Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari

Personal Information
Full Name	Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari
Religious Affiliation	Imamiyya
Well-Known Relatives	Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Khwansari • Zayn al-'Abidin Khwansari
Place of Birth	Khwansar
Residence	Isfahan
Studied in	Khwansar • Isfahan • Karbala
Death	1313/1895
Burial Place	Takht-i Fulad • Isfahan
Scholarly Information
Professors	Ja'far b. Husayn Khwansari • Muhammad Baqir Shafti • Ibrahim Musawi Qazwini
Students	Shari'at Isfahani • Abu Turab al-Khwansari • and Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Tabataba'i al-Yazdi
Works	Rawdat al-jannat fi ahwal al-'ulama' wa l-sadat • Tasliyat al-ahzan 'ind faqd al-ahibba wa l-ikhwan • Ahsan al-'atiyya • Talwih al-nuriyyat min al-kalam, ...

Sayyid Muḥammad Bāqir Khwānsārī (Persian: سید محمد باقر خوانساری; d. 1313/1895), known as Ṣahib al-Rawdat (صاحب الروضات) (the author of Rawdat al-jannat), was a Shiite biographer in the 13th/19th and early 14th/19th centuries. He began his studies in Khwansar with his grandfather, Ja'far b. Husayn Khwansari. He then continued his studies in Isfahan with Muhammad Baqir Shafti and in Karbala with Ibrahim Musawi Qazwini. His students include Shari'at Isfahani, Abu Turab al-Khwansari, and Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Tabataba'i al-Yazdi. His most important work was Rawdat al-jannat. He also wrote works concerning fiqh (jurisprudence) and usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence). He died in Isfahan in 1313/1895, and was buried in Takht-i Fulad cemetery.

Khwansari Family

The family of Sayyid Muhammad Baqir is known as "Rawdati" or "Rawdatiyan". Their lineage goes back to Imam al-Kazim (a), and there have always been prominent religious scholars from this family. Their great ancestor migrated from Isfahan to Khwansar after the Afghan riots in 1135/1722-3. Thus, his children who lived in Khwansar for a while came to be known as Khwansaris. Mirza Zayn al-Din (d. 1257/1841-2), Sayyid Muhammad Baqir's father, returned to Isfahan and resided in the district of Shirazi Charsu, which is why his progeny came to be known as "Chaharsuqi" (or "Charsuyi").

Birth and Demise

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari wrote an autobiography in his Rawdat al-jannat. In his will, he said that he was born in 1226/1811-2 in Khwansar. He died in Isfahan in 1313/1895 and was buried in Takht-i Fulad cemetery. Some poems were composed about him after his demise.

Tekyeh Rawdatin in Takht-i Fulad cemetery where Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari is buried.

Education and Teachers

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir studied the preliminaries before migration to Isfahan in his birth place from his grandfather, Ja'far (d. 1240/1824-5). He mentioned his grandfather as one of his teachers.

Before his grandfather's death, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir migrated to Isfahan together with his father and brothers. There he studied standard courses of the Islamic seminary with Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Iwankayfi Tihrani, known as Isfahani, Muhammad Baqir al-Shafti known as Hujjat al-Islam, Muhammad Ibrahim Karbasi, Sayyid Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Samad al-Shahshahaniyya.

In 1253/1837-8, he went to Iraq to visit al-'Atabat al-'Aliyat, and in Karbala, he studied with Sayyid Ibrahim al-Musawi al-Qazwini, the author of Dawabit al-usul. Sayyid Muhammad Baqir was so close to Sayyid Ibrahim that after his return to Isfahan, they continued to have correspondences.

Permission for Hadith Transmission

He had permissions of itjiad and transmission from his father and some other prominent scholars. He was the scholarly and religious head of Isfahan, and many scholars attended his lectures.

Children

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari had eight sons the 7th of whom died when he was still a child. The other seven sons became scholars of Isfahan in their time.

Mirza Muhammad Masih (d. 1325/1907-8) and Mirza Ahmad (d. 1341/1922-3) were his most prominent sons.

Works

• Rawdat al-jannat fi ahwal al-'ulama' wa l-sadat: this is the most important work by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir. He came to be known as the author of Rawdat. According to I'timad al-Saltana, the title "mir-i mu'asir" in Nami-yi danishwaran-i Nasiri refers to the author of Rawdat.

• Ahsan al-'atiyya: it is a commentary on al-Shahid al-Awwal's Alfiyya concerning fiqh.

• Tasliyat al-ahzan 'ind faqd al-ahibba wa l-ikhwan: it is a Persian work regarding how to console people who have lost a loved one, similar to Musakkin al-fu'ad by al-Shahid al-Thani.

• Talwih al-nuriyyat min al-kalam: it is an essay concerning the essentials of the religion.

• Tarf (Tawf) al-akhbar li tuhfa (tuhaf) al-akhyar

• A short essay concerning usul al-fiqh

• A commentary on al-Shahid al-Thani's Sharh al-lum'a

• A commentary on Qawanin al-usul by Mirza Qummi.

Literary Works

Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Khwansari composed many poems in Arabic and Persian concerning different issues, in particular, the praise of Ahl al-Bayt (a). His prose is usually rhythmic and complex. An example of his prose is, in addition to his eloquent dot-less sermon, letters he wrote to some of his contemporary scholars.