Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad bin al-Ḥusayn bin Mūsā al-Abrash al-Mūsawī (; 970 – 1015), also known as al-Sharīf al-Raḍī () was an Iraqi Shia scholar and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. Al-Radi wrote several books on Islamic issues and interpretation of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. His most well-known book is '' Nahj al-Balagha''. His elder brother al-Sharif al-Murtada was also a theologian and poet. His work is still published in the universities of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, and is part of the course of

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

Pedigree

Al-Radi's father, Abu Ahmad al-Husayn ibn Musa, was a descendant of Ibrahim al-Asghar, the son of the seventh Shia imam, Musa al-Kazim. There are also claims that he is the descendant of Ibrahim al-Mujab, the grandson of al-Kazim. His mother was the granddaughter of Hasan al-Utrush, a descendant of the fourth Shia imam, Ali Zayn al-Abidin. For this reason, he was also known as ''thil hasabayn'' (the possessor of two lineages), since he relates back to the Ahl al-Bayt paternally and maternally.

Biography

Al-Radi was born in 970 in the Abbasid capital,

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 ...

, and died in 1015 in his hometown. His grave is located in Kadhimiya, Baghdad. Al-Radi was the third of four children, having two sisters and a brother. For a long time, his father, Husayn, occupied the post of naqib of the Talibids of Iraq. After his father's death, he took the post. Al-Radi's family was affluent, as his mother Fatima inherited a good fortune from her father. She sponsored the family when the property of her husband was confiscated by the Buyid prince 'Adud al-Dawla.

Education and teaching

After al-Radi completed primary education, his mother took her two sons to

al-Shaykh al-Mufid Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu'man al-'Ukbari al-Baghdadi, known as al-Shaykh al-Mufid () and Ibn al-Mu'allim (c.9481022 CE), was a prominent Iraqi Twelver Shia theologian. His father was a teacher (''mu'allim''), hence the n ...

for their education. He started teaching at the young age of 17 when he was himself studying. In addition to al-Mufid, he also studied Arabic under Abu Sa'id al-Hasan ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Marzban al-Sirafi, an expert in Arabic language and literature. His teacher in ''

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

'' was Muhammad ibn al-Abbas al-Khwarizmi. He also founded a school named ''Dar ul'Ilm'' (, literally ''House of knowledge'') in which he trained many students.

Character and literary status

In al-Radi's lifetime, Abbasid rulers of Baghdad were at war with the Fatimid Caliphate of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and attempted to have all important Sunni and Shia figures sign a ''mahzur'' (public attestation decree) in favour of the legitimacy of war with the Egyptian rulers; al-Radi, his father, and brother were also coerced to sign it, but refused to sign. He devoted twenty years of his life in compiling ''Nahj al-Balaghah'', and traveled to many libraries to collect texts that had recorded the lectures, letters, and sayings that Ali had written or delivered on different occasions.

Works

The '' Nahj al-Balagha'' (Peak of Eloquence) is considered a masterpiece of literature in Shia Islam. The book is a collection of sermons, precepts, prayers, epistles, and aphorisms of Ali and compiled by al-Radi in the tenth century. As the reference material came to his attention at different times, the materials have no chronological sequence with respect to content or topic. A number of his contemporaries wrote commentaries on al-Radi's compilation.

Extent and scope of compilation

Ali's sermons were compiled, read, and taught before al-Radi was born. The services of al-Radi are now regarded as significant in the philosophy of

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

. Collected sermons in the Nahj al-Balagha mainly cover Islam and the Quran; humans and humanity; theology and metaphysics; path and worship, including prayers; social justice and administration; wisdom and admonition; prophecies; philosophy and critique over contemporary society; Ahl al-Bayt; and piety and the afterlife. However, critics of the ''Nahj al-Balagha'' generally raise two objections: they claim that al-Murtada is the actual author, and most of the contents are falsely attributed to Ali.

Offspring and death

Some historians believe al-Radi died at 47 years of age on the sixth of

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 ...

, 406 A.H (1015 AD), while others his death at 45 years of age in 404 Hijri (1013 AD). His funeral prayer was performed by Fakhr al-Mulk, then

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

in the kingdom of Sultan al-Dawla. Abu Ahmad Adnan was the only son of al-Radi. His son was also a prominent scholar of his time and after death of his uncle the official post of Naqib al-Nuqqab was entrawarded to his grandfather. Adnan died without progeny in 449 Hijri Calendar, and consequently the physical line of al-Radi came to an end.

References

External links

hadith.netFor study: al-Radhi glimpses of his life and his contributions to cognitive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razi, Sharif 970 births 1015 deaths 10th-century Arab people 10th-century Muslim scholars of Islam 11th-century Arab people 11th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Musawis Iraqi Shia Muslims Shia scholars of Islam Writers from Baghdad 10th-century Twelvers 11th-century Twelvers Buyid officials Scholars under the Buyid dynasty