ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Emendation of A Shi‘ite Creed The Author and His Works Abu‘Abdillah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn an-Nu‘man al-Harithi al-‘Ukbari al-Baghdadi[^1]. He was one of the most famous divines of the Ithna-‘Ashariyyah School of the Shi‘ah and was unanimously regarded as one of their foremost scholars, while his works were considered to be among those which established the nascent theology of the Shi‘ah on a sound and clear cut basis.

Abu ‘Abdillah traced his descent back to Qahtan, so was proud of his purely Arab ancestry. He is well-known to us under two different laqabs, al-Mufid and Ibnu 'l-Mu‘allim. The former laqab was bestowed on him, according to some authorities, by his master ‘Ali ibn ‘Isa ar-Rummani[^2] with whom al-Mufid "discussed the Imamate and displayed a powerful intelligence; therefore he called him by this laqab"[^3].

Others mentioned the assertion that the Twelfth Imam (Sahibu 'z- Zaman), 'The Master of the Time’, “appointed him as his deputy and bestowed upon him this honorific title[^4]. His second title, Ibnu 'l-Mu‘allim, seems to have been derived from his "father's occupation as a teacher in the city of Wasit"[^5].

Al-Mufid was born in a small village in the district of ‘Ukbara, known as Suwayqat ibn al-Basri, in 11th Dhi 'l-Qi‘dah,336/947 – according to an-Najashi[^6] and al-Khwansari[^7] or in 388, according to at-Tusi[^8] and Ibn Shahrashub[^9] , and died on the third (or second) of Ramadan 413 AH/December 1022 AD,at al-Karkh and was buried first in his house-yard in the suburb of al-Ushnan[^10] . Afterwards his body was transferred to the cemetery of Quraysh.

Historians described the day of his death as a day of universal lamentation; "both his friends and enemies were full of mourning"[^11]. He was so highly esteemed that "eighty thousand people are said to have gathered in the public square in Baghdad at the time of his funeral"[^12]. Among those who wrote elegies on him was his pupil, ash-Sharif ar-Radi.

Historians, whether from the Sunnite ranks or from those of the Shi‘ah are unanimously of the opinion that al-Mufid was one of the most brilliant scholars of his day and destined to play a constructive and decisive role in the intellectual and political affairs of the Buwayhid regime. Both his friends and opponents recognized his outstanding ability and contribution to knowledge. Al-Mufid was famous for his learning and integrity, as well as his powers of memory and reasoning.