The pre-session of the international congress commemorating Allama Mir Hamid Husain Lucknowi was held in Isfahan
The pre-session of the international congress commemorating Allama Mir Hamid Husain Lucknowi was held in Isfahan
The pre-session of the international congress commemorating Allama Mir Hamid Husain Musawi Lucknowi (may God sanctify his secret), the distinguished Imamite theologian of the 13th Hijri century, was held on Thursday, 4 Dey 1404, in the Isfahan seminary and with the presence of a group of professors, scholars, and students. This ceremony was held under the title “Re-identification and Honoring the Sahib Abqat” and with the participation of bodies such as the International Imamate Foundation, the Isfahan Seminary Higher Education Institute, and the Secretariat of the International Congress of Allama Mir Hamid Husain Lucknowi, in the Sheikh al-Ra’ees Ibn Sina conference hall.
Detailed programs of the ceremony
The ceremony was held in two parts, morning and afternoon. The morning section began with the recitation of the Holy Qur’an, and after that, Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Dr. Hadi-zadeh, the director of the Isfahan Seminary Higher Education Institute, welcomed the guests and emphasized the importance of commemorating scholarly frontier-guarding figures like Allama Mir Hamid Husain in defending the sanctity of Shi’ism. Then, the message of His Eminence Ayatollah al-Uzma Mazaheri, the head of the Isfahan seminary, was read, in which emphasis was placed on the greatness of Allama Lucknowi’s work and the necessity of reviving his scientific legacy, especially the noble book “Abqat al-Anwar.”
Then a scholarly roundtable on the topic “Reviving the Works of Allama Mir Hamid Husain” was formed with the presence of Hujjat al-Islams Kazemi, Esfandiyari, and Shaja’at Husayn. In this roundtable, a comprehensive report was presented on the activities of the congress secretariat, including collecting and reviving manuscripts, cataloguing and restoring the Nasiriyyah Library in Lucknow, compiling the Allama’s profile, receiving and evaluating scholarly papers, and holding training courses to familiarize people with the theological school of Lucknow. It was also announced that so far 18 volumes of the great collection “Abqat al-Anwar” have been published in a researched edition, and 12 more volumes are in the process of publication.
After the roundtable, His Eminence Ayatollah Sheikh Najm al-Din Tabasi delivered an extended lecture on the topic “Scientific Personality Identification (Juristic and Theological) of Allama Mir Hamid Husain.” Referring to the greatness of the Allama’s work, he described him as a jurist-mujtahid and a thoroughly investigative hadith scholar who, in addition to mastery in theology, was also an expert in jurisprudence and اصول. He also cited the statements of major Shi’a figures such as Mirza Shirazi, Mirza Nuri, and Sayyid Muhsin Amin, who called the Allama “Sayyid al-Ta’ifah,” “Ghawth al-Millah,” and “the greatest theologian of the Shi’a,” and emphasized his unique position in the history of theology.
Conclusion and outlook
This pre-session was a scholarly and splendid prelude to the holding of the main international congress commemorating Allama Mir Hamid Husain Lucknowi, which will be held in the near future. The ceremony ended with an invitation to the attendees to visit the book exhibition and the display of works related to the Allama and the Imamate Foundation with a special discount. The afternoon program also hosted speeches by Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Mokhtari (responsible for the Shi’a Book Institute) and Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Dr. Subhani (responsible for the International Imamate Foundation).
The strong presence of thinkers and the report of extensive research activities around the personality and works of Allama Mir Hamid Husain indicate the revival of interest in the rich theological school of Lucknow and the necessity of benefiting from the scientific treasure of Shi’a scholars in defending the sanctity of Imamite beliefs.
Message of Ayatollah al-Uzma Mazaheri
Ayatollah al-Uzma Hussein Mazaheri, in a message to the scholarly meeting of re-identification and honoring of Allama Mir Hamid Husain Hindi, which was held through the efforts of the Isfahan Seminary Higher Education Institute, stated: the peerless role of the pious and striving scholar (حضرة Allama Mir Hamid Husain Hindi “قدّس سرّه الشريف”) in elevating and strengthening the culture of Shi’ism, and his tireless struggle in defending and preserving the exalted school of the Ahl al-Bayt of infallibility and purity “peace be upon them,” and in consolidating the doctrinal and theological beliefs of the Shi’a school, is acknowledged by all scholars and great figures.
The pre-session of the international congress commemorating Allama Mir Hamid Husain Lucknowi was held in Isfahan in the afternoon session
First lecture: An examination of the greatness of a burning man and a lasting work
In the first section, Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Reza Mokhtari, a distinguished researcher and bibliographer, delivered a speech on the topic “A Few Words on the Legacy of Allama Mir Hamid Husain.” He spoke of memories and first-hand points from the blessed life of Allama Mir Hamid Husain, and pointed to the secret of the permanence and greatness of his monumental work, “Abqat al-Anwar.”
Mokhtari, relying on the letters and personal notes of the Allama, collected in a set called “Liali Bahiyyah,” drew a vivid picture of the many hardships and difficulties of this striving scholar: “He wrote, in a region filled with sectarian disputes and under colonial domination, with limited means, and sometimes even in estrangement and away from his main library, the greatest encyclopedia for the defense of Imamate.” He emphasized that the driving engine of this tireless effort was “inner fire, love for the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and seeking intercession through the Infallibles”; a truth that the Allama himself repeatedly confessed in his writings.
This researcher, by reading parts of the will of the Allama’s son, Sayyid Nasir Husain, in which he had willed to die beside his father’s books, and also by referring to a letter from one of his teachers that limited the time of teaching philosophy to only a few minutes after Fajr prayer, emphasized the various dimensions of the Allama’s scholarly personality and the harsh conditions of learning and research in that era.
Second lecture: Reviving a school and drawing the horizon of the future
The second and final section of the ceremony was devoted to a lecture by Hujjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Dr. Muhammad Taqi Subhani, the head of the International Imamate Foundation. Under the topic “Reviving the Legacy of Allama Mir Hamid Husain and the Future of Imamite Theology,” he presented a comprehensive and forward-looking analysis.
Dr. Subhani, describing the Lucknow scholarly school and the family of Mir Hamid Husain as “one of the ten major stations of Shi’a identity formation in history,” listed the unique features of this great Allama’s research method:
- Time-awareness and precise problem identification: identifying the major gap in comparative studies of Imamate in Sunni hadith sources and focusing on filling it.
- Comprehensive and “conclusive” approach: addressing one topic (such as a hadith) from all possible angles (isnad, رجال, implication, history, bibliography) up to the final point where no doubt remains.
- Unparalleled documentation: creating an interconnected network of evidence and indicators that brings certainty to the reader.
- Team and family work: the continuous cooperation of the father, the brother (Sayyid I’jaz Husain), and the children in completing this great project.
He then explained the achievements of the last fifteen years in reviving this legacy: the correction and luxurious publication of 37 main volumes of Abqat al-Anwar, its summarization and re-creation in the form of practical encyclopedias in today’s language, the discovery and teaching of the “methodology of Mir Hamid Husain” in five axes, and the training of young researchers inside and outside the country. Referring to the estrangement of this legacy in the Indian subcontinent itself until recently, Dr. Subhani considered these activities an important step toward bringing this treasure back into the center of global research.
The historical and pioneering role of Isfahan
Throughout the ceremony, emphasis was placed on the unparalleled and pioneering role of the Isfahan seminary and its researchers in reviving the works of Allama Mir Hamid Husain. From the early efforts of the late Allama Sayyid Muhammad Ali Rawdati and his colleagues in the 1340s SH to reprint parts of Abqat, to the material and moral support of the late Ayatollah Boroujerdi and Imam Khomeini (ra) in the middle of the last century, and also the attention of the Hamedanian Charitable Foundation and other Isfahan philanthropists in the contemporary period, all testify to the long-standing bond of this city with the legacy of the Lucknowi Allama. Even the lesser-known role of the martyred Ayatollah Dr. Beheshti in planning to revive the Nasiriyyah Library of Lucknow on the eve of the Islamic Revolution was mentioned.
Closing and presentation of works
At the end of the ceremony, the program host thanked the attendees and speakers and announced the continuation of such sessions for other great figures of Imamate studies such as Allama Amini. It was also announced that, on the occasion of this conference, all books published by the International Imamate Foundation and other related works are available at a special discount at the Mir Damed Bookstore in Isfahan for interested readers.
This congress, which was held in two sessions, morning (more general) and afternoon (more specialized), in the halls of Sheikh al-Ra’ees and Sheikh Kulayni of the Isfahan seminary, was not only a tribute to one of the glories of the Shi’a world, but also showed the determination of seminary scholarly institutions to revive dormant scientific treasures and use their methods to answer today’s doubts.
