GRAND AYATULLAH AQA-E-BUZURG TEHRANI (R.A.)

Muhammad Muhsin bin Ali Munzavi Tehrani was known as “Aqa Buzurg”. One of the reasons for
calling him “Aqa Buzurg” was that he was named after his grand father. He was born in 1876 A.D in
Tehran. He is credited with compiling an Encyclopedia about Shia books; known as “al-Dharia ila
Tasnif al-Shia” in 26 volumes. He also compiled a book about Shia scholars known as “Tabghat a'lam
al-Shia”
After completing the initial studies, he went to Najaf al-Ashraf and received education from great
scholars like Mirza Husayn Nuri, Shaikh Taha Najafi, Sayid Murtaza Kashmiri, Mirza Husayn Mirza
Khalil, Mulla Muhammad Kazim Khorasani, Sayid Ahmad Ha'iri Tehrani, Mirza Muhammad Ali
Chahardai, Sayid Muhammad Kazim Yazdi, and Shaikh al-Shariah Isphahani.
In that period, the Muslims were collecting information about books and authors and Shia's
contribution to the Islamic literature was being ignored. Jurji Zaydan, a Christian Arab scholar, in his
book “The History of Arabic Literature” had considered the impact of Shia scholars in Islamic Culture as very little. This was tough for Shia scholars so three of them decided to confront the challenge.
Explaining the effects of Shia scholars in Islamic sciences was given to Sayid Hasan al-Sadr and he
composed a book titled as “The Foundation of Islamic Sciences by the respectable Shias”. Shaikh
Kashif al-Ghita describing the errors in Zaydan's book wrote “al-Murajiatil Rayhaniyya” and Aqa
Buzurg compiled al-Dhari'a.
Aqa Buzurg founded a print shop in 1936 in Najaf named “Maktaba al-Sa'da” for publication of al-
Da'ria, but the imperial government of Iraq prevented his work by various excuses. Somehow he
printed the first volume of al-Dari'a but again its publication was delayed for six moths due to the
resistance of the Iraqi government.
Aqa Buzurg traveled long distances in order to research and complete this Encyclopedia. He visited the public and private libraries of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Hijaz.
Aqa Buzurg's influence was not restricted to the admiration of his long scholarly pursuits exchanged
numerous licenses of transmission of faiths from the narrators of different Muslim sects. He was widely regarded for his piety and asceticism. He regularly lead congregational prayer at several mosques in Najaf and once a week walk from Najaf to Kufa to visit the site of the martyrdom of the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.)
His other literary work includes Musaffa al-Maghal fi Musannifi ilm al-Rijal, a biography of Ayatullah Mirza Hasan Shirazi, Hidayatul al-Razi al al-moj, al-naqd al-nafif fi nafi al-tahrif al-al Koran al-Sharifa defense of the textual integrity of the Glorious Qur'an, and a brief biography of Shaikh Abu Ja'far Tusi.
After a long illness, he died on February 20, 1970 in Najaf, and according to his will, he was buried in the library he devouted for usage of scholars..

Sources: WIKIPEDIA, WIKISHIA, ENCYCLOPEDEA IRANICA