Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a (book)
 Bibliographical Information | |
| Author | Aqa Buzurg Tihrani |
|---|---|
| Original title | طبقات اعلام الشیعه |
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 9 volumes |
| Subject | Rijal |
Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa (Arabic: طَبَقات أعْلام الشیعَة) is an encyclopedia of the biographies of prominent Shia figures. This is one of the main books of Aqa Buzurg Tihrani concerning the biographies of prominent Shia figures from the 4th/10th to 14th/20th centuries. In addition to providing the biographies of prominent Shia figures, the book also discusses the political, social and cultural life of the Shi'as. The author has divided the book into eleven parts symbolizing the eleven centuries in which Imam al-Mahdi (a) was occluded. Each part is devoted to a century from the 4th/10th to the 14th/20th centuries. The 11th part of the book has the title, "nuqaba' al-bashar fi l-qarn al-rabi' 'ashar" (the heads of people in the fourteenth century). The author has mentioned some Sunni scholars who wrote works regarding Ahl al-Bayt (a). The book is characterized by its brevity, alphabetical order, biographies of female Shia figures, and provides a list of books cited in the text at the end of its volumes. The book was published in three stages. Muhammad 'Ali Rawdati wrote a supplement on it.
The Author
Muhammad Muhsin b. 'Ali al-Munzawi al-Tihrani, known as Aqa Buzurg Tihrani (1293/1876-1389/1970), was a Shia jurist and bibliographer. He wrote some books, including al-Dhari'a and an encyclopedia of Shia works and books.
Title of the Book
At first, Aqa Buzurg Tihrani gave the title "Wafayyat a'lam al-Shi'a" (literally: deceased prominent Shia figures) to his encyclopedia, but since he referred to some living figures of the 14th/20th century, he changed the title to "Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a" (classes of prominent Shia figures).[1]
Motivation for Writing
Since 1329/1911, Aqa Buzurg visited many libraries in different cities and took notes about Shia works to write his al-Dhari'a ila tasanif al-Shi'a (an encyclopedia of Shia books and writings).[2] Since then, he also wrote down information about Shia scholars and figures, and based on the latter notes, he later wrote biographies of Shia scholars of every century from the 4th/10th to the 14th/20th centuries under the title, "Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a".[3]
Significance of the Book
Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a is the second most important work of Aqa Buzurg Tihrani. It is a comprehensive Shia science of rijal or biography throughout eleven centuries. In addition to providing biographies of prominent Shia figures, the author also talks about the political, social, and cultural life of the Shi'as.
Contents
Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a is an encyclopedia of about twenty volumes regarding the biographies and works of prominent Shia figures from the 4th/10th to the 14th/20th centuries. The author provides the biographies of prominent Shia scholars and the history of their times. The book is divided into eleven parts corresponding to the eleven centuries in which Imam al-Mahdi (a) was occluded. Each section is devoted to a century from the 4th/10th to the 14th/20th centuries.[4] Aqa Buzurg Tihrani did not collect the biographies of prominent Shia figures of the first three centuries after Islam, since they were transmitters of hadiths, and so there were detailed biographies and works of them in Shia books.[5]
Style of Writing
To show that some poets were Shi'as, Aqa Buzurg made appeals to one or more verses by them in which they talk about Ahl al-Bayt (a) or remarks about them by scholars. In his biography of Sulayman b. 'Abd al-Qawi he appealed to a verse of his regarding the virtues of Imam Ali (a); in his biography of 'Amir b. 'Amir al-Basri he appealed to a verse he composed about Imam al-Mahdi (a), and regarding Muhammad Sa'id al-Qurayshi, he appealed to his poem in the praise of Imam al-Rida (a). And in his biography of 'Ali b. Husayn al-Hilli appealed to a remark by Qadi Nur Allah al-Shushtari to the effect that he composed poems in the praise of Ahl al-Bayt (a).[6]
Tihrani also appealed to "salawat" in people's works to show that they were Shi'as. In his biography of Yaqut al-Musta'si, Isma'il b. Muhammad b. Ishaq and Muhammad b. Hasan al-Bayhaqi said that there was a "salawat" in some of their works. And in some cases, he tried to prove that someone is a Shi'a by appealing to Sunni sources in which he was characterized as Rafida or Shi'a.[7]
Aqa Buzurg Tihrani also introduced some Sunni scholars who wrote works regarding Ahl al-Bayt (a) or those who transmitted Shia jurisprudential hadiths. He introduced Abu Nu'aim al-Isfahani[8] in the book, and his biography of Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Husayn b. Bazzaz and Hasan b. Ibrahim b. Ja'far he refers to their hadiths being cited by al-Shaykh al-Saduq and al-Kulayni.[9]
Features
- Brevity: Aqa Buzurg is very short in his biography of prominent Shia figures. In his biography of very well-known scholars such as al-Kulayni and al-Saduq, he did not mention their works and referred the readers to al-Najjashi's al-Fihrist and al-Tusi's al-Fihrist.[10]
- Alphabetic order: the contents of each century are alphabetically ordered.
- Biographies of Shia female figures.
- A list of books cited in the text at the end of some volumes.
Publication
The book has been published in three stages:
- Its first stage occurred during the author's lifetime. Since the author had more complete information regarding the figures of more recent centuries, he decided to start the publication of the book from the 14th/20th century (contrary to the chronological order).[11] He published parts of the material regarding the 13th/19th and 14th/20th centuries during his life.[12]
- The second stage of the publication occurred after the author's death by his son, 'Alinaqi Munzawi. He took the manuscripts of the book from Najaf to Beirut and then edited and published them under his own supervision.
- In the third stage, 'Alinaqi Munzawi published the rest of the volumes of Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a in Tehran.[13]
The book was also published by Dar al-Murtada Publications as edited by 'Abd al-'Aziz Tabataba'i and Muhammad Tabataba'i Bihbahani. In this publication, the part regarding the 14th/20th century consists of 5 volumes.[14]
Supplement
Muhammad 'Ali Rawdati wrote a supplement for Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a. It was published with the efforts of Muhammad Barakat in 2012-3 by the Library of the Iranian parliament.[15]
Notes
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 1; Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 15, p. 146.
- ↑ Ḥaqq Shinās, al-Dharīʿa wa Ṭabaqāt-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārifhā-yi Buzurg-i Shīʿa, p. 24-25.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 1.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, vol. 15, p. 146.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 1.
- ↑ ʿAwādī, Rawish shināsī-yi Ṭabaqāt Aʿlām al-Shīʿa Shaykh Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, p. 202-203.
- ↑ ʿAwādī, Rawish shināsī-yi Ṭabaqāt Aʿlām al-Shīʿa Shaykh Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, p. 203.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 17.
- ↑ ʿAwādī, Rawish shināsī-yi Ṭabaqāt Aʿlām al-Shīʿa Shaykh Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, p. 204.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 1.
- ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa, vol. 1, p. 1.
- ↑ Ḥaqq Shinās, al-Dharīʿa wa Ṭabaqāt-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārifhā-yi Buzurg-i Shīʿa, p. 25.
- ↑ Ḥaqq Shinās, al-Dharīʿa wa Ṭabaqāt-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārifhā-yi Buzurg-i Shīʿa, p. 30.
- ↑ a'lam al-Shi'a (Dar al-Murtada) (Persian)
- ↑ A supplement for Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a (Persian)
References
- Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Ḥasan. Ṭabaqāt aʿlām al-Shīʿa. Edited by ʿAlī Naqī Munzawī. Qom: Ismāʿīlīyān, [n.d].
- Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. Al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa. Qom: Ismāʿīlīyān & Kitābkhāna-yi Islāmī-yi Tehran, 1408 AH.
- ʿAwādī, Amjad Rasūl Muḥammad al-. Rawish shināsī-yi Ṭabaqāt Aʿlām al-Shīʿa Shaykh Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī. Translated by ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn Ṭāliʿī. Journal of Kitāb-i Shīʿa. No 4. (1390 Sh).
- Ḥaqq Shinās, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Al-Dharīʿa wa Ṭabaqāt-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārifhā-yi Buzurg-i Shīʿa. Journal of Muṭāliʿāt-i Millī-yi Kitābdārī wa Sāzmāndihī-yi Iṭṭilāʿāt. No 35 & 36. (1377 Sh).
- طبقات أعلام الشيعة و هو نقباء البشر في القرن الرابع عشر (دار المرتضی) (Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a (Dar al-Murtada) (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/03/28.
- تکمله ای بر طبقات أعلام الشیعه (A supplement for Tabaqat a'lam al-Shi'a (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/03/28.