Muhammad Zaki b. Ibrahim

Muhammad Zaki b. Ibrahim

Personal Information
Well-Known As	Khatib Kirmanshahi
Residence	Kermanshah
Death	1159/1746-7
Scholarly Information

Muḥammad Zakī b. Ibrāhīm (Arabic: محمد زکی بن ابراهیم), also known as Khatib Kirmanshahi (Persian: خطیب کرمانشاهی), was a Shi'a preacher, litterateur, theologian, and jurist of 12th/18th century. His parents were Sunnis. He ran away from them when he was 8 and took refuge to Isma'il Khan, Hamadan's governor. Trained by Isma'il Khan, after passing educational levels, he was appointed as Shaykh al-Islam, Imam al-Jumu'a of Isfahan and Kermanshah. Many people were guided influenced by his sermons. In his later life he was appointed as the judge of the army by Nadir Shah's edict but after a while, he was killed by Nadir Shah's order after calumnies were made against him by close people to Shah.

Change of Faith

Khatib Kirmanshahi's parents were Sunnis. He converted to Shi'a and fled to Isma'il Khan, the governor of Hamadan. Isma'il Khan accommodated him and assigned a teacher to train him.

Positions

After passing high levels of education, he was appointed as Shaykh al-Islam of Kermanshah and was put in charge of dealing with religious issues of that town. He was Imam al-Jum'a of Kermanshah and afterward of Isfahan.

After Nadir Shah saw his merits, appointed him as the judge of the army. It has been mentioned in the book Hadith Nadir Shahi that a person by the name Mirza Zaki was the reliable adviser of Nadir Shah. Apparently, the above mentioned person was Khatib Kirmanshahi.

Characteristics

Sayyid 'Abd Allah Jaza'iri and 'Abd al-Nabi Qazwini, who had accompanied him, admired his characteristic and scholarly position. Khatib Kirmanshahi was an expert preacher and many people were guided by his lectures.

Execution

In 1159/1746-7 he was killed by the edict of Nadir Shah due to accusations and calumnies made against him by Mulla Ali Madadi.

Amini has counted him among "Shuhada' al-fadila" (martyrs of virtues) of 12th /18th century.

Scholarly Works

The only work, that biographers have mentioned for him, is a book titled al-Radd 'ala risalat nijasat ghayr al-Imami which is a refutation of treatise about nijasa (impurity) of non-Imami Muslims and excluding them from Islam, which was written by Haydar 'Ali Shirvani. However, a manuscript of the book Tajwid al-Qur'an by his name had been preserved in Baqiryya seminary in Mashhad.