Ibn Shahrashub
Personal Information | |
---|---|
Full Name | Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Shahrashub |
Teknonym | Abu 'Abd Allah |
Epithet | Rashid al-Din, 'Izz al-Din |
Well-Known As | Ibn Shahrashub |
Religious Affiliation | Twelver Shi'a |
Birth | 488/1095 or 489/1096 |
Place of Birth | Sari |
Residence | Baghdad, Hillah, Aleppo |
Death | Sha'ban 22, 588/September 9, 1192 |
Burial Place | Aleppo |
Scholarly Information | |
Professors | Al-Fattal al-Nayshaburi, Al-Shaykh al-Tabrisi, ... |
Students | Ibn Zuhra, Yahya b. Bitriq, ... |
Works | 'Mutashabih al-Qur'an wa mukhtalifuh, Manaqib Al Abi Talib, Ma'alim al-'ulama', ... |
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Shahrāshūb al-Sarawī al-Māzandarānī (Arabic: ابو عبدالله محمّد بن علي ابن شهراشوب السَرَوي المازندراني) (b. 488/1095 - d. 588/1192) known as Ibn Shahrāshūb (Arabic: إبن شهرآشوب) and nicknamed as "Rashid al-Din" and "'Izz al-Din" was among Shi'a scholars in jurisprudence and hadith living in 6th/12th century. He wrote many works such as al-Manaqib and Ma'alim al-'ulama'.
Contents
Birth and Origin
Ibn Sharashub was born in 488/1095 or 489/1096. Some believe that he was originally from "Sari", Mazandaran province, north of Iran. However, some have said that he was born in Baghdad.
Travels
It is recorded that he argued with the ruler of Mazandaran and moved to Baghdad and began teaching and preaching there and became so popular that the caliph of his time gifted precious clothes to him.
After a period of staying in Baghdad, he moved to Hillah in 567/1172 and began teaching there. Ibn Idris al-Hilli and Ibn Bitriq learned hadiths from him while accompanying him in his travel to Hillah.
In 573/1178, Ibn Shahrashub went to Aleppo which was the refuge of Shi'a and Hamdanids. He stayed there until the end of his life.
Teachers

- Al-Shaykh Shahrashub (Ibn Shahrashub's grandfather)
- Al-Shaykh Ali (Ibn Shahrashub's father)
- Al-Fattal al-Nayshaburi, the author of Rawdat al-wa'izin
- Al-Shaykh al-Tabrisi, the author of Majma' al-bayan
- Abu Mansur al-Tabrisi, the author of al-Ihtijaj
- Abu l-Futuh al-Razi, the author of Rawd al-jinan
- 'Abd al-Jalil al-Qazwini al-Razi, the author of al-Naqd
- Abu l-Fath al-Amidi
- Qutb al-Din al-Rawandi, the author of al-Khara'ij wa l-jara'ih
- Al-Zamakhshari, the author of al-Kashshaf
- Abu l-Hasan 'Ali al-Bayhaqi, known as Ibn Funduq
Students
- Al-Sayyid Muhammad b. Zuhra al-Halabi, known as Ibn Zuhra
- Shaykh al-Din Abu l-Hasan 'Ali b. Sha'ra al-Hilli
- Yahya b. Bitriq
- Tarij al-Din al-Darbi
- Al-Shaykh Yahya al-Surawi
- Yahya b. Abi al-Halabi
- Al-Sayyid Kamal al-Din Haydar al-Husayni
Works
- Mutashabih al-Qur'an wa mukhtalifuh
- Manaqib Al Abi Talib
- Ma'alim al-'ulama'
- Mathalib al-nawasib
- Ma'idat al-fa'ida
- Amthal fi l-amthal
- Al-Awsaf
- Al-Minhaj al-jadida
- Ansab Al Abi Talib
- Nukhab al-akhbar al-khasa'is al-fatimiyya
- Bayan al-tanzil
- Al-Mawalid
- Al-Mahzun al-maknun fi 'uyun al-Qur'an
- Al-Tara'if fi al-hudud wa al-haqa'iq
- Al-Hawi
- Al-Fusul fi l-nahw
In Scholars' Quotations

About Ibn Shahrashub, al-Shaykh al-Hurr al-'Amili wrote, "he was a reliable scholar in hadith, rijal and literature, a poet and a collection of all good attributes."[1]
About him, Mirza Husayn Nuri says, "[He is] the honor of Shi'a, crown of religion, best of pioneers and a stormy deep sea with no bottom, the reviver of the works of virtue and merit, fruit of the nation and the religion, sun of Islam and Muslims, Ibn Shahrashub, the jurist, hadith scholar, researcher, …"
Tafrishi wrote, "Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Shahrashub, the leader of Shi'a and their jurist, was an eloquent poet and a writer."[2]
Salah al-Din al-Safdi, a Sunni scholar, wrote, "Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Shahrashub …is one of the noble men of Shi'a. He memorized the Qur'an at the age of eight and reached the ultimate degree of knowledge in Usul. When al-Muqtafi, the Abbasid caliph was in Baghdad, Ibn Shahrashub excelled others in Quranic sciences, difficult issues of hadith studies, lexical knowledge, language syntax and giving speech on the pulpit."[3]
Demise
Ibn Shahrashub passed away in Aleppo in the eve of Friday 22nd of Sha'ban 588/9th of September 1192 and was buried on the top of the mountain called Jabal al-Jawshan. Shi'a of Aleppo believe that it is the burial place of Muhsin al-Siqt, son of Imam al-Husayn (a) (Mashhad al-Siqt).
Notes
References
- 'Amili, al-Hurr al-. Amal al-amil. Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1362 Sh.
- Sadr, Sayyid Hasan al-. Ta'sis al-Shi'a. Tehran: Mu'assisa A'lami, 1369 Sh.
- Tafrishi, Mustafa b. Husayn. Naqd al-rijal. Qum: Al al-Bayt, 1418 AH;