Al-Sayyid Isma'il al-Himyari: Difference between revisions

'''ʿĀmir al-Sayyid Ismāʿīl b. Muḥammad b. Yazīd b. Rabīʿa al-Ḥimyari''' (Arabic: {{ia|السيد إسماعيل بن محمد بن يزيد بن ربيعة الحميريّ}}) known as '''al-Sayyid al-Ḥimyarī''' (Arabic: {{ia|السيد الحميري}}) (b. [[105]]/723-24, d. [[179]]/795-96) was among famous [[Shia]] poets who composed many poems in defense of Shia. His poems are so many that no one has so far been able to compile a complete record of all his poems. Only 2300 of his Hashimiyyat poems have been collected. It is said that he was first among [[Khawarij]], but then converted to [[Kaysaniyya]] and later became [[Twelver]] Shia through the guidance of [[Imam al-Sadiq (a)]] and stayed Shia until the end of his life.

His parents were among [[Khawarij]] and followed [[Abadiyya]]. They swore at [[Imam Ali (a)]] after [[fajr prayer]], but al-Sayyid converted to Shia when he was young and composed many poems in defense of Shia and Imam Ali (a).

His parent admonished and harassed him to return to the creed of Khawarij, but he did not accept until they planed to kill him. He thus took refuge with 'Uqba b. Salm b. Muhanna, the Shia ruler of Basra and stayed with him until the death of his parent. In a poem, he cursed his parent.

It is said that al-Himyari was asked how he became Shia and in a poem, he answered, "like Mu'min of the people of Pharaoh, the mercy of God was poured upon me all at once."

There is no information about the causes of his conversion and leaving the creed of Khawarij. In those days when [[Umayyad]] government was about to fall, inviters of [[Bani Hashim]] were all around [[Iran]]. Shia was spread in [[Basra]] and [[Ahvaz]] and its followers were supported in those regions.

In some [[hadith]]s, a miracle of Imam al-Sadiq (a) is reported which proves invalidity of Kaysaniyya in al-Sayyid. In any case, [[Ibn Babiwayh]] in ''[[Ikmal al-din (book)|Ikmal al-din]]'', [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] in ''al-fusul al-mukhtara'', Marzbani in ''Akhbar al-Sayyid'', Ibn Mu'tazz in ''Tabaqat al-Shu'ara'', [[Ibn Shahr Ashub]] in ''[[Manaqib Al Abi Talib (a)]]'' and other hadith scholars and historians reported the news about al-Himyari's conversion to Shia through the call of Imam al-Sadiq (a) and mentioned that he kept his religion until the end of his life.

He was powerful in debates with [[Sunni]] dissidents. He mentioned the reasons for [[caliphate]] and [[wilaya]] of Imam Ali (a), proofs for Shia beliefs, rejection of dissidents' sayings and examples of the usurpers of the rights of the [[Ahl al-Bayt (a)]] with a sharp language showing [[tawalla]] and [[tabarra]] [friendship with the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and rejection of their enemies]. He was safe from harassment of Sunni bigots since the leaders of [[Twelver Shia]], Abbasid caliphs and rulers praised and defended him, for he criticized Umayyads, praised [[Bani Hashim]] and defended Abbasid caliphs.

Alawi Sayyids in Shia regions recite his poems with beautiful voices in masses of wedding parties, [[Eid al-Ghadir]] and other celebrations and show their tawalla and tabarra.

In his ''[[al-Ghadir]]'', [[Allama Amini]] mentioned some of al-Sayyid's 21 poems of Ghadiriyya and his Hashimiyyat and elegies for the martyrs of [[Taff]] have always been a source of inspiration for Shia poets.

He passed away at the age of 68 or 74 in Rumayla neighborhood of [[Baghdad]]. [[Harun al-Rashid]] ordered to hold an honorable funeral for him. His body was wrapped in shrouds caliph sent by his brother. Ali b. Mahdi, brother of Harun accompanied the body to the cemetery and prayed over it. To respect his body, he recited 5 Takbir like Shia tradition and by the order of caliph, stayed there after prayer until the funeral finished. His grave is in Karkh Shia neighborhood of Baghdad in Junayna near Qati' al-Rabi'.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[fa:سید اسماعیل بن محمد حمیری]] سید اسماعیل بن محمد حمیری}} in Farsi Wikishia.