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[[File:Al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque.jpg|thumbnail|Al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque in [[Najaf]]]]
[[File:Al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque.jpg|thumbnail|Al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque in [[Najaf]]]]
==His Thoughts and Intellectual and Religious Position==
Shaykh Tusi was among the leaders of intellectualism in Baghdad and followed the method of his teachers, Sayyid Murtada and Shaykh Mufid and perfected it. Shaykh Tusi wrote books in different branches of religious studies and since he was influential in Shia society and had many students, could make a lasting influence over Shia scholars. Ijtihad and intellectualism in Shia fiqh and beliefs prevailed among Shia due to the efforts of Shaykh Tusi whoended the dominance of several centuries of Akhbarism.
Establishment of the Seminary of Najaf
After the invasion of Seljuk Turks to Baghdad and its following events like burning of the library of Shapur and the fight between Shia and Sunnis in Baghdad, Shaykh moved to Baghdad and began his scientific activity in that city and the great seminary of Najaf was established due to his efforts. Shaykh could bring order to disordered educational situation in Najaf and hold study circles. Few people who had either accompanied Shaykh to Najaf or had heard his fame, joined him and soon Najaf became the intellectual and scientific centerof Shia. However, some believe that study circles were formed before Shaykh went to Najaf and his role was to bring order and stability to the seminary of Najaf.
The Role of Shaykh Tusi in Perfection of Shia Fiqh
Introducing intellectual and discursive method for understanding the rulings of fiqh is usually considered as the most prominent achievement of Shaykh Tusi in the history of Shia fiqh. Before Shaykh Tusi, the prevalent method in fiqh was hadith-oriented. In al-Mabsut, Shaykh Tusi benefitted from ijtihad approach to understand rulings from hadiths based on the principles of usul. Shaykh Tusi’s method had a great influence over the historical course of Shia fiqh and it was unrivaled among Shia fuqaha for ages later. After Shaykh Tusi, even his rulings were accepted by scholars and no one dared to oppose his opinions until Ibn Idris (d. 597 AH) opened criticism against him.
Solving apparent contradictions between hadiths received from Imams (a) was among the major concerns of Shaykh Tusi. He wrote Tahdhib al-ahkam and al-Istibsar fi ma-khtalaf-a min al-akhbar and collected contradictory hadiths and interpreted andexplained these contradictions and proposed a method for solving them and understanding the rulings from hadiths. Shaykh Tusi considered the usage of comparative fiqh. His major work in the regard is al-Khalaf fi al-ahkam.
Hi Innovation in Writing Commentary on the Qur’an
Shaykh Tusi is the author of al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Qur’an, which was a model for later Shia commentaries. It is the first complete commentary of the Qur’an written by a Shia and includes all the chapters of the Qur’an. It is distinguished from previous commentaries because in al-Tibyan, Shaykh Tusi considered the opinions of other Shia and Sunni scholars, discussed about the opinions of other exegetes, benefitted from pre-Islamic Arabic literature, gave information on difficult words of the Qur’an and mentioned the differences among recitations and issues in fiqh, kalam and rhetorics in verses of the Qur’an. Shia commentaries before Shaykh Tusi only mentioned hadiths about the verses of the Qur’an.
The most important feature of Shaykh Tusi’s method in exegesis was his ijtihad and intellectualism in interpretations of the Qur’an which made it different from simple hadith-oriented approach of previous exegetes. Shaykh Tusi brought proofs from the verses of the Qur’an that the Qur’an is an understandable text for human intellect and did not accept hadiths which considered referring to hadiths as the only way to understand the Qur’an.
== Death ==
== Death ==
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi lived for 12 years in [[Najaf]] and passed away in [[Muharram]] [[460]]/1067. According to al-Shaykh's will, he was buried in his house, and the house was converted into a mosque. The [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi mosque]], which is also called Jami' al-Shaykh al-Tusi, is one of the most famous mosques of [[Najaf]]. It has been reconstructed and repaired several times, and is used by the professors and scholars of the [[Islamic Seminary of Najaf]] as a place for holding lectures.<ref>'Alawi. ''Rahnama-yi musawwar-i safar-i ziyyarati-yi Iraq'', p.150.</ref>
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi lived for 12 years in [[Najaf]] and passed away in [[Muharram]] [[460]]/1067. According to al-Shaykh's will, he was buried in his house, and the house was converted into a mosque. The [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi mosque]], which is also called Jami' al-Shaykh al-Tusi, is one of the most famous mosques of [[Najaf]]. It has been reconstructed and repaired several times, and is used by the professors and scholars of the [[Islamic Seminary of Najaf]] as a place for holding lectures.<ref>'Alawi. ''Rahnama-yi musawwar-i safar-i ziyyarati-yi Iraq'', p.150.</ref>

Revision as of 11:27, 6 March 2017

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi
The Tomb of al-Shaykh al-Tusi in the al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque in Najaf
The Tomb of al-Shaykh al-Tusi in the al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque in Najaf
Personal Information
Full NameMuhammad b. al-Hasan b. 'Ali b. al-Hasan
Well-Known AsShaykh al-Ta'ifa, al-Shaykh al-Tusi
Well-Known RelativesAl-Hasan b. Muhammad al-Tusi (son)
Birth385/995
ResidenceKhurasan, Baghdad, Najaf
Studied inBaghdad
Death460/1067
Burial PlaceNajaf
Scholarly Information
Professorsal-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Sharif al-Murtada, Ibn Hashir, Ibn Salt al-Ahwazi, al-Husayn b. 'Ubayd Allah b. al-Ghada'iri
StudentsAbu l-Salah al-Halabi, Abu l-Fath al-Karajaki, Mansur b. al-Husayn al-Abi
WorksTahdhib al-ahkam, Al-Istibsar fi ma ikhtalaf min al-akhbar, Ikhtiyar al-rijal, Al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Qur'an, Al-Khilaf fi l-ahkam


Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAli b. al-Ḥasan (Arabic: محمد بن الحسن بن علي بن الحسن) (b. 385/995 in Tus, d. 460/1067 in Najaf), better known as al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (Arabic: الشيخ الطوسي), was one of the greatest Shi'a jurists and compilers of hadith. He has written many works in the fields of theology and tafsir. For his great contributions and tremendous influence, he received the honorable title of al-Shaykh al-Ṭāʾifa (Arabic: الشيخ الطائفة) (the chief or head of the Shi'a).

Life

Muhammad b. al-Hasan was born in Khorasan in Ramadan 385/995, four years after the demise of al-Shaykh al-Saduq and the same year of the demise of Harun b. Musa Talla'ukbari. His kunya was Abu Ja'far and since the kunya of both al-Shaykh al-Kulayni and al-Shaykh al-Saduq also was Abu Ja'far, he is sometimes called the third Abu Ja'far.

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi spent the first part of his life in Khorasan, and moved to Baghdad at the age of 23. In Baghdad, he studied under leading Shi'a scholars such as al-Shaykh al-Mufid, al-Sharif al-Murtada, and Ibn al-Ghada'iri. The Abbasid caliph of the time eventually appointed him to the principal chair of theology in Baghdad, where nearly three-hundred students would attend his classes.

Following the demise of al-Sharif al-Murtada, al-Shaykh al-Tusi took over the leadership of the Shi'a.

After his house and library were burnt down in the sectarian conflicts of 449/1057, and the decline of the Buyid dynasty, al-Shaykh al-Tusi moved to Najaf. There, he established a Shi'i scholarly circle which led to the formation of the Islamic Seminary of Najaf.[1]

Scholarly Position

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi was the leader of of Shi'a faqihs. He attained the station of ijtihad in both fiqh and usul al-fiqh. From the Four Books, al-Shaykh al-Tusi is the author of both al-Istibsar and Tahdhib al-ahkam.

The ideas and works of al-Shaykh al-Tusi had overshadowed Shi'a scholarship and no one opposed his opinions until the time of Ibn Idris (d. 597/1201). His book, al-Nihaya, was the main source of teaching in Shi'a scholarly circles until al-Muhaqiq al-Hilli (d. 676/1277) wrote Shara'i' al-Islam.

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi wrote in nearly all fields of Islamic sciences. His works are a unique resource for later generations because many of the sources he used were destroyed when Shapur library was burned.[2]

Teachers

Al-Tusi studied with many teachers, but the following five figures are the ones he refers to most:

Students

It is reported that al-Tusi had over 300 Shi'i students, and many other Sunni ones. The following list includes some of his more well-known students:

  • Adam b. Yunus b. Abi Muhajir al-Nasifi
  • Abu Bakr Ahmad b. al-Husayn b. Ahmad al-Khuza'i al-Nayshaburi
  • Abu l-Khayr Barakat b. Muhammad b. Barakat al-Asadi
  • Al-Taqi b. Najm al-Din al-Halabi, known as Abu l-Salah
  • Shams al-Islam al-Hasan b. al-Husayn b. Babawayh al-Qummi, known as Haska
  • Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. 'Abd al-'Aziz b. al-Hasan al-Jabhani
  • Sa'd al-Din b. al-Barraj
  • Abu al-Hasan Sulayman b. al-Hasan b. Salman al-Sahrashti
  • Sa'id b. Rabi'at b. Abi Ghanim
  • Abu 'Abd al-Rahman b. Ahmad al-Husayni al-Khuza'i
  • 'Ali b. 'Abd al-Samad al-Tamimi al-Sabziwari
  • Ghazi b. Ahmad b. Abi Mansur al-Samani
  • Jamal al-Din Muhammad b. Abial-Qasim al-Tabari al-Amuli
  • Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Shahriyyar al-Khazin al-Gharawi
  • Muhammad b. al-Hasan b. 'Ali al-Fattal al-Neyshaburi, the author of Rawdat al-wa'zin
  • Abu l-Fath Muhammad b. Ali al-Karajaki
  • Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. Hibat Allah al-Tirablusi
  • Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Hasan al-Halabi
  • Mansur b. al-Husayn al-Abi
  • Abu Ibrahim al-Nasir b. al-Rida b. Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah al-Alawi al-Husayni.[4]
Al-Istibsar fi ma khtalafa min al-akhbar is one of the four books
Tahdhib al-ahkam is also one of the Four Books
Kitab al-khilaf

Works

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi composed over fifty books in the fields of fiqh, hadith, theology, and tafsir. Some of his important works are as follows:

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi Mosque in Najaf

His Thoughts and Intellectual and Religious Position

Shaykh Tusi was among the leaders of intellectualism in Baghdad and followed the method of his teachers, Sayyid Murtada and Shaykh Mufid and perfected it. Shaykh Tusi wrote books in different branches of religious studies and since he was influential in Shia society and had many students, could make a lasting influence over Shia scholars. Ijtihad and intellectualism in Shia fiqh and beliefs prevailed among Shia due to the efforts of Shaykh Tusi whoended the dominance of several centuries of Akhbarism. Establishment of the Seminary of Najaf After the invasion of Seljuk Turks to Baghdad and its following events like burning of the library of Shapur and the fight between Shia and Sunnis in Baghdad, Shaykh moved to Baghdad and began his scientific activity in that city and the great seminary of Najaf was established due to his efforts. Shaykh could bring order to disordered educational situation in Najaf and hold study circles. Few people who had either accompanied Shaykh to Najaf or had heard his fame, joined him and soon Najaf became the intellectual and scientific centerof Shia. However, some believe that study circles were formed before Shaykh went to Najaf and his role was to bring order and stability to the seminary of Najaf. The Role of Shaykh Tusi in Perfection of Shia Fiqh Introducing intellectual and discursive method for understanding the rulings of fiqh is usually considered as the most prominent achievement of Shaykh Tusi in the history of Shia fiqh. Before Shaykh Tusi, the prevalent method in fiqh was hadith-oriented. In al-Mabsut, Shaykh Tusi benefitted from ijtihad approach to understand rulings from hadiths based on the principles of usul. Shaykh Tusi’s method had a great influence over the historical course of Shia fiqh and it was unrivaled among Shia fuqaha for ages later. After Shaykh Tusi, even his rulings were accepted by scholars and no one dared to oppose his opinions until Ibn Idris (d. 597 AH) opened criticism against him. Solving apparent contradictions between hadiths received from Imams (a) was among the major concerns of Shaykh Tusi. He wrote Tahdhib al-ahkam and al-Istibsar fi ma-khtalaf-a min al-akhbar and collected contradictory hadiths and interpreted andexplained these contradictions and proposed a method for solving them and understanding the rulings from hadiths. Shaykh Tusi considered the usage of comparative fiqh. His major work in the regard is al-Khalaf fi al-ahkam. Hi Innovation in Writing Commentary on the Qur’an Shaykh Tusi is the author of al-Tibyan fi tafsir al-Qur’an, which was a model for later Shia commentaries. It is the first complete commentary of the Qur’an written by a Shia and includes all the chapters of the Qur’an. It is distinguished from previous commentaries because in al-Tibyan, Shaykh Tusi considered the opinions of other Shia and Sunni scholars, discussed about the opinions of other exegetes, benefitted from pre-Islamic Arabic literature, gave information on difficult words of the Qur’an and mentioned the differences among recitations and issues in fiqh, kalam and rhetorics in verses of the Qur’an. Shia commentaries before Shaykh Tusi only mentioned hadiths about the verses of the Qur’an. The most important feature of Shaykh Tusi’s method in exegesis was his ijtihad and intellectualism in interpretations of the Qur’an which made it different from simple hadith-oriented approach of previous exegetes. Shaykh Tusi brought proofs from the verses of the Qur’an that the Qur’an is an understandable text for human intellect and did not accept hadiths which considered referring to hadiths as the only way to understand the Qur’an.

Death

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi lived for 12 years in Najaf and passed away in Muharram 460/1067. According to al-Shaykh's will, he was buried in his house, and the house was converted into a mosque. The al-Shaykh al-Tusi mosque, which is also called Jami' al-Shaykh al-Tusi, is one of the most famous mosques of Najaf. It has been reconstructed and repaired several times, and is used by the professors and scholars of the Islamic Seminary of Najaf as a place for holding lectures.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat a'lam al-shi'a. p. 161-162
  2. ↑ Agha Buzurg, Tabaqat a'lam al-shi'a, p. 162
  3. ↑ Al-Tusi, al-Nihaya, p. 31
  4. ↑ Al-Shaykh al-Tusi. al-Nahaya. p36-39
  5. ↑ Al-Tusi, al-Nihaya, pp. 17-31
  6. ↑ 'Alawi. Rahnama-yi musawwar-i safar-i ziyyarati-yi Iraq, p.150.

References

  • The material for this article is mainly taken from شیخ طوسی in Farsi Wikishia.
  • Agha Buzurg Tihrani, Tabaqat a'lam al-shi'a, Qom, Isma'ilyan, n.d.
  • Tusi, Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-. Al-Nihaya fi mujarrad al-fiqh wa l-fatawa, Beirut: Dar al-Andulus.
  • 'Alawi, Sayyid Ahmad (compiler), Rahnama-iy mussawar-i safar-i ziyarati-yi Iraq. Qom: Ma'ruf, 1389Sh.
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