Sayyid Shihab al-Din Mar'ashi Najafi
Sayyid Shihāb al-Dīn Marʿashī Najafī (Arabic: سید شهابالدین مرعشي نجفي) was one of the Shi'a Marja's after Ayatollah Burujirdi. He reached the ijtihad level in his 27. He was one of the students of Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim Ha'iri and Aqa Dia' al-'Iraqi, and had benefited from al-Sayyid 'Ali al-Qadi, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Karbala'i, and Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi. His political views was accordant with Imam Khomeini.
Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi, founded a library which is a major library in Iran and the Islamic world, in terms of the number and the quality of the manuscripts. He founded the schools of Mar'ashiyya, Shihabiyya, Mahdiyya, and Mu'miniyya for seminary students.
His most important works are: gloss of Ihqaq al-haqq, Mushajjarat al al-Rasul, Tabaqat al-nassabin, and the gloss of 'Umdat al-talib. He traveled to various countries for writing some of his books and had discussion with the scholars of different religions.
He was buried in his library, according to his will.
Lineage
The lineage of Ayatollah Mar'ashi reaches to Imam al-Sajjad (a). The Mar'ashi sayyids are from Imam al-Husayn (a) and the great ancestor of the family is Sayyid 'Ali al-Mar'ashi, who was living in Mar'ash (Kahramanmaraş) in Turkey near the borders of Syria. He migrated to Iran in the 3rd/9th century and married in Mazandaran. Because of the efforts of this family, the people of the north Iran embraced Shi'a. Sayyid Qawam al-Din -the 15th grandfather of Ayatollah Mar'ashi- was ruling in Amol in 7th/13th century, his shrine is in Amol, Sabzi Miydan. In the Safawid era, the family raised again and allied the Safawi rulers, the mother of Shah 'Abbas I is from Mar'ashi family.
Birth
Sayyid Shihab al-Din, born in the Thursday Safar 20, 1315/July 21,1897, in Najaf. Each one of the scholars who recited Adhan and Iqama in his ears (which is recommended for a newborn baby) chose a part of his name; al-Muhaddith al-Nuri chose Muhammad Husayn as name, Mirza Husayn b. Mirza Khalil chose the epithet of Aqa Najafi, al-Sayyid Murtada al-Kashmiri chose the teknonym of Abu al-Ma'ali, and al-Sayyid Isma'il al-Sadr chose the epithet of Shihab al-Din.
Childhood and Education
When Sayyid Shihab al-Din was infant, his mother did not breastfeed him when she was menstruating, one of the first phrases he learned was "he is the opener (of the doors), the knowledgeable" (Arabic: هو الفتاح العليم). He learned Qur'an and the Arabic literature under his grandmother.
He learned the preliminaries of some of sciences under his father; after that, he went to the school for learning mathematics, geometry, geography, etc. He graduated after 5 years with high grades. He learned some medicine under his father, and Mirza Muhammad 'Ali Mu'ayyid al-Atibba'. He became interested in the exegesis and started to learn Islamic sciences. After learning a variety of sciences, he went to Iran and benefited from other scholars in Rey, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Qom.
Journeys and Debates
In 1336/1918 he traveled to Samarra in his 21, and lived there for three years. He had meetings and debates with 'Abd al-Salam al-Kurdistani and al-Shaykh Nur al-Din al-Shafi'i. In 1340/1921-2 he went to Kadhimiya and Baghdad and met with al-Sayyid Ibrahim al-Rafa'i al-Baghdadi, and then he went to Karbala and gained permission to transmit hadith from 'Abd al-Hadi Mazandarani, and met and debated with Musa Usku'i Tabrizi, and Mirza Muhammad Tabrizi who were the heads of Shaykhiyya.
He traveled to other cities of Iraq and then, in his travel to India met with the Buddhist scholars in Mumbai.
He had a correspondence with al-Shaykh al-Tantawi al-Jawhari, the head of Muslim brotherhood, and presented the Riyad al-salikin fi sharh sahifa al-sajjadiyya to him.
Ayatollah Mar'ashi migrated from Najaf to Iran in 1342/1923 In Kermanshah he gained permission to transmit hadith form Shaykh Hadi the son of Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim al-Kirmanshahi, in Hamedan he met with the son of Sayyid Fadil Lari and gained the permission from him and bought a rare manuscript form him, then he went to Tabriz and met with his family. Then he went to Mashhad to ziyara of Imam al-Rida (a), in 1343/1925 he went to Tehran and benefited from the scholars of Rey for some months, then he entered Qom and by the request of Ayatollah Ha'iri resided there and started to teach. In 1345/1926-7 he welcomed Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian philosopher and poet, in his travel to Iran and had discussions with him.
After the demise of Ayatollah al-Sadr, Ayatollah Hujjat, and Ayatollah Khwansari, he became known as one of the first grade Marja's and his manual of Islamic law was published in 1366/1946-7.
Family Life
His wife said: in the 60 years of our life, he never let others do anything for him, for example when he was thirsty, he would go to the kitchen and drink water, and he wouldn't tell me to do that for him. He was a kind and lovely husband, and he was assisting me in home, most of the times he helped me in the kitchen, in cooking and washing the dishes.
One of the manners of Ayatollah Mar'ashi with his children was telling a story, or one of his memories, or describing a part of the life of noble men, and after that telling a hadith, before sleep. He has 4 sons and 4 daughters.
Teachers
Mathematics
- 'Abd al-Karim al-Bushihri, known as Sa'adat
Mysticism
Literature
- Shams Ashraf biygum, his grandmother
- Al-Sayyid Mahmud Mar'ashi, his father
- Murtada Taliqani
- Al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Musawi al-Najafi
Exegesis
Fiqh and Usul
- Al-Sayyid Aqa al-Shushtari, (he taught the book: Sharh al-lum'a al-dimashqiyya)
- Abu l-Hasan Mishkini Ardabili, (he taught the book: Kifayat al-usul)
- Ni'mat Allah Larijani, (he taught the book: Qawanin al-Usul)
- Muhammad Husayn b. Muhammad Khalil Shirazi, (he taught the book: Man la yahduruh al-faqih)
- Al-Shaykh 'Ali al-Najafi (the grandson of Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi)
- Hibat al-Din Shahristani
Logic and Philosophy
Practices and Mysticism
- Mirza 'Ali Akbar Hikami Yazdi
Genealogy
- His father (learned the family trees of Sayyids)
- Sayyid Muhammad Rida b. Sayyid 'Ali known as Sa'igh al-Bahrani al-Ghuryafi
Teaching and Students
He started to teach the preliminary lectures and taught the Ma'alim al-usul, Sharh al-lum'a, Qawanin al-usul, Fara'id al-usul, Matajir, and Kifayat al-usul. In addition to Fiqh and Usul, he had classes in logic, theology, exegesis, philosophy, rijal, diraya, and 'ilm al-ansab. His classes continued from 1343/1924 till his last days of life.
Some of his students are:
Works
Ayatollah Mar'ashi wrote over 150 books and treatises.
Some of his works are as follows:
Qur'anic Sciences:
- Al-Tajwid
- Al-Radd 'ala mudda'i al-tahrif
- Gloss of Anwar al-tanzil of al-Baydawi
- Sanad al-fuqara wa al-huffaz
- Introduction to al-Durr al-manthur of al-Suyuti
Literature
- Qutf al-khuzami min rawda al-jami (gloss on the commentary of al-Kafiya of Jami)
- Al-Mu'awwal fi amr al-mutawwal (gloss on the commentary of al-Talkhis of Jami)
- Al-Furuq
Hadith, Prayer, and Ziyarah
- Miftah ahadith al-Shi'a
- Gloss of Man la yahduruh al-faqih
- A collection of prayer and ziyarah
- Gloss of Du'a Simat
- Gloss of ziyarah Jami'a al-kabira
- Introduction of Mafatih al-jinan
- Shams al-amkana wa l-biqa' fi khiyarat dhat al-riqa'
- Fawayidi chand dar khusus sahifa kamila Sajjadiyya
Usul al-fiqh and Fiqh
- Gloss of Fara'id al-usul of al-Shaykh al-Ansari
- Hadhf al-fudul 'an al-masalik
- Tawdih al-masa'il (the manual of Islamic law)
- Al-Ghayat al-quswa (the argumentative gloss of al-'Urwa al-wuthqa)
- Masarih al-afkar fi tawdih matarih al-anzar (gloss of Taqrirat of al-Shaykh al-Ansari)
- Misbah al-nasikin (ritauls of Hajj)
'Ilm al-rijal, Biography, and Genealogy
- Al-Tabsira fi tarjima mu'allif al-takmila (biography of Mirza Muhammad Mahdi al-Kashmiri)
- Tabaqat al-nassabin
- Gloss of 'Umdat al-talib
- Tarajim a'yan al-sadat al-mar'ashiyin
- Sadat al-'ulama alladhin kanu ba'd al-alf min al-hijra
- Sharh ahwal imamzada sultan 'Ali farzand Imam al-Baqir (a)
- Risala-i tariqa dar sharh hal Shaykh Muahmmad Ja'far Kamari'i
- Risala-i dar halat Nasr b. Muzahim al-Minqari
- Al-Fawa'id al-rijaliyya
- Wasilat al-ma'ad fi manaqib-i shaykhuna al-ustadh
- Wafayat al-a'lam
- Mushajjarat al rasul al-akram or Mushajjarat al-hashimiyin (his largest book in genealogy)
- Risala-i dar khusus sadat Madina munawwara
- Shajara nama sadat Husayni-i khashani
- Mazarat al-'alawiyin
- Gloss of Bahr al-ansab of al-Sayyid 'Amid al-Din al-Najafi
Theology, Logic, and Occult Sciences
- Gloss of Ihqaq al-haqq
- Raf' al-ghashiya 'an wajh al-hashiya
- Gloss of Sirr al-maknun
- Nasamat al-saba
Library
Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi started the collection of his library when he was studying in Najaf. He bought some of the manuscripts of the collection with nightly working after his classes and saving in the expenses of his life. He has noted how he had bought every book in its cover. For example one of the notes is:
- The book Kashf al-lugha wa l-istilahat is written by 'Abd al-Rahim b. Ahmad al-Hindi al-Bahari, by the request of his son al-Shaykh Shihab al-Din al-Bahari in 1160/1747, and the writer had passed away a little after writing the book. I bought the book with the income of saying prayers of two years on the behalf of Mirza Muhammad Bazzaz Tihrani, for 20 Britain rupees. May God succeeds us. I, the heartbroken writer of this words, am passing this moments in hunger and couldn't find any food for 20 hours, may God solves all the troubles. Shihab al-Din al-Husyani al-Mar'ashi al-Najafa, 1342/1923-4, Qawam school, one of the schools of the city of my great grandfather, Imam 'Ali (my soul be sacrificed for him).[1]
After his immigration to Iran, his book collection also was moved to Iran, and he was keeping them in his house, and adding other copies to the collection. After the foundation of Mar'ashiyya school in 1385/1965-6, he made a library in two rooms of the school. In the same year a new library opened in the third floor of the school. The space of the new library wasn't sufficient for the crowd of visitors, so in 1394/1974 the public library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi opened with more than 16000 handwritten and printed books.
Nowadays, the library is the first library in Iran and the third in the Islamic world, in terms of the number and the quality of the old Islamic manuscripts. Now around 80,000 manuscripts and more than one million printed books is available in the library.
Demise
Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi passed away on Safar 7, 1411/August 29, 1990 in his 96. He was buried in his library according to his will.
Gallery
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Leading Prayer in Holy Shrine of Layd Ma'suma (a)
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Meeting with Muhammad Ali Raja'i
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Sayyid Muhammad Shirazi and Sayyid Sadiq Rawhani's meeting with Ayatollah Mar'ashi
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Sayyid Ahmad Khomeini met Ayatollah Mar'ashi
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Ayatollah Mar'ashi's burial
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from سید شهابالدین مرعشی نجفی in Farsi WikiShia.
- ↑ Guli Zawwari, Jami' fadl wa fadilat, p.146