Mullā Muḥammad-ʿAlī al-Zanjānī (Arabic: ملا محمد علي الزنجاني), surnamed Ḥujjat (1812 - 1851), was an early leader of the Bábí movement of 19th-century Persia. He is regarded by Baháʼís as part of their own religious history, and is highly featured in the two primary Baháʼí historical books of God Passes By and The Dawn-breakers.
Mullá Muḥammad-ʻAliy-i-Zanjání was the son of Ákhúnd Mullá ʻAbdu'r-Raḥím, a respected early nineteenth century mulla from Zanjan. As a boy, Muḥammad-ʻAlí showed promise, such that his father sent him to the shiite shrine-cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, where he studied under the prominent Sharífu'l-'Ulamá Mázandarání. With the death of his teacher and the closing of the seminaries during the epidemic of 1831, he returned to Iran, settling in Hamadan. When his father died, a delegation came from Zanjan and asked him to assume his father's position. He returned to Zanjan and took up the position, teaching in his father's mosque.[1]
After his return to Zanjan, Mullá Muḥammad-ʻAlí was given the title Ḥujjatu'l-Islám (lit. 'Proof of Islam'), which was a common title for distinguished 'ulamá' at the time, and was known as Ḥujjat-i-Zanjání. An eloquent and fiery speaker, he quickly acquired a large following, which excited rivalry with the other 'ulamá' of the city. The main contention, however, was with his religious views as he was, like his father, an Akhbarí. The Akhbarís, who had a greater reliance on the traditions of the Imams, were opposed by the Usúlís, who relied on rationalism and ijtihád (Islamic rulings based on the judgement of the clerics). Ḥujjat denied the authority of the mujtahids (Usúlí clerics who could issue rulings based on ijtihád), denounced his fellow 'ulamá', issued legal rulings sharply at variance with their own and imposed supererogatory observances on his followers. One example of his variance in rulings concerns the concept of ritual purity. He held that one was not impurified by contact with Christians and Jews during the rain, whereas Usúlís held that non-Muslims were inherently impure and could contaminate believers through contact. He has also been described as having shown a “special regard for the poor” [2] and as having spoken out against the unjust system of ecclesiastical hierarchy of the time. [3] He also held that the Imams and Prophets had physical bodies which were not in any way miraculous. [1]
Conversionedit
When Ḥujjat first heard of the Bábí movement, he dispatched a messenger named Mullá Iskandar to investigate.[4] The messenger returned bearing a letter from the Báb. Ḥujjat was preparing to deliver a lesson in the mosque after congregational prayers. When Ḥujjat perused the letter, he became visibly agitated, took off his turban (the symbol of his religious authority) and put on a lambskin hat (the symbol of the laity).[1] He is reported to have told some of his followers openly: "The author of these verses claims to be the Bab, as <in the tradition> 'I am the City of Knowledge, and ʻAli is its Gate.'"[5]
^Zarandí, Nabíl (1932). The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. p. 531. ISBN0-900125-22-5.
^Hamadani, Huseyn (1893). The Taríkh-i-Jadíd or New History of Mírzá 'Alí Muhammad the Báb. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 136–137.
March 19, 2024
hujjat, technical, term, shia, theology, hujja, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, bo. For technical term in Shia theology see Hujja This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hujjat news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mulla Muḥammad ʿAli al Zanjani Arabic ملا محمد علي الزنجاني surnamed Ḥujjat 1812 1851 was an early leader of the Babi movement of 19th century Persia He is regarded by Bahaʼis as part of their own religious history and is highly featured in the two primary Bahaʼi historical books of God Passes By and The Dawn breakers Contents 1 Background 2 Conversion 3 See also 4 ReferencesBackground editMulla Muḥammad ʻAliy i Zanjani was the son of Akhund Mulla ʻAbdu r Raḥim a respected early nineteenth century mulla from Zanjan As a boy Muḥammad ʻAli showed promise such that his father sent him to the shiite shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq where he studied under the prominent Sharifu l Ulama Mazandarani With the death of his teacher and the closing of the seminaries during the epidemic of 1831 he returned to Iran settling in Hamadan When his father died a delegation came from Zanjan and asked him to assume his father s position He returned to Zanjan and took up the position teaching in his father s mosque 1 After his return to Zanjan Mulla Muḥammad ʻAli was given the title Ḥujjatu l Islam lit Proof of Islam which was a common title for distinguished ulama at the time and was known as Ḥujjat i Zanjani An eloquent and fiery speaker he quickly acquired a large following which excited rivalry with the other ulama of the city The main contention however was with his religious views as he was like his father an Akhbari The Akhbaris who had a greater reliance on the traditions of the Imams were opposed by the Usulis who relied on rationalism and ijtihad Islamic rulings based on the judgement of the clerics Ḥujjat denied the authority of the mujtahids Usuli clerics who could issue rulings based on ijtihad denounced his fellow ulama issued legal rulings sharply at variance with their own and imposed supererogatory observances on his followers One example of his variance in rulings concerns the concept of ritual purity He held that one was not impurified by contact with Christians and Jews during the rain whereas Usulis held that non Muslims were inherently impure and could contaminate believers through contact He has also been described as having shown a special regard for the poor 2 and as having spoken out against the unjust system of ecclesiastical hierarchy of the time 3 He also held that the Imams and Prophets had physical bodies which were not in any way miraculous 1 Conversion editWhen Ḥujjat first heard of the Babi movement he dispatched a messenger named Mulla Iskandar to investigate 4 The messenger returned bearing a letter from the Bab Ḥujjat was preparing to deliver a lesson in the mosque after congregational prayers When Ḥujjat perused the letter he became visibly agitated took off his turban the symbol of his religious authority and put on a lambskin hat the symbol of the laity 1 He is reported to have told some of his followers openly The author of these verses claims to be the Bab as lt in the tradition gt I am the City of Knowledge and ʻAli is its Gate 5 See also editHujja HujjahReferences edit a b c Walbridge John 1996 The Babi Uprising in Zanjan pp 339 362 Smith Peter Millenarianism in the Babi and Baha i Religions 247 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Effendi Shoghi God Passes By p 12 Zarandi Nabil 1932 The Dawn Breakers Nabil s Narrative Hardcover ed Wilmette Illinois USA Bahaʼi Publishing Trust p 531 ISBN 0 900125 22 5 Hamadani Huseyn 1893 The Tarikh i Jadid or New History of Mirza Ali Muhammad the Bab Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 136 137 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hujjat amp oldid 1036900631, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
