Isma'il b. Muhammad Husayn Mazandarani
 Tomb of Mulla Isma'il Khwaju'i in Takht-i Fulad Cemetery, Isfahan | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Isma'il b. Muhammad Husayn Mazandarani |
| Well-Known As | Khwaju'i |
| Birth | 1100/1688-9 |
| Residence | Mazandaran province, Iran |
| Studied in | Isfahan |
| Death | 1177/1763-4 or 1173/1759-60 |
| Burial Place | Takht-i Fulad Cemetery |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Professors | Al-Fadil al-Hindi, Mulla Muhamamd Tunikabuni |
| Students | Mulla Mahdi Naraqi, Aqa Muhammad Bidabadi, Mirza Abu l-Qasim Mudarris Khatunabadi, Mulla Mihrab Gilani |
| Works | Al-Rasa'il al-i'tiqadiyya, Thamarat al-fu'ad fi nubadh min masa'il al-Ma'ad,Ibtal al-zaman al-muhum etc. |
Mulla Ismāʿīl b. Muḥammad Ḥusayn Māzandarānī (Persian: ملا اسماعیل بن محمدحسین مازندرانی), known as Khwajū'ī (Persian: خواجویی), originally from Tabaristan, was a Shi'a philosopher, theologian and faqih of 12th/18th century. His numerous and well-known works like Bisharat al-Shi'a, and his eminent students like Mulla Mahdi Naraqi has risen his fame and increased his importance.
Birth
Khwaju'i was born in 1100/1688-9. He did not mention his or his ancestors' birthplace in any of his works. However, most likely, he was born in Mazandaran, Iran; as he called himself in his works as Mazandarani.
Last Name
He was called Khwaju'i because he lived for a long time in Khwaju neighborhood located in Isfahan.
Teachers
Al-Fadil al-Hindi and Mulla Muhammad Tunikabuni were his teachers. Also, it is probable that he studied under these teachers:
Students
Some of his famous students are:
- Mulla Mahdi Naraqi
- Aqa Muhammad Bidabadi
- Mirza Abu l-Qasim Mudarris Khatunabadi
- Mulla Mihrab Gilani
Events & Incidents
Invasion of Iran by Afghans and blockade of Isfahan are the important political and historical events happened in Khaju'i's lifetime. He has reported some of the incidents of that time in the margin of the book [[al-Arba'in]] written by Baha' al-Din al-'Amili. Afghans imprisoned him and plundered his property. After this attack, Khwaju'i moved to Khatunabad, a village near Isfahan.
Scholarly and Spiritual Position
He was one of the researchers and teachers in intellectual and narrative sciences and taught them to the end of his life. Gifted with an excellent memory, after teaching al-Shifa' written by Ibn Sina several times, he had memorized many parts of the book. He was expert in both intellectual and narrative sciences and was one of the revivers of Isfahan philosophical school of thought after Afghan's invasion. Although he lived after Mulla Sadra, it is believed that his opinions and thoughts are not influenced by his. He was famous for his piety, asceticism, renunciation of the worldly life and modeling himself after the Prophet (s) and Ahl al-Bayt (a) in his time. He was respected by people with various social ranks and status.
It is said that he had a unique position in Nadir Shah's (1100/1688-9 ; 1160/1747-8) court and Nadir followed his recommendations. Later, his son, Muhammad Ja'far Khaju'i and his grandson, Muhammad Isma'il Khaju'i Thani, became scholars and literati of their time.
Works
He had numerous and various works. Some of which are:
- Al-Rasa'il al-i'tiqadiyya : in 18 volumes in theology. It was published by the effort of Sayyid Mahdi Raja'i in 1411/1990-1 in Qom.
- Thamarat al-fu'ad fi nubadh min masa'il al-ma'ad.
- Ibtal al-zaman al-mawhum : it was published in the 4th volume of Muntakhabati az athar-i hukama-yi ilahi-yi Iran (work selection of Iranian divine philosophers) by the effort of Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani in 1398/1978-9 in Mashhad.
- Miftah al-falah wa misbah al-najah fi sharh du'a' al-sabah: this work has been published in 1411/1991 in Mashhad by Sayyid Mahdi Raja'i's effort.
- Risalat fi al-Ghina': this work has been published by the efforts of Ali Mukhtari and Sayyid Rasul Kazimi Nasab in the book Majmu'a-yi mirath-i fiqhi: ghina wa musiqi (collection of jurisprudential legacy: ghina' and music) which is published in Qom in 1409/1988-9.
Demise
There are different reports about his demise date. 'Abd al-Nabi Qazwini said that he passed away in 1177/1763-4 but later sources wrote that he passed away in 1173/1759-60. He was buried near the tomb of al-Fadil al-Hindi in Takht-i Fulad cemetery located in Isfahan.
References
- The material for writing this article has been mainly taken from اسماعیل بن محمد حسین مازندرانی in Farsi WikiShia.