Fakhr al-din al-Razi
Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (Fakhruddin Razi) (1149 or 1150 – 1209) often known by the sobriquet "Sultan of the Theologians", was a Persian polymath, an influential Islamic scholar and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote various works in the fields of medicine, chemistry, physics, astronomy, cosmology, literature, theology, ontology, philosophy, history, and jurisprudence. He was one of the earliest proponents and skeptics that came up with the concept of the Multiverse, and compared it with the astronomical teachings of Qur'an. An ardent opponent to the geocentric model and the Aristotelian notions of a single universe revolving around a single world, Al-Razi argued for the existence of an outer space beyond the known world.
Al-Razi was born in Ray, Iran, and died in Herat, Afghanistan. He left a very rich corpus of philosophical and theological works that reveals influences from the works of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Abu'l-Baralat al-Baghdadi, and al-Ghazali. Two of his works titled Mabāhith al-mashriqiyya fī ‘ilm al-ilāhiyyāt wa-'l-tabi‘iyyāt (Eastern Studies in Metaphysics and Physics) and al-Matālib al-‘Aliya (The Higher Issues) are usually regarded as his most important works.
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, whose full name was Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥusayn, was born in 1149 or 1150 CC (543 or 544 AH) in Ray (close to modern day Tehran), whence his nisba (an adjective indicating the person's place of origin, tribal affiliation, or ancestry), "al-Razi". According to Ibn al-Sha' 'ar al-Mawsili (died 1256), one of al-Razi's earliest biographers, al-Razi's great-grandfather had been a rich merchant in Mecca. Either his great-grandfather or his grandfather migrated from Mecca to Tabaristan (a mountainous region located on the Caspian Sea coast of northern Iran) in the 11th century of the Christian calendar, and some time after that the family settled in Ray. Having been born into a family of Meccan origin, al-Razi claimed descent from the first caliph Abu Bakr (c. 573–634 CC), and was known by medieval biographers as al-Qurashī (a member of the Quraysh, the tribe of the prophet Muhammad to which also Abu Bakr belonged). However, it is not clear from which precise lines of descent al-Razi envisioned his purported ties with Abu Bakr, and the poet Ibn 'Unayn (d. 1233 CC) actually praised al-Razi for being a descendant of the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644 CC).
Fakhr al-Din first studied with his father, Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn al-Makkī, himself a scholar of some repute who wrote a magnum opus in Kalam (Islamic scholastic theology). Al-Razi later studied at Merv and Maragheh, where he was one of the pupils of Majd al-Din al-Jili, who in turn had been a disciple of al-Ghazali.
Fakhr al-Din became a leading proponent of the Ash'ari school of theology. His commentary on the Qur'an was the most-varied and many-sided of all extant works of the kind, comprising most of the material of importance that had previously appeared. He devoted himself to a wide range of studies and is said to have expended a large fortune on experiments in alchemy. He taught at Ray (Central Iran) and Ghazni (eastern Afghanhistan), and became head of the university founded by Mohammed ibn Tukush at Herat (western Afghanistan).
In his later years, Fakhr al-Din also showed interest in mysticism, although this never formed a significant part of his scholastic work. He died in Herat (Afghanistan) in 1209 CC (606 AH), where his tomb is still venerated today.
One of al-Razi's outstanding achievements was his unique interpretive work on the Qur'an called Mafātiḥ al-Ghayb (Keys to the Unseen) and later nicknamed Tafsīr al-Kabīr (The Great Commentary). It was called Tafsir al-Kabir because it was 32 volumes in length. This work contains much of philosophical interest. One of al-Razi's major concerns was the self-sufficiency of the intellect. His acknowledgment of the primacy of the Qur'an grew with his years. Al-Razi's rationalism -- his epistemological view the regarded reason as the chief source and test of knowledge -- undoubtedly held an important place in the debate in the Islamic tradition on the harmonization of reason and revelation.
Al-Razi's development of Kalam (Islamic scholastic theology) led to the evolution and flourishing of theology among Muslims. Al-Razi experienced different periods in his thinking, affected by the Ash'ari school of thought and later by al-Ghazali. Al-Razi tried to make use of elements of Mu tazila and Falsafah, and although he had some criticisms of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), al-Razi was, nevertheless, greatly affected by him. The most important instance showing the synthesis of al-Razi's thought may be the problem of the eternity of the world and its relation to God. He tried to reorganize the arguments of theologians and philosophers on this subject, collected and critically examined the arguments of both sides. He considered, for the most part, the philosophers' argument for the world's eternity stronger than the theologians' position of putting emphasis on the temporal nature of the world. It is perhaps best to view al-Razi's theoretical life as a journey from a young dialectician -- a young philosopher who views the world in terms of complementary opposites -- to a more religious condition. Indeed, it appears that al-Razi came to present different thoughts of diverse schools, such as those of Mutazilite and Asharite, in his exegesis, The Great Commentary.
Al-Razi, in dealing with his conception of physics and the physical world in his Matalib al-‘Aliya, criticizes the idea of the geocentric model within the universe and explores the notion of the existence of a multiverse in the context of his commentary on the Quranic verse, "All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds." Al-Razi raises the question of whether the term "Worlds" in this verse refers to multiple worlds within this single universe or cosmos, or to many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe.
Al-Razi states:
Al-Razi rejected the Aristotelian and Avicennian notions of a single universe revolving around a single world. He describes their main arguments against the existence of multiple worlds or universes, pointing out their weaknesses and refuting them. This rejection arose from his affirmation of atomism -- the natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms -- as advocated by the Ash'ari school of Islamic theology. Atomism proposes the existence of vacant space in which the atoms move, combine and separate. Al-Razi discussed more on the issue of the void – the empty spaces between stars and constellations in the universe, that contain few or no stars – in greater detail in volume 5 of the Matalib. There he argued that there exists an infinite outer space beyond the known world, and that God has the power to fill the vacuum with an infinite number of universes.
Al-Razi had written over a hundred works on a wide variety of subjects. His major works include:
- Tafsir al-Kabir (The Great Commentary) (also known as Mafatih al-Ghayb)
- Asraar at-Tanzeel wa Anwaar at-Ta'weel (The Secrets of Revelation & The Lights of Interpretation). Tafsir of selected verses from the Qur'an
(Note: This work should not be confused with the book of Tafsir by Nasir al-Din al-Baydawi called: Anwaar at-Tanzeel wa Asraar at-Ta'weel (The Lights of Revelation and The Secrets of Interpretation) or more commonly Tafsir al-Baydawi.)
- Asas al-Taqdis (The Foundation of Declaring Allah's Transcendence) -- A refutation of Ibn Khuzayma, the Karramite, and the Anthropomorphists.
- ‘Aja’ib al-Qur’an (The Mysteries of the Qur'an)
- Al-Bayan wa al-Burhan fi al-Radd ‘ala Ahl al-Zaygh wa al-Tughyan
- Al-Mahsul fi ‘Ilm al-Usul
- Al-Muwakif fi ‘Ilm al-Kalam
- ‘Ilm al-Akhlaq (Science of Ethics)
- Kitab al-Firasa (Book on Firasa)
- Kitab al-Mantiq al-Kabir (Major Book on Logic)
- Kitab al-nafs wa’l-ruh wa sharh quwa-huma (Book on the Soul and the Spirit and their Faculties)
- Mabahith al-mashriqiyya fi ‘ilm al-ilahiyyat wa-’l-tabi‘iyyat (Eastern Studies in Metaphysics and Physics)
- Al-Matālib al-‘Āliyyah min al- 'ilm al-ilahī (The Higher Issues) – his last work. Al-Razi wrote al-Matālib during his writing of al-Tafsir and he died before completing both works.
- Muḥaṣṣal Afkār al-Mutaqaddimīn wal-Muta'akhkhirīn (The Harvest/Compendium of the Thought of the Ancients and Moderns)
- Nihayat al ‘Uqul fi Dirayat al-Usul
- Risala al-Huduth
- Sharh al-Isharat (Commentary on the al-Isharat wa-al-Tanbihat of Ibn Sina)
- Sharh Asma' Allah al-Husna (Commentary on Asma' Allah al-Husna)
- Sharh Kulliyyat al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (Commentary on Canon of Medicine)
- Sharh Nisf al-Wajiz li'l-Ghazali (Commentary on Nisf al-Wajiz of Al-Ghazali )
- Sharh Uyun al-Hikmah (Commentary on Uyun al-Hikmah)
- Kitāb al-Arba'īn Fī Uṣūl al-Dīn'
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Farabi
Farabi (Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi) (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi) (Abu Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Auzlagh al-Farabi) (Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi) (al-Pharabius) (Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Tarḫān ibn Awzlaġ al-Fārābi) (Alpharabius) (b. c. 872 – d. between December 14, 950 and January 12, 951). Muslim polymath and one of the greatest scientists and philosophers of Persia and the Islamic world of his time. He was also a cosmologist, logician, musician, psychologist and sociologist. He became known in the West under the names of Alfarabius (Alpharabius) and Avennasar (Abunaser).
Al-Farabi was a major contributor to philosophy, logic, sociology and science. He was best known as the “Second Teacher” (al-Mou’allim al-Thani), Aristotle being the first. Al-Farabi was largely responsible for cementing the position of Peripatetic philosophy at the core of nearly all philosophic thought in the Islamic world (and also, derivatively, much of the Christian world) through such an extensive series of written commentaries on Aristotle’s works that philosophical studies thereafter were dominated by his commentaries. Al-Farabi’s other major achievement was the creation of a cogent theory of an Islamic political philosophy based on Plato’s notions of supreme ruler-philosopher. This theory allowed a rational explanation of prophecy and the relatively unique role of prophetic revelation in a particular time and place. It also provided a universal definition of the purpose and goal of human society and government in general.
Al-Farabi, whose Latin name is Alfarabius, was born in Farab, Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan), of Turkish parentage. His ancestors were originally of Persian descent and his father was a general. After completing his education at Farab and Bukhara, he moved to Baghdad for higher studies, where his teachers were Christian Syrians expert in Greek philosophy. In Baghdad, al-Farabi studied several languages, science and technology, and philosophy. He also traveled to Damascus and Egypt for further studies. Eventually he came to live at the court of Sayf ad-Dawla (916-967), the ruler of Aleppo (now in Syria). Al-Farabi died a bachelor in Damascus in 950.
Al-Farabi was a qadi (a judge) in the early years of his long career. He eventually decided to take up teaching as his profession. Al-Farabi showed remarkable competence in several languages. Due to his exceptional talents in several branches of science and philosophy, he received the attention of King Saif al-Dawla at Halab (Aleppo). However, due to some unfortunate circumstances, he suffered great hardships and was once demoted to the position of caretaker of a garden.
Al-Farabi’s major contributions were in logic, philosophy and sociology. He also contributed immensely to mathematics, science, medicine, and music. He was also an encyclopedist. Al-Farabi’s great contribution in logic was that he made the study of logic systematic by dividing the subject into two categories: takhayyul (idea) and thubut (proof). Al-Farabi attempted to reconcile Platonism and Aristotelism with theology and wrote commentaries on physics, logic, and meteorology. Al-Farabi held the belief that philosophy and Islam are in harmony. He proved the existence of the void in his contribution to physics. His book Kitab al-Ihsa al-‘Ulum presents fundamental principles and classification of sciences from a fresh perspective.
Al-Farabi wrote several books on sociology, the most famous of which is the book entitled ‘Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila’ (The Model City). It is a significant contribution to sociology and political science. He also wrote books on metaphysics and psychology that included his original work. Al-Farabi states that an isolated individual cannot achieve all the perfections by himself and without the aid of many other individuals. It is the innate disposition of every man to join another human being or other men in the labor he ought to perform. Therefore, to achieve what he can of that perfection, every man needs to stay in the neighborhood of others and associate with them.
Al-Farabi was also an expert in music. He contributed to musical notes and invented several musical instruments. Al-Farabi could play his instruments so well as to make people laugh or weep. His book on music, entitled Kitab al-Musiqa, was well known.
Al-Farabi wrote a large number of books in several fields that include his original contribution. One hundred seventeen books are known to have survived. Of these, forty-three books are on logic, seven each on political science and ethics, eleven on metaphysics, and twenty-eight books on medicine, sociology, music and commentaries. Al-Farabi’s book ‘Fusus al-Hikam was used as a text book of philosophy for several centuries in Europe. He had great influence on science and philosophy for several centuries.
Al-Farabi, like many other Muslim philosophers, traveled widely, visiting centers of learning and meeting with the learned masters of his time. He spent the last few years of his life in Aleppo, at the court of Sayf-ad-Dawlah.
Al-Farabi was one of the earliest Islamic thinkers to transmit to the Arab world the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle (which he considered essentially identical), thereby greatly influencing such later Islamic philosophers as Avicenna and Averroes.
Influenced in his metaphysical views by both Aristotle and the Neoplatonist Roman philosopher Plotinus, al-Farabi posited a Supreme Being who had created the world through the exercise of rational intelligence. He believed this same rational faculty to be the sole part of the human being that is immortal, and thus he set as the paramount human goal the development of the rational faculty. Al-Farabi gave considerably more attention to political theory than did any other Islamic philosopher, adapting the Platonic system (as developed in Plato’s Republic and Laws) to the contemporary Muslim political situation in The Perfect City.
Al-Farabi was the first Islamic philosopher to uphold the primacy of philosophical truth over revelation, claiming that, contrary to the beliefs of various other religions, philosophical truth is the same throughout the world. He formulated as an ideal a universal religion in which all other existing religions are considered symbolic expressions of the universal religion. Of about 100 works by al-Farabi, many have been lost, including his commentaries on Aristotle. Many others have been preserved in medieval Latin translations only. In addition to his philosophical writings, al-Farabi compiled a Catalogue of Sciences, the first Muslim work to attempt a systematization of human knowledge. He also made a contribution to musical theory in his Great Book of Music.
Al-Farabi’s philosophy represents the first serious attempt in Islamic philosophy to bring about a rapprochement between the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. It was toward this end that he wrote many commentaries and expositions on Plato’s and Aristotle’s treatises. Despite such commentaries, he came to be known for his works on logic and political philosophy. In logic, ethics, and metaphysics he followed Aristotle; in politics he preferred Plato.
Al-Farabi argues that all existing beings are divided into necessary and possible existents. Necessary beings exist by virtue of themselves and need no external cause of their existence. Possible beings are those that can exist or not exist, and their existence requires an external cause. Farabi then goes on to argue that if one were to strip all the accidental (unnecessary) attributes of a existent thing, what would be left is the essence of that thing. Therefore, all existent beings for Farabi consist of an essence to which existence is added. It is only God, Farabi tells us, for whom essence and existence are one and the same.
Farabi’s views on the origin of the world seem to have been influenced by the Neoplatonic doctrine of emanation. According to Farabi, God, in contemplating himself, emanates an intellect from himself and from this intellect, which contemplates itself, emanates the Second Intellect, and so forth until the Tenth Intellect, which Farabi calls the “Agent Intellect.” These intellects, for Farabi, provide the intermediary world between the incorporeal world and ours, the world of generation and corruption.
Al-Farabi, who interprets Aristotle’s account of the intellects in his own way, argues that Aristotle believes in four different intellects. These intellects are: Intellect in Potentiality, which he identifies with the human soul and its ability to think; Intellect in Actuality, which is their realization within the corporeal world of the intelligible; the Acquired Intellect, which to him is attained when the intellect in actuality reflects upon the intelligible; and finally there is the Agent Intellect, which is the cause of thinking.
Al-Farabi is perhaps the greatest logician of Islam. He undertook an extensive study and critique of the entire Aristotelian Organon. His principal contributions to logic were his analysis of principles of syllogistic reduction, his emphasis on hypothetical and disjunctive syllogisms (arguments involving “if ... then ...” and “either ... or ...” premises), his discussion of induction, and his account of the use of the categorical syllogism in arguments by analogy. In addition to these significant contributions, he also offered an in-depth treatment of the status of future contingencies and the determination of future events.
Post-Farabi Muslim logicians remained under his influence. Even those who modified or criticized his views often came to know of Aristotle through his eyes. The most notable example is Ibn Sina (Avicenna), who was highly influenced by Farabi’s view on logic.
Al-Farabi believed that there is but one fundamental religion and that the various religions were manifestations of it. Affirming the truth of all religions, al-Farabi maintained that each religion is applicable to its particular milieu. All religions, therefore, are like points on the circumference of a circle aiming at the center, which is God. What differentiates people is not the variety of religions they profess, but ignorance of the fact that all persons are manifestations of God on different planes of reality and at different stages of spiritual progress.
Expanding upon the oneness of truth, Farabi elaborates on the notion of prophecy. Farabi’s interpretation of prophecy, a view that brought condemnation from orthodox scholars, led him to consider a prophet as someone who has mastered philosophy as well as spirituality. A prophet in Farabi’s view is a perfect human being, one who has actualized all of that person’s intellectual and spiritual potentialities. According to Farabi, the traditional concept of prophecy, in which God chooses a prophet based on his own will, is incorrect.
Once human perfection is attained, the prophet assumes two responsibilities, being a philosopher and being a statesman. The acquired intellect of the philosopher through its contact with the Agent Intellect brings about illumination, which Farabi identifies as revelation (wahy). The prophet, in addition to being a perfect philosopher, is a perfect statesman whose primary responsibility is to govern the state justly. In order to govern, the prophet must use his illuminated intellect to make decisions that will insure the common good of the people.
For Farabi, the philosophical mind at the peak of its development becomes like matter to the Active Intellect. Prophets are those who have attained this state and go beyond the philosophical truth to imaginative truth, which is then transformed into symbols, figures, and actions, through which societies can be moved towards a greater degree of moral insight and ethical practice.
Since all things come into being from a single cause, Farabi declares, a good state follows the principle of having a prophet-philosopher as the ruler, and hence the cause of the good state. The prophetic aspect of the ruler enables him to communicate with the masses, who understand only the language of persuasion. The prophet’s philosophical side, on the other hand, allows the prophet as ruler to speak to the intellectual elite, who can understand reasoning and will accept only that which is rationally justifiable. This view of the prophet as ruler also implies that the principles of religion ultimately are consistent with philosophical principles and that the apparent inconsistency between religion and philosophy stems from the failure to realize that each one is designed for a different task.
According to Farabi, the human being has an innate yearning for community life, and as such attains happiness only within the state. Following Plato, Farabi believes that people are happy if and only if they fulfill the function for which they were created. Since human beings are unequal in that they have various capacities for service, it is therefore the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens are placed where their true nature can best be utilized.
Like Plato in the Republic, Farabi models his ideal state after the human body. As a natural model in which there exists a hierarchy consisting of mind, spirit, and body. The highest level in this hierarchy -- the mind -- has a natural right to dominate and harmonize the lower levels. In government, accordingly, the prophet is the “unruled ruler,” who governs by virtue of his divine wisdom.
Some historians of philosophy contend that Farabi was likely a Shi‘ite since he was patronized by Sayf ad-Dawlah, a Shi‘ite king, and therefore his political philosophy should be viewed in that context. That is, the ruler of the Farabian state would resemble a Shi‘ite imam, who as possessor of divine wisdom, with access to esoteric truth, is therefore qualified to rule.
Since a good state is a natural state and it is only natural for human beings to want to be happy, it is the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens be happy, according to Farabi. He treats the subject of happiness and its attainment extensively.
There are three alternative interpretations of the nature of happiness according to Farabi: happiness as a purely theoretical activity, happiness as a practical activity exclusively, and happiness as a harmonious combination of the theoretical and the practical.
Arguing that theoretical excellence brings about practical excellence, Farabi concludes that it is the task of philosophy to actualize the perfection of the theoretical. Accordingly, Farabi argues that human perfection as the ultimate goal is achieved by a rapprochement of theoretical and practical reason. Although Farabi contended that theoretical perfection is to be sought through metaphysical inquiry, there are indications that Farabi believed that, practically speaking, theoretical perfection could not be attained even in the best of cases.
Although the practical component of happiness is presented by Farabi as a private activity of a moral nature, true happiness, according to him, is possible only within the context of a society. Thus, Farabi emphasizes the necessity of a perfect political order and a supreme ruler whose virtuous character can bestow happiness upon the citizens. The purpose of life for Farabi is the full development of the rational faculty and the attainment of truth through philosophical contemplation. Such an end in life can be fulfilled only in well-organized societies wherein just rulers govern. However, to be just one needs the type of theoretical wisdom that makes it possible to devise practical laws. Farabi states that those societies that are governed by rulers who are the repositories of philosophical wisdom are “good societies," while others are "ignorant" or “misguided" societies.
Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi see Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi see Farabi
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi see Farabi
Avennasar see Farabi
Alfarabius see Farabi
Second Teacher see Farabi
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FatimaFatima (Fatimah bint Muhammad) (c.605-c.633). Daughter of Muhammad by his first wife, Khadija, and the only child of Muhammad to bear offspring. Fatima was also the wife of the fourth caliph, 'Ali. Little is known of her life, most sources reflecting later tendential biases. She was the mother of two sons, Hasan and Husayn, born about five years after the hijra and two daughters. According to Shi‘a traditions, a third son, Muhassin, died as a child.
As the only child of Muhammad to have offspring, Fatima is considered to be the ancestral mother of the imams of Shi‘a Muslims, as well as being the ancestral mother of all claiming to be descended from Muhammad.
Little is reported from Fatima’s life, but she appears to have had bad health all through her life. Her relationship with Muhammad’s wife A’isha was one filled with hostility. When Abu Bakr became the first caliph, Fatima’s relations with him also became difficult, probably because Fatima had expected her husband ('Ali) to take over after Muhammad, and because Abu Bakr denied her the inheritance of the oasis of Fadak from her father.
Most of the other Shi‘a stories concerning Fatima are strongly religious. She is mentioned as having accompanied her father on only two expeditions, the one to take Mecca in year eight and the Farewell Pilgrimage in year ten. But she lived only a year after her father’s death.
While Sunni hadith collections mention Fatima only rarely, the Shi‘a regard her as a paradigm for womanhood, a devoted daughter and a perfect wife. Indeed, some call Fatima “the virgin” and “the mother of the two Jesuses”, reflecting an important influence from Christianity.
The Fatimids take their name from Fatima. Later Sunni literature reflects this same hagiographic tendency and becomes increasingly sympathetic to her. Today it is customary to add to her name the honorific title “the Shining One.” In Shi'a Islam, Fatima’s birthday and her marriage are two dates that are celebrated.
Fatimah see Fatima
Fatima bint Musa
Fatimah bint Musa (b. 1 Dhu al-Qi'dah 173 AH – d. 10 or 12 Rabi' al-Thani 201 AH, approximately March 22, 790 CC – November 7 or 9, 816 CC), commonly known as Fatimah al-Masumah or Fatemeh Masoumeh was the daughter of the seventh Twelver Shia Imam, Musa al-Kadim, and sister of the eighth Twelver Shia Imams, Ali al-Rida. Every year, millions of Shia Muslims travel to Qom to honor Fatima Masumeh at her shrine.
Fatemeh Masoumeh was the eldest daughter of Musa Kazem, and the Shia consider her to be the holiest child of Musa Kazem after her brother Ali al-Rida (Ali Reza).
Fatemeh Masoumeh was highly praised in the narrations and speeches of four Shiite Imams. Jafar Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam, in two narrations; Ali al-Rida, the eighth Shia Imam, in five narrations; and Mohammad Taqi, the ninth Shia Imam, pronounced that whoever visits Masoumeh in Qom will go to heaven.
Another prominent feature of Fatemeh Masoumeh is her position of intercession. According to the narration of Jafar Sadiq and Ali al-Rida, Fatemeh Masoumeh will intercede for the Shiites on the Day of Judgment so that all of them will enter Paradise.
Another prominent feature of Fatemeh Masoumeh, as Jafar Sadiq pointed out, is that the shrine of Fatemeh Masoumeh in Qom is the shrine of all Shia Imams. This means that all twelve Shia Imams are present in the shrine of Fatemeh Masoumeh and whoever visits Fatemeh Masoumeh in Qom is deemed to have visited all twelve Shia Imams.
Another very valuable feature of Fatemeh Masoumeh is the title -- Masoumeh -- given to her by Ali Reza. "Masoumeh" in Arabic means pure and innocent. Ali Reza's purpose in giving this name to his sister was to indicate that Fatemeh Masoumeh is a pure and innocent human being, which is very valuable for Shiites, and shows that Fatemeh Masoumeh has a degree of infallibility.
Lady Hamīdah was the mother of Fatima’s father as well as the owner of Fatima’s mother, Lady Najmah, a slave of African descent Lady Hamīdah had a dream that the Prophet told her that Najmah needed to become the wife of her son, so that she could birth “the best people in the world”. While Najmah was more focused on the son, Imam al-Ridā, she would also give birth to Fatima as a product of the marriage.
It is written that even before she was born, Shi'i Imams foretold Fatima Masumeh's holiness and piety. Fatima was born into Shi'i legacy, raised under the care of two Imams - her father and her brother - and she is said to have absorbed their knowledge and holiness. Fatima Masumeh was born in Medina in 173 AH and spent the first six years of her life learning alongside her father, Imam Musa al-Kadhim. She had a special gift of knowledge and spiritual awareness, even in childhood. When she was ten years old, Harun al-Rashid, the 5th caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate sent her father to prison. This separation was very difficult for Fatima, but her brother 'Ali was 25 years her senior and took care of her.
'Ali and Fatima are among Imam Musa al-Kadhim's 37 children, but they are the only two children from the Imam's marriage to Najmah Khatun. Their mother was a former slave from North Africa who became very learned in Islamic teachings under the guidance of Imam Musa al-Kadim's mother, Lady Hamidah. Ali would later become the 8th Imam and gain the title Imam 'Ali al-Rida. The historian al-Tabari states that 'Al-Rida' means "The One Well-pleasing [to God] from the House of Muhammad." He was appointed successor to the Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun, though he was hesitant in accepting this role. As 'Ali al-Rida gained the title of "Crowned Prince" , some people refused to accept his role amidst civil war. 'Ali al-Rida revealed the extent of this revolt to al-Mamun, stating that people considered him (al-Mamun) "bewitched and mentally deranged," were hiding reports from him, and had given their allegiance to his paternal uncle Ibrahim ibn al-Madhi instead of him.
In 200 AH, al-Mamun called for 'Ali al-Rida to leave for Khorasan. Fatima Masumeh was forced to live apart from her brother. After one year of separation from her brother, Fatima Masumeh decided to join him. She did not leave solely because of her wish to live near her brother; scholars also suggest that Fatima Masumeh's knowledge and religiosity would help her brother in his political office, especially in decisions regarding women. In 201 AH, she set off in a caravan with 23 family members and friends of Imam 'Ali al-Rida, alongside another caravan of 12,000 people traveling to Khorasan. The caravans never made it to Khorasan, though, and Fatima Masumeh never reached her brother. They were attacked by agents of the caliph while at Saveh. Some fled, but many were wounded, taken prisoner, or killed. Fatima Masumeh survived, but was forced to watch the murders of the 23 close family members and friends. It is written that Fatima Masumeh was then poisoned by a woman. Fatima became ill and asked to be taken to Qom, where she died and was buried in her host's land.
The Shrine of Fatima Masumeh is located in Qom, which is considered by Shia Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad.
Fatima Masumeh was the sister of the eighth Imam, Ali al-Rida, and the daughter of the seventh Imam, Musa al-Kadhim. In Shia Islam, women are often revered as saints if they are close relatives to one of the Twelver Imams. Fatima Masumeh is therefore honored as a saint, and her shrine in Qom is considered one of the most significant Shia shrines in Iran. Every year, thousands of Shia Muslims travel to Qom to honor Fatima Masumeh and ask her for blessings.
Also buried within the shrine are three daughters of the ninth Twelver Shī‘a Imām Muhammad al-Taqi.
The mosque consists of a burial chamber, three courtyards and three large prayer halls, totaling an area of 38,000 square meters (410,000 square feet). The three prayer halls are named: Tabātabā'ī, Bālā Sar, and A‘dham.
Although Shia theology formally states that the relatives of the Imams, the imamzadehs, hold a lower status than the Imams, popular Shi'ism still strongly venerates imamzadehs. In Iran, there are many more burial places of the Imams' relatives than there are for the Imams themselves. Imamzadehs are considered to be close to God and religiously pious because of their close relation to Imams. The Shi'a commonly travel on pilgrimages to shrines of imamzadehs, such as the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh, the sister of the 8th Imam 'Ali al-Rida, in Qom, Iran. Men and women seek cures to ailments, solutions to problems, and forgiveness of sins at these sites. Many hadiths, or teachings, are recorded from Shia Imams praising the veneration of Fatima Masumeh, and proclaiming that those who make a pilgrimage to her Shrine will "certainly be admitted to heaven."
Fatima Masumeh's Shrine in Qom is crowded every day of the year with Shia men, women, and children from all around the world. Some stay for hours or days praying at the mosque and circumambulating her tomb. The economy of Qom has become reliant on this pilgrimage for the tourism it brings. In turn, Qom has remained conservative and traditional to maintain a pious environment for pilgrims. Many miracles have been recorded as taking place at this shrine, and they are documented in a special office within the shrine complex. Some are published in the shrines monthly newspaper, the Payam-e Astan.
Pilgrims at the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh follow rituals that have been passed down for centuries. Imam Ali al-Rida, Fatima Masumeh's brother, outlined these ritual acts as he described the way he visited her Shrine. The prayer Imam al-Rida dictated to his sister continues to be part of the pilgrimage. Since the Safavid period, additional rituals have been added that are now typical for many Shia pilgrimages including ritual washing beforehand, dressing in perfumed clothing, and entering the site with one's right foot.
Since the beginning of Qom's history in the 7th century of the Christian calendar, the city has been associated with Shi'ism and set apart from the Sunni caliphate. Many Shia hadiths referred to Qom as a "place of refuge for believers," calling it a deeply religious place. After Fatima Masumeh's death in Qom and the construction of her Shrine, scholars began to gather in Qom and the city gained its reputation for religious learning. Today, Qom is still noted for its religious seminaries and organizations.
Fatima Masumeh died in Qom in 201 AH as she travelled to join her brother, Imam Ali al-Rida in Khorasan. The caravan she travelled in was attacked in Saveh by the Abbasid Sunnis, and 23 of Fatima Masumeh's family and friends were killed. Fatima Masumeh was then poisoned by a woman from the Sunni enemies, fell ill, and asked to be taken to Qom, where she died. Fatima Masumeh's host in Qom buried her in his plot of land.
The style of Fatima Masumeh's Shrine has developed over many centuries. At first, her tomb was covered with a bamboo canopy. Fifty years later, this was replaced by a more durable domed building, at the request of the daughter of Imam Muhammad at-Taqi, Sayyida Zaynab. The family of Sayyida Zainab later added a further two domes to the Shrine. These architectural projects marked the beginning of female patronage of the tomb of Fatima Masumeh.
From 1795–1796, Fath Ali Shah Qajar converted two Safavid sahn or courtyards into one large courtyard and, in 1803, fixed the golden dome. In 1883, Amin al-Sultan added the new sahn e-jadid or "New Court" to the Shrine complex.
During the Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 Iranian Revolution, Qom was named "the birthplace" of this movement. Khomeini studied in Qom and lived there at the beginning and end of the Revolution. Aspects of the culture of Qom, including the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh, were used to unite the Iranian people over significant historical and mythical events. Khomeini used images of the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh in posters, money, and stamps created during the Revolution. Khomeini also constructed an addition to the Shrine of Fatima Masumeh and added more space for pilgrims. In addition, the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini utilizes architectural elements that are similar to Fatima Masumeh's Shrine, such as the golden dome.
Firdausi (Abu’l-Qasim Firdausi) (Abdul Qasim Mansur) (Firdawsi or Ferdowsi) (935-1020). One of the greatest Persian poets who is best known as the author the epic, Shahnama -- The Book of Kings.
Firdausi was not on good terms with the monarch of his time, the Ghaznavid sultan Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin, not only because Firdausi was a Shi‘a, Mahmud being a Sunni, but also because the sultan showed a lack of interest in Firdausi's work and because the poet was dissatisfied with the inadequacy of his compensation.
Shahnama (The Book of Kings), amounting in several manuscripts to some 60,000 verses, speaks of the beneficial activities of the first kings of Persia on behalf of humanity and of their struggle against the demons which infest the world. The assassination of the son and successor of one of these mythical kings by two brothers started an endless cycle of wars of revenge between the Persians and the nomadic Turanians of Central Asia. The exploits of the heroes are interwoven with love-stories by which Firdausi became the founder of the romantic narrative poem which was to have such a lasting legacy in Persia. The last part of the poem is more historical and recounts the reigns of the Sasanian kings.
The tragic life of Firdausi underscores his lyrical brilliance and monumental achievement as author of the Shahnama. The Shahnama is a mathnavi -- a rhyming couplet in approximately 60,000 distichs (verses having two lines). The idiomatic Persian of the Shahnama minimizes not only non-Persian themes and people but also non-Persian, specifically Arabic, words. The Shahnama extols the importance of kingship as the most lofty status to which heroes may aspire.
Firdausi has been called the Homer of Persia. Born in the village of Bazh near Tus in Khurasan, he belonged to the landed gentry. It is clear from his own poetry that he received a sound education and was well versed in the legends and traditional history of pre-Islamic Iran. As a youth, he was a man of adequate means which enabled him to devote thirty years of his life to composing the Shahnama without the support of a royal court.
He was married at the age of 28 and some eight years later began the work for which he is most famous, the great epic poem Shahnama (or Shah nameh). The work is based on a poem by the tenth century Persian poet Dakiki. Firdausi spent 35 years writing this epic and completed it in 1010, when he was about 70 years old.
Firdausi undertook the composition of his monumental work around the year 980, shortly after the death of Abu Mansur Daqiqi, another poet from Tus, who had been composing a national epic of his own (most probably under the patronage of the Samanid amir Nun ibn Mansur) when his sudden death left the work unfinished. The Samanids had fostered a keen interest in the history of pre-Islamic Iran, and already more than one prose Shahnama, mainly based on the Pahlavi Kvadai-namag (translated into Arabic in the eighth century), had appeared. The most important version was the Abu Mansuri Shahnama which was produced in Tus in 957.
Firdausi also versified isolated episodes before he obtained Daqiqi’s work, which he incorporated into his Shahnama. At the beginning of his career, he had the support of some local dignitaries in Tus, but, living mainly on the income of his family estate, he experienced dire poverty at advanced age. His main source was the Abu Mansuri Shahnama (now lost except for the introduction), but he also used other materials, including oral traditions. The first version of Firdausi’s Shahnama was finished in 994 and the revised version in 1010.
Firdausi’s epic would have probably been received with honors at the court of the Samanids, but by the time it was finished Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna was the master of eastern Iran. Although a Turk by birth, Sultan Mahmud had gathered a large number of Persian poets at his court and was served by the vizier Isfarayini, whose patronage of Persian letters was well known. It is possible that Firdausi, as an old man badly in need, had been sending portions of his work to the court at Ghazna (probably to Isfarayini) in the hope of securing royal support. Finally, he decided to present his epic personally. However, the Shahnama was not received well by the king, who, being attuned to hearing only panegyric poetry and not familiar with the Iranian lore, could not really appreciate the value of the Shahnama. The fact that Mahmud was a fanatical Sunni and Firdausi a Shi‘ite must have laid the groundwork for the hard feelings to which the poet refers. Besides, Isfarayini, his main supporter at the court, had fallen from favor. According to an early source, an unhappy encounter with the king resulted in Firdausi’s writing a satire published only after the poet’s death. Firdausi spent the rest of his life running from the reach of Mahmud, who had threatened him with death. Finally, pardoned by the sultan, he came back to his native town, where he died a poor man.
Firdausi’s Shahnama contains 60,000 rhyming couplets, making it more than seven times the length of Homer’s Iliad. It deals first with the legendary Persian kings: Gayumart, Hoshang, Tahmuras, and the most famous of the group, Jamshid, who reigned for 500 years during the golden age of the earth. Following this happy period, came the evil rule of the Arab Dahhak, or Zohak, who was tempted by Ahriman, his own ancestor. As a result, Dahhak fell into sin, becoming more and more evil until Kavah, a smith, rebelled and established his leather apron as the banner of revolt. Finally, the tyrant was bound and confined beneath Mount Demavend on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Soon after this point in the poem, an episode of considerable beauty is inserted. It recounts the loves of Zal, of the royal line of Persia, and Rudabah, the daughter of the king of Kabul. Their union resulted in the birth of the most romantic of all the heroes of the Shahnama, Rustam, who occupies a position in Iranian legend somewhat analogous to that of Hercules in Greek and Latin literature. The epic progresses through Persian legend to historic times, tracing the reigns of the Sasanian kings down to the Muslim conquest and the death of Yazdigird III in 641. Thus, the work constitutes a valuable source for the early history of Persia, which is necessary to supplement the accounts given in the old Persian cuneiform inscriptions and the Avesta. In addition to his poetic incentive, Firdausi had a distinctly patriotic motive in writing the Shahnama. He plainly desired to keep alive in the hearts of his people the faith of their ancestors and the glories of their deeds so that the Persians would not become mere puppets under Arab domination.
The epic contains an introductory eulogy of the tenth century Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, to whom the work is dedicated. Firdausi went to Mahmud’s court to present his work as a tribute and was awarded the sum of 20,000 dihrams. The amount was less than he had been led to expect. The disappointed poet took his revenge by departing to Herat and there writing a bitter satire on Mahmud, which he sent to the sultan as a substitute for his former eulogy. Firdausi then fled to Herat, and from there to Tabaristan, where the reigning prince protected him. He later settled in Baghdad where he composed an epic of 9000 couplets, Yusuf and Zuleikha (Yusuf and Zulaykha). The work is an Arabic version of the biblical story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, a favorite theme of Asian poets. In his old age, Firdausi retired to his native town near Tus, where, according to legend, he received Mahmud’s forgiveness just before his death. The Shahnama is perhaps best known to English readers through Sohrab and Rustum, a poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold, which is based on the Persian epic.
Firdausi has had a profound and lasting influence on Persian literature and, indeed, on the spirit of the people of modern day Iran. His Shahnama was the model and inspiration for most later Muslim epic poetry.
In the scientific annals, Firdausi's Shahnama was instrumental in depicting a story about man's first attempts to fly.
The ancient Egyptians left behind many paintings demonstrating their desire to fly, depicting pharaohs soaring with wings. The Chinese and the Greeks had mythical stories and legends about flying, as did the Sassanians. Their most popular story is the one recounted by Firdausi in his Shahnama -- his Book of Kings. In Firdausi's book, a certain King Kai Kawus was tempted by evil spirits to invade heaven with the help of a flying craft that was a throne, attached to whose corners were four long poles pointing upward. Pieces of meat were placed at the top of each pole and ravenous eagles were chained to the feet of the throne. As the eagles attempted to fly up to the meat, they carried the throne up, but, inevitably, they grew tired and the throne came crashing down.
Abu’l-Qasim Firdausi see Firdausi Firdawsi see Firdausi Ferdowsi see Firdausi Abdul Qasim Mansur see Firdausi Mansur, Abdul Qasim see Firdausi Homer of Persia see Firdausi
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