Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi
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| Persian scholar Medieval era |
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|---|---|
| Name: | Al-Mu'ayyad fid-Din al-Shirazi |
| Birth: | 1000 CE / 390 AH |
| Death: | 1078 CE / 470 AH |
| School/tradition: | Isma'ili |
| Influences: | |
| Influenced: | Nasir Khusraw |
Al-Mu'ayyad fid-Din al-Shirazi (1000 - 1078 CE) was an 11th century Isma'ili scholar, philosopher-poet, preacher and theologian of Persian origin. He served the Fatimid caliph-imam Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah as a da‘i in varying capacities, eventually attaining the highest rank of da‘i al–du ‘at (chief da‘i) in the Fatimid da‘wa.
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[edit] Life
Al-Mu'ayyad fid-Din al-Shirazi was born Abu Nasr Hibat Allah b. Musa b. Abi Imran b. Dawud al-Shirazi, in the town of Shiraz, capital of the Fars Province (then Persia, now in modern day Iran), in the year 1000 CE. His father, Musa b. Dawud served under the Fatimid caliph-imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah as the chief da'i of the province of Fars, where the Isma'ili mission was at the time active. Sometime during the reign of the Fatimid caliph-imam Ali az-Zahir, Musa's son, Hibat Allah was permitted to take over the da'wa office from his father. His title Al-Mu'ayyad fid-Din, (lit. 'The one aided in religion'), by which he is primarily known was probably accorded to him around this time.
He gradually worked his way up the hierarchy of the da‘wa, and was eventually appointed as da‘i al–du ‘at (chief da‘i) under the caliph-imam al-Mustansir Billah. In this position, he worked at the Dar al-'Ilm, the ‘House of Knowledge’, teaching missionaries from both inside and outside the Fatimid empire, and composing his theological works, until the end of his life in 1078 CE.
The primary source for details of Al-Mu'ayyad's life are his own memoirs, the Sirat al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din, which was written in three stages between the years 1051 and 1063 CE. He is also mentioned in the works of Nasir Khusraw, another prominent Isma'ili scholar of the time, who had learned under al-Mu'ayyad.
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[edit] Works
- Majalis ul-Muayyadiyah
- Eiwan ul-Muayyad, a collection of poems in praise of the Ismai'ili Imams and the doctrines of their faith
- Sirat al-Muayyad fid-Din, his autobiography
- Sarah ul-Maad, a treatise on the Day of Resurection
- Al-Eazah watabeer fi Fazle Yoomal Ghadir, a treatise on the Ghadir Khumm incident
- Al-Ibteda wal-Inteha (lit. the Beginning and the End)
- Taweel ul-Arwah, a treatise on souls
- Mahajul-Ibadah, the method of devotion
- Al-Maselet-wal-Jawab (lit. Questions and Answers)
[edit] Literature
- Verena Klemm (2003). Memoirs of a Mission: The Ismaili Scholar, Statesman and Poet, al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi. Ismaili Heritage Series 9, London: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 978-1-86064-432-0.
- Tahera Qutbuddin (2005). Al-mu'ayyad Al-shirazi And Fatimid Da'wa Poetry: A Case Of Commitment In Classical Arabic Literature. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-14103-2.
