Died: 380 A.H. approx.
1. Whether when I went to Ghadeer Khum with you, did I not take oath
from you after taking your promise? 2. While I held the shoulders of the best
of the men from Mudar and Adnan, who have walked the land of Mecca. 3.
And I said: Allah forbid me to be careless or that I should leave prophethood
without any hint. 4. This Ali is the master of all, to whom I am sent as a
master. My hidden is same as my apparent regarding him (I mentioned what
was in my mind). 5. This cousin of mine is the bearer of my office and my
brother and successor; and my companions and other brothers are not as
such. 6. If I compare his rank to me, it is same as what Harun was to Moosa
bin Imran.1
Ibne Shahr Ashob has mentioned the following verse in his Manaqib:2
“None denies the excellence of Ghadeer Khum, except a man guilty of unforgivable sins.”
Introduction to the poet
Abul Hasan Ali bin Ahmad Jurjani, famous as Jauhari: he is one of the
criterions of literatures, one of the pillars of Arabic and an amazing innovator in
the art of poetry. He was a disciple and friend of Sahib bin Ubbad. Thalabi has
not left any praise unsung about him3. The author of Riyazul Ulama4 has
mentioned his biography, stated about his excellence and mentioned his poems.
He was born after 377 A.H. and before 385 A.H. in Jurjan, during the lifetime of Sahib bin Ubbad, who passed away in 385 A.H.
27. Ibne Hajjaj Baghdadi
Died: 391 A.H.
Died: 391 A.H.
1. Almighty Allah will not leave those (hypocrites), who said
congratulations for your superiority and excellence. 2. And pledged
allegiance to you at Ghadeer, then His Eminence, Muhammad (s.a.w.a.)
emphasized that allegiance to convey his message. 3. They disobeyed your
command and caused distress to you;5 and the statement of Prophet that:
This is my brother and successor, did not prevent them. 4. He is your master
after me. Thus, whoever deems him to be his proof will not have any fear.
This Qasida comprises of nearly 64 verses.
Introduction to the poet
Abu Abdullah Husain bin Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ja’far bin Muhammad
bin Hajjaj Neeli Baghdadi was one of the pillars of his community and a senior
scholar of his time. He was an expert of literature and the author of Riyazul
Ulama6 has regarded him to be among the most senior scholars of his time.
Ibne Khallikan7 and Abul Fida regard him as a Shia scholar and Hamawi in
Mojamul Odba,8 opines that he was a prominent Shia poet and others are of the
view that he was an important writer.
He became the poet laureate twice.9 That is in Baghdad, which was the capital of the world at that time. It shows his extraordinary rank, his expertise in religious sciences and his fame in that period; because ‘Hisba’ was a very high academic post, which in those ancient times only imams of religion and senior
personages of Islam and Ummah used to hold. As Mawardi has mentioned in
Ahkamus Sultaniya,10 ‘Hisba’ was a pillar of religious affairs, a post, which
scholars of the early period themselves fulfilled.
‘Hisba’ implied enjoining of good and forbidding evil.
In other words, his appointment to the Hisba twice, is sufficient to makes us
needless to praise him from his knowledge of jurisprudence, extolling his
equitability and opinion, his efforts in obedience of Almighty Allah, his
unambiguousness and harshness in religion and his guidance and stability: once
during the reign of Muqtadar Billah, the Abbaside Caliph, as is mentioned in
Tarikh Ibne Khallikan and Miratul Jinan of Yafai, and also during the period of
Izzud Daula, during the ministership of Ibne Baqiya in 362 A.H. when he was
appointed at this task.
Literary contribution
As we hinted, he was the most prominent Shia poet and occupied the first
rows among writers. So much so, it is said that he was a poet of the caliber of
Imrul Qays11 and no one else has been regarded as his equal. His collected works
comprise ten volumes and most his verses possess a special sweetness and new
subjects in easy words and he had a good style of presentation.
Birth and death
No one has any dispute regarding the date of his passing away. He passed
away in Jamadiul Thani in 391 A.H. in Neel, a place on the banks of Euphrates
between Baghdad and Kufa and he was buried near the tomb of Imam Moosa
Kazim (a.s.). He had made a bequest to be buried at the feet of Imam Moosa
Kazim (a.s.) and that the following verse should be written on his tombstone:
وَكَلْبُهُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالْوَصِيْدِ
“While their dog (lay) outstretching its paws at the entrance.”12
We were unable to locate the date of his birth in books, but one, who makes
efforts will definitely conclude that he was born during the third century and he
lived for a ripe old age of one hundred and thirty years.