2014). "Card Tauran: Muslims, Christians must be credible believers". Vatican Radio. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  14. ^ Nahj al-Balagha/Peak of Eloquence (Seventeenth Impression 2012 ed.). Karachi: Islamic Seminary Publications, Accra Bombay Freetown Karachi London New York City. pp. 122–131. ISBN 0-941724-18-2.
  15. ^ Dr. Ali Raza Tahir Assistant Professor Department of Philosophy, University of Punjab, Lahore-Pakistan. Special Reference to Nahjul Balagha. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business. 2 June 2012;4.
  16. ^ Feryal Abdollah Hodeb, Mohammad Al-Shraydah. 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. 2014;41(2014).
  17. ^ New Edition Nahj-Al-Balagha Took 25 Yrs To Finish. Seyed Sadeq Musavi. 22 November 2013 [archived 30 April 2014; Retrieved 11 July 2015]. retrieved: 11 July 2015
  18. ^ Psychology in Nahj al-Balagha" to be published. Hujjat -ol-Islam Masoud Azerbaijani. 2 February 2012. retrieved: 11 July 2015
  19. ^ Syed H. Akhtar (Article 412). "Imam Ali Bin Abu Talib A.S. His Life, Achievements, and Merits". Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc. Retrieved 11 July 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Web Admin. "NAHJ AL-BALAGAH in Encyclopedia Topic". First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  21. ^ Web Admin. "Does Nahj Al-Balaghah Belong to al-Sharif al-Radi or to Imam Ali?". Hadith.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  22. ^ IBNA (16 October 2014). "Bishop George Saliba elaborates on Imam Ali's 'Nahj al-Balagha". ABNA ( News Code : 644706). Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  23. ^ Nahj al-Balagha (in Urdu and Arabic) (Second April 2000 ed.). Karachi: Tanzeem-ul-Makatib, Lucknow and Mahfooz Book Agency Karachi. pp. 9–12.
  24. ^ Nahj al-Balagha. 1956 (in Urdu and Arabic) (Supplemented 2010 ed.). Lahore: Imamia Kutub Khan, Mughal Havaili, Lahore. pp. 56–58.
  25. ^ Nahj al-Balagha (in Urdu and Arabic) (Second April 2000 ed.). Karachi: Tanzeem-ul-Makatib, Lucknow and Mahfooz Book Agency Karachi. pp. 5–6.
  26. ^ Nahj al-Balagha/Peak of Eloquence (Seventeenth Impression 2012 ed.). Karachi: Islamic Seminary Publications, Accra Bombay Freetown Karachi London New York City. pp. 122–123. ISBN 0-941724-18-2.
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