The Faith of Shia Islam

Appendix

The life of ash-Shaykh Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar

The writer of this book comes from a respected family called by the name of al-Muzaffar. This family of academics and scholars has been recognized by this name in Najaf since the twelfth century of the hijra. Some members of the family reside in al-Jaza'ir, which is in the district of Basra (in Iraq).

The father of ash-Shaykh Muhammad Rida al-Muazffar, ash-Shaykh Muahmmad ibm' Abdullah, a jurist and a mujtahid, was a marja' at-taqlid. Born and educated in Najaf, he spent his youth in studies, his only other activity being prayer and teaching, until he had distinguished himself as a great jurist. He wrote a very comprehensive commentary on the 'Shara i' al-Islam'13 which he named' Tawhid la-Kalam.'

Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar was born on the 5th of Sha'ban, 1322 AH, 1904 AD. five months after the death of his illustrious father. Since his father died before he was born neither could meet each other, and Muhammad Rida grew up under the guardianship of his elder brother ash-Shaykh' Abdu n-Nabi, who devoted os much love and affection on the child that he did not feel the avsence of his father.

Ash-Shaykh al-Muzaffar grew up in the learned atmosphere of Najaf. He took part in the meetings of its groups and circles of learning, as well as attending lectures and classes. He took part in the most advancedseminars, and received recognition of the highest order from the most the most celevrated jurists and teachers.He developed his full potentiality within one of the most scholarly familiewss in Najaf, umder the guardianship of his two elder brothers, ash-Shaykh ;Abdu n-Nabi and ash-Shaykh Muhammad Hasan.

After he had completed the sullabus which is customarily taught in the Islamic madrassahs in Najaf, and after he had achieved great destinction, he attended the classes given by his brother, ash-Sahykh Muhammad Hasan, as well as the calsses of ash-Shaykh Aqa Dia'd-din al-'Iraqi in Islamic jurisprudence, and the lectures of Miraz Muhammad Husayn Na'ini in law (fiqh) and jurisprudence. However, he was most deeply impressed by the classes of ash-Shaykh Muhammad Husayn al-Isfahani and was most particular in attending all the talks and lectures of theis eminent scholar of law, jurisprudence and philosophy. He was so impressed by this teacher that he never failed to pay him the highest tributes whenever the occasion presented itself.

He followed the nethod of this scholar in the arrangement of his own famous work on Ialmic jurisprudence,' Usul al-Fiqh. His keen interest in his studies was noted by all his teachers, and by the authorities of the religious academies of Najaf, so he was fiven the gighest degree of ijtihad. It will be remembered that all throughout his studies, ash-Shaykh al-Muzaffar remained an active teacher of law, jurisprudence and philosophy. However, his chief occupation was the establishment of' Muntada in-Nashr', an institute for the publication of books on modern lines, with the purpose of renovating the sullabus of the madrassahs. He devoted his life to the growth and development of this institute, the need for whixh hw qas most aware of because he had undertaken rto acuaint himself with modern ways of thiking and intellectual trends right from the very begining.

He made it the main purpose of his life to bring about a rebirth of Islamic learning, and to achievce this hes was extremely successful. He conbined beauty of expression with exactitude of meaning, and he had such a command over words he nither sacrificed his simple style to the exigencies of the subject matter, nor a correct exposition of his themes to the demands of style. He wrote with a fluency and conviction that carries the reader along with him wherever he wants to take him. He is at the height of his powers in his book 'Ahlam al-Yaqzah' (The Waking Dream) where he enters into a kind of communion with his spiritual teacher Mulla Sadra (ash-Shirazi). This book places him securel among the masters of metaphysics, for in it he puts, questions before his mentor and then supplies answers on his bahalf, clarifying the deepest metaphysical problems by means of the most beautiful anecdotes. He manages to preserve this same superb style in his book on logic 'al-Mantiq'.

No less remarkable is his ability as a story-teller when he relates the eventful meeting as the Saqifah of the Banu Sa'idah after the death of the Holy Prophet, which has proved to be the cause of all the dufferences and divergences among Muslims. Eventually, as-Shaykh al- Muzaffar, because of his zeal to improve the educational and academic status of the traditional Islamic teachers and speakers, became a most active member of all organisations formed for this purpose. Because of his sincere efforts, he succeeded in descovering the cause of the prevailing mental lethargy, and took positive steps to eliminate it. He felt that reform was necessary not only in the academic field but also in the field of the propagation of Islam.

It should be poited out here that the teaching in the madrassahs of Najaf comprises two stages. The first stage is a preparatory one in which tthe main text are taught so as to prepare the student to move n to the second stage in which he must attend the classses of the leading teachers and acquire specialised knowledge. It was the pregatatory stage which was need of reshaping and revising. Muzaffar realised that new books had to be written and new subjects added to the curriculum, and in furtherance of his aims he founded Kulliyah al-Fiqh, the College of Islamic Studies.

As far as the persentation of Islamic thought is concerned, this also consists of two branches: speaking and writtng, and ash-Shaykh al-Muzaffar paid dattention to both of them. Through his Muntada an-Nashr, the institute mentioned above, he was able to form a new generation of speakers and teacher, and puclish a new style of books, The College, Kulliyah al-Fiqh, also mentioned above, was founded in 1355 A.H, and in 1376, Muzaffar managed to lay the foundation stone of a complete educational institute, which obtained government recognition from the Minstry of Education in 1377 A.H. Both of these establishments remained his responsibility up to the end of his life, and he spared neither energy nor money to see his institutes flourish and prosper.

As a man he was free from egotism, and never held any grudge against any person, He rendered hsi services to the Creator alone, and paid no attention to rewards from others. His selflessness knew no bounds, It is fitting to end this short biography with ihs own words.

"We are prepared for new sacrifices, we are readyto resigh and give up our activities as soon as we find someone else tro take on these responsibilities, all the more so if this were to result in a widening of these institutions. These people should be confident.

NOTES TO TEXT

page 21

1. the major sins (al-kuba'ir) from the point of view of Islam are, according to some, seven, but according to others uncountable. the Latter say that they are arranged in dgrees. They include shirk (associating anything or anybody with Allah) which is the greatest sin and cannot be forgiven by Allah (see Qur'an, 4;48 & 116), killing a believer unjustly, fleeing from jihad, causen destress to one's parents, falsely accusing a woman of adultery. usury, appropriating the property of orphans. The punishment for these is mentioned in the Qur'an.

page 32

2. When the prophet fled from Madinah to Mecca, he spent three days in a cave (Thawar) with Abu Bakr. He was pursued from Mecca by the Quraysh, but they were unable to find him even though they approached the cave, for a spider had built its web across the mouth of the cave and they went away thinking it impossible for someone to have entered. A few years before the Hijrah, the Quraysh decided to cut off all relations with Muhammad (AS) and his followers, and to have no exchange with them of any kind. the Peophet moved with his followers to a mountain pass near Mecca where they stayed for nearly three years. They suffered many hardships, and the only time they could communicate with the outside world was during the months of truce.

page 37

3. This is not a particular group, but is used in general for anyone who insults or shows direspect for the family of the prophet

page 38

4. 18th Dhu'l Hijjah 10. H.

page 41

5. The Kaysaniyyah were followers of Kayasn, a freed slavve fo' Ali inb Abi Talib and supposedly a student of his son Muhammad inb al-Hanafiyyah, They exaggerated in their velief about him, ascribing complete knowledge ot him. Thy held an esoteric belief that religion involved following a human, that Muahmmad inb al-Hanafiyyah was immortal and the Mahdi. There were suvbsequent division into the Mukhrtariyyah,the Hashimiyyah, the Bayaniyyah and the Razamiyyah sects.

page 62

6. Amir al-Muminin (AS) said: "Clean yourselves by water from affensive odours and examine your bodies carefully. Surely Allah detests those of his servants who are not clean, so the when people sit with them they are repelled by their odours"

page 64

7. This does not only mean verbal renenbrance of Allah such as say' 'Subhanullah wa'l-hamdulillah" (Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah). and the such -like repeatedly, but it means what Imam Ja'far Sadiq (AS) said in interpretation of the remembraned of Allah: "We do not only say suhanullah wa-hamdulillah wa la illaha illa' lla wa allahu akbar although this is a means of remembering Allah, but rather Allah should be remembered everywhere whether we obey him or not.

page 66

8. In illustrating the same point, Imam' Ali, Amir al-Muminin, (AS) said in his sermon known as alQasi'at; Verily, for all creatures of the heaven and the earth His command is the same, and there is no leniency in His law between Allah and anyone. so that may do unlawful things."

page 68

9. "It is said that a man from Sahm saw Imam Hasan riding and began to insult in, but the Imam did not answer him. When the man had finshed Imam Hasan looked at him and smiled and said: 'O Shaykh! I think you are astranger and perhaps you have some misunderstanding (about us), so if you have some criticisms we shall accept what you say, and if you ask for something we shall give it to you, and if you want guidance we shall guide you, and if you want to ride we can give a you

mount, and if you are hungry we can feed you,k and if you fhave no clothes we can provide you with some; if you need somthing we can help you, and if you have no refuge we can protect you, if you have any aim we can assist you, and if you come and be our gust until such time as you wish to leave irt will be an excellent idea because we have a large property with many servants and provision. When the man heard this he wept and said: I testify that you are vicegerant of Allah on earth- Allah knows best where to put His message. You and your father were the most hated of men for me, but now you are the most beloved of creatures for me. He took his baggage to the Imam's house and was hid guest until the time that he continued his journey, and he believed in and loved the imams."

page 75

10. The Virtuous City/State Notably the ideal in government and politics as described by al-Farabi (259-339/872-950), and modelled by him on Greek political theory.

page 77

11. Wasa'il ash-Shi'a. The largest and most widely referred to collection of Shi'a tradition relevant to all branches of fiqh, compiled by Muhammad Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili (d. 1104/1693) the latest printing in Iran is in 20 vols.

page 20

12. As-sirat is the way of Allah as in the first surah of the Qur'an, Al-Hamd; but such things, it is believed will take a material form on the Day of Judgement, and there are hadith which which describe it then as a brige. Shaykh Saduq said; "our belief about siraf is that it is true, and that it is the brige over Hell, and that over it all people shall pass. Allah has said: 'Not one of you there is, but he shall enter it (Hell); that for thy Lord is a thing decreed, determined.' (19;71)

page 83

13. By Najm ad-Din al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli (d,676/1277). A text in fiqh used in teaching to this day.