Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji

Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji

Personal Information
Full Name	'Abd al-Razzaq 'Ali b. al-Husayn
Well-Known As	Fayyad
Well-Known Relatives	Mulla Sadra (father in law)
Residence	Lahijan
Studied in	Qom
Death	1072/1661-2
Burial Place	Qom
Scholarly Information
Professors	Mulla Sadra
Students	Mirza Hasan Lahiji his son, Husayn Tunikabuni
Works	Gowhar-i murad, Sarmayi-i iman, Shawariq al-ilham

Mullā ʿAbd al-Razzāq ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn Lāhījī (Farsi: ملا عبدالرزاق علي بن الحسين لاهيجي) (b. ? - d. 1072/1661-2), known as Fayyāḍ (فیاض), was among the most important Shi'a theologians. Gowhar-i murad, Sarmayi-i iman and Shawariq al-ilham are considered as his famous works. His son, Hasan, was his notable student. Although he was a student of Mulla Sadra, he was mostly influenced by thoughts of Avicenna. His works in theology were mostly influenced by philosophical and mystical concepts.

Birth

While Lahiji was considered a scientific figure, only limited information is available on his life; time and place of his birth are unknown. However, according to a number of quotations, he was born in Sheykhanur, Lahijan or Lahanj in Gilan. Then he moved to Qom, where he stayed for the rest of his life; therefore, he was called Qummi (a person from Qom).

Settling in Qom

Fayyad was living in Qom most of his life. According to a number of his poems, he travelled and visited cities such as Najaf, Mashhad, Tabriz, Shiraz and probably Kashan and Isfahan.

Wife

Lahiji and Fayd Kashani were both students of Mulla Sadra who entitled Lahiji as Fayyad (munificent). Umm Kulthum (1019/1610-1 - 1090/1679-80) was the daughter of Mulla Sadra who married Lahiji. She was a virtuous and knowledgeable woman who was taught by her father and husband. She occasionally attended meetings with religious scholars and had discussions with them.

Children

1. Mirza Hasan Lahiji (1045/1635-6 - 1121/1709-10) known as Kashifi, was the oldest child of Fayyad. He continued the heritage and school of thought of his father in teaching rational sciences. He has penned a number of philosophical and theological works in Farsi such as: Sham' al-yaqin, A'ini-i din and A'ine-i hikmat.
2. Mulla Muhammad Baqir (b. 1083/1672-3) is a scholar and hadith narrator. He was the student of his father in rational sciences and a student of his brother in narrating hadiths. According to Aqa Buzurg Tihrani, Muhammad Baqir settled and taught in Shah Jahan Abad in India, where he translated Basa'ir al-darajat.
3. Mirza Ibrahim was the author of Al-Qawa'id al-hikamiyya wa l-kalamiyya. There is not more information available about him.

Teachers

• Mulla Sadra; Fayyaḍ Lahiji was among the notable student of Sadr al-Muta'allihin al-Shirazi. Lahiji has learnt from Mulla Sadra while he was settling in Qom. Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani, Mulla Muhammad Yusuf al-Mawti and Shaykh Husayn Tunikabuni were the classmates of Lahiji in Mulla Sadra's class. Lahiji studied Mabda' wa Ma'ad, Asfar (Travels), Shawahid al-rububiyya (Evidences of Divinity) and treaties of Haraka (Motion) from Mullas Sadra.

• Mirdamad; most of sources did not mention that Fayyad has learned from Mirdamad (b. 1040/1631), especially because Mirdamad was settling in Isfahan and Fayyad was living in Qom. However, A'yan al-Shi'a mentioned that Mirdamad was the teacher of Lahiji. Considering Fayyad's praises for Mirdamad and his poems which are attributed to him it is assumed that he sometime has visited Isfahan and learned from Mirdamad. However, Lahiji never mentioned Mirdamad as his teacher, while he called Mulla Sadra as "The Master" or "The Great Teacher". It is assumed Lahiji has learned from him indirectly. In addition, a number of works have mentioned Mirdamad as "The Teacher of Teachers" of Lahiji.

Students

Lahiji has lived most of his life in Qom. He was mostly engaged with teaching and discussions in Hazrat-i Ma'suma seminary school. His notable students are:

• Mirza Hasan Lahiji (1045/1635-6-1021/1612-3), son of Fayyad.

• Qadi Sa'id Qummi (1049/1639-40-1107/1695-6); it is said he was student of Lahiji in Hikmat al-Ishraq (illumination). Commentary on al-Twahid of al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Arba'iniyyat and Kilid-i bihisht are the notable works written by him. The author of Rawdat al-jannat has rejected this statement and has claimed that Qadi Sa'id was not student of Fayyad and it is misunderstood with Mirza Muhammad Sa'id Hakim (b. after 1085/1674-5), a doctor in the palace of the then king of the country. Qadi Sa'id did not ever mention Lahiji in his works; also his attitude was not related to Lahiji's. Qadi Sa'id was mostly influenced by Fayd Kashani.

• Husayn Tunikabuni

Works

• Gowhar-i murad ; one of the most important works of Fayyad. It is a book on theology, which applied philosophical and logical reasoning. It is regarded among the most important works penned on Islamic philosophy.
• Sarmayi-i iman ; it is written after Gowhar-i murad which briefly explains the roots of faith.
• Shawariq al-ilham ; it is a brief commentary on Tajrid al-i'tiqad by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi.
• A gloss on Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Khafri's gloss on the commentary of Al-Qushchi on Tajrid al-i'tiqad. It was written in Arabic which has not been published yet.
• Kalami-i tayyiba (the holy word), is a treaty on the roots of faith in Arabic. It is mostly about the phrase "La ilah illa Allah" (there is no God but Allah); it is not published yet.
• A gloss on Jawarih and a'rad
• Huduth-i 'alam
• Book of poems
• Commentary on Fusus al-hikam
• Shawariq al-anhar wa bawariq al-asrar
• Mathnawi poems of Sam and Bahram
• Mashariq al-Ilham commentary on Tajrid al-i'tiqad

According to references of Lahiji in his books, it is assumed the chronological order of his works is:

1. Al-Kalimat al-Tayyiba
2. A gloss on Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Khafri's gloss on the commentary of Al-Qushchi's commentary on Tajrid al-i'tiqad.
3. A gloss on Ilahiyyat-i Tajrid (a gloss on the commentary of Qushchi).
4. Gowhar-i murad
5. Sarmayi-i iman
6. Shawariq al-ilham

Intellectual Characteristics

Adherence to Masha' Philosophy

Lahiji was familiar with the philosophy of Masha' (peripatetic) and has accepted its principles. It can be said he was strongly influenced by Avicenna. Lahiji is among the recent scholars who wrote commentaries on Avicenna's works which were the main references of Fayyad; consequently he frequently quoted from him. We can consider Fayyad's works as commentaries on the philosophy of Masha' (peripatetic) and Avicenna's thought.

Because Fayyad was the son-in-law of Mulla Sadra, he has studied under him for a long time; however, he was not strongly influenced by the thoughts of his teacher. He mentioned the name of Mulla Sadra in Shawariq al-ilham only seven times. On the other hand, Fayd Kashani, the other son-in-law of Mulla Sadra was hugely influenced by him. Fayd always respected and mentioned Mulla Sadra as "Our Master" and "The Greatest Teacher of all theologians". It is even said he has taught Shawahid al-rububiyya and Mabda' wa ma'ad of Mulla Sadra.

Therefore, Lahiji is considered as a philosopher of peripatetic school who was not greatly influenced by Mulla Sadra. He even tried to write a critique on Hikmat al-muta'aliyya based on the principles of peripatetic philosophy; he is regarded as the first one who criticized Sadr al-Muta'allihin.

Sayyid Jalal Ashtiyani believed that Fayyad has expressed his ideas according to the philosophy of time, by means of Taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation) because he was afraid of denunciation; while internally he believed in Ishraq (illumination) and the principles of spiritual journey. According to Ashtiyani, Fayyad is among those scholars who worked on both aspects of Hikma: argumentative and illuminative; although he apparently followed the philosophy of Masha' (peripatetic).

Intellectual Independence

Lahiji was an independence intellectual figure, although he applied the works and thoughts of other authors and scholars; he even criticized some of their woks. However, he was strongly influenced by Avicenna and philosophy of Masha'.

Mystic Thoughts and Tendencies

Analyses and works of Fayyad in theology were hugely influenced by Sufism and mysticism and their teachings. For instance we can mention his analyses on "Reasons behind Prophethood of the apostles" or "The Philosophy of Shari'a Laws".

According to Fayyad, there are two ways in becoming closer to God:

1. Superficial way, which applies logics and reasoning; wisdom is independent and its purpose is having knowledge and Ma'rifa to God. Hikma and Kalam were both aimed to reach these goals.
2. Esoteric way, which is esoteric and spiritual mysticism; its purpose is becoming truly closer to God and dedicating your life only to Him, which was the purpose of prophethood of the Apostles and Prophets; guiding people. Fayyad believed esoteric spiritual journey is indeed the true meaning of Sufism.

According to Fayyad the method of Ishraq (illumination), as the same as Sufism, is esoteric spiritual journey. It can be said that the methods of Ishraq and Sufism are equal; except the fact that Sufism is regarded against theology and Ishraq (illumination) is regarded against Hikma. He has dedicated the last chapter of his book, Gawhar-i Murad, to explaining spiritual journey and moral edification, which is infrequent in theology books.

According to Lahiji spiritual journey is only possible through two ways:

• 1) Hikma, which is moral edification and is regarded as the purpose of scholars of Ishraq.
• 2) Shar' which is protecting one's God-wariness and Ikhlas (sincerity); it is the purpose of Sufism and mystics. As Lahiji said both methods are equal in terms of their truth and purpose.

Explanations and mystic tendencies of Lahiji in Gawhar-i Murad are far more than those in Shawariq and Sarmaya-yi Iman; therefore, it can be said the approach of Gawhar-i Murad was philosophical-mystical theology. Sarmaya-yi Iman is penned purely philosophical theology and Shawariq al-Ilham is inscribed as Philosophy of theology.

Tolerance in Narrating and Criticizing Narrations

Fayyad has applied tolerance in facing narrations; he even reported narrations without examining their text or source. For instance in creation in time (Huduth) of soul, he has mentioned the following hadiths which have opposing meaning apparently to philosophical knowledge:

"Al-Arwah junud mujannada fama ta'araf minha i'talaf wa ma tanakar minha ikhtalaf" (Souls are troops collected together and those who familiarized with each other, in the Heaven where they come, would have affinity with one another, in the world, and those amongst them who opposed each other, in the Heaven, would also be divergent, in the world.)

"Khalaq Allah al-arwah qabl al-abdan bi-alfay 'am" (Allah had created souls two thousand years before the creation of bodies)

Lahiji tried to justify them with a number of interpretations, but he never criticized and examined their sources.

While in narration books of theology, the writers are commonly Muhaddith (hadith narrators), who were concerned about examining the sources of hadiths in narrating. Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi is among those who narrated hadiths with great caution, examining their texts and chains of transmission. Even Sayyid Murtada Askari and al-Shaykh al-Mufid, rational theologians, have narrated those hadiths cautiously and explained their weak sources and reasoning.

Moreover, Mirza 'Abd Allah Afandi has described Lahiji, in Riad al-'Ulama' wa hiyad al-fudala', as a person who is not knowledgeable in narrating hadith. Other scholars did not accept his opinion and attributed this comment as enmity of Mirza 'Abd Allad Afandi toward scholars of Hikma and philosophy.

Poems

Diwan of Fayyad is regarded among the most important works of him in literature and mysticism. Biographers of Safavid era have praised poems of Lahiji. He has composed poems in Hindi school. His Diwan contains twelve thousand verses.

Most of his poems are praising the virtues of Ahl al-Bayt (a); typically Imam 'Ali (a). Using philosophical and theological expressions and phrases was a common feature of his poems.

In addition, Fayd Kashani and Fayyad have exchanged numerous verses of poems. Mathnawi poems of Sam and Bahram is another poem by Lahiji, which is a mystic poem narrating a social, political and historical story with mystic and philosophical concept along with praising God and Ahl al-Bayt (a).

Examples

At times I praise Prophet Muhammad (s), and some time praising God

When asking Ali's (a) name, he would respond it immediately

I won't be fearful by calamities of life, as I am certain with supports of Ali (a)

and also:

When I'm infatuated with spiritual journeys, I should leave appeals of life

Material possessions are only traps, how come a bird can fly out of traps

Demise

There are debates on the time Lahiji has passed away. A number of reports mentioned that he passed away in 1051/1641-2, a year after Mulla Sadra had passed away. Also several other sources including Aqa Buzurg Tihrani stated that Lahiji passed away in 1072/1661-2 and rejected the other reports because of two main reasons:

1. Fayyad dedicated his book, Gowhar-i murad to Shah Abbas II (1052/1642-3 - 1077/1666-7), therefore according to the first claim Shah Abbas became Shah a year after the demise of Hakim, then it would be impossible to dedicate the book to Shah.
2. He penned Sarmaya-yi iman in 1057/1647-8 that accepting the year 1051/1641-2 as his demise would become impossible. Lahiji has passed away in Qom and he is buried in the Holy Shrine of Lady Ma'suma (a).