Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Hilli

Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Hilli

Personal Information
Full Name	Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Hilli
Well-Known As	Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin
Well-Known Relatives	al-'Allama al-Hilli (father)
Birth	682/1283
Residence	Hillah
Studied in	Seminary of Hillah
Death	771/1369-70
Scholarly Information
Professors	Al-'Allama al-Hilli
Students	Al-Shahid al-Awwal • Sayyid Haydar al-Amuli
Works	Idah al-fawa'id • commentary on Nahj al-mustarshidin • annotation on Idah al-adhhan

Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ḥillī (Arabic: محمد بن الحسن الحلّي), also known as Fakhr al-Muḥaqqiqīn (Arabic: فخر المحققین) (b. 682/1283 - d. 771/1369-70), one of the prominent jurists of the eighth/fourteenth century. He was the son of al-'Allama al-Hilli. He achieved the level of ijtihad when he was a teenager. Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin has several works in jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, and theology, many of which are supplements to his father's works. His most important work is Idah al-fawa'id fi sharh mushkilat al-qawa'id, which has been referred to by later jurists.

Life and Education

Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin was born in Jumada I 20, 682/August 16, 1283 in Hillah, Iraq. He started his religious education in his childhood under his father, who seems to be his only teacher in this period.

Qadi Nur Allah al-Shushtari, in Majalis al-mu'minin, believed that by checking the year of publication of Qawa'id and the year of Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin's birth, we find that he was younger than ten years old upon publishing Qawa'id. But, Ali Dawwani rejected this idea and believed that maybe 'Allama wrote Qawa'id in brief, as it can be found in his will to his son, and later completed it and thus upon publishing Qawa'id, Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin was before or about the age of maturity.

The same way Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin was unique in merits and excellence, he was also privileged regarding morals and virtues. Statements of al-Allama al-Hilli in the introduction to Qawa'id al-ahkam describe the characteristics of Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin.

Works

Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin had several works in different Islamic disciplines, many of which are supplements to, or commentaries on, his father's works. His works are as follows:

1. Idah al-fawa'id: it is a commentary on Qawa'id al-ahkam that was written on the recommendation of his father.
2. Tahsil al-najat which is about Usul al-Din.
3. A commentary on Nahj al-mustarshidin
4. Risala fakhriyya
5. Jami' al-fawa'id
6. Thubat al-fawa'id fi sharh ishkalat al-qawa'id
7. An annotation on Irshad al-azhan
8. Wajibat al-salat al-thamaniyya
9. Al-Masa'il al-mazahiriyya
10. Jami' al-fawa'id fi sharh khutba al-qawa'id
11. An annotation on Qawa'id al-ahkam
12. A commentary on Mabadi al-usul
13. Ghayat al-su'al fi sharh tahdhib al-usul
14. Al-Kafiya al-wafiya
15. Manba' al-asrar

Students

Some of the prominent students of Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin are the following:

1. Al-Shahid al-Awwal
2. Al-Sayyid Badr al-Din al-Madani
3. Ibn Mutawwaj al-Bahrani
4. Sayyid Haydar al-Amuli
5. Sayyid Taj al-Din b. Mu'ayya
6. Zahir al-Din, son of Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin.

Demise

The first al-Majlisi wrote, "…and Allama and his son were taken to Najaf al-Ashraf and buried there." (meaning that they took their bodies to Najaf and buried them there.) In Tanqih al-maqal, Shaykh 'Abd Allah Mamaqani wrote, "I did not find any scholar ever determined his burial location, but some great scholars said that animals ate him and there is a story for that, I do not recount to avoid insulting his contemporaries. Thus, there was no body left of him to bury." Sayyid Musa Shubayri Zanjani, mentioned some evidences (including the reference to the statement reported from the First al-Majlisi) and considered Mamaqani's claim wrong.