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

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

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-Haqq al-mubin fi taswib al-mujtahidin wa takhti'at al-Akhbariyyin'' to reject the views of Akhbaris. [[Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Najafi]], the author of ''[[Jawahir al-kalam]]'', was his student.

He studied in [[Karbala]] and Najaf, and then he stayed in Najaf throughout his life. He died on Wednesday, [[Rajab 22]], [[1228]]/July 21, 1813 and was buried in a grave that he had made for himself (in one of the chambers of his [[Seminary|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/19th and 14th/20th centuries. Many Shiite scholars come from this household, such as [[Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita']] who was a Shiite authority in the 14th/[[20th]] century. One feature of this household was their campaign against [[Akhbarism]] and advancement of [[Wahid Bihbahani]]'s usuli thuoghts.

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 al-Fahham (b. [[1124]]/1712 - d. [[1205]]/1791), Shaykh Muhammad al-Dawraqi (d. [[1187]]/1773), [[al-Shaykh al-Fattuni]], Wahid Bihbahani in [[Karbala]], and [[al-Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulum]] (b. [[1155]]/1742 - d. [[1212]]/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:

* Asad Allah al-Dizfuli al-Kazimi (d. [[1234]]/1819)

* Shaykh 'Ali al-Hazar al-Jaribi (d. [[1254]]/1838)

* Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Isfahani (d. [[1248]]/1832)

* Shaykh Muhsin al-A'sam (d. [[1238]]/1823)

* Sayyid Muhammad b. Amir al-Ma'sum al-Radawi (d. [[1255]]/1839)

* Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Isfahani (d. [[1260]]/1844)

* Shaykh Ibrahim al-Kalbasi (d. [[1261]]/1845)

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

People such as [[Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa'i]] (d. [[1241]]/1826), Shaykh 'Abd 'Ali b. Umid Gilani, Shaykh Mulla 'Ali Razi Najafi, [[Shaykh Asad Allah Dizfuli]], and [[Sayyid 'Abd Allah Kazimi Shubbar]] (d. [[1242]]/1827) received permissions for the narration of hadiths ([[Ijazat al-Riwaya]]) from him.

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.

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).

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 evil), should be enforced. Sometimes his insistence on the enforcement of these laws would sometimes lead to incidents. He cared about the conditions of the poor; he raised funds from the rich and donated to people in need.

Kashif al-Ghita' wrote various books mainly about Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, [[Kalam]] and Arabic literature, including:

* ''[[Kashf al-ghita' 'an mubhamat al-shari'a al-gharra']]'' (Unveiling the cover from ambiguities of the glorious sharia), Tehran, 1217/1855 and 1317/1899. 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 (book)|Qawa'id al-ahkam]]'' by [[al-'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.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net/view/%D8%AC%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B1_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%81_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%A1 جعفر کاشف الغطا] in Farsi Wikishia.