Abdussalam Akhundzadeh (, ) was an Azerbaijani religious educator, Islamic theologian and the fifth
Sheikh ul-Islam
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
.
Early life
He was born in
Salyan on 13 January 1843 to local cleric Akhund Vali Muhammad and his wife Khanum Aliverdi gizi.
He learnt
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
in early periods of his life from his father. He moved to
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
in 1864 and settled in current Gorgasali street,
Old Tbilisi
Old Tbilisi ( ka, ძველი თბილისი, ''dzveli t'bilisi'') was an administrative district (raioni) in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, from 2007 to 2013. Although the term "Old Tbilisi" has long been used to denote a historical part ...
. On October 6, 1879, he was allowed to work as a teacher in the Tatar department, beating
Seyid Azim Shirvani
Seyid Azim Shirvani ( az, Seyid Əzim Şirvani; 9 July 1835, Shamakhy – 1 June 1888, Shamakhy) was an Azerbaijani poet and enlightener. He got his first religious education in Iraq. After returning to motherland he refused his spiritual dignity ...
in competition, and by July 28, 1880, he was officially appointed a teacher in
Gori Teachers Seminary.
Meanwhile, he met and with
Ali-Agha Shikhlinski
Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski ( az, Əli Ağa İsmayıl Ağa oğlu Şıxlinski;); – )Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are in the Julian calendar with the start of year adjusted to 1 January. All other dates in this article are in ...
,
Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Mirza Fatali Akhundov ( az, Mirzə Fətəli Axundov; fa, میرزا فتحعلی آخوندزاده), also known as Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, or Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (12 July 1812 – 9 March 1878), was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, pla ...
and other Azeri intelligentsia who were working and living in Tbilisi as well.
As Sheikh ul Islam
He was appointed as
Sheikh ul-Islam
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
on 21 June 1893 following death of
Mirza Hasan Tahirzadeh and held office until his own death in 1907. In 1895, he was elected as head of
Spiritual Council of Caucasus. He was present in coronation event of
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
on 26 May 1896.
He was active during
Armeno-Tatar massacres, promoted peace between communities heavily. He visited
Nakhchivan on 15 May 1905. Together with the
qadis
A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...
of
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
,
Sharur
Sharur ( ) is a city in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. It is the administrative centre of the Sharur District. The city is located 66 km northwest of Nakhchivan city, on the Sharur plain.
History
In a manuscript of the 16t ...
and Nakhchivan, archimandrite of Yerevan Karapet and
Jafargulu khan, he visited the villages of
Garakhanbeyli,
Tumbul
Tumbul is a village and municipality in the Nakhchivan city of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan. It is located 5 km in the south from the city center, on the Nakhchivan plain. Its population is mainly busy with grape-growing. There ...
,
Goshadize and
Shikhmakhmud. The Muslims of the villages of Garajig and
Bulgan were gathered in the Armenian-populated village of Garakhanbeyli, where the Armenians and Muslims vowed that they would not be at enmity with each other. He published a statement alongside Armenian Catholicos
Mkrtich Khrimian
Mkrtich Khrimian or ''Mıgırdıç Kırımyan'' ( classical hy, Մկրտիչ Խրիմեան, reformed: Մկրտիչ Խրիմյան; 4 April 182029 October 1907) was an Armenian Apostolic Church leader, educator, and publisher who served as Cat ...
against massacres in June 1905. He received news of his daughter Zabita's death which was caused by nervous breakdown because of witnessing massacres while visiting
Ganja
Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.
Etymology
''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
. He died shortly afterwards on 18 November 1907, suffering from depression caused by his daughter's death. He was buried in
Pantheon of prominent Azerbaijanis
Pantheon of prominent Azerbaijanis ( az, Görkəmli Azərbaycanlılar panteonu, ka, აზერბაიჯანელ მოღვაწეთა პანთეონი) is a memorial cemetery of prominent Azerbaijanis in Tbilisi, Georgia. ...
,
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
. He was replaced by interim Abbasquli Sultan-Huseynbeyov and then succeeded by
Mahammad Hasan Movlazadeh Shakavi
Movlazada Mahammad Hasan Ismayil oglu Shakavi ( az, Mövlazadə Məhəmməd Həsən İsmayıl oğlu Şəkəvi, محمد مولازاده حسن اسماعیل اوغلۇ شکوی) was a noble Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijani religious leader, 'al ...
.
Family
He married at least three times:
# Ummu Salama — daughter of local noble Abdul Ali bey Muradkhanov
## Abdullatif bey
##
Abdurrashid bey (b. 10 April 1880) — Governor of Baku
## Asaf bey
## Valida khanum (20 December 1884)
## Zabita khanum (1887-1905)
## Hidayat bey (20 December 1893)
# Gulara khanum — daughter of local cleric Haji Alakbar
## Asiya khanum (25 September 1901)
# Sona khanum — daughter of local noble Javad bek
In addition to his immediate family, he was maternal grand-uncle of
Anvar Gasimzade
Anvar Gasimzade ( az, Ənvər Əli oğlu Qasımzadə) was an Azerbaijani architect, Honored Architect of the Azerbaijan SSR (1960), correspondent member of ANAS (1967), rector of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (1962-1968).
Early l ...
(whose father Ali Gasimov was Akhundzadeh's niece), as well as
Fidan Gasimova
Fidan Akram gizi Gasimova ( az, Fidan Əkrəm qızı Qasımova), born 17 June 1947 in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, is an Azerbaijani operatic soprano who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1988.
Life
Gasimova ...
and
Khuraman Gasimova
Khuraman Gasimova ( az, Xuraman Qasımova) is an opera singer and actress from Azerbaijan.
Life and career
Khuraman Gasimova was born on June 6, 1951, in the former Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic capital city of Baku. In 1975 she graduated ...
.
Works
In Russian language
# ''Учебник по исламу'' - ''Textbook on Islam''
# ''Лекарство от невежества (объяснение и заявление метода лечения) - Cure for Ignorance (Explaining and Declaring the Method of Treatment)''
# ''Наставление и назидание - Instruction and Edification''
In Azerbaijani language
# Umdətul Əhkam (“Main Verdict”, 1882,
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
),
# Zubdətul Əhkam (“Selected Verdict”, 1903)
# Tarixi Müqəddəs Ənbiya (“History of Holy Prophets”, 1892)
# Tarixi Müqəddəs Xatəmül Ənbiya və Xilafət (" History of the Holy Prophets and the Caliphate "),
# Xətti Təliq və Nəstəliq ("Handwriting Taliq and
Nastaliq
''Nastaliq'' (; fa, , ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'', is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages, often used also for Ottoman Turkish poetry, rarely for Arabic. ''Nast ...
")
In Persian language
# ''Miftahil Lisani Farsi (') - Key of the Persian language (1891)''
# ''Qawaid Mukhtasare Farsi'' - ''Brief Rules of the Persian Language''
# ''Mutalie-i'' ''Kitáb-i-Íqán (') - How to read
Kitáb-i-Íqán
The ''Kitáb al-Íqán or Kitáb-i-Íqán'' ( fa, كتاب ايقان, ar, كتاب الإيقان "Book of Certitude") is one of many books held sacred by followers of the Baháʼí Faith; it is their primary theological work. One Baháʼí sch ...
(1896,
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
)''
# ''Mudafia bar megalei khasm (') - Defending against the opponent's article (1897, Tbilisi)''
# ''Nasihati waiz'' () - ''Advise of the Preacher (1903)''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhundzadeh, Abdussalam
Shia clerics from the Russian Empire
1843 births
1907 deaths
People from Salyan, Azerbaijan
Death in Georgia (country)
Persian-language writers
Russian-language writers