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| Born | (1919-03-21)21 March 1919 |
| Died | 13 January 2008(2008-01-13) (aged 88) |
| Alma mater | University of Tehran |
| Occupations | Distinguished professor and scholar of Persian Literature and Islamic history and theology, President and Editor-in-Chief ofDehkhoda Dictionary Institute, Founder of the International Center for Persian Studies |
| Children | Dr. Hossein Shahidi (d. 2014),Dr. Hassan Shahidi,Dr. Mohsen Shahidi,Dr. Shokoufeh Shahidi,Ehsan Shahidi (d.-) |
Jafar Shahidi known asSeyed Jafar Shahidi (Persian:سید جعفر شهیدی; 21 March 1919, inBorujerd – 13 January 2008, inTehran) was a distinguished scholar of thePersian language andliterature, and a renownedhistorian of Islam. Born in Boroujerd,Lorestan province, Iran, Shahidi dedicated his life to Persian studies, acting as the director of theDehkhoda Dictionary Institute andInternational Center for Persian Studies (ICPS), serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities at theUniversity of Tehran (UT), and mastering the fields of jurisprudence and Islamic history. As a member of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities at the University of Tehran, Shahidi specialized in the study of Persian language and literature as well as Islamic theology, jurisprudence, and history.
Shahidi was a prominent disciple ofAli Akbar Dehkhoda andBadiozzaman Forouzanfar. He served as a seminary inQom andNajaf under notable figures such as Tabatabaei, Seyed Hossein Boroujerdi, S. Khoi A., under whom he attained his degree inijtihad. He is most notable for his works on theDehkhoda Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Persian language and his research in Islamic history and religion.
In his later years, he served as the President of theDehkhoda Institute and founder of theInternational Center for Persian Studies (ICPS).
Seyed Jafar Shahidi was born in the town ofBoroujerd,Lorestan province,Iran. His father, Mohammad Sajjadi was a leading Iranian scholar who died shortly after the birth of his son. Spending the first few years of his education in his hometown, Shahidi continued his academics in the capital city ofTehran.
In 1941, he moved to the town ofNajaf,Iraq to pursue his studies in the field of Islamic jurisprudence and successfully surpassed the highest levels of education to receive the title ofmujtahid. From there onward, Shahidi moved toQom, Iran, where he was mentored by the leading scholars, most notablyAyatollah Boroujerdi. Falling ill, Shahidi resorted to the translation of Arabic in Iran alongside Doctor Sanjabi (the then Minister of Culture). He later received an offer to teach at the Abu Muslem School.
Encounters with Dr.Mohammad Moin permitted his close relationship withAli Akbar Dehkhoda who later entrusted Shahidi as the director of theDehkhoda Institute. In a letter to the then Minister of Culture, Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda wrote, "Shahidi is rare in his abilities as a scholar," noting that he wished to limit his hours at the institute from twenty-two to eight in order for Shahidi to be able to continue his teachings as well.
Dr. Shahidi played a pivotal role in the formation and compilation of the second largest Persian lexicon, known as theMoin Dictionary, was entrusted with the completion and publishing of the text upon Dr.Mohammad Moin's death in 1971.
In 1991, Shahidi donated his residential house to theNarmak Municipality ofTehran where it remains today as the Dr. Shahidi Public Library.
