Sayyed Radhi ud-Deen Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus al Hasani wal Husaini (1193–1266 AD), commonly called Sayyed Ibn Tawus (), was a

Shiite 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 ...

jurist, theologian, historian and astrologer. He was a descendant of

Hasan ibn Ali Hasan ibn Ali (; 2 April 670) was an Alids, Alid political and religious leader. The eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Hasan briefly ruled as Rashidun caliphate, Rashidun caliph from January 661 unt ...

through his father and a descendant of Husain ibn Ali through his mother. It is said that he met the twelfth Shiite imam,

Muhammad al-Mahdi Muhammad al-Mahdi () is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam. Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam ...

, who according to Shiites is living in occultation. He is known for his library and his numerous works which are still available in their original form and help us learn about the interests of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

scholars at the end of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

era.

Birth and family life

Ibn Tawus was born on 15

Muharram Al-Muharram () is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is banned. It precedes the month of Safar. The tenth of Muharram is known as Ashura, an important day of commemoration in ...

589 (21 January 1193) in Hilla and was named Tawus (peacock). One of his forefathers was a handsome man with ugly legs so his progeny too inherited the title from him. During his first 14 years of his life he was brought up and taught under many teachers including his father and grandfather. Later on he married Zahra Khatoon the daughter of the Shia Vazir of Nâsir bin Zaidi and settled in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Ibn Tawus apparently had good relations with the Caliphs of his time like Muntansir, however he refused to be involved in any political affairs. There is not exact information about his family and number of his children. His children were known by the name of their mother. It is said that he had returned to Hilla in 641 and had gone to

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 ...

in 645 and then to

Karbala Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...

in 649 and to

Samarra Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...

in 652 and on reaching Baghdad he stayed there until Mongols captured the city.

Under the reign of Mongols

When

Hulagu Khan Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of ...

conquered

, he asked the Scholars of the city : "Who is better, a tyrant Muslim ruler or a

Kafir ''Kāfir'' (; , , or ; ; or ) is an Arabic-language term used by Muslims to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the Islamic God, denies his authority, and rejects the message of Islam as ...

(infidel) judicious ruler?" None gave a response to this question but Ibn Tawus who said: "A Kâfir judicious is better." And the other scholars followed him in this reply. A reply that saved the life of many people in the city. Afterwards Hulagu Khan let Ibn Tawus to return to Hilla. However, Hulagu Khan gave the leadership of

Alawites Alawites () are an Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate Ali ...

and then some cities like

to him which Ibn Tawus was reluctant to accept.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (1201 – 1274), also known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (; ) or simply as (al-)Tusi, was a Persians, Persian polymath, architect, Early Islamic philosophy, philosopher, Islamic medicine, phy ...

advised him to save his life by accepting it and he did so.

Works

Ibn Tawus inherited a big library and he himself wrote numerous books on different topics from theology and ethics to jurisprudence and astronomy some of which have been translated into

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and English. In his books he encouraged readers to learn about

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and the

Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...

because he thought such "knowledge about the original sources of religion was the actual understanding of religion". some of his works can be listed as follows: * ''Lohoof (Sighs of Sorrow)'' is among his works which relates the tragic events of Karbala and is translated into English. * ''Al-Muhajjal Samaratal Muhajja'' which is in ethic and encompasses his wills to his children and also different level of his life, in his own words. * Al-Muhimmat wa al-tatimmat in 10 volumes, and each volume has been published by an independent subject; such as, Falah al-sa'il, Zuhrat al-rabi' , Jamal al-usbu', Iqbal al-a'mal. Ibn Tawus has written this book as a complementary to Misbah al-mutahajjid written by al-Shaykh al-Tusi. * al-Iqbal li salih al-a'mal * Aman al-akhtar fi wazayif al-asfar * Jamal al-usbu' fi bi-kamal al-'amal al-mashru' * al-Duru' al-waqiyya min al-akhtar fima ya'mal kull shahr 'ala al-tikrar * Sa'd al-nufus li al-su'ud * al-Tara'if fi ma'rifat mazhab al-tawa'if * al-Mujtana fi du'a' al-mujtaba * Muhasibat al-nafs * Misbah al-shari'a * Midmar al-sabaq * al-Malahim wa al-fitan * al-Luhuf 'ala qatlay al-tufuf * Muhaj al-da'awat wa manhaj al-'ibadat * al-Yaqin bi-ikhtisas mawlana 'Ali (a) bi-Imrat al-mu'minin * Qiath sultan al-wara li sukkan al-thara * Faraj al-mahmun fi tarikh 'ulama' al-nujum * Fath al-abwab bayn dhawa l-albab wa bayn rabb al-arbab

Manuscript works

* Rabi' al-shi'a * Misbah al-za'ir * Ilzam al-nawasib bi-imamat 'Ali b. Abi Talib * Al-Hujja * Muntakhabat asrar al-salat * Turaf min al-anba' wa al-manaqib * al-Ibana fi ma'rifat al-kutub al-khazana * Asrar al-salat * Al-Sa'adat al-'ibadat * Farhat al-nazir wa bahjat al-khawatir * A commentary on Nahj al-balagha * Al-Masra' al-shin fi qatl al-Husain (a) * Al-Mazar

Death

Ibn Tawus died in Baghdad on 8 August 1266 and seemingly was buried in the same city. Ibn Tawus had direct contact with

and he was given Isme Âzam, but was not permitted to teach it to his children. He was buried in Hilla, Iraq, where his tomb remains a visitation site for Shia followers.

References

{{Authority control 13th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Astrologers of the medieval Islamic world Burials at Imam Ali Mosque 1193 births 1266 deaths Grand ayatollahs Iraqi Shia Muslims 13th-century Arab people