Seyyed ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...

Abdollah Behbahani ( fa, سیدعبدالله بهبهانی, 1840–1910) was a Shi'a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and a prominent leader of the

constitutional movement The Constitutional Movement was a right wing political group in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1979 by Andrew Fountaine as the National Front Constitutional Movement, a splinter group from the National Front. Offering a more moderate altern ...

. He was born in

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

and was educated by scholars such as

Morteza Ansari Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864), ( ar, مرتضی الأنصاري التستري; fa, مرتضی انصاری شوشتری ), also transliterated as Mortaza Ansari Shushtari, was a Shia jurist who "was general ...

. During the constitutional movement he was influential in the

Majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...

. On the night of 15 July 1910, four gunmen attacked his house and killed him. Seyyed Hassan Taghizadeh was suspected to be responsible, and he subsequently fled the country.

Early life

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani was born in

. His father, Seyyed Esmaeil, was a famous scholar in Iran. He was descended from a prominent Shia scholar of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, Abdollah al-Beladi from the village of al-Gorayfa. He was educated in Najaf by scholars such as

, Hosayn Kuhkamarai, Mirza Ḥasan Sirazi, and Shaikh Rażi Naǰafi and became qualified to provide religious guidance.

Political efforts

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani spent much of his life expressing his political views. His campaigns included refusing to participate in the

Tobacco Protest The Persian Tobacco Protest (Persian: نهضت تنباکو ''nehzat-e tanbāku'') was a Shia Muslim revolt in Iran against an 1890 tobacco concession granted by Nasir al-Din Shah of Persia to the United Kingdom, granting British control over gr ...

; being dissatisfied with the selection of Ein al-Dowleh as grand vizier; desiring to conclude a solidarity treaty with Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai; agreeing to fight against the ruler at that time (Ahmad Kasravi referred to this treaty as the beginning of the Persian Constitutional Revolution); circulating the photo of Naus (the Belgian supervisor of the Iranian customs) wearing Islamic scholar clothes at a

Masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

and asking for him to be dismissed; seeking sanctuary in Rey after objections were raised to the rise in the price of sugar, and punishing the merchants involved; establishing an assembly known as the ''Islamic seminary'' aimed at stopping sabotage by Ein al-Dowleh for founding the house of justice; and emigrating to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as a protest against the failures of the government (this migration is now considered to be a major migration). He remained in Iraq until the constitutional decree of

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, مظفرالدین شاه قاجار, Mozaffar ad-Din Ŝāh-e Qājār; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907), was the fifth shah of Qajar Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with t ...

. He was in agreement with the participation of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

as deputies in the

1st Iranian Majlis The 1st Iranian Majlis was a legislative assembly from October 7, 1906, to June 23, 1908. Its session was formally opened by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. Mozaffar's son and successor, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, became Shah on January 21, 1907. He w ...

(Persian legislative assembly), he objected to the bombardment of the Majlis by

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty. Biography Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...

, and he objected to the execution of

Sheikh Fazlollah Noori Sheikh Fazlollah bin Abbas Mazindarani (; 24 December 1843 – 31 July 1909), also known as Fazlollah Noori (), was a twelver Shia Muslim scholar and politician in Qajar Iran during the late 19th and early 20th century and founder of islamist S ...

Leader of constitutional movement

After the dissemination of the photo of Naus (the Belgian supervisor of the Iranian customs) at the

wearing the special clothes belonging to an Islamic scholar, Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani showed the photo to people and asked for Naus' dismissal. The fight against the government was started by sending letters to four

mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...

in Tehran.

Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai Mirza Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai (Persian: آیت الله میرزا سید محمد طباطبائی, also known as Mohammad Sang-e-laji,;''Sang-e-laj'' (سَنگِلَج) is one of the neighbourhoods of the Old Tehran, not far from the Grand Baz ...

accepted his request and a solidarity treaty was concluded between him and Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani. When

came back to Iran, at a time when there was increasing dissatisfaction among the people and scholars against the government, and Ein al-Dowleh was finally dismissed, Shah issued a constitutional order. Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani and Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai were not deputies or members of the Majlis, but they participated in the whole of the meeting.

Assassination

In the second

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, the deputies were divided into two groups: ultra progressive and moderate. Behbahani supported the moderate group and became an influential person when differences of opinion arose between the two groups, causing the ultra progressive deputies led by Sayyed Hasan Taqizadeh to dislike him. On the night of Friday 15 July 1910, four gunmen associated with the Social Democrats attacked him at his home and killed him. Seyyed Hassan Taghizadeh was suspected to be responsible, and he subsequently fled the country.

Haydar Khan Amo-oghli Haydar Khan Amo-oghli or Haydar Khan Amu ogly Tariverdiev ( fa, حیدرخان عمواوغلی تاریوردی; az, حیدرخان عمواوغلی تاریوردی; December 20, 1880 – October 15, 1921) was an Iranian left-wing revolution ...

had organized the assassination. Behbahani's body was transferred to Najaf and buried in the courtyard of the

Imam Ali Mosque The Sanctuary of Imām 'Alī ( ar, حَرَم ٱلْإِمَام عَلِيّ , Ḥaram al-ʾImām ʿAlī), also known as the Mosque of 'Alī ( ar, مَسْجِد عَلِيّ, Masjid ʿAlī), located in Najaf, Iraq, is a mosque which many Musl ...

Books

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani authored ''Rasael-va-Masael fi

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

'' (Dissertations and Problems in fiqh) containing 25

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

s each related to one of the problems of ''fiqh''.

References