Al-Sayyed Mohsen al-Amin (b.1284 A.H./1867 C.E. - d.1371 A.H. /1952 C.E.), also transliterated Muhsin al Amin, 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 ...
scholar,
biographer
Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography.
Biographers
Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...
,
traditionist, 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 ...
. He was born in
Jabal Amil
Jabal Amil (; also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise bounda ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. His most important work is ''A'yan al-Shi'a''.
Early life and education
Family background
Al-Amin was born in 1867 to a well-known
Sayyid
''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...
family in
Jabal Amil
Jabal Amil (; also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise bounda ...
, Lebanon. His father, Abdul al-Karim al-Amili, was a scholar of his time. His father died in
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 ...
was buried, when he had gone to pilgrimage in Iraq.
His maternal grandfather was ′Shaykh Muhammad Hussein al Amili al Musawi, was one of the scholars who went 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 ...
for education and died there.
Education
Sayyed Mohsen began to study the Qur'an and elementary Arabic grammar at the age of seven under a village teacher.
Four years later, he learned jurisprudence for three years under Shaykh Musa Sharara who returned to Iraq. In 1890, arrangements were made for him to study in Najaf, Iraq.
Finally he was a learned
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 ...
.
Activity
He was among the first Shi’i modernists and received widespread condemnation by the Shia community of Lebanon for his endeavours in attempting to change and reform the religion, particularly when it came to issues of
tatbir, which he was against.
His children
* Hasan al-Amin
* Hashem Al-Amin
* Abd al-Muttalib Al-Amin
* Jafar Al-Amin
* Muhammad Baqir Al-Amin
Published works
* ''Ayan al-Shia'' (), is one of his works. This work the biographical encyclopedia book and consists of fifty-six volumes.
* ''Al-husun al-mani'a fi radd ma awradahu sahib al-manar fi haqq al-shia'' (), he explained some of the Shia views in this book.
* ''Risalat al-tanzih li-a'mal al-shabih'' (), that was al-Amin's reply to his critics-Sadiq.
* ''Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya al-khamisa'' () is the longest version of the Sahifa of al-Sajjad has been published.
* ''Al-Majalis al-saniyya fi manaqib wa-masa'ib al-'itra al-nabawiyya'' ()
* ''Iqna' al-la'im ala iqamat al-matam'' ()
* ''Lawa'ij al-ashjan fi maqtal al-imam Abi Abd Allah al-Husayn'' ()
* ''Kashf al-Irtiyab fi Atba' Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab'' ()
See also
*
Islamic scholars
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 ...
*
Islamization of knowledge
The Islamization of Knowledge (also abbreviated as IoK) is a conceptual framework originating from Islamic philosophy, advocating for the integration of Islamic teachings with modern academic disciplines, such as the social sciences, management ...
*
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—''falsafa'' (), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and p ...
*
Ayatollah al-Shirazi
*
List of maraji
Maraji are the supreme legal authority for Twelver Shia Muslims. The following articles contain lists of maraji.
* List of current maraji
* List of deceased maraji
See also
*Marja'
*Ijtihad
*Hawza
*Risalah (fiqh)
Risalah () is the Arabic wo ...
*
Allameh Majlesi
*
Hossein Nasr
Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian-American academic, philosopher, theologian, and Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University.
Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education ...
*
Musa al-Sadr
Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr (; ; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was a Lebanese-Iranian Shia Muslim cleric, politician and revolutionary In Lebanon. He founded and revived many Lebanese Shia organizations, including schools, charities ...
References
Sources
* Fouad Ajami. ''The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986.
External links
The Shi'is in Lebanon: Between Communal 'Asabiyya and Arab Nationalism, 1908-21by Kais M. Firro
Lebanese Shiʿites and The Marja'iyya : Polemic in the Late Twentieth Centuryby RULA JURDI ABISAAB
Lebanese Shiʿites and The Marja'iyya : Polemic in the Late Twentieth Centuryby Max Weiss
{{DEFAULTSORT:al-Amin, AlSayyed Mohsen
1867 births
1952 deaths
Shia scholars of Islam
19th-century Arab people
20th-century Lebanese people
Pupils of Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani