The theologian, exegete of the Holy Qur’an, and hadith scholar, Ibn Shahr Ashoub

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 16th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban in 588 AH, the theologian, exegete of the Holy Qur’an, and hadith scholar, Mohammad Ibn Ali Ibn Shahr Ashoub, passed away at the ripe old age of 99 years. He was born in Mazandaran, northern Iran, in a Sunni Muslim family, and memorized the Holy Qur’an at the age of 8 years.
His scholarly mind made him research and master hadith, and he was permitted by the prominent ulema of his day, such as Zamakhshari, Ghazali, and Khateeb Khwarezmi, to quote hadith. He also wrote beautiful poems in both Arabic and his native Persian. His quest for truth made him turn into a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), whose unsurpassed merits he has collected in a 4-volume work titled: “Manaqeb Aal-e Abi Taleb”. Among the several valuable works of this Muslim theologian and hadith scholar, is “Ma’alem al-Ulema”, a biography of prominent scholars.