Syed Hamid Husayn and his work
‘Abaqat have been held in great esteem amongst leading Shi’i scholars and many of them, from
Mirza Sayyid Hasan Shirazi, the great
marji’ and juristic authority of his days, to contemporary scholars, have extolled the author and his great work. Sayyid Ali Milani, in the first volume of his condensed translation of
‘Abaqat into Arabic, quotes the statements of various scholars. Here we will confine ourselves to the opinion expressed by the great scholar ‘
Allamah Aqa Buzurg Tehrani, the author of '''''Al-Dhari'a ila tasanif al-Shi'a''''', says about Syed Hamid Hussain: من أكابر متكلمي الامامية وأعاظم علماء الشيعة المتبحرين في أوليات هذا القرن ، كان كثير التتبع ، واسع الاطلاع والإحاطة بالآثار والاخبار والتراث الإسلامي ، بلغ في ذلك مبلغا لم يبلغه أحد من معاصريه ولا المتأخرين عنه ، بل ولا كثير من أعلام القرون السابقة ، أفنى عمره الشريف في البحث عن اسرار الديانة والذب عن بيضة الإسلام وحوزة الدين الحنيف ، ولا أعهد في القرون المتأخرة من جاهد جهاده وبذل في سبيل الحقائق الراهنة طارفه وتلاده ، ولم تر عين الزمان في جميع الأمصار والاعصار مضاهيا له في تتبعه وكثرة اطلاعه ودقته وذكائه وشدة حفظه وضبطه. ''"(He is) one of the greatest of Imami theologians (mutakallimun) and one of the greatest and deeply learned of Shi’i scholars who lived in the early part of this century. He was profoundly learned, and had extensive knowledge and mastery over the Islamic traditions and heritage and attained such a station in it that none of his contemporaries or anyone of those who came after him, or even most of the celebrities of the preceding centuries, have been able to attain. He spent his entire noble life in fathoming the mysteries of religiosity and in the defence of Islam and the realm of sincere religion. I don't know of anyone in the latter centuries who waged a jihad like him and sacrificed everything in his possession in the way of everlasting truths. The times, in all ages and periods, will never see a compeer of him in his research, his extensive knowledge, his precision, intelligence, and the immensity of his memory and retention."'' == Works ==