Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Isfahani

Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Isfahani

His grave in Takht-i Fulad cemetery, Isfahan
Personal Information
Full Name	Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Isfahani
Well-Known As	Baha' al-Din, al-Fadil al-Hindi, al-Fadil al-Isfahani, Kashif al-Litham
Birth	1062/1651
Residence	Isfahan
Studied in	Isfahan
Death	Ramadan 25, 1131/August 11, 1719
Burial Place	Takht-i Fulad cemetery, Isfahan
Scholarly Information
Professors	Mulla Taja, al-'Allama al-Majlisi
Students	Mirza 'Abd Allah Afandi, Mmuhammad Jazayiri Tustari, Mirza Baha' al-Din Muhammad Mukhtari, Ahmad b. Husayn al-Hilli

Abu l-Faḍl Bahāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad b. Tāj al-Dīn Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Isfahāni, (Persian: ابوالفضل بهاءالدین محمد بن تاج الدین حسن بن محمد اصفهانی) known as al-Fāḍil al-Hindi (Arabic: اَلفاضِل الهِندي), (b. 1062/1651 - d. 1131/1725), was among Shi'a scholars of 11th/17th and 12th/18th centuries and a distinguished figure in Safavid era. His famous work in fiqh is Kashf al-litham.

Birth and Death

He was born in 1062/1651 and passed away on Tuesday, Ramadan 25, 1131/August 11, 1719 and his body was buried in Takht-i Fulad cemetery in Isfahan. His grave is beside the grave of Mulla Muhammad Fadl, known as Fadil Na'ini and therefore their graves have been commonly called as Fadilan among people.

Name and Title

His title was Baha' al-Din and was also knonw as al-Fadil al-Hindi and al-Fadil al-Isfahani. In his youth, Shaykh Muhammad accompanied his father in a journey to India and thereafter was known as al-Fadil al-Hindi. It is said that he did not like this title. Due to writing the book Kashf al-litham, he was also sometimes called "Kashif al-Litham".

Children

His only son was Muhammad Taqi.

Teachers

According to the works of al-Fadil al-Hindi, he was educated by great teachers, but only two of them can be identified:

• His father Mulla Taj al-Din Hasan Isfahani known as Mulla Taja among the great scholars of Isfahan who died in 1098/1687 and was his first teacher.
• Al-'Allama al-Majlisi

Students

• Ahmad b. Husayn al-Hilli
• Sayyid Muhammad Ali Kishmiri
• Sayyid Nasir al-Din Ahmad b. Muhammad Sabziwari
• Mirza Baha' al-Din Muhammad Mukhtari
• Mirza 'Abd Allah Afandi
• Shaykh Muhammad Jazayiri Tustari
• Mulla 'Abd al-Karim b. Muhammad Hadi Tabasi
• Shaykh Ali Akbar b. Muhammad Salih Hasani Larijani
• Shaykh Muhammad Salih Kazzazi Qummi
• Sayyid Sadr al-Din Muhammad Husayni
• Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Isfahani

Scientific Position

About scientific position of al-Fadil al-Hindi, it has been reported that he reached the level of ijtihad at the age of 13 before maturity. At the age of 16, al-Fadil al-Hindi could summarize Ibn Sina's Shifa, but it was later burned and lost. At the age of 22, he summarized Shifa once again.

He was among distinguished scholars of Isfahan and when the two position of "Mulla Bashi" and "Shaykh al-Islam" were common among scholars, he became known as "mujtahid" and "sahib fatwa". He became the popular religious authority after demise of the Second Majlisi (d. 1110/1699) and Aqa Jamal Khwansari (d. 1125/1713).

Library

In Qisas al-'ulama, Tunkabuni reports that al-Fadil al-Hindi lived in absolute poverty and made a living through rewriting books; thus, he could collect unique versions of the works previous scholars in his personal library.

Works

In some of the works of al-Fadil al-Hindi, it has been mentioned that he had 80 up to 150 works about different topics in Islamic sciences.

• Kashf al-litham wa l-ibham 'an qawa'id al-ahkam
• Al-Manahij al-sawiyya fi sharh al-rawda al-bahiyya
• Munyat al-haris 'ala fahm sharh al-talkhis
• Al-Tansis 'ala ma'ani l-tamhis
• Al-Zuhra fi manasik al-hajj wa l-'umra
• Ihala l-nazar fi l-qada' wa l-qadar
• Tafsir al-Qur'an
• Al-Zubdat fi usul al-Din
• Al-Hur al-bari'a fi l-usul al-shari'a
• Sharh al-durra al-bari'a fi 'ilm usul al-shari'a
• Khulasa al-mantiq
• Al-Hashiya 'ala al-mawaqif
• Al-Ihtiyatat al-lazima
• 'Awn Ikhwan al-safa 'ala fahm kitab al-Shifa
• Ithbat al-Wajib fi Ithbat al-wajib