Baha al-Din al-Amili

Sheikh Baha' al-Din (also spelled Baha'uddin) Muhammad ibn Husayn al-'Amili was born near Baalbek, in Ottoman Syria (present-day Lebanon) in 1547. His family had moved there from a small village near Jezzine. After the execution of al-Shahid al-Tani in 1558, his father's mentor, he and his family moved to the neighboring Safavid Empire; first to Isfahan, and from there to Qazvin, the then Iranian royal capital. At the time, the Safavid realm was ruled by king Tahmasp I (r. 1524-1576). Tahmasp I appointed Sheikh Bahāʾī's father to serve as Shaykh al-Islām in several important Safavid cities in order to propagate Twelver Shi'ism amongst the population. Sheikh Bahāʾī completed his studies in Isfahan. Having intended to travel to Mecca in 1570, he visited many Islamic countries including Iraq, Syria and Egypt and after spending four years there, he returned to Iran. Sheikh Baha' al-Din died in 1621 in Isfahan. His body was buried in Mashhad according to his will. Exact dates of birth and death The exact dates of his birth and death are different on his grave stone and on the ceramic of the walls of the room where he is buried in. Date of birth: • On the ceramics of the wall: 27 February 1547 • On the grave stone: March 1546 Date of death: • On the ceramics of the wall: 30 August 1621 • On the grave stone: August 1622 The dates on the wall contain day, month and year, while the dates on the grave stone only contain month and year. The ceramics of the wall are made in 1945. It seems that at that time a research is performed about the exact dates, and, therefore, the information about the day is added to the dates. Pen name According to Baháʼí Faith scholar ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd Ishráq-Khávari, Sheikh Baha' al-Din adopted the pen name (takhallus) 'Baha' after being inspired by words of Shi'a Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (the fifth Imam) and Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (the sixth Imam), who had stated that the Greatest Name of God was included in either Du'ay-i-Sahar or Du'ay-i-Umm-i-Davud. In the first verse of the Du'ay-i-Sahar, a dawn prayer for the Ramadan, the name "Bahá" appears four times: "Allahumma inni as 'aluka min Bahá' ika bi Abháh va kulla Bahá' ika Bahí". ==Astronomy and mathematics==

His interest in the sciences is also apparent by some of his works and treaties, although many of his astronomical treatises are yet to be studied. He probably have written 17 tracts and books on astronomy and related subjects. The following are some his works in astronomy: • Risālah dar ḥall-i ishkāl-i ʿuṭārid wa qamar (Treatise on the problems of the Moon and Mercury), on attempting to solve inconsistencies of the Ptolemaic system within the context of Islamic astronomy. • Tashrīḥ al-aflāk (Anatomy of the celestial spheres), a summary of theoretical astronomy where he affirms the view that supports the positional rotation of the Earth. He was one of Islamic astronomers to advocate the feasibility of the Earth's rotation in the 16th century, independent of Western influences. • Kholasat al-Hesab (The summa of arithmetic) was translated into German by G. H. F. Nesselmann and was published as early as 1843. == Architecture ==

Sheikh Baha' al-Din was known for his proficiency in mathematics, architecture and geometry. A number of architectural and engineering designs are attributed to him, but none can be substantiated with sources. He is credited with designing the canal network of the Zayanderud river and a heating system for an Isfahan public bath that used a single candle. Some of his designs may have included the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and Charbagh Avenue in Isfahan. ==Shia jurisprudence==

In the Twelver tradition, Sheikh Bahai is regarded as a leading scholar of his age and a mujaddid of the seventeenth century. His erudition won him the admiration of Shah Abbas, and he was appointed the Sheikh ul-Islam of Isfahan after the death of the previous incumbent. He composed works on tafsir, hadith, grammar and fiqh (jurisprudence). ==Mysticism==

Sheikh Baha' al-Din was also an adept of mysticism. He had a distinct Sufi leaning for which he was criticized by Mohammad Baqer Majlesi. During his travels he dressed like a Dervish and frequented Sufi circles. He also appears in the chain of both the Nurbakhshi and Ni'matullāhī Sufi orders. In the work called "Resāla fi’l-waḥda al-wojūdīya" (Exposition of the concept of Wahdat al-Wujud (Unity of Existences), he states that the Sufis are the true believers, calls for an unbiased assessment of their utterances, and refers to his own mystical experiences. Both his Persian and Arabic poetry is also replete with mystical allusions and symbols. At the same time, Sheikh Baha' al-Din calls for strict adherence to the Sharia as a prerequisite for embarking on the Tariqah and did not hold a high view of antinomian mysticism. ==Works==

Sheikh Baha' al-Din contributed numerous works in philosophy, logic, astronomy and mathematics. His works include over 100 articles, epistles and books. Sheikh Baha' al-Din also composed poems in Persian and Arabic. His outstanding works in the Persian language are Jame-e Abbasi and two masnavis (rhymed couplets) by the names of Shīr u Shakar ("Milk and Sugar") and Nān u Halwā ("Bread and Halva"). His other important work is the Kashkūl, which includes stories, news, scientific topics, Persian and Arabic proverbs. He also wrote Khulāṣat al-ḥisāb (, lit. "Essentials of arithmetic"), an Arabic textbook that became popular throughout the Islamic world from Egypt to India until the 19th century. It was translated into German in Berlin by G. H. F. Nesselmann and published in 1843. A French translation appeared later 1854. Other works • Meklāt (in Arabic) • Kashkūl (in Persian and Arabic) () • Tūtī-Nāmah (in Persian) () • Nān u Panīr (in Persian) () • Shīr u Shakar (in Persian) () • Nān u Halwā (in Persian and Arabic) () • Jame-e Abbasi (in Persian) () • Tashrīḥ Al-Aflāk (in Arabic) () • Al-fawayid as-Samadiah (in Arabic) • ''Mashriq al-Shamsayn wa Iksīr al-Sa'adatayn'' (in Arabic) () • ''Al-Athnā' Ash'ariyyah'' (in Arabic) () • Zubdat al-Usūl (in Arabic) () ==See also==