Sheikh Mufīd, al-Amālī

Abu ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. al-Nuʿmān al-ʿUkbarī al-Baghdādī (Arabic: محمد بن محمد بن النُعمان العُکبَري البغدادي) (b. 336/948 or 338/950 - d. 413/1022) known as al-Shaykh al-Mufīd (Arabic: الشيخ المفيد) was among the greatest Twelver Shi'a scholars of the second half of the forth/tenth century and early fifth/eleventh century. He was among great revivers of Islamic sciences and among the hardworking preachers of Shi'a culture and jurisprudence. It is said by compiling the principles of jurisprudence, he founded a new approach in ijtihad which was a middle way between two other approaches namely extreme rational approach and hadith-based approach without applying the intellect. Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Ibn Junayd al-Iskafi, and Ibn Qulawayh are among the greatest teachers of al-Shaykh al-Mufid. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, al-Sayyid al-Murtada, al-Sayyid al-Radi, and al-Najashi are his most famous students. His most important works are Al-Muqni'a in jurisprudence, Awa'il al-maqalat in theology, and al-Irshad in the history of Imams.

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Sheikh Mufid Congress

Sheikh Ṭūsī, al-Amālī

Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan (Arabic: محمد بن الحسن بن علي بن الحسن) (b. 385/995 in Tus, d. 460/1067 in Najaf), better known as al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (Arabic: الشيخ الطوسي), was one of the greatest Shi'a jurists and compilers of hadith. He has written many works in the fields of theology and tafsir. For his great contributions and tremendous influence, he received the honorable title of al-Shaykh al-Ṭāʾifa (الشيخ الطائفة) (the chief or head of the Shi'a). He moved from Khorasan to Iraq at the age of 23 and benefited from teachers like al-Shaykh al-Mufid and al-Sharif al-Murtada. The Abbasid caliph appointed him to the chair of Theology of Baghdad. When the library of Shapur was set on fire, he had no choice but to move to Najaf and establish a seminary there. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi became the marja' of the Shi'a after the demise of al-Sharif al-Murtada. His jurisprudential theories and writings such as al-Nihaya, al-Khilaf and al-Mabsut are consulted by jurisprudents. His important exegesis is al-Tibyan. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi was also an expert in other fields such as rijal, theology and principles of jurisprudence and his books are references for religious studies. He started to transform Shi'i ijtihad and expanded its discussions and made it independent from Sunni ijtihad. His most famous student is Abu l-Salah al-Halabi.

1372