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5. SHEIK ABU
JAFAR TOOSI
Born: 385 H, Toos, Iran Died: 460H, Najaf, Iraq
Introduction:
Sheik Abu Jafar Toosi has been
held in very high esteem among the scholars of the Shia School. His
greatness can be gauged from the very fact that he was the author of two of
the four most important books of the Shia Faith. We have mentioned
about these four books earlier in this series of talks. The two books
authored by Sheik Toosi are
Tahdhib al-Ahkam
(andAl-Istibsar. The opinion of leading scholars is that after Sheik Toosi
no later scholar took courage in his hands to issue Fatwa against
any matter dealt with by him. Some people have even said that for a long
period of 80 years of Sheik Toosi’s demise no Mujtahid
came up. Even if there were Mujtahids, they didn’t feel the need or
necessity of issuing Fatwas. Whenever any Mujtahid thought of
giving a Fatwa, he confessed that how could he issue an edict on a
matter which was dealt with such authority by Sheik Toosi. The
greatness of Sheik Toosi can well be gauged from the fact that till
about 100 years ago, he was remembered with the title of Ibteda e
Bahisht or The threshold of the Heaven. The word Sheik is from
the Arabic lexicon that means a person who is the chief or the leader
of a tribe. This title has been used with the names of almost all eminent
scholars. But Sheik Toosi has been accepted as the leader or the
guide of Shias in such a manner that in the books of Fiqh
wherever the term Sheik appears it meant only Sheik Toosi. The
term Sheik literally became synonimous with this great scholar. If
some author writes that the Sheik had such –and- such opinion on any
matter, certainly he refers to Sheik Toosi! Similarly during the
last hundred years another author of similar eminence was born who was
Sheik Murtada Ansari. With his rise in eminence, the word Sheik
started becoming synonymous with Sheik Murtada Ansari. From the 5th
Century H to the 13th Century H , Sheik Toosi was
referred to only as Sheik. But from the 13th Century,
Sheik Murtada Ansari shared this title with Sheik Toosi. This
illustrates the eminence of Sheik Murtada Ansari.
Birth & family Background:
The title of Sheik Toosi is
Sheik but he was also known as Sheik al Taifa. His Kunyat
is Abu Jafar. His given name is Mohammed and he is remembered
as Sheik abu Jafar Mohammed. It is a very pleasant coincidence that
the three scholars who collected and compiled the books of Hadith in
the early period and the three scholars who came in the later period bore
the given name of Mohammed. Another surprising coincidence is that
the Kunyat of the authors of the first three books has been Abu
jafar. Sheik Toosi’s father’s name was Hassan, the grand
father’s name was Ali and the great grand father was also Hassan.
He hailed from a town in the Khorasan Province
of Eastern Iran. The town is
extinct now but it was a center of some eminence for Islamic Studies
those days. Sheik Toosi was born in Ramadan of 385 H four
years after the passing away of Sheik Sadooq in 381 H. The
Providence gave birth to the true successor of Sheik Sadooq within
four years of his demise in the person of Sheik Toosi. Sheik Toosi
died on 22 Moharrum of the year 460 H at Najaf e Ashraf.
Thus he lived for 75 years in this world. He was interred in the
compound of his own house which became the permanent place of his eternal
rest!
Education & Teachers:
Sheik Toosi has done tremendous
work in the literary field and has written books that are in a class by
themselves. His initial education was provided by his father. At the age of
23 years he migrated towards Baghdad. Since Baghdad was
the capital of the Abbasids ever since the times of Mansoor
Duanaqi, barring a small period when the capital was moved to Samarra
Baghdad was also the center of Islamic Studies from the times of
The Sixth Imam (a.s) till the period when Sheik Toosi
flourished there. Eminent scholars were the residents of this city. The
10th, 11th and 12th Imams (a.s)
appointed their 4 deputies with their head-quarters too in
Baghdad. Thus the Shia population continued to increase
progressively in the capital city. They did have the numerical strength but
the establishment of the time was not too friendly for them. The other
inhabitants of the city developed animosity for them because of their
numbers and the all round progress achieved by them. The establishment
therefore instigated riots between the two communities. Because of this, the
followers of Aal e Mohammed (s.a), who were peace loving people, had
to face much trouble from their adversaries who had the tacit support of the
establishment. Their homes and hearths were attacked and they were
mercilessly killed. A little while after these events started, Sheik
Mufeed reached Baghdad. When Sheik Mufeed made his
presence felt in the city, in the year 408 H, Sheik Toosi was a child
of one year. When Sheik Toosi migrated to Baghdad, the name of
Sheik Mufeed was very famous and the talk of the town. People used to
join his school on knowing that he was the chief of that institution. Both
Sunni and Shia seekers of knowledge vied with each other to
attend classes with him. Therefore Sheik Toosi too joined lessons at
the school of Sheik Mufeed at the age of 23 in the year 408
H. At that time Sayed Murtada was constructing his house in
Baghdad. The Sayed’s family was already well known in the city of
Baghdad and his brother, Sayed Radi, was appointed as an
important functionary to maintain a roster of the sayeds (Naqazat) by
the Abbasid Establishment. Sheik Toosi started taking lessons with
Sheik Mufeed and, later on, with Sayed Murtada. We must mention
here that Sheik Toosi was such an ardent seeker of knowledge that he
took lessons from 138 scholars. But basically, his chief mentors were
Sheik Mufeed and Sayed Murtada. After some time Sheik
Mufeed expired and the mantle of the leadership of the Shia Community
fell on Sayed Murtada. He was now the chief of the biggest
educational institution in Baghdad. Sayed Murtada was now the
Marja, Pontiff or the Chief Mujtahed of the Shias. Since
his younger brother, Sayed Radi, too expired around this time, he was
appointed to the position of Naqazat in his place. Sayed Murtada
is the great personage about whom the Sixth Imam (a.s) has said
that Allah had assembled the world and the Hereafter for him. I have
already mentioned about his worldly affluence and his eminence in knowledge
and learning. While Sheik Toosi visited him for taking instructions,
he noticed the intelligence of the student and the dedication to the urge of
learning. Thus Sheik Toosi became one of his favorite students. He
also became the deputy of Sayed Murtada over a period of time. The
Sayed used to take his suggestions and advice in several matters.
Sayed Murtada used to respect the scholars and the students. He used to
take minute care of the needs of those who were staying at his seminary for
studies and research. He opened his purse strings for the needs of his
disciples. Sheik Toosi was getting a scholarship of 12 Dinars
every month from Sayed Murtada. It will be a substantial amount in
today’s terms. The students were getting the scholarship according to their
personal proficiency. Sheik Toosi was given the highest amount as
scholarship when compared with other recipients. Sheik Toosi remained
with Sayed Murtada till the Sayed’s demise in 436 H.
Leadership of the Community:
.Now Sheik Toosi assumed the
leadership of the entire Shia Community in the world. The adversaries
of the Shias felt that they were consolidating under Sayed Murtada
and the process went forward with Sheik Toosi at the helm. They
thought that the way to curb this was to create fights between one community
and the other. Therefore, during the time of Sheik Toosi, the worst
riots in the annals of the history of the city of Baghdad happened
during the year 448 H. These riots were the cause of the downfall of
the Abbasid caliphate. The predominantly Shia neighborhood of
Karb was burned and razed to ground.In a span of about a hundred years
the formidable Abbasid Empire crumbled. The worst affected were the
followers of the Progeny of Mohammed (s.a). The culmination of this
calamity was the death and destruction caused by Halaku Khan. Prior
to this calamity the mantle of the leadership of the community had been
transferred to Sheik Toosi. The caliph of the time had given an
audience to the Sheik and endowed him with gifts and honors. To honor
him the caliph had presented to him a chair. It was the custom of the
Abbasid Caliphs that eminent and erudite persons were gifted chairs by
them. Sheik Toosi used to conduct his classes sitting on this chair.
The Sheik’s Debate in the Caliph’s
Court:
In recognition of the erudition of
Sheik Toosi, the Caliph of Banu Abbas had gifted him with an
ornate chair. This created envy in the minds of the scholars of the other
school at the court and they started fearing that the Shias of Ahl al
Bayt (a.s) might thus dominate Baghdad and one day come into the
power. The first step they took was to start a whispering campaign to turn
the caliph against Sheik Toosi. They told him that the person who was
enjoying his favor was against the companions of the Prophet (s.a)
and that he spoke ill of them. He once asked them to give a proof of the
Sheik’s actions. Therefore they presented to him a book written by
Sheik Toosi titled, “Al Misbah”. This book contains prayers and
supplications for the entire year. They opened the page on which the
“Ziarate Ashura” was written. This Ziarat has reached us through
the Sixth Imam (a.s) and is recited on the 10th of
Maharrum to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s).
At the beginning of the Ziarat it is said:
“Allahumma khus anta awwal zaalim
btl-laan minni wa abdan behi awwalansumma al-Taani summa al-Taalit war Rabeh
“O Allah! My curse on the First, on
the Second, on the Third and on the Fourth”
When the caliph saw the content of the
Ziarat in Al Misbah, he called Sheik Toosi to his
presence. He reached the court. The caliph of the time, Al Qaim Billah,
pointed towards the first lines of the ziarat and asked him who
were the four persons being cursed therein. Sheik Toosi asked him who
had created a misapprehension in his mind? He further added that he had
mentioned the truth through the writing of the Imam (a.s) that his
curse on the First, the Second, the Third and the
Fourth. He elaborated saying that the First cruel one was
Qaabeel who killed his own brother Haabeel. The Second
cruel one was the person who severed the rein of the she—camel of Hazrat
Saleh (a.s) and earned the wrath of Allah. The Third cruel one
was the assassin of Hazrat Yahya bin Zakariya(a.s), who, just to
please a dancing girl, severed the head of Hazrat Yahya (a.s) and
placed in a tray to present it to her.The Fourth cruel person was
Abd ar Rehman ibne Muljim who was the assassin of Hazrat Amir al
Momineen (a.s). The caliph was convinced with the argument of Sheik
Toosi. He angrily asked the persons who brought the book to his
presence. He ordered severe punishment for those persons. With his prudence
and presence of mind, Sheik Toosi was able to ward off a calamity for
himself and for his friends. His adversaries now started a propaganda
campaign with the populace in Baghdad against Sheik Toosi.
The Burning of Sheik Toosi’s
Library:
Therefore, a riot was engineered in
Baghdad during the year 448 H and the neighborhood of Karb
was attacked and the entire habitation was put to fire.They also burned the
chair that the caliph had given to Sheik Toosi to honor him. They
also set fire to his library that was an invaluable collection of books.
There were about 90,000 books collected by him at great pains and
spending many years of his life. There were also 10,000 books of
Sayed Murtada in the library which were gifted to him by his mentor.
There were also 10,000 books collected by the prime minister of the
Abbasi, Abul Nasr. Abul Nasr’s collection of books was rated best
those days. Not only that the library was burned, the entire locality was
put to fire but the riot spread to Kazimain and the sarcophagus of
Imam Moosa Kazim (a.s) was demolished and burnt. In his discretion,
Sheik Toosi didn’t retaliate. He quietly migrated from Baghdad to
Najaf e Ashraf. There he started living in a small tenement. That was
the time when Najaf e Ashraf had its first few inhabitants. It is
common knowledge that Sheik Toosi was the founder of the city of
Najaf. In fact Najaf e Ashraf assumed its importance during the
time of the Sixth Imam (a.s) when the famous incident of Haroon al
Rashid happened. You are aware that when Imam Hassan (a.s) and
Imam Hussain (a.s) along with their sister, Hazrat Umm Kulthum,
quietly interred their father, Ameer al Momineen (a.s) and none else
had knowledge where he was buried. At that time people were unable to
understand why so much of secrecy was observed for the funeral of the
Imam (a.s). But when the time of Hajjaj bin Yusuf came he dug up
3000 graves with the intention of desecrating the remains of
Hazrat Amir al Momineen (a.s). The Abbasids, although they too
were the enemies of Ahl al Bayt, they had to perforce maintain
respect for the Infallibles (a.s). One day Haroon went on a
hunt and he put his hunting dogs after a deer. During the chase the deer
climbed over a mound. The hunting dogs suddenly stopped in their chase. They
were just going round the mound but didn’t have the courage to climb up and
catch the deer. The deer fearlessly sat on the mound. He looked at the scene
in great surprise and asked the people in the neighborhood about the reason
of the strange incident. He also asked them what place it was.An old person
from the tribe of Bani Asad said that they too were not sure but
their elders had told them that Hazrat Amir al Momineen (a.s) was
interred at that spot. Haroon contacted the Seventh Imam (a.s)
and confirmed the fact from him. He wasn’t convinced even then and got the
grave opened and the remains of the Imam (a.s) were found as fresh as
they were at the time of his martyrdom. They also noticed the mark of the
blow on his head that was struck by Ibn e Muljim. Haroon got the
grave back to its original position and got a mausoleum constructed there
with ordinary stones. The companions of the Sixth, Seventh and the
Eighth Imams (a.s) had started to build their habitations around that
place. Thus sprang a small neighborhood but still there was no seminary
there. When Sheik Toosi was at the age of 59 years, in 448
H, he moved from Baghdad after a sojourn of long 40 years,
to Najaf e Ashraf. It was still a small settlement with scant
facilities for amenities like water etc.Today we call ourselves the Shias
of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s) but we seldom give a thought to the
facts that the great Mujtahids had communicated the word of the
Infallibles (a.s) to us experiencing unfathomable hardships themselves.
If they had not done, what they did, and sat comfortably at their homes in
big cities like Baghdad etc the Faith wouldn’t have reached
far and wide to the masses.
When Baghdad was captured, the
Shias had no shelter to hide their heads. They perforce had to move
to Najaf e Ashraf. Najaf those days was a sparsely populated, almost
desolate place. In such a place Sheik Toosi started the seminary for
the Shia scholars. There was Divine help for his project and the
seminary progressed by leaps and bounds.
The Imam (a.s)’s Approval for the
Sheik’s Book
Sheik Toosi wrote a book, ‘Al
Nihaya’ on Fiqh. Other people were against this work saying that
there were almost thousand books on the subject. Therefore criticism started
among the followers of Aaal e Mohammed (s.a) about this effort of the
Sheik. In particular three eminent scholars, Hassan ibne Babawiya,
Abd al Jabbar ibne Abd Allah and Hanifa Abd al Ali were very
critical. These scholars were in virtual retirement when Sheik Toosi
arrived at Baghdad. But they actively opposed and rejected the book
written by Sheik Toosi because they felt that he had collected bits
and pieces from here and there and had put it in the shape of a book. The
three scholars fasted for three days, and at the end of the third fast, in
the night, that was the eve of Friday, they had a Ghusl (Ritual
Bath) and entered the mausoleum of Amir al Momineen (a.s) and
circumambulated the sarcophagus, recited the Ziarat, put their hands
up in supplication and prayed, “O Ameer al Momineen (a.s)! The matter
of this book isn’t getting resolved! You must resolve this matter!” The
three scholars then returned to their respective homes. All three of them
saw Hazrat Amir al Momineen (a.s) in their dream saying, “The book
Nihaya is an excellent book and none else has written such a book! I
like the book and the author has written it to please Allah! I order
that you accept and approve the book and act according to it.and issue your
Fatwa (Edicts) on the basis of the book!” When the three scholars
woke up in the morning, they assembled at the mausoleum of Hazrat Amir al
Momineen (a.s.) They narrated the dream to one another. They decided
that they would individually write down the content of the dream on a piece
of paper and compare the contents. The content was verbatim the same. They
thought about their criticism of Sheik Toosi and they decided to go
to him and offer their apology. They went to him and found him beaming with
a smile. The Sheik said, “ I had been repeatedly asking you to accept
the book, but you were reluctant! Now that Hazrat Amir al Momineen (a.s)
has intervened, would you still oppose it! All the three scholars were
surprised. They felt how Sheik Toosi knew about their dream. They
then learned that Sheik Toosi too was informed by the Amir (a.s)
in his dream. After the release of the book the Mujtahids
abstained from giving Fatwa and the same was true for the Sheik’s
son, Mufeed Taani, who was himself an eminent scholar. After
80 years of the passing away of Sheik Toosi, the practice of
giving Fatwa was revived by another eminent scholar, Ibne Hilli.
Ibne Hilli has rendered great service to the Shia community and
also to Sheik Toosi that he took forward his mission. In the year
460 H Sheik Toosi died and his his son took over the running of
the Seminary at Najaf e Ashraf. The Sheik had two daughters
who were highly learned ladies and he had given them the certificate to
function as Mujtahidas. One of his daughters was the the mother of
Idrees Hilli. The other daughter of Sheik Toosi was married in
the eminent Taaoot Family. Their forbear was Taaoot, which
title in Arabic means light. The Sheik’s erudition continued
through his offsprings. In the house of Taaoot was born Moosa
Taoot- An Eminent Family in Our
History:
Razi al Deen Ibne Taaoot was an
erudite scholar who was known for his piety and learning. He was so careful
in his life that he went to the extent of doing even the Mubah
(Legitimate) things with due process of discretion. One can puruse his
mention in the monumental book Mafateeh. The family draws its title
from the book “Taaoot” written by his ancestor. It is such a good
book that the family is identified with this name. Sheik Toosi’s
daughter went to this family to whom was born Moosa and Moosa’s
son was Razi uddin ibne Taaoot. This grand-son of Sheik Toosi
was the most eminent Mujtahid of his time. But one may be
surprised that he never once gave a Fatwa during his life. He only
wrote a small booklet, Hamas. This is the description of the events
of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s) at Karbala. This is one
of the most authentic books of Maqatil. Ibne Taaoot was once asked
why he wasn’t issuing edicts (Fatwas). He replied that it would be a
very big responsibility on him that if he made error of judgement and gave a
wrong Fatwa he would be subject to retribution on the Day of
Judgement. It is mentioned in the books of history that he was so
careful about imparting knowledge that his sons wanted him to teach them the
Ism e Azam, of which he was a known exponent. He told them that the
Ism e Azam was recorded in his writings and that they must learn
about it themselves from them. There is a very interesting incident recorded
in the history about Razi uddin. One person had developed a
suppurating boil on his thigh. It was giving him lot of trouble. He took
treatment from many physicians but to no avail. One day he was sitting on
the banks of the river at Samarra and brooding about his ailment and
performing the ablution.. At that time five persons came near him and put
their hands on his thigh and the wound instantaneously healed. He asked who
those five persons were. One of them said, “I am your Imam e Zamana (a.s)!”
While departing the Imam (a.s) also said, “When you reach
Baghdad, people will be curious to learn about your miraculous cure! The
ruler there will call you and try to give you gifts. You shouldn’t reveal to
him this incident. You must go to my son, Razi Uddin Ibne Taaoot. He
will provide you financial assistance.”. Later on the person reached
Baghdad. The grapevine had carried the news about what happened to him
before his arrival there. As soon as he entered the precincts of the city,
people snatched pieces of his robe thinking that it was an offering from the
Imam (a.s). The ruler called him and wanted to give him valuable
gifts. The person refused to accept them. He then approached Razi Uddin
who was also present at that moment. We can well imagine the august
status of the family of Sheik Toosi that his offsprings were
Mujtahids and his grandson was mentioned by the Imam e zamana (a.s)
as his son. Now, let us proceed further. His other daughter was married
to Ibne Hilli and his son was born in the progeny of Ibne Taoos,
the most eminent Mujtahid.
Sheik Toosi wrote the book
Nihaya with such sincerity that Hazrat Amir al Momineen
personally gave it the sign of his approval. Sheik Toosi had the
maximumdisciples in his time. He had as many as 300 Mujtahids among
the ranks of his disciples. In these modern days there will not be more than
10 to 15 Mujtahids. He had innumerable Sunni and
Shia students and seekers besides the Mujtahids to whom he had
given the cerifcate of approval.
The last Journey of Sheik Toosi:
On the night of Saturday 22
Moharrum 460 H this great scholar breathed his last in Najaf e
Ashraf. The same night he willed that he should be interred in his own
house. Therefore his burial took place there. Later on the place was
converted to a mosque and is now known as Masjid e Toosi. Those who
have had the privilege of going for the Ziarat of Hazrat Amir al
Momineen might remember that on the northern side of the mausoleum of
the Imam (a.s) the Masjid e Toosi is located on the other side
of the road..Since the mosque is located exactly opposite the mausoleum the
entrance is known as the Baab e Toosi.
In 1198 H the mosque was
renovated by Sayed Mehdi Dar al Uloom. But with the change of the
establishment, the mosque was removed for making the wider road. In the year
1384 H the Dar al Uloom family reconstructed the mosque in
grand style. The importance of the mosque is that the Mujtahids give
instructions to their disciples in Najaf and Qum which is
known as Dars e Kharij. The Martyr Baqir al Sadr used to give his
dars e Kharij to the disciples from the pulpit of Masjid e Toosi.
Another very significant thing is that this is one of the places in Najaf
e Ashraf from where supplications made by devotees are answered.
Therefore the scholars and Mujtahids and Ulema make it a point
to visit the mosque after they pay homage to the Imam (a.s) to recite
the supplications.
Photo of Shaikh Toosi's Grave & Library building
Source Urdu Lectures of Moulana Sadiq Hassan Book