'Abbās b. Muḥammad Riḍā Qummī (Arabic: عباس بن محمد رضا القُمي) (b. 1294/1877-8 - d. 1359/1941), known as Shaykh ʿAbbās Qummī (Persian: شیخ عباس قمی) and Muḥaddith Qummī (Persian: محدّث قمی), was a prominent Shi'a figure in the 14th/20th century in the fields of hadith, Islamic history, sermons (wa'z), and religious orations (khataba). He has authored many books in different domains the best-known of which are Mafatih al-jinan, Safinat al-bihar, and Muntaha al-amal.
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Abbas b. Muhammad Rida Qummi |
| Birth | 1294/1877-8 |
| Residence | Qom |
| Studied in | Qom, Najaf |
| Death | Dhu l-Hijja 22, 1359/January 21, 1941 |
| Burial Place | Shrine of Imam 'Ali (a), Najaf |
| Scholarly Information | |
| Professors | Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Tabataba'i Yazdi, Mirza Husayn Nuri, Muhammad Taqi Shirazi, ... |
| Students | Shaykh Aqa Buzurg Tihrani, Sayyid Ahmad Musawi Mustanbit, Sayyid Ahmad, ... |
| Works | Mafatih al-jinan, Safinat al-bihar wa madinat al-hikam wa l-athar, Nafas al-mahmum, ... |
Birth and Parentage
Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi was born in 1294/1877-8 in Qom. His father, Muhammad Rida Qummi, was a religious person whom people consulted in order to know about their religious tasks. His mother, Banu Zinat, was a poius, religious woman.
Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi says about his mother: I have everything from my mother, since she always tried to breast-feed me with cleanliness (tahara).
Marriage
Shaykh 'Abbas's first marriage took place upon his return from Najaf to Qom —he married the daughter of Sayyid Zakariyya Qazvini, one of the scholars in Qom, but after a while they divorce. His second marriage took place when he resided in Mashhad; he married the daughter of Ayatollah Sayyid Ahmad Tabataba'i.
Education
In his teens, Qummi was educated in Qom. Here are some of his teachers in Qom:
- Mirza Muhammad Arbab Qummi
- Shaykh Abu l-Qasim Qummi
- Sayyid Ahmad Tabataba' Qummi, Shaykh 'Abbas's father-in-law
- Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Qummi, his master in calligraphy (Nasta'liq script).
Travels
In order to continue his education in Islamic sciences, Shaykh 'Abbas travelled to some Islamic cities.
Najaf
In 1316/1898-9 when he was 22 years old, Shaykh 'Abbas went to Najaf. In this city, he studied with the following prominent scholars of Shia:
- Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Tabataba'i Yazdi, the author of al-'Urwa al-wuthqa —a major Shiite book in the Islamic jurisprudence,
- Mirza Husayn Nuri, known as Muhaddith Nuri, the author of al-Mustadrak,
- Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi
- Sayyid Hasan Sadr Kazimi
- Sayyid Abu l-Hasan Naqawi Lucknowi
During his sojourn in Najaf, Shaykh 'Abbas went to Hajj in 1318/1901.
Return to Iran
After Muhaddith Nuri's death, Shaykh 'Abbas left Najaf in 1322/1904-5 and returned to Iran. During his life in Iran, he went to visit Karbala and Najaf and he also went to the Hajj again.
Mashhad
On Friday, Rabi' II 1, 1332/February 27,1914, Shaykh 'Abbas went to Mashhad intending to stay there. It was at the request of Haj Aqa Husayn Qumi. Shaykh 'Abbas stayed there until 1354/1935-6. In the introduction to his book, al-Fawa'id al-Radawiyya, Shaykh 'Abbas writes: because of my sadness and the troubles that I had, it occurred to me to take refuge to the leader of the pious and the refuge of the helpless, Imam 'Ali b. Musa al-Rida (a).
Here are some of Shaykh 'Abbas's teachers in Mashhad:
- Aqa Buzurg Hakim Shahidi
- Ayatollah Mirza Muhammad Ayatollah Zada Khurasani, Akhund Khurasani's son
- Shaykh Murtada Ashtiyani
- Haj Aqa Husayn Qumi
- Mirza 'Abd al-Jawad Adib Nayshaburi
In his 22 years of living in Mashhad, Shaykh 'Abbas authored many books and delivered sermons and orations that were very well-known. In his orations he talked against Americans. He was threatened to death by the Punishment Committee of the Democratic Party.
Return to Najaf
After the events in the Goharshad Mosque and the massacre of people and the exile of Haj Aqa Husayn Qumi, Shaykh 'Abbas Qummi returned to Najaf in 1354/1935, and stayed there until his death.
Character Traits
Aqa Buzurg Tihrani, one of Shaykh 'Abbas's friends, says: he was a perfect and knowledgeable person; he was good-tempered, unselfish, and honest. He avoided fame and had an ascetic life. There are many anecdotes about his character.
Pupils
- Shaykh Aqa Buzurg Tihrani
- Sayyid Ahmad Musawi Mustanbit
- Sayyid Ahmad, known as Sayyid Aqa Tustari Jaza'iri
- Shaykh Husayn Muqaddas Mashhadi
- Shaykh Mirza Haydar Quli Khan Sardar al-Kabuli
- Sayyid Shahab al-Din Mar'ashi Najafi
- Shaykh 'Abd al-Husayn Rashti
- Mulla 'Ali Wa'iz Khiyabani Tabrizi
- Sayyid 'Ali Madad Qa'ini Khurasani
- Sayyid 'Ali Naqi Fayd al-Islam Tihrani
- Shaykh Muhammad Taqi al-Muqaddas al-Tihrani
- Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq Sadr al-Shari'a Tunikabuni
- Shaykh Muhammad 'Ali Urdubadi
- Shaykh Muhammad Mahdi Sharaf al-Din Wa'izi Tustari
- Sayyid Muhammad Hadi Milani
- Sayyid Mustafa Safa'i Khwansari
- Sayyid Mirza Mahdi Shirazi
- Shaykh Yusuf Biyarjumandi Ha'iri
- Shaykh Yusuf b. 'Abd 'Ali Raja'i Maghzi
Works
Shaykh Abbas Qumi has authored more than sixty books in different domains in Arabic and Persian, the best-known of which are Mafatih al-jinan, Safinat al-bihar, and Muntaha al-amal.
Death and Burial
Shaykh 'Abbas passed away on Tuesday night, Dhu l-Hijja 22, 1359/January 21, 1941 in Najaf when he was 65 years old. Sayyid Abu l-Hasan Isfahani prayed on his corpse in the holy shrine of Imam 'Ali (a), and he was buried near his master, Muhaddith Nuri, in the shrine. Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin writes: three mourning ceremonies were held for him in Najaf, Karbala, and Kadhimiya.
References
- The material for this article is mainly take from شیخ عباس قمی in Farsi Wikishia.