ALI IBNE YŪNUS NABĀTI BAYĀDHI

(Ali, the son of Yūnus Nabāti Bayādhi)

BIRTH:

Although the exact date of birth of Sheikh Zaynuddin Abu Muhammad Ali son of Yūnus Nabāti Bayādhi is not available; according to the conjecture that is affirmed by Sheikh Āqā Buzurg Tehrani, he was born in the year 804 or 805 Hegira.

PERSONALITY:

Senior Islamic scholars as well as great pupils of Ali son of Yūnus have confirmed that he was an accomplished sage, researcher, interpreter of the holy Qur’an, Islamic theologian (Mutakallim), and at the same time a brilliant literary figure and a poet. His intellectual and spiritual attributes are discernible by a glance at his available writings.

Evidently he had achieved the highest spiritual status that a man could ever attain. His strong belief in Wilāyah (rightfulness of Imam Ali A.S. and his immaculate descendants as true vicegerents of the holy prophet of Islam S.A.) can be observed throughout his writings.

Islamic luminaries have all expressed nothing but praise for his excellent moral and spiritual attainments.

The Region Of JABAL ĀMIL:

The region of Jabal-Āmil in Lebanon was at the peak of its prosperity during the 9th and 10th centuries (Hegira). A quick glance at the history of Islam during these two centuries reveals that many Shiite scholars belonged to that region. However, this area has been among the lands that witnessed the most horrible oppressions and human catastrophes such as repeated attacks of rebellions in the 11th and 12th centuries Hegira. In one such attack, the aggressors and invaders killed as many as forty thousand of Shiite inhabitants of the area, took their women as prisoners, and forced the rest to immigrate to other places.

The attacks did not overlook even intellectual properties. Only in one case, during the Jazār invasion some five thousand handwritten books and manuscripts in the library of Sheikh Ali Khātūn-Ābādī were burnt to ashes and many more got buried in the ruins. No wonder, names and works of many Islamic scholars and scientists were thus lost to posterity; and what is available today, is only a little part of those valuable information. This explains why available information about luminaries like Ali son of Yūnus Nabāti is so inadequate as to miss exact particulars of their biographies.

His Teachers:

Although in the region of Jabal Āmil many distinguished Islamic scholars lived, and any beginner would normally benefit from a large number of such scholars, only names of two of them could be traced as teachers of Sheikh Ali Nabāti:

Sayyid Zaynuddin Ali son of Daqmāq

Sheikh Jamāluddin Ahmad son of Hussein son of Mutahhar

His Students:

There is no doubt that in his seventy years of active life in an abode of learning and wisdom, he had trained a large number of students and learners. Yet, due to the unfortunate historical events, the names of three students are available only:

Sheikh Nāsir Buwayhī (d. 853 Hegira)

Sheikh Ibrahim son of Ali Kaf’ami, the author of ‘Misbāh’ (d. 905 Hegira), and

Sheikh Sharafuddin son of Sulaymān

His Writings:

While we remain unaware of biographical details of many Islamic scholars due to bitter historical occasions, fortunately their books and compilations are illustrative evidence of their virtues and brilliant religious and scientific characters. From available sources of information, it is ascertained that Ali son of Yūnus Nabāti has had many works to his credit on various topics, some of which are mentioned below:

Al-Sirāt-ul-Mustaqīm ilā Mustahaqqil-Taqdīm, focusing on affirmation of the ‘Wilāyah’ of Amir-ul-Muminīn Imam Ali (A.S.).

Al-Risālatul-Yūnusiyyah, which is an explication (Sharh) on the book Al-Maqālatul-Taklifiyyah by Shahīd Awwal

Zubdatul-Bayān Wa Insānul-Insān, a selection from Sheikh Tabresi’s exegesis on the holy Qur’an known as Majma’-ul-Bayān

Al-Bāb-ul-Maftūh ilā Mā Qīla Fi Al-Nafs Wa Al-Rūh (the whole text of which cited by late Allāmah Majlisī in his book Bihār-ul-Anwār in a chapter titled as Al-Samā’ Wa Al-Ālam)

Mukhtasar-ul-Sihāh (on vocabulary/ lexicography/ morphology)

Mankhal-ul-Falāh, which is an abridgement of Allāmah Helli’s Mukhtalaf-ul-Shi’a.

Al-Maqām-ul-Asnā Fi Tafsīr-e Asmāillāh Al-Husnā

8) Collection of poems

9) Zakhiratul-Īmān or Urjūzatun fil-Kalām, which is a poetic explication in Theology, or Kalām (an Islamic ideological science)

His Death:

The elder brother of famous sage Sheikh Kaf'ami, who was contemporary with Ali son of Yūnus Nabāti Bayādhi, has clearly mentioned the exact date of his death as 877 Hegira. This great scholar passed away at the age of seventy after a life entirely dedicated to intellectual endeavors; and his death left a profound sad impression in the hearts of his disciples and students.