Sayyid Muḥammad ʿAlī Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī

Sayyid Muḥammad ʿAlī Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī, (b. 1349/1930 – d. 1422/2002) was a scholar in fiqh, rijal, hadith and he was a Shi’ite marja’ al-Taqlid in the last century. He has written numerous works and he is regarded as a prominent figure in rijal, hadith, fiqh, and exegesis of the Qur’an.

Born and Family

Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali Muwahhid Abtahi was born on 28th of Safar 1349/1930 In Isfahan and passed away on the eve of 13th of Rajab, 1381/21 December, 2002 in a hospital in Tehran. His funeral was held in Tehran and his body was buried in his Husayniyya in Qom.

His Family

Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali’s father, Ayatullah Sayyid Murtada Muwahhid Abtahi was a religious teacher, preacher and speaker as well as a traditional doctor in Isfahan. He cured the illness of ‘Allama Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba’i. He is buried in Ja’fariyya, Isfahan. Muhammad ‘Ali’s mother is the daughter of Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Musawi Isfahani, the author of Mikyal al-Makarim fi fawa’id al-du’a li-lqa’im.

His Education

When Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali was eight years old, he started learning religious sciences. After learning elementary levels he migrated to Qom at the age of fifteen in order to continue his education in Seminary of Qom. He attended the classes of religious scholars and learned logical and narrative sciences at high levels. Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali attained ijtihad in 1954. and then he moved to Najaf to continue his education where he studied under religious scholars. After studying religious teachings for twenty years in Najaf, he returned to Isfahan and after a while he migrated to Qom in 1988 in order to do researches, write books and start teaching in Seminary of Qom.

His Teachers

• In Isfahan: Sayyid Murtada Muwahhid Abtahi, ‘Abbas Nasih, Sayyid Muhammad Tabibzadih, Sayyid Aqajan, Shaykh Mahmud Mufid, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Husayni, Sidi’i, Shaykh Hibat Allah Harandi, Sayyid ‘Abd al-Husayn Tayyib, Haj Aqa Rahim Arbab, Mirza Rida Kalbasi, Shaykh Muhammad Baqir Qazwini, Sayyid Abu l-Qasim Tabib (professor of medicine), Haj Mirza Ali Aqa Shirazi (professor of medicine)
• In Qom: Sayyid Husayn Tabataba’i Burujirdi, Sayyid Muhammad Hujjat Kuhkamari’i, ‘Allama Tabataba’i.
• In Najaf: al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim, al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Hadi al-Shirazi, Sayyid Jamal al-Din Gulpaygani, Sayyid Mahmud Husayni Shahrudi, al-Sayyid Abu l-Qasim al-Khoei.

His Students

Some of his students are as follow: Madadi, al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, Hasan Nizam al-Din, Muhaqqiq Yazdi, Mahdi Ha’iri Qazwini.

His Works

Sayyid Muhammad ‘Ali Muwahhid Abtahi has written one hundred and forty five books on exegesis, fiqh, rijal, hadith, history, theology, and philosophy. According to some people, he has written over thousand of handwritten manuscripts.

Published Works

Some of his published works are:

• Tahdhib al-maqal fi ‘ilm al-rijal
• Risala about ‘Al A’yun
• Tarikh Al Zurara

Demise

Ayatollah Sayyid Muḥammad ʿAlī Muwaḥḥid Abṭaḥī passed away on the eve of 13th of Rajab, 1381/21 December, 2002 in a hospital in Tehran. His funeral was held in Tehran and his body was buried in his Husayniyya in Qom, Iran.