Mirza Abutaleb Zanjani
Encyclopedia
Mirzā Abutāleb Zanjānī also known as Sayyid Fakhr al-Din Mohammad Abutāleb Mousavi al-Zanjānī (10 December 1843 – 16 March 1911) Iranian Jurist
and Shia scholar
He was born on 10 December 1843, to an educated family in Zanjan
, Iran
. His paternal ancestors were all celebrated scholars. He started his education in his birthplace and continued in Qazvin
, Iran
and Najaf
, Iraq
, trained under Morteza Ansari
, Sheikh Razi and Sayyid Hossein Kooh-kamari. He returned to Iran at the age of 40 and stayed in Tehran
, where as a distinguished disciple of Koohkamari, became the centre of clerical circles.
He spent most of his time on teaching his students and writing religious books.
He advocated Persian Constitutional Revolution, but later adhered to royalist
s.
He died at the age of 69 on 16 March 1911, Tehran
and was buired in Mashhad
.
Zanjani was among the few scholars of Qajar period who used their Arabic
knowledge to translate Arabic texts into Persian
. In addition to Persian and Azari
, he had acquaintance with French
and Ottoman Turkish language
. He also had knowledge of ideas of his contemporary European intellects such as Thomas Malthus
and Charles Darwin
, and used their views in his essays.
Arthur Henry Hardinge
, the British ambassador to Iran, wrote about him:"As I have previously mentioned, the most intellectual and enlightened Shia scholar that I've met in Tehran was Mirza Abutaleb Zanjani with whom we usually had debates about religion and politics. I personally think that Mirza Abutaleb worked on the same aspiration for Islamic unity as Abdul Hamid II
... although he himself had less faith to these principals".
He married a daughter of Bahram Mirza
son of Abbas Mirza
and had 4 daughters. He is maternal grandfather of Reza Zanjani
.
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and Shia scholar
He was born on 10 December 1843, to an educated family in Zanjan
Zanjan
Zanjan may refer to:* Zanjan Province, Iran* Zanjan County, an area within Zanjan Province* Zanjan, Iran, the capital of Zanjan County and Zanjan Province* Zanjan University, located in the city of Zanjan* Senjan, a city in Markazi Province, Iran...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. His paternal ancestors were all celebrated scholars. He started his education in his birthplace and continued in Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, trained under Morteza Ansari
Morteza Ansari
Morteza Ansari , was a Shia jurist who "was generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time." Ansari has also been called the "first effective" model or Marja of the Shia or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law", and the first to...
, Sheikh Razi and Sayyid Hossein Kooh-kamari. He returned to Iran at the age of 40 and stayed in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, where as a distinguished disciple of Koohkamari, became the centre of clerical circles.
He spent most of his time on teaching his students and writing religious books.
He advocated Persian Constitutional Revolution, but later adhered to royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...
s.
He died at the age of 69 on 16 March 1911, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
and was buired in Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
.
Zanjani was among the few scholars of Qajar period who used their Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
knowledge to translate Arabic texts into Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
. In addition to Persian and Azari
Azari language
Azari language may refer to:*Azerbaijani language*Azari language...
, he had acquaintance with French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Ottoman Turkish language
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
. He also had knowledge of ideas of his contemporary European intellects such as Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus
The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
and Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, and used their views in his essays.
Arthur Henry Hardinge
Arthur Henry Hardinge
Sir, ,Arthur Henry Hardinge , G.C.M.G.,1910, K.C.B.,1904, , a fluent speaker of the Spanish and the French languages, was the son of General Hon...
, the British ambassador to Iran, wrote about him:"As I have previously mentioned, the most intellectual and enlightened Shia scholar that I've met in Tehran was Mirza Abutaleb Zanjani with whom we usually had debates about religion and politics. I personally think that Mirza Abutaleb worked on the same aspiration for Islamic unity as Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
... although he himself had less faith to these principals".
He married a daughter of Bahram Mirza
Bahram Mirza
Bahram Mirza Moezz-od-Dowleh Qajar was the second son of Abbas Mirza who was the youngest son of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar. He was an educated and erudite man expert on many subjects, which won him the nickname of Mollah Bahram...
son of Abbas Mirza
Abbas Mirza
Prince, Field-Marshal Abbas Mirza born Amol city , was a Qajar crown prince of Persia. He developed a reputation as a military commander during wars with Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as an early modernizer of Persia's armed forces and institutions, and for his death before his father, Fath Ali...
and had 4 daughters. He is maternal grandfather of Reza Zanjani
Reza Zanjani
Ayatollah Seyed Reza Zanjani was a Shia Iranian cleric who opposed first the autocracy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and then theocracy that was established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his supporters following the Islamic Revolution.Reza Zanjani was an Azeri from Zanjan Province in...
.