Mir Shams al-Din al-Iraqi
 | |
| Religious Affiliation | Twelver |
|---|---|
| Lineage | Imam Musa al-Kazim (a) |
| Birth | 845/1441-2 |
| Place of Birth | Arak |
| Place of Residence | Kashmir |
| Death | 932/1525-6 |
| Burial Place | A khanqah in Jadibal near Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir |
| Professors | Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh |
| Activities | Propagation of Shiism in Kashmir, Construction of Mosque and Khanqah |
Mīr Shams al-Dīn al-Irāqī (Arabic: میر شمس الدین العراقي) (b. 845/1441-2 - d. 932/1525-6) was from the progeny of Imam Musa al-Kazim (a).
Mir Shmas al-Din propagated Shiism in Kashmir, as a result of which some natives of Kashmir converted to Shiism. Moreover, he paved the ground for the recitation of sermons in the names of the Twelve Shiite Imams (a) in the Jami' Mosque of Kashmir. His activities also include the construction of a mosque and a khanqah as well as the destruction of houses of idols.
Muhammad Ali Kashmiri wrote the book, Tuhfat al-ahbab, about Mir Shams al-Din al-Iraqi in Persian. The book provides an account of Mir's life and activities.
Biography
Mir Shams al-Din al-Iraqi was born in 845/1441-2 in a village near Arak. His name was Muhammad and his lineage goes back to Imam Musa al-Kazim (a), the seventh Shiite Imam. His father, Sayyid Ibrahim, and his mother were Sadat from Qazvin. He is known as "Iraqi" because he was born in Iraq al-Ajam, a city in Iran, which is known as Arak today. Thus, he is also referred to as "Araki."
According to a family tree, Mir Shams al-Din al-Iraqi died in 932/1525-6. However, according to some scholars, the year of his death does not appear in old sources such as Shahi's Baharistan, Tuhfat al-ahbab, and a history (of Kashmir) written by Malik Haydar Chadura. There is also a disagreement as to whether Mir Shams al-Din died of natural causes or was murdered. There is an elegy by Mulla Sa'id Ashraf, who was the son of Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi's sister, that points to Mir's murder. The same view is held by certain authors in Kashmir.
Mir Shams al-Din is buried in a khanqah in Jadibal near Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir.
Cultural Activities
Mir Shams al-Din performed cultural activities in Kashmir. He was allegedly appointed as Shaykh al-Islam in the period of Shah Hasan of the Shahmiri dynasty (r.876/1472 - d.889/1484) and prepared the ground for sermons recited in the names of Shiite Imams. Here are some other cultural activities of Mir in Kashmir:
Propagation of Shiism in Kashmir
Mir Shams al-Din was dispatched to Kashmir in 882/1477-8 as an ambassador of Sultan Husayn Bayqara (reign: 875/1470 - 911/1506), the Taymurid ruler of Khorasan. After eight years of stay in Kashmir, Mir Shams al-Din returned to Khorasan.
Once again, he went to Kashmir in 902/1496-7 at the request of Shah Qasim Nurbakhsh, and called people in Kashmir to Shiism. Instead of face-to-face engagement with people, Mir Shams al-Din focused on heads of tribes and politically influential people. Baba Ali Najjar, a prominent Sufi at the time, was the first person who pledged his allegiance to Mir. After that, Musa Rayna the prime minister, Kaji Chak, and Ghazi Chak (reign: 962/1555 - 971/1564), influential people in the government, converted to Shiism. Thus, according to sources, Chaks – an Imami dynasty governing Kashmir in 962/1555 - 994/1586 –converted to Shiism under the influence of Mir Shams al-Din. It is said that, with the help of Musa Rayna, he guided 24000 Hindu families to Shiism, as well as a number of Buddhist residents of Ladakh in Baltistan.
Construction of Mosque and Khanqah
Mir Shams al-Din destroyed houses of idols and constructed mosques and khanqahs in their place. According to sources, he destroyed 3943 houses of idols or pagodas, and thus, he came to be known as "Mukassir al-Asnam" (idol breaker). One khanqah constructed by Mir Shams al-Din was the one in Zadibal, eight kilometers from Srinagar the capital of Kashmir. He also reconstructed the khanqah built by Sultan Sikandar the Idol Breaker (796/1393-4) for Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani.
Other cultural activities of Mir Shams al-Din include the dispatching of preachers and propagators to faraway areas and the revival of the culture of jihad.
Scholarly Activities
Mir Shams al-Din was a student of Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh. He was also a companion of scholars such as Shams al-Din al-Lahiji and Shah Qasim Nurbakhsh. He had many students some of whom are mentioned in the introduction of the book, Baharistan shahi.
Monography
The book, Tuhfat al-ahbab, written by Muhammad Ali Kashmiri, is a biography and an account of the career of Mir Shams al-Din al-Iraqi. The book was written during the reign of Sultan Husayn (reign: 971/1563 - 978/1570), the Chak king. The book is translated into Urdu.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from میر شمسالدین عراقی in Farsi WikiShia.