Sharif al-Murtaza

= Life =

Sharif al-Murtaza also Ali Abu al-Qasim Sayyid Murtaza was one of the greatest scholar of his time and student of Shaykh Mufid, and elder brother Al-Sharif al-Radi (Seyyed Razi), the compiler of Nahjul Balagha. He was four years older than his brother. He was descendent of Imam Ali al-Rida (Imam Reza).

He lived in the era of the Buyid dynasty (334-447/946-1056) which had reduced the Abbasid caliphs to mere nominal rulers. It was the golden age of Arabic literature. Great poets like al-Mutinabbi and Abu al- 'Ala' Mu'arri were among his contemporaries.

He was born in a prominent household directly descended from the Prophet, as is clear from the epithets of 'Sayyid' and 'Sharif by which he was referred. His father Abu Ahmad Husayn bin Musa was fifth in line of descent from the 7th Imam, Musa al-Kazim (a), and held the prestigious position of the Naqib al-Nuqaba ' of Iraq, a responsibility which required the managing of affairs of the Sadats (Prophet's descendants). He was given the title of 'Tahir Awhad Dhu al-Manaqib' and died in 396 and was buried in the shrine of Imam Husayn (A.S.) in Karbala'. At his death, Sayyid Razi, who had been acting as his father's deputy since 381, officially became the Naqib al-Nuqaba' and held the position till his own death in 406/1015. His father's genealogy reads: Husayn bin Musa bin Muhammad bin Musa bin Ibrahim Mujab bin Imam Musa al-Kazim ( 'a).

Sharif al-Murtaza's mother Fatima was a pious and noble lady, and was held in high esteem by scholars and other notables, also traced her lineage to the Prophet and was the daughter of Husayn bin Abu Muhammad al- Hasan al-Utrush bin Ali bin Hasan bin Umar al-Ashraf the son of the 4th Infallible Imam, Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (A.S.). At her request, the great scholar Shaykh Mufid compiled the book Ahkam al-Nisa' which contains the fiqhi rules for women. Her family had carved out an independent principality in Tabaristan on the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea. She died in Baghdad in 385 AH.

There is an interesting story how Sayyid Razi and his elder brother 'Ali Abu al-Qasim Sayyid Murtaza started their formal Islamic education.

Unlike Sayyid Razi who was more inclined towards politics and literature, Sayyid Mortaza was deeply interested in fiqh.Sayyid Murtaza acquired the epithet of 'Alam al-Huda'. and died at the age of 81 years in 436 AH/ 1044. He served as Naqib al-Nuqaba' after the death of Sayyid Razi and was considered a master of kalam, fiqh, usul al- fiqh, literature, grammar, poetry and other fields of knowledge. His divan or poetical composition runs into more than 20,000 verses.

All Shi'ite and Sunni scholars acknowledge that Sayyid Murtaza was the greatest scholar of his era and groomed many outstanding ulama including the famous Shaykh al-Ta'ifah Abu Ja'far al-Tusi (Shaykh Tusi), the founder of the celebrated theological Center of Najaf [Sayyid Razi: Life and Work] .

He is the author of al-Ghurar wa al-Durar. [Spirit of Islam By Syed Ameer Ali]

Work and contribution

He authored several books such as

"al-Shafi fl al-Imamah",

"al- Dhakh'irah fi Usul al-Fiqh",

"al-Ghurar wa al-Durar", [Spirit of Islam By Syed Ameer Ali] and

"al-Tanzih".

References

See also

Seyyed Razi

Shaykh Mufid

Shaykh Tusi

External links

* [http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=1591]