Ja'far Kashif al-Ghita': Difference between revisions

'''Ja'far b. Khiḍr b. Yaḥyā al-Janājī al-Ḥillī al-Najafī''' (Arabic: جعفر بن خضر بن یحیی الجناجی الحلّی النجفی), known as '''Kāshif al-Ghiṭā'''' (Arabic: کاشف الغطاء) (1156-1227 A.H./ 1743-1812), was a [[Shiite]] [[Marja']] or authority in 13th century A.H. (18th century). [[Al Kashif al-Ghita']] (the household of Kashif al-Ghita'), a well-known Shiite family of scholars in 13th and 14th centuries A.H. (18th and 19th centuries) are his progeny.

Kashif al-Ghita' succeeded his master, [['Allama Bahr al-'Ulum]], as a Shiite authority or marja'. And like his master, [[Wahid Bihbahani]], he campaigned against [[Akhbaris]], writing some books and essays to reject their views.

During the [[Wahhabis' attack on Najaf]], Kashif al-Ghita' defended the city, and was the first Shiite scholar who wrote against [[Wahhabis]]. He wrote some books concerning [[fiqh]] (Islamic jurisprudence), [[usul al-fiqh]] (principles of the Islamic jurisprudence) and [[kalam]]. He wrote ''[[Manhaj al-rashad li man arad al-sidad]]'' to reject the views of Wahhabis, and ''[[al-Haq al-mubin fi taswib al-mujtahidin wa takhti'a al-Akhbariyyin]]'' to reject the views of Akhbaris. [[Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Najafi]], the author of [[Jawahir al-kalam]], was his pupil.

==Lineage and biography==

The household of Kashif al-Ghita' traces back in its lineage to [[Malik al-Ashtar]]. Kashif al-Ghita's father, Khidr, who was a pious scholar of his time, went from Janajiyya to [[Najaf]] in order to study Islamic disciplines; he stayed in the city and passed away in 1181 A.H. (1767). Kashif al-Ghita' was born in Najaf.

He studied in [[Karbala]] and Najaf, and then he stayed in Najaf throughout his life. He died on Wednesday, [[Rajab]], 22, 1228 A.H. (July 21, 1813) and was buried in a grave that he had made for himself (in one of the chambers of his seminary school) in 'Ammara area in Najaf. A dome was built on his mausoleum in which some of his progeny are buried.

Kashif al-Ghita' is the head of the Kashif al-Ghita' Household, that was a well-known family of Shiite scholars in 13th and 17th centuries A.H. (18th and 19th centuries). Many Shiite scholars come from this household, such as [[Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita']] who was a Shiite authority in the 14th century A.H. One feature of this household was their campaign against [[Akhbarism]] and advancement of Wahid Bihbahani's [[Usulism]].

Kashif al-Ghita' studied the preliminaries of Islamic disciplines with his father, and then studied fiqh and usul al-fiqh with scholars of [[Iraq]], such as [[Sayyid Sadiq Fahham]] (1124-1205 A.H/ 1712-1791), [[Shaykh Muhammad Dawrqi]] (d. 1187 A.H./ 1773), [[Shaykh Fattuni]], Wahid Bihbahani in Karbala, and [[Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulum]] (1155-1212 A.H./ 1742-1798) in Najaf. He soon found a place as a well-known scholar and started teaching.

Many scholars attended his lectures, some of whom were later known as great scholars of fiqh in Iraq and [[Iran]]. They include:

• [[Muhammad Hasan Najafi]], the author of [[Jawahir al-kalam]] (d. 1266 A.H./ 1850)

• [[Asadullah Dizfuli Kazimi]] (d. 1234 A.H./ 1819)

• [[Shaykh 'Ali Hazar Jaribi]] (d. 1254 A.H./ 1838)

• [[Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Isfahani]] (d. 1248 A.H./ 1832)

• [[Shaykh Muhsin A'sam]] (d. 1238 A.H./ 1823)

• [[Sayyid Muhammad b. Amir Ma'sum Radawi]] (d. 1255 A.H./ 1839)

• [[Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Isfahani]] (d. 1260 A.H./ 1844)

• [[Shaykh Ibrahim Kalbasi]] (d. 1261 A.H./ 1845)

• [[Sayyid Sadr al-Din 'Amili]] (d. 1263 A.H./ 1847)

• Four of his sons: Musa, 'Ali, Hasan, and Muhammad.

People such as [[Shaykh Ahmad Ihsa'i]] (d. 1241 A.H./1826), [[Shaykh 'Abd 'Ali b. Umid Gilani]], [[Shaykh Mulla 'Ali Razi Najafi]], [[Shaykh Asadullah Dizfuli]], and [Sayyid 'Abdullah Kazimi Shubbar]] (d. 1242 A.H./ 1827) received permissions for the narration of hadiths ([[ijaza al-riwaya]]) from him.

==Religious authority==

When 'Allama Bahr al-'Ulum passed away, Kashif al-Ghita' undertook the religious authority of Shiites in Iraq and Iran and other countries, finding social and political fame and influence. While before [[Shaykh Murtada Ansari]], no one held the view that only the most knowledgeable ([[A'lam]]) [[mujtahid]] should be followed, and this is why Shiites used to follow different mujtahids in their areas, Kashif al-Ghita' was practically the only authority for all Shiites in different areas.

==Campaign against Akhbaris==

In the period of Kashif al-Ghita' there was a serious intellectual quarrel between [[Usuli]] and [[Akhbari]] scholars, with each trying to demonstrate their own view and reject that of their opponents. Trained in the Usuli school of [[Wahid Bihbahani]] and fond of [[ijtihad]], Kashif al-Ghita' defended the use of reasoning and deduction for religious beliefs and the laws of sharia and made a case for [[usul al-fiqh]] (principles of Islamic jurisprudence).

The quarrel was considerably exemplified in his serious debate with [[Shaykh Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Nabi Naysaburi]] (d. 1232 A.H./ 1816), the well-known Akhbari scholar. After this Naysaburi went to Iran and took refuge to [[Fath 'Ali Shah]], the [[Qajar]] king. Kashif al-Ghita' wrote a book under ''[[Kashf al-ghita' 'an ma'ayib Mirza Muhammad 'aduww al-'ulama]]'' (Unveiling the cover from the flaws of Mirza Muhammad [Naysaburi], the enemy of scholars) which was a rejection of Naysaburi's views and sent it to the Iranian king. He then went to Iran and negotiated with the king until the Qajar king dismissed Naysaburi from his palace.

He then travelled to [[Isfahan]] and wrote another book under ''[[al-Haq al-mubin fi taswib al-mujtahidin wa takhti'a juhhal al-Akhbariyyin]]'' for his son, [[Shaykh 'Ali Kashif al-Ghita']], to reject the views of Akhbaris. [[Mirza Muhammad Akhbari]] wrote a book under ''[[al-Sayha bi al-haq 'ala man alhad-a wa tazandaq]]'' as a reply to the objections made by Kashif al-Ghita' in that book.

==Campaign against Wahhabis==

In the late 12th century A.H. (18th century), the followers of [[Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab]] (1111-1207 A.H./ 1699-1792) rioted in [[Arabia]]. They took themselves as Islamic reformists, rejecting the beliefs of many Islamic sects (mostly Shiites). They began to practically attack what they took as anti-religious and polytheistic residues and symbols.

The riot went beyond [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] in Arabia to [[Karbala]] and [[Najaf]] in Iraq—these two cities were attacked by [[Wahhabis]]. Kashif al-Ghita' defended the city, its holy places and its people against their attack. He armed himself and other scholars and students and people, and they forced Wahhabis to retreat. He then ordered the building of a solid wall around Najaf to protect the city from attacks.

He also ran an intellectual campaign against Wahhabis; he wrote the book, ''Manhaj al-rashad li man arad al-sadad'', that seems to be the first book in the rejection of [[Wahhabism]].

Kashif al-Ghita' went to [[Hajj]] twice: in 1186 A.H. (1773) and 1199 (1785). In 1222 A.H. (1807) he went to Iran and visited cities such as [[Tehran]], Isfahan, [[Qazvin]], [[Yazd]], [[Mashhad]], and [[Rasht]] and was warmly welcomed by people and scholars.

==Political influence==

During his visit to Iran, Kashif al-Ghita', who was very well-known and had the highest religious and political authority, went to Tehran and visited [[Fath 'Ali Shah]], the Qajar king, and submitted his book, ''[[Kashf al-ghita']]'' to him and gave him an official permission for [[jihad]] with unbelievers, mobilization of soldiers, and receiving taxes and [[zakat]] from people in order to organize his army. He issued a [[fatwa]] for jihad in the first war between Iran and Russia (1218-1228 A.H./ 1803-1813).

==Emphasis on enforcing the Islamic laws==

Kashif al-Ghita' firmly believed that Islamic laws, and in particular [[hudud]], [[diyat]], [[ta'zirat]], [[al-amr bi al-ma'ruf]] (enjoining the good) and [[nahy 'an al-munkar]] (forbidding the wrong), should be enforced. Sometimes his insistence on the enforcement of these laws led to incidents. He cared about the conditions of the poor; he raised funds from the rich and donated to people in need.

==Work==

Kashif al-Ghita' wrote various books mainly about fiqh, usul al-fiqh, [[kalam]] and Arabic literature, including:

• ''Al-Haq al-mubin fi taswib al-mujtahidin wa takhti'a al-Akhbariyyin'' (against Akhbaris), published in Tehran, 1306 A.H. (1889) and 1319 A.H. (1901).

• ''[[Kashf al-ghita' 'an mubhamat al-shari'a al-gharra']]'' (Unveiling the cover from ambiguities of the glorious sharia), Tehran, 1217 A.H. (1855) and 1317 A.H. (1899). He was very sharp and competent in fiqh and usul al-fiqh as evidenced by his work in this area. He wrote this book during his travel to Iran while the only book available to him was [[Qawa'id al-ahkam]] by [['Allama al-Hilli]]. [[Shaykh Murtada Ansari]] is quoted as saying that: "if someone knows the principles and rules of this book, I take him to be mujtahid". Kashif al-Ghita' claimed that he would be able to write all parts of fiqh even if no books in fiqh were available to him. His contemporary and subsequent scholars of fiqh admitted his great competence in fiqh.

• ''[[Bughya al-talib fi ma'rifa al-mufawwad wa al-wajib]]'': a short treatise the first part of which concerns the principles of Islamic beliefs and the second concerns the laws of sharia.

• ''Al-Tahqiq wa al-tanqir fi ma yata'alaq-u bi al-maqadir''

• ''Al-Risala al-sawmiyya'' (an essay about fasting)

• ''Mishkat al-masabih''

• ''Risala fi al-'ibadat al-maliyya'' (an essay on financial good deeds)

• ''Ghayat al-murad fi ahkam al-jihad'' (an essay on the laws of jihad)

• ''[[Manhaj al-rashad li man arad al-sadad]]''