Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi ( fa, احمد بن اسحاق اشعری قمی, died between 874 and 877 CE) was one of the most trusted

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

narrators of the

Shiite Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

s. He is said to have been a delegate () from Qom to al-Askari. It is also said that al-Hadi paid Ahmad's debts worth thirty-thousand dinars. He met the last four Shiite

Imams Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

(

Muhammad al-Jawad Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad ( ar, محمد بن علي الجواد, Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Jawād, – 29 November 835) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Rida. ...

Ali al-Hadi ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Hādī ( ar, عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُحَمَّد ٱلْهَادِي; 828 – 868 CE) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Jawad. He ...

Hasan al-Askari Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ( ar, الحَسَن بْن عَلِيّ بْن مُحَمَّدُ, translit=al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad; ), better known as Hasan al-Askari ( ar, الحَسَن ٱلْعَسْكَرِيّ , translit=al-Ḥa ...

and

Muhammad al-Mahdi Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justic ...

) and was one of their companions and the agent of the 11th Shiite Imam. His tomb is located in

Sarpol-e Zahab Sarpol-e Zahab ( fa, سرپل ذهاب, ''Sarpole Zahâb''; ku, Serpêllî Zehaw, ; also romanized as Sarpol-e Z̄ahāb, Sar-e Pol-e Z̄ahāb, and Sar-ī-Pūl Zūhāb; also known as Pol-e Z̄ahāb, Sarpole-Zahab, Pol-e Z̄ohāb, Sarī-Pūl, and ...

, Kermanshah Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The international congress in his honor was held in March 2011 and while issuing his

stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

, the reconstruction of his tomb began.

Genealogy

''Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi'' is from the ''Al-Ashari'' family. His lineage is as follows: ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Sa'd ibn Malik al-Ahwas al-Ash'ari''. His kunya or

teknonymy Teknonymy (from grc-gre, τέκνον, "child" and grc-gre, ὄνομα, label=none, "name"), is the practice of referring to parents by the names of their children. This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term ...

was ''Abu Ali''. His ancestors were from the ''Ash'ari'' tribe who lived in the city of

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf ...

. His fourth forefather, Ahwas ibn Sa'il al-Ash'ari, in 739 CE, took part in the uprising of

Zayd ibn Ali Zayd ibn Zayn al-Abidin ( ar, زيد بن زين العابدين; 695–740), also spelled Zaid, was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, and great-grandson of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He led an unsuccessful revolt against the Umayyad Calipha ...

and took command of his corps, and after Zayd's martyrdom, he was arrested. After four years of imprisonment in Hajjaj prison, he was released through the intercession of his brother ''Abdullah'', then they emigrated to Qom and forming the Ash'ari tribe of Qom. His father, ''Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Sa'd'', was one of the most trusted

narrators in Qom and narrated from

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

and

Musa al-Kadhim Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kazim ( ar, مُوسَىٰ ٱبْن جَعْفَر ٱلْكَاظِم, Mūsā ibn Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan, Abū ʿAbd Allāh or Abū Ibrāhīm, was the seventh Imam in Twelver Shia Islam, after hi ...

Companion of three Imams

According to Shiite scholars, ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq'' was one of the companions of

(the ninth of

the twelve Imams The Twelve Imams ( ar, ٱلْأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر, '; fa, دوازده امام, ') are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Islam, including that of the Alawi ...

) and

(the tenth of the twelve Imams) and one of the close companions of

(the eleventh of the twelve Imams) and narrated from them. Also some books are listed for him, such as "Causes of Fasting" ''( ar, علل الصوم)'' and "Issues of Men" ''( ar, مسائل الرجال)''.

The agent of Hasan al-Askari

In some sources, he is mentioned as the agent of Imam

(the eleventh of the twelve Imams in

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

) in the endowments of Qom. Some have considered him as the agent of

(the tenth

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

), relying on some evidences.

Careers

''Ahmad ibn Ishaq'' was the agent of the Imams in the city of Qom and was responsible for the jurisprudential and doctrinal issues of the people (in Islamic sciences). He collected their funds and sent them to Imam ''Hasan al-Askari''. He also took the necessary measures regarding endowments and it is known that by the order of Imam ''al-Askari'', he started to build a mosque in the city of Qom, which is known today as ''Imam Hassan Askari Mosque''. Also, he was a

scholar and narrates from eleven

sheikh 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 ...

s and masters and twenty-three Shiite narrators are his students and narrators. Early

rijal Biographical evaluation ( ar, عِلْمُ الرِّجال, ʿilm al-rijāl; literally meaning'' 'Knowledge of Men' , ''but more commonly understood as the ''Science of Narrators)'' refers to a discipline of Islam, Islamic religious studies wi ...

s and narrators have all praised him for his trustworthiness and have reported several hadith works for him.

Demise

According to Mohammad ibn Omar ibn Abdol Aziz Kashshi's book ''

Rijal al-Kashshi ( ar, اختیار معرفة الرجال), also known as the ( ar, رجال الکَشّي), is a Twelver Shi'ite work of biographical evaluation () originally written by Muhammad ibn Umar al-Kashshi ( 854–941/951) and abridged by Shaykh ...

'', ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq'' was alive until after the martyrdom of Imam ''Hasan al-Askari''. According to this narration, he wrote a letter to the Imam

(the son and the successor of ''Hasan al-Askari'') asking for permission to go on

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

pilgrimage. The Imam allowed him and sent him a cloth. When Ahmad saw the cloth, he said, ''"The Imam has announced my death"''. He died while returning from the Hajj pilgrimage in

Hulwan Hulwan ( fa, حلوان) was an ancient town on the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, located on the entrance of the Paytak Pass, nowadays identified with the town of Sarpol-e Zahab. History Later Arab tradition, as recorded by al-Tabari, cons ...

, Iran. It is stated in the book '' Dala'il al-Imamah'': ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq'' was working as the agent of Imam

until he asked his permission to go to Qom. The Imam, in a request for permission to travel, had stated that he would not reach Qom and would fall ill on the way and die. So he fell ill in Hulwan and died and was buried there. According to this, the date of his death is said to be the years around 874 to 877 CE. Of course, according to a narration from

Ibn Babawayh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawayh al-Qummi (Persian: ar, أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱبْن بَابَوَيْه ٱلْقُمِيّ; –991), commonly referred to as Ibn Babawayh (Persian: ar, � ...

, he died during the life of Imam

. His tomb in the city of

is a Shiite shrine.

Commemoration

The first congress in honor of ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi'' was held in

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

in May 2006. َAlso an international congress in honor of ''Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi'' was held in March 2011. A special stamp of this congress was unveiled at the ceremony.

References

External links

Tomb of "Ahmad ibn Ishaq Ash'ari Qomi" pictures

Emam Hassan Askari Mosque pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash'ari Qomi, Ahmad ibn Ishaq 9th-century Iranian people Shia hadith scholars People from Qom Shia clerics 870s deaths Year of death uncertain Year of birth unknown