Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar () (1904 - 1964) was a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Marja' Marja (; plural ''marājiʿ''; ) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Sh ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. His book in Islamic sciences is ''Usul al-Fiqh'' or the principles of jurisprudence written according to the thought school of Agha Shaykh Muhammad Hosein Isfahani, one of the

Introduction

His family by the name of Muzaffar counted as one of eminent families in

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

. His family includes many scholars and men of religious learning. Most of them are known as Muzaffar in that city since the twelfth century of the Hijrah. Some of his relatives are inhabitants of

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and reside in al-Jaza’ir. His father, named Muhammad ibn Abdullah, a

and

Mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (i ...

was a

taqlid. His father was also born and educated in

. He spent his youth in study, his only other activity being prayer and teaching until he had distinguished himself as a jurist. He wrote a very comprehensive commentary on the book of Shara’i al-

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

which he called ''Tawhid al-Kalam''. One of his achievements was establishment of "Montada Al Nashar" or publication of Montada to develop and publicize the most important Islamic books. He also founded the faculty of jurisprudence (

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

) in

University which includes courses such as comparative

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

, Shia

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

etc. Eminent scholars like Muhammad Taqi Jafari sought an association with al-Muzaffar.

Early life

Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar was born on the fifth of Sha'ban, 1322 AH (1904 AD). Since his father died before him, his brother Abdun-Nabi became responsible for raising him. Muhammad Rida grew up in the scholarly environment of

. Like many

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

, he participated in a variety of courses and scholarly circles, leading to the completion of his advanced education in religious seminaries. His early teachers were his brothers Abdun-Nabi and Muhammad Hasan.

Scholarly opinions

He has many opinions in different domains of Islamic learning like usul al fiqh,

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

and

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

Usul al-fiqh

One of his teachings in the domain of usul is to present new divisions on the subjects of Usul. According to the school of thought of his master, Muhammad Husein Isfahani, Muzaffar believes in new orderness on the subjects. For instance, before him, the subject of Ishtighagh (derivatives) has to discuss in the partition of alfaz not introductions. As a result, he divided subjects into four categories: ''alfaz'', rational discussion (''mabahith aqliyyah''), ''hujjat'', ''usul Amaliyyah'' (practical principles).

Works

*''Usul Al-Fiqh'' *' *''Kefayat Al-Osul'' *''History of Islam'' *''Philosophy of

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

'' *''Saghifeh'' *''Philosophy of Imam Ali'' *''Shaykh Tousi, the establisher of

seminary'' *''Aqa’ed al-Imamiah’''

References

{{Authority control Islamic philosophers Iraqi ayatollahs Twelvers Logicians 1904 births 1964 deaths