Al-Shahristani family

The al-Shahristani family is an intellectual clerical family. Its patriarch is Sayyid Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani, who was born in Shahristan, Isfahan in 1717. He emigrated from his hometown, to Karbala, where he settled in 1774. He opened a library, that was named after him, and was known to have valuable books and manuscripts. It also had his famous works, such as al-Fathalik Fi Sharh al-Madarik, and al-Misbah. The library was however destroyed during the Wahabi sack of Karbala. Sayyid Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani died in 1801, and his son Sayyid Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani, known as agha buzurg (), who participated in the Battle of Menakhur in 1826, took the reins from his father. He died of the plague in 1831 and was buried in the southern rawaq () of the Imam Husayn shrine precinct, behind the martyrs' tomb, that later became the family crypt. The lineage of the al-Shahristani family is as follows:Muḥammad-Mehdī bin Abu al-Qāsim bin Ruḥullāh bin Ḥasan bin Rafiʿ al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Sadr bin Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad (Amir al-Nitham) bin Zayn al-Dīn ʿAli bin Sadr al-Dīn Ismaʿīl bin Alaʿ al-Din al-Ḥusayn bin Muʿin al-Din bin Rukn al-Dīn al-Ḥusayn bin Ashraf bin Rukn al-Dīn Ḥasan bin Ashraf bin Nur al-Dīn Muḥammad bin Abu al-Ḥasan al-Muḥaddith bin Tahir bin '''Ḥusayn al-Qat'ī bin Musa Abu Sibḥa bin Ibrahīm al-Asghar bin Musa al-Kādhim bin Jaʿfar as-Sādiq bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir bin ʿAli al-Sajjad bin Ḥusayn al-Shahid bin ʿAli Ibna Abi Talib'''. == Notable members ==

First generation • Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani (1717–1801) was the son of Abu al-Qasim al-Shahristani. He was a marja' and known as one of the four Mehdis (they were himself, Mehdi Bahrululoom, Mehdi al-Naraqi, and Mehdi al-Khurasani) as they were the most notable students of al-Wahid al-Behbehani. • Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani (died 1831) was the son of Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani. He was a marja' like his father, and was dubbed Agha Buzurg, a title signifying his great intellect. He married the granddaughter of al-Wahid al-Behbehani, through his son Muhammad-Ali al-Kirmanshahi al-Behbehani. Third generation • Muhammad-Jafar al-Shahristani (died 1844) was the son of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani. He was a notable cleric in Karbala. • Salih al-Shahristani (died 1891) was the son of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani. He was a senior jurist, that gained the respect of the supreme Shia cleric of the time, Mirza Shirazi, who upon the death of Salih in 1891, mourned him for four consecutive days in Samarra. Fourth generation • Ibrahim al-Shahristani (1883–1957) was the son of Salih al-Shahristani. He was a cleric, and socialite in Karbala. • Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani (died 1915) was the son of Salih al-Shahristani. He was a cleric. He was buried in the family crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine. Fifth generation • Muhammad al-Shahristani (died 1915) was the son of Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani. He was writer and poet. His works included an entire diwan in Farsi, and a study in Arabic literature. He was buried in the family's crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine. • Salih al-Shahristani (1907–1975) was the son of Ibrahim al-Shahristani. He was an author, researcher, and diplomat. He was an industrial engineer, and the founder of the International Colleges of Islamic Science in London. He participated in many engineering projects that involved the Shia holy shrines. He was buried in the family crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine. == See also ==