Ayatullah Sayyid
Abdul Husayn Sharfuddin was born in the sacred city of Kazimayn in Iraq in the
year 1290 A.H. His parents were related to each other. His father was
Sayyid Yousuf ibne Jawad Sharfuddin and his mother’s name was Zahra binte
Sayyid Hadi. He grew up in a scholarly family of repute, and was educated under
the guidance of his father. When he reached the age of adolescence, he became
fully acquainted with the causes of goodness and virtues. At the age of 16, he left for Iraq for further
spiritual studies. Upon completing his
scholarly life, he was distinguished by notable accomplishments and achievements.
His teachers included many a genius
among the pillars of knowledge in Najaf al-Ashraf and Samarra such as Tabataba’I,
Khurasani, Fatahallah al-Asphahani, Shaykh Hasan al-Karbala’i.
After completing his
religious education at the age of 32, he returned to Amila, South Lebanon. He travelled extensively around the Muslim world encouraging Muslim unity and
opposition to colonial powers. A new life started in Amila aiming at strict
implementation of religion, improvement of manners, the strengthening of right
with might, kindness to the weak, the enjoining of the right and the forbidding
of wrong, comfort with the masters of religion and humbleness towards the men
of knowledge. He possessed such eloquence of speech which made him the envy of
Arabia’s orators. Religion, scholarship,
and ethics are all proud of him!
About 4 years after his return to Lebanon, the World War I
broke out and at the end of the war, French took control of Lebanon. They tried
to secularize the Lebanese society. He called a conference of major scholars,
and they declared war against the occupation forces. A death warrant was issued
for him immediately, and he had to leave his house for Egypt. The vengeful French torn down his house,
burned down his library which contained thousands of valuable books and manuscripts .Eventually, Sayyid Muhammad
as-Sadr, a first cousin of Sayyid Sharfuddin, managed to get the death warrant
annulled and Sayyid Sharfuddin returned home.
He had authored many
books out of which 18 books were burned by the French authorities. There are 8
other books still available which include the famous book Al-Muraja’at. These
books were: Al Fusul-ul-Muhimma (Important chapters in Unifying the Nation), Al
Jawabat al Masa’il fi Musa Jarallah (Answers to the question of Musa Jarallah),
Al Kalima al-Gharra fi Tafdil al-Zahra (The Convincing statement in preferring
al-Zahra), Al Majalis Al Fakhira fi Ma’atim Al Tahira (The Magnificent Commemorative
Speeches in Honor of the Purified Progeny), Abu Huraira, Bughyat al Raghibin
(Quest of the Willing), Thabt al Athbat fi Silsilat Al Ruwat (The Ultimate
Proof in the Chain of Narrators)
It was his life-time desire to bring together Sunni and
Shia Muslims. He travelled to Cairo,
Egypt and met with the Rector of Al-Azhar University, Shaykh Salim Al Bishri
al-Maliki. After a long discussion it was decided to talk on all the points of
disagreement between the Shias and Sunnis in a free and polite manner without
getting excited. These discussions were in the form of letters. In all 112
letters representing questions and answers were exchanged. At the end, it was
agreed to publish these discussions for the benefit of general public.
Al-Muraja’at is considered perhaps the greatest defense of Shia beliefs in the
20th century. The book has since been translated into many languages
including English. Based on the discussions contained in the book, Al-Azhar
University eventually issued an edict declaring Shias to be within the folds of
Islam and the Jafari legal thoughts to be a valid branch of Islamic Jurisprudence.
He was very patient, dignified, gentle, brave, and highly
respected. He did not compromise on justice. He was a model of piety, clarity
of conscience, speaker of truth, wise and far-sighted.
In the year 1377 A.H.
he fell ill and shortly after passed away. His body was flown to Baghdad,
Kazimayn, Karbala, and later was buried within the precincts of the Mausoleum
of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.)
Sources used:
Al-Muraja’at,
a Shia Sunni Dialogue by Ayatullah Sayyid Abdul Husayn Sharfuddin
Islamic
Sights Sayyid Sharfuddin Al-Musawi
No comments:
Post a Comment