Sayyed Ahmad Alavi, also known as Ahmad b. Zayn al-'Abidin al-'Abidin al-'Alawi al-'Amili, or Mir Sayyid Ahmad 'Alavi 'Amili, (d. between 1644 - 1650; fa, سید احمد علوی) was a

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

philosopher and theologian of the Philosophical school of isfahan.

Life and education

Little is known about his life. His ancestors were residents of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and his father also sojourned there for a long time. His father migrated to

Safavid Iran Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

as part of the large-scale immigration of the Shia

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

ine Ulama to Iran that had been going on ever since the reign of king

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

(r. 1501—1524). His family sojourned in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

. Sayyed Ahmad himself was born in

, and received education under the supervision of

Mir Damad Mir Damad ( fa, ميرداماد) (c. 1561 – 1631/1632), known also as Mir Mohammad Baqer Esterabadi, or Asterabadi, was a Twelver Shia Iranian philosopher in the Neoplatonizing Islamic Peripatetic traditions of Avicenna. He also was a Suhra ...

and

Shaykh Bahai Bahāʾ al‐Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al‐ʿĀmilī (also known as Sheikh Baha'i, fa, شیخ بهایی) (18 February 1547 – 1 September 1621) was an Iranian ArabEncyclopedia of Arabic Literature'. Taylor & Francis; 1998. . p. 85. Sh ...

. He was counted as one of the eminent pupils of Mir Damad's school of thought. He also had a family relationship with Mir Damad as he was his son-in-law and cousin. He was familiar with

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in order to deal with the texts of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

Works

Nearly fifty works are attributed to him in which the commentary of Qabasat (amounting up to 700 pages) is one of them. He wrote the commentary by the direct order of

. He also has written a book by the name of "Izha Al Haq" as the earliest essay against Abu Muslim. Although Sayyed Ahmad followed the ways of his teacher, he simultaneously tried to show his dominance on other predecessors such as Farabi and Fakhr Al Din Samaki. Some other books written by him are: * Miftah Al Shefa (i.e. Miftāḥ al-shifāʼ'', the keys of healing) as a commentary on Avicenna's

The book of healing ''The Book of Healing'' (; ; also known as ) is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abu Ali ibn Sīna (aka Avicenna) from medieval Persia, near Bukhara in Maverounnahr. He most likely began to compose the book in 1014, comp ...

* Masqal Al Safa (i.e. ''Miṣqal-i ṣafāʼ'') as a response to christian missionary * Lataef Al Qeybah (i.e. ''Laṭāʼif-i ghaybah'')

Death

He died between 1644 and 1650. He was buried in Takht Foolad, near the Agha Razi's Takiyyah.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Aristotelian philosophers Islamic philosophers 17th-century Iranian philosophers 17th-century deaths

Life and education

Works

Death

See also

References

Sources