Seyed Mohammad Shirazi (12 May 1894 – 11 October 1971), commonly known as Sultan al-Wa'izin Shirazi ("Prince of Preachers from

Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...

"),Translators' Preface
/ref> was a prominent Shi'a scholar. He authored ''

Peshawar Nights Peshawar Nights ( ''Shab-hā-ye Pishāwar'') is a written firsthand account by Sultan al-Wa'izin Shirazi ("Prince of Preachers from Shiraz"), recalling ten days of dialogues between two Sunni scholars and a Shia author about major topics relating ...

'', an account of a public debate between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims which took place in Peshawar over 10 nights beginning on 27 January 1927 Sultanu l-Wa'izin Shirazi was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

on 12 May 1894. After his primary school in Tehran, he moved with his father to Karbala and studied in some

Hawza A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold s ...

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According to the book, he participated in a public debate between Shi'a Muslims and Sunni Muslims. The debate is said to have taken place in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

(now in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, which at the time was part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

) beginning on 27 January 1924. The Shi'a were victorious in debate. According to the preface: :''A condition of the dialogue was that only sources acceptable to both sects would be cited. The dialogue was held in

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 ...

, commonly understood in the city of Peshawar. The transcript, made by four reporters and published in the newspapers daily, was published in book form in Teheran and soon became a classic authority in the East. The present work is based on the fourth edition, published in Teheran in 1971, the year in which Sultan al-Wa'izin died at the age of 75 Th
Translators' Preface
stats: The death of Sultan al-Wa'izin in 1971 is mentioned by Michael M.J. Fischer in Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution - p.178,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

1980.

References

Iranian ayatollahs 1894 births 1971 deaths Burials at Fatima Masumeh Shrine {{islam-scholar-stub

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See also

References