and interred him in his madrasa at Khwarazm; another report claims that he died in al-Khawāniq.
175 – al-ʿIjlī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs ibn Aḥmad
Head of the Shīʿah and scholar of the Rāfiḍah, the erudite Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Idrīs ibn Aḥmad ibn Idrīs al-ʿIjlī al-Ḥillī.
A prolific writer, he authored The Comprehensive Compendium for Editing Legal Opinions (al-Ḥāwī li-Taḥrīr al-Fatāwā), The Secrets (al-Sarāʾir) (1), Synopsis of the Proofs (Khilāṣat al-Istidlāl), several manuals of rites, and other works in both uṣūl (legal theory) and furūʿ (positive law).
He studied under the jurist Rāshid (2) and the noble Sharaf Shāh.
In al-Ḥillah he enjoyed wide renown and had many students (3); one ignorant poet even composed a qaṣīdah in which he ranked him above our Imām Muḥammad ibn Idrīs [al-Shāfiʿī].
(*) Al-Dhahabi devoted a notice to him in Tarikh al-Islam, folio 236 (Ahmed III 2917/14). Ibn al-Futi mentions him under those surnamed Fakhr al-Din in his Talkhis, 4 / entry 2331, and Ibn Hajar discusses him in Lisan, 5 / 65. He is also treated in later Shiite biographical works, such as al-Khwansari’s Rawdat al-Jannat and al-Hurr al-Amili’s Amal al-Amil. See as well the comments of our late teacher, the scholar Mustafa Jawad, on his entry in Ibn al-Futi’s Talkhis.
(1) This is how the wording appears in the base manuscript; however, the more accurate reading is that given in Tarikh al-Islam: “Kitab al-Hawi li-Tahrir al-Fatawi, which he entitled Kitab al-Sarair.” This shows that it is a single work, not two separate books. Ibn al-Futi likewise lists among his writings only Kitab al-Sarair, without mentioning al-Hawi, which confirms they are the same. Al-Dhahabi further states in Tarikh al-Islam: “It is a well-known book among the Shiites.” Our teacher adds in his commentary on Ibn al-Futi’s entry that numerous copies of al-Sarair survive in public and private libraries, including one in the Alexandria Municipal Library.
(2) Tarikh al-Islam names him Rashid ibn Ibrahim.
(3) Al-Dhahabi also remarks in Tarikh al-Islam: “In his time no one among the Shiites equalled him.”