The family ofal-Shahristani (Arabic: آل الشهرستاني,romanized:ʾĀl al-Shahristānī), also transliterated in a number of other ways, includingal-Shehristani oral-Shahrestani, are anIraqi-Iranian clericalShia family that settled inKarbala from the village of Shahristan, nearIsfahan, in the late 18th century.[1][2][3]
The family rose to prominence in Iraq in the late 19th century. Members of the family are notable for beingAyatollahs in Karbala. However, in more recent times, the family has become more academic, and political, with its most notable politician being Iraqi statesman,Hussain al-Shahristani.
The family claimagnatic descent fromMuhammad's daughterFatimah, carrying the honorific title ofSayyid, through the seventhShia Imam, ImamMusa al-Kadhim, making them aMusawi family. They are not to be mistaken with theHusaynid Karbalaei family of al-Shahristani, who married into the Musawi family, intertwining the two families.[4]
The al-Shahristani family is an intellectual clerical family. Its patriarch is Sayyid Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani, who was born in Shahristan, Isfahan in 1717. He emigrated from his hometown, to Karbala, where he settled in 1774.[3] He studied under theallamahal-Wahid al-Behbehani, SheikhYusuf al-Bahrani, and Sheikh Muhammad-Mehdi al-Futuni, and was granted an ijaza from them, and became amarja'. He purchased a home north of theImam Husayn shrine, and his home later became known as thedewan of House Shahristani. Sayyid Muhammad-Mehdi was the first from this family to migrate to Karbala, after his ancestor Sayyid Jalal al-Din Muhammad, known asamir al-nitham (transl. prince of order), had previously resided in Karbala in the 16th century, but migrated to Iran.[5] He opened a library, that was named after him, and was known to have valuable books and manuscripts. It also had his famous works, such asal-Fathalik Fi Sharh al-Madarik, andal-Misbah. The library was however destroyed during theWahabi sack of Karbala.
Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani (1717–1801) was the son of Abu al-Qasim al-Shahristani. He was a marja' and known as one of the four Mehdis (they were himself,Mehdi Bahrululoom,Mehdi al-Naraqi, and Mehdi al-Khurasani) as they were the most notable students of al-Wahid al-Behbehani.[1]
Abu al-Qasim al-Shahristani was the son of Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani. He was a respectablejurist, and died shortly after his father's death.[7]
Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani (died 1831) was the son of Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani. He was a marja' like his father, and was dubbed Agha Buzurg, a title signifying his great intellect. He married the granddaughter of al-Wahid al-Behbehani, through his son Muhammad-Ali al-Kirmanshahi al-Behbehani.[8]
Muhammad-Jafar al-Shahristani (died 1844) was the son of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani. He was a notable cleric in Karbala.[5] His works included studies inallowing the following of the dead[jurist],forbidding singing,the laws of grape juice,theoccultation,the lineage of al-Wahid al-Behbehani. He was buried in the al-Shahristani crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine.[9]
Salih al-Shahristani (died 1891) was the son of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani. He was a senior jurist, that gained the respect of the supreme Shia cleric of the time,Mirza Shirazi, who upon the death of Salih in 1891, mourned him for four consecutive days inSamarra.[1]
Abbas al-Shahristani (1803–1883) was the son of Muhammad-Husayn al-Shahristani. He was a jurist, and gainedijtihad from SheikhMurtadha al-Ansari whilst studying in Najaf. He was buried in the al-Shahristani crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine.[10]
Ibrahim al-Shahristani (1883–1957) was the son of Salih al-Shahristani. He was a cleric, and socialite in Karbala.[11]
Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani (died 1915) was the son of Salih al-Shahristani. He was a cleric. He was buried in the family crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine.[12]
Muhammad al-Shahristani (died 1915) was the son of Muhammad-Mehdi al-Shahristani. He was writer and poet. His works included an entirediwan inFarsi, and a study inArabic literature. He was buried in the family's crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine.[13]
Salih al-Shahristani (1907–1975) was the son of Ibrahim al-Shahristani. He was an author, researcher, and diplomat.[3] He migrated to Tehran in the 1930s, and served in the Iraqi embassy in Tehran, then later the Jordanian embassy. He died in Tehran, and his corpse was transferred to Karbala, to be buried in the family crypt.
Hussain al-Shahristani (born 1942) is the son of Ibrahim al-Shahristani. He is a politician and nuclear scientist. He served as Iraqi minister of Energy, Foreign Affairs, and Higher Education and Scientific Research. He also served as deputy to the prime minister of Iraq,Nouri al-Maliki.
Muhammad-Ali al-Shahristani (1932–2011) was the son of Muhammad-Salih, son of Mirza Ali, son of Salih al-Shahristani.[14] He was an industrial engineer, and the founder of the International Colleges of Islamic Science inLondon.[15] He participated in many engineering projects that involved the Shia holy shrines. He was buried in the family crypt in the Imam Husayn shrine.
^abcal-Shahroudi, Nur al-Din (1990).Tarikh al-Haraka al-Ilmiya Fi Karbala [The History of the Clerical Movement of Karbala] (in Arabic). Dar al-Uloom Liltahqeeq Wal Tiba'a Wal Nashr Wal Towzee'. pp. 223–24.
^abṬuʻmah, Salmān Hādī (1998).Asha'er Karbala Wa 'Usariha [Tribes and Families of Karbala] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Mahaja al-Baydha'. pp. 127–29.Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved2020-09-28.
^abcdNasrallah, Abd al-Sahib (2011).Buyutat Karbala al-Qadima [Old Households of Karbala] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Mu'asasat al-Balagh. pp. 166–65.
^al-Shahroudi, Nur al-Din (1990).Tarikh al-Haraka al-Ilmiya Fi Karbala [The History of the Clerical Movement of Karbala] (in Arabic). Dar al-Uloom Liltahqeeq Wal Tiba'a Wal Nashr Wal Towzee'. p. 228.Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved2020-09-28.
