Ijtihad Network Being Wise and Faithful Muslim in the Contemporary World
The authority Ayatullah was a scholar who acted upon his knowledge, a perfect jurist, a virtuous traditionist, a skilled wise man, a precise man of Usul, a verifier of narrators of hadith, a man who acquired knowledge of what is rational and what is transmitted.
His revered lineage goes back to the most respected Sayyid Muhammad al-Masri who is nicknamed al-Hijazi, one of the offspring of Ali al-Asghar son of Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zain al-Abidin, peace be with him.
The authority Ayatullah enjoyed an exceptional intelligence and a swift roving intellect whereby he was able to complete his preparatory study at an astounding pace so he could study after it fiqh, Usul, mathematics, rationale, ancient and modern medicine as well as a generous amount of modern sciences such as physics and chemistry.
He completed the Sutooh stage in fiqh and Usul at the hands of his father, the late Sayyid Ali Kuwah-Kamrah-Ay. He migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf in 1330 when he was twenty years old. He attended classes of great professors such as the `allama al-Yazdi of Al-Urwah al-Wuthqa (the reliable niche), the mentor of the Shari’a al-Isfahani, Mirza Naeeni and Agha Diya ad-Deen al-Iraqi.
In 1349 A.H., he traveled to the holy city of Qum and was one of the greatest of its scholars and senior professors of its seminary. He won the attention of Grand Ayatullah al-Haeri, founder of the theological seminary in Qum, who asked him to lead the congregational prayer service in his place during the late years of his holy life. He also taught in his place after his demise and continued to teach and answer requests for edicts. He looked after people’s affairs till the last moment of his life despite his weakness and deteriorating health.
The Sayyid, may Allah have mercy on him, was a distinctive testimonial for the tradition transmitted from the Infallible Imams, peace be with them, which says [in describing a true believer], “He disobeys his desires, obedient to the command of his Lord, protecting himself, safeguarding his creed.” He kept the secrets to himself, so much so that even the closest people to him did not know him as he should have. He, may Allah have mercy on him, was among those who won the honor of meeting the Imam of the Time, may Allah hasten his reappearance. And he was precise in utilizing his time, an avid reader of scholarly and juristic books, not abandoning research or study even on his wedding night.
The Sayyid predicted the hour of his death; so, he gathered some scholars of the seminary and requested some pure soil from the shrine of Imam al-Husayn which he put on his tongue and said, “The last of my ration from the world is the soil of al-Husayn.” He consulted the Qur’an regarding his destiny, so the 14th verse of Chapter al-Ra’d [thunder] came up: “To Him belongs the call of the truth”. He, therefore, said in an audible voice: “We belong to Allah, and to Him do we return,” then his sacred soul left his body at 1372 A.H. in Qum.
Having come to know about his demise, Ayatullah Burujardi said, “Now my spine has been broken. The chamber may become a school of a mosque (after the example of the mosque and school of the Hujjatis),” and he instructed the chamber located beside the mosque to be a cemetery for himself and the members of his family. This will was inspired to him in a vision.
He left several books in various fields. We would like here to point to some of them:
1. Kitab al-Biya’ [a book about real estate]
2. A collection of traditions and Usul
3. his commentary about the book titled Al-Kifaya
4. Lawami’ al-Anwar al-Gharawiyya fi Mursalat al-Athar al-Nabawiyya
5. Mustadrak al-Mustadrak
