Mulla Ali Kani
 | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | 'Ali Kani |
| Birth | 1220/1805-6 |
| Residence | Tehran |
| Studied in | Tehran, Najaf |
| Death | 1306/1888-9 |
| Burial Place | Shrine of Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani, Ray |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Professors | Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari, Shaykh Hasan Kashif al-Ghita', Shaykh Mashkur Jawlawi Najafi, ... |
| Students | Musa Sharara 'Amili, Asad Allah Tihrani, Muhammad 'Ali Khwansari, ... |
| Socio-Political Activities | |
| Socio-Political Activities | Opposing with Reuter Contract and the establishment of Freemasonry lodge in Iran |
Mullā ʿAlī Kanī (Arabic: ملا علی کنی) (b. 1220/1805-6 - d. 1306/1888-9), Iranian Shi'a scholar and faqih. He was in charge of religious affairs of Iran, and had a great influence on people and even on Naser al-Din Shah and his court. Despite his great wealth, Mulla 'Ali led a very simple life. He authored several works in different branches of Islamic sciences, including Tawdih al-maqal and a commentary on Jawahir al-kalam.
Birth
He was born in 1220/1805-6 in the village of Kan, in northwest of Tehran. His father was a farmer.
Eduaction
After he learned reading and writing, his family did not let him continue his education for nearly twenty years. Eventually, he got their approval and went to one of Tehran's schools. Some years later, he moved to Iraq to study with great scholars there. During the plague in Iraq, between 1244/1828-9 to 1246/1830-1, he left Najaf, but again came back to the city and continued his education.[1]
Teachers
Kani studied fiqh and usul al-fiqh with
- Sayyid Asad Allah Shafti al-Isfahani,
- Shaykh Hasan Kashif al-Ghita',
- Shaykh Mashkur Jawlawi Najafi,
- Sayyid Ibrahim Qazwini Ha'iri,
- Al-Shaykh Murtada al-Ansari,
- and most importantly with Muhammad Hasan Najafi known as Sahib al-Jawahir. [2]
Students
Scholars such as
participated in his classes and studied with him.[3]
Religious and Social Position
In 1262/1845-6, Mulla 'Ali returned to Iran and settled in Tehran. He was very knowledgeable in fiqh, usul al-fiqh, rijal, hadith and exegesis.[4] Kani was one of the four great scholars of Iran in that time whom were mentioned by Sahib Jawahir in his letter to Muhammad Shah Qajar. Sahib Jawahir confirmed that those four scholars were erudite and Mujtahid.[5]
Gradually, he gained fame and became an influential and powerful scholar whose commands and fatwas were obeyed by all people even the court of king, Nasir al-Din Shah. In 1282/1865-6, he became the rector of Marwi School. [6] The majority of Iranians followed him in fiqh and most of Tehran's scholars at that time were his student. [7] He held his contemporary scholars in great esteem.[8]
Political Issues
He was aware of political affairs of his time and because of his influence on the people and even the king, he interfered in important events.
Reuter Contract
After the sing of Reuters Contract in 1290/1873-4 (which in practice made Iran a colony of Britain), Mulla ʿAli Kani wrote a letter to the King, Nasir al-Din Shah, and opposed with this contract. He wrote what Reuter gains through this contract even is more than what Britain gained in India. He also wrote that "when there is a flaw in governmental affairs, it is religious scholars' duty to refer to it … whether the king favor this or not and whether tries to correct it or not" and strongly asked the king to cancel the contract and dismiss the prime minister, who was behind signing this contract.
As a result of these objections and even foreign objections to the contract, at last, Nasir al-Din Shah canceled the contract and removed the minister from the office.[9]
Freemasonry
In the abovementioned letter Mulla 'Ali also objected severely to the establishment of Freemasonry lodge in Iran.[10]
Attributes
Mulla 'Ali Kani was very rich, but had a very simple and unadorned life and always cared about poor and oppressed people. He is described as lenient, generous, pious, and ascetic and about his power and influence it is said that without his approval, no important social issue could occur in Iran. The king of Iran, Nasir al-Din Shah, went to his house to visit him and held him in high esteem.[11]
Works
He had some books in fiqh, including:
- Irshad al-Umma which was written in Persian and in fact was his manual of fatwas, [12]
- Talkhis al-Masa'il on which he himself wrote a commentary named Tahqiq al-dala'il. Agha Buzurg Tihrani describes this book as more scholarly and more precise than Jawahir al-kalam. [13]
- A commentary on Jawahir al-kalam.[14]
He also had works in other fields of Islamic sciences:
- Idah al-mutashabihat fi tafsir al-kalimat al-mushkalat al-qur'aniat]] which explains difficult words of the Qur'an. [15]
- "Mawa'iz hasana (i.e. excellent advices) [16]
- some treatises about usul al-fiqh;[17]
- Tawdih al-maqal which is about rijal and diraya.[18]
Death
Mulla 'Ali Kani died in Tehran, in 1306/1888-9 and was buried in the shrine of 'Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani in Rey. His funeral was very crowded and even Non-Muslims were participated in the ceremony. In various cities, people hold commemorating ceremonies for him and many poems were told in sorrow of his death.[19]
Notes
- ↑ Kani, p. 302; Kashmiri, vol. 2, p. 23, footnote; Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Tabaqat, p. 1504-1505.
- ↑ Hirz al-Din, vol. 2, p. 113; Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Tabaqat, p. 1504-1505.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, al-zari'a, vol. 4, p. 204; Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat, p. 133; Habibabadi, vol. 3, p. 699; Huasyni, vol. 2, p. 787.
- ↑ Itimad al-Saltana, al-Ma'athir wa al-Athar, p. 187; Mudarris Tabrizi, vol. 5, p. 98.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat, p. 1505.
- ↑ I'timad al-Saltana, Ruznamih khatirat, p. 133; Ansari, p. 398.
- ↑ Kani, Tawdih al-maqal, p. 303; I'timad al-Saltana, Al-Ma'athir al-athar, p. 187; Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat, p. 1505; * Musawi Isfahani, Ahsan al-wadi'a, vol.1, p. 101
- ↑ see: Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat, p. 332-333; Sharif Razi, Akhtaran afruzan Rey wa Tehran, pp. 127-128, 220, 410-412.
- ↑ Taymuri, 'Asr bi-khabari, p.123-126; Nazim al-Islam Kirmani, Tarikh biydari Iranian, p. 135.
- ↑ Nazim al-Islam Kirmani, Tarikh biydari Iranian, p. 135.
- ↑ Itimad al-Saltana, al-Ma'athir wa al-Athar, p.187; Japalaqi burujirdi, Tara'if al-maqal, vol. 2, p. 375; Hirz al-din, Ma'arif al-rijal, vol.2, p 112; Agha Buzurg, "Tabaqat, p. 1505-1506.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 11, p. 57, 216.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 3, p. 480.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 6, p. 58.
- ↑ Mawsu'at tabaqa al-fuqaha' , vol. 14, p. 433.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 23, p. 226.
- ↑ Japalaqi burujirdi, Tara'if al-maqal, vol. 2, p. 375.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Al-Dhari'a, vol. 4, p. 413,498-499.
- ↑ Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat, p. 1506; I'timad al-Saltana, Ruznamih khatirat, p. 595-596.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from | ملا علي كني in Farsi Wikishia.
- Ansari, Murtada, Zindigani wa shakhsiat shaykh Ansari, Qom, 1373Sh.
- Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Muhammad Muhsin, Al-Dhari'a ila tasanif al-shi'a, Beirut, 1403/1983.
- Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Muhammad Muhsin, Musaffa al-maqal fi musannifi 'ilm al-rijal, Tehran, 1337Sh.
- Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Muhammad Muhsin, Tabaqat a'lam a-shi'a: nuqaba' al-bashar fi al-qarn rabi' al-'ashar, Mashhad, 1404AH.
- Habibabadi, Muhammad 'Ali, Makarim al-athar dar ahwal rijal du qarn 13 wa 14 hijri, Isfahan, 1351Sh.
- Hirz al-din, Muhammad, Ma'arif al-rijal fi tarajim al-'ulama wa al-udaba, Qom, 1405AH.
- Husayni Ha'iri, Kazim, Al-Qada fi al-fiqh al-islami, Qom, 1415AH.
- Husayni, Ahmad, Tarajim al-rijal, Qom, 1414AH.
- I'timad al-Saltana, Muhammad Hasan b. 'Ali, Al-Ma'athir al-athar, dar chihil sal tarikh Iran, Tehran, Asatir, 1363Sh.
- I'timad al-Saltana, Muhammad Hasan b. 'Ali, Ruznamih khatirat i'timad al-saltana, Tehran, Iraj Afshar, 1350Sh.
- Japalaqi burujirdi, 'Ali Asghar b. Muhammad Shafi', Tara'if al-maqal fi ma'rifat tabaqat al-rijal, Qom, 1410AH.
- Kani, Haj Mulla 'Ali, Tawdih al-maqal fi 'ilm al-rijal, Qom, 1379Sh.
- Kashmiri, Muhammad Mahdi b. Muhammad 'Ali, Takmilat nujum al-sama' , Qom, [1397AH?].
- Mudarris Tabrizi, Muhammad 'Ali, Rayhanat al-adab, Tehran, 1369Sh.
- Musawi Bujnurdi, Hasan, al-Qawa'id al-fiqhiyya, Qom, 1377Sh.
- Musawi Isfahani, Muhammad Mahdi, Ahsan al-wadi'a fi tarajim ashhar mashahir mujtahidi al-shi'a, aw, tatmim rawzat al-jannat, Baghdad, [1348?].
- Mushawir, Khanbaba, Mu'alifin kutub chappi Farsi wa 'Arabi, Tehran, 1340-1344Sh.
- Mawsu'at tabaqa al-fuqaha' , edited by Ja'far Subhani, Qom, Mu'assasat al-Imam al-Sadiq, 1418-1424AH.
- Nazim al-Islam Kirmani, Muhammad b. 'Ali, Tarikh biydari Iranian, Tehran, 1376-1377Sh.
- Ruhani, Muhammad Sadiq, Fiqh al-Sadiq, Qom, 1412-1414AH.
- Sharif Razi, Muhammad, Akhtaran afruzan Rey wa Tehran, ya, tazkirat al-maqabir fi ahwal al-mafakhir, Qom, Maktabat al-zahra', n.d. .
- Sharif Razi, Muhammad, Ganjinih danishmandan, Tehran, 1352-1354Sh.
- Taymuri, Ibrahim, 'Asr bi-khabari, ya, 50 sal istibdad dar Iran: tarikh imtiazat dar Iran, Tehran, 1357Sh.