al-Baha al-Amili
- Died
- 1031 AH
- Born in
- -
al-Baha al-Amili (953–1031 AH / 1547–1622 CE) was an Imami scholar, poet, and polymath who served as the leading religious authority of Isfahan under the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas and is widely known for his literary anthology al-Kashkul .
Lineage and early life
He was Muhammad ibn Husayn ibn Abd al-Samad al-Harithi al-Amili al-Hamdani, known by the honorific Baha al-Din . His lineage traced back to al-Harith al-Awar al-Hamdani . He was born at sunset on Wednesday, thirteen nights remaining in Dhu al-Hijjah 953 AH, in Baalbek, though another report states he was born in Qazvin . While still young, he accompanied his father, the scholar Husayn ibn Abd al-Samad, on his migration from the Levant to Safavid Iran, where he grew up and received his early training .
Education and travels
Al-Amili studied religious and rational sciences under his father and other prominent scholars, including Abdallah al-Yazdi . After gaining prominence in Iran, he was appointed to the post of Shaykh al-Islam . He subsequently relinquished his official duties to pursue ascetic travel and itinerancy, journeying for thirty years across Iranian and Arab territories .
During his travels, he performed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, visited Medina and the Shi'i shrines in Iraq, and traveled through Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, and Cairo . In Egypt, he composed his famous miscellany al-Kashkul and formed a companionship with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Bakri, while in Damascus he befriended al-Hasan al-Burini . He also compiled another literary miscellany titled al-Mikhla and a commentary on the Quran titled al-Urwa al-Wuthqa . Among his students were Husayn al-Yazdi al-Ardkani and Javad al-Kazimi .
Career in Isfahan and standing
Following his travels, al-Amili settled in Isfahan, where the Safavid monarch Shah Abbas appointed him head of the scholars (riyasat al-ulama) and held him in high regard, frequently consulting him . Contemporary and later biographers described him as an unmatched polymath in both transmitted and rational disciplines, particularly mathematics and astronomy, as well as a skilled poet in Arabic and Persian . He maintained extensive scholarly correspondence with his contemporary Mir Damad, who succeeded him as the leading scholar of the Safavid realm .
Death
Al-Amili died in Isfahan in 1031 AH (1622 CE) . His body was transported to Tus (Mashhad), where he was buried .
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Kashkūl is a literary anthology and encyclopedic miscellany that gathers a wide range of religious, philosophical, linguistic, and poetic selections, serving as a prominent commonplace book of the late Islamic period.