View source for Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din

{{Author
|author = Hassan Ejraei
|compiler = 
}}
{{infobox person
 | reputation = 
 | name = Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din
 | birth = 1353 AH (1935 CE)
 | demise = 1421 AH (2001 CE)
 | image = Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din.jpg
 | image size = 
 | caption = 
 | position = Shia Jurist, President of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Lebanon
 | denomination = Shia
 | nationality =  Lebanese
 | speciality = Fiqh and Usul
 | works in contemporary jurisprudence = 
 | opinions = 
 | professors = [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim]] • [[Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei]]
 | students = 
 | website = 
}}

'''Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din''' (1353-1421 AH) was a Shia jurist who wrote various jurisprudential works on the political system in Islam, women's issues, and hoarding. He believed that the evidence for the [[Theory of Wilayat al-Faqih|Guardianship of the Jurist]] was inconclusive, that there was no proof for the complete political deputyship of the jurist from the Infallible Imam, and that in this regard, one must suffice with the certain extent (*qadr al-mutayaqqan*). Based on this, the administration of government in an Islamic society, while observing the general principles of religion, is the responsibility of the people.

He also, relying on the prohibition of changing creation in [[Quran 4:119]], argued for the primary prohibition of [[human cloning]]. He considered the distance of Shia jurisprudence from Maqasidi jurisprudence not to be due to jurisprudential or creedal reasons, but rather due to the Shiites' distance from governance. He also interpreted the [[guardianship of men over women]] in [[Quran 4:34]] as relating only to the marital relationship and only in the case where the man financially provides for the woman.

Shams al-Din completed his seminary studies in Najaf and attended the advanced jurisprudence (*kharij*) classes of [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim]] and [[Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei]]. After that, he engaged in intellectual and cultural activities in Lebanon for many years and also held the presidency of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Lebanon. He was also one of the writers for the Al-Adwa' magazine and a founder of the Islamic Dawa Party.

==Biography==
Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din was born on the 15th of Sha'ban, 1353 AH, in Najaf. His father, Sheikh Abd al-Karim, was a graduate of the Najaf seminary, and his lineage traced back to al-Shahid al-Awwal. At the advanced levels of seminary studies, Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din was a student of Sayyid Mohammad Rouhani, Sayyid Yusuf al-Hakim, and Sayyid Ali Allamah Fani Isfahani. He attended the advanced jurisprudence (*kharij*) classes of [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim]] and [[Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei]].<ref>Ansari Qomi and Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"], *Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh Magazine*, p. 127.</ref>

In addition to his studies, he was engaged in teaching and writing and participated in the establishment of "Jam'iyyat Muntada al-Nashr."<ref>Ansari Qomi and Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"], *Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh Magazine*, p. 127.</ref> Along with [[Mohammad-Reza Mozaffar]] and Mohammad-Taqi al-Hakim, they sought to reform mourning practices.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 8.</ref> Teaching at the Faculty of Fiqh in Najaf is among his credentials.<ref>Ansari Qomi and Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"], *Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh Magazine*, p. 127.</ref> Additionally, for several years, he resided in the city of Diwaniyah, Iraq, as a representative of the office of the Marja' Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim.<ref>Ansari Qomi and Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"], p. 127.</ref>

Alongside Sayyid Ismail al-Sadr, [[Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr]], Sayyid Murtada al-Askari, [[Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah]], Abd al-Hadi al-Fadli, and [[Mohammad Mahdi Asefi]], he was one of the writers for the [[Al-Adwa' Magazine]], which was published with the support of Sayyid Muhsin al-Hakim and was simultaneously opposed by some groups in the Najaf seminary.<ref>[http://iscq.ir/my_doc/iscq/my_files/midi/besat%201501.pdf "Ayatollah Asefi and the Dawa Party"], *Be'that Publication*, p. 2.</ref>

Shams al-Din was one of the founders of the Islamic Dawa Party, established under the leadership of Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr in the summer of 1957.<ref>Moradi, "Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, His Life, Times, and Works," p. 124.</ref> He then returned to Lebanon in 1969 and engaged in intellectual and cultural activities. In 1975, he was appointed by Imam Musa al-Sadr as the vice-president of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Lebanon, and after the abduction of Sayyid Musa al-Sadr in 1978, he effectively took over its leadership.<ref>Moradi, "Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, His Life, Times, and Works," p. 125.</ref>

In 1979, he founded the "Ma'had al-Shahid al-Awwal" seminary in Beirut, which was one of the most important seminaries of its time.<ref>Shaker Salmasi, "Introducing the Contemporary Shia Seminaries of Lebanon," p. 24.</ref>

He passed away on the 15th of Shawwal, 1421 AH (January 10, 2001), at the age of 68 in Beirut.<ref>Ansari Qomi and Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"], *Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh Magazine*, p. 128.</ref>

==Views and Opinions==
===Guardianship of the Ummah over Itself===
{{Main|The Theory of the Ummah's Guardianship over Itself}}
Among the existing theories of political jurisprudence, Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, like [[Mehdi Haeri Yazdi]], while denying any special right for jurists in government, believes that the administration of government in an Islamic society, while observing the general principles of religion, is the responsibility of the people.<ref>Kamali Ardakani and Kadivar, "Democracy in the Views of Sheikh Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din and Dr. Mehdi Haeri Yazdi...", pp. 63-64.</ref> According to Shams al-Din, jurists in the period of the Imam's occultation (a) are appointed to two positions: judiciary and explaining the fixed religious rulings. Other positions, including political authority and state sovereignty, have not been established for them. He also believes that jurists are not the deputies of the Infallible Imam in managing political affairs and have no guardianship over the people, and the political destiny of the people is their own responsibility. In his view, jurisprudence (*fiqahah*) is not a condition for the presidency of an elected Islamic state, and all matters of the state, including the head of state, are determined by referring to public opinion.<ref>Kadivar, *Theories of Government in Shia Fiqh*, pp. 171-174, as quoted in Eta'at, "Political Participation in the Thought of Shia Jurists," p. 83.</ref>

Relying on the [[Principle of Non-Guardianship]] of individuals over one another in Shia jurisprudence, Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din believes that no ruler possesses legitimacy, and the supreme principle in the rule of individuals over one another is that no one has the right of sovereignty over another, and any action to dominate another is illegal and illegitimate.<ref>Shams al-Din, *The Limits of Women's Political Participation in Islam*, p. 54, as quoted in Eta'at, "Political Participation in the Thought of Shia Jurists," p. 83.</ref>

According to [[Haydar Hubb-Allah]], a contemporary Shia thinker, Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din initially believed in political Islam but underwent an intellectual transformation from the early 1990s.<ref>Hubb-Allah, "Characteristics of the Theory of Faragh and the Overarching Laws of Sharia," p. 1.</ref>

===Prohibition of Human Cloning===
According to Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, [[human cloning]] is forbidden (*haram*) as a primary ruling. He refers to [[Quran 4:119]], in which changing God's creation is described as being in line with Satan's will. In Shams al-Din's view, human cloning leads to an inappropriate physical change, which is referred to as "changing creation" in the aforementioned verse.<ref>Shams al-Din, *Al-Istinsakh al-Janin*, p. 58, as quoted in: Qasemi, *Encyclopedia of Medical Jurisprudence*, vol. 2, pp. 557-558.</ref>

He also puts forward the lack of ownership over the body as another reason for the primary prohibition of cloning, saying: Only God is the owner of man, and man cannot perform such a disposition.<ref>Qasemi, *Encyclopedia of Medical Jurisprudence*, vol. 2, pp. 560-561.</ref>

As researcher Seyyed Hassan Eslami has stated, Shams al-Din relies on the verse about changing creation, the principle of non-ownership of man over his body, and the [[Principle of Prohibition]] (*Asalat al-Hazr*) (as opposed to the [[Principle of Permissibility]] (*Asalat al-Ibahah*)) in this matter.<ref>Eslami, "Human Cloning from a Shia Perspective...", pp. 27-28.</ref> Eslami raises some criticisms of Shams al-Din's view, including that Shams al-Din considers human cloning an instance of inappropriate physical change and therefore an instance of [[Quran 4:119]], whereas if human cloning leads to the cloning of a healthy being, his argument will be incomplete; because in that case, cloning is not an instance of inappropriate change.<ref>Eslami, "Human Cloning from a Shia Perspective...", pp. 27-28.</ref>

===Reason for Shia Fiqh's Distance from Maqasidi Fiqh===
Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din holds that the only reason for Shia jurisprudence's distance from the [[Maqasidi Fiqh|Maqasidi method]] was a historical reason and the distance of Imami jurists from social and governmental affairs, and this matter has no jurisprudential or creedal basis. In this regard, he points to the prevalence of Maqasidi jurisprudence in the Islamic Republic of Iran and believes that Shia jurists taking over the government has been a cause for paying attention to Maqasidi jurisprudence.<ref>Al-Husseini, *Al-Ijtihad wa al-Hayat*, p. 24, as quoted in: Qasemi, *Critique and Review of Maqasidi Fiqh from the Sunni Viewpoint*, p. 128.</ref>

Contrary to Shams al-Din, other Shia scholars believe that the reason for the lack of attention to Maqasidi jurisprudence among Shia jurists stems from reasons such as the belief in the impossibility of attaining the underlying reasons (*malakat*) for rulings and consequently the impossibility of attaining the real causes of rulings, the unsystematic nature of Maqasidi jurisprudence, the narrative richness of the school of Ahl al-Bayt, and the issuance of numerous narrations from the Shia Imams (a) condemning analogical reasoning (*qiyas*).<ref>Al-Husseini, *Al-Ijtihad wa al-Hayat*, p. 24, as quoted in: Qasemi, *Critique and Review of Maqasidi Fiqh from the Sunni Viewpoint*, p. 127.</ref>

===Opposition to the Guardianship of Men over Women===
In Shams al-Din's view, based on Quranic verses such as the [[Quran 4:1|first verse of Surah al-Nisa]] and [[Quran 3:195]], the human identity of men and women in the Holy Quran is the same, and being a man or a woman does not imply superiority or inferiority.<ref>p. 129.</ref>

He also, citing [[Quran 4:34]], believes that the phrase "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women" (*al-rijalu qawwamuna 'ala al-nisa'*) in the said verse must be explained alongside the condition "because of what they spend (to support them) from their means" (*wa-bima anfaqu min amwalihim*). Based on this, he believes that in addition to the man's guardianship over the woman being only in the marital relationship, the spending of wealth, i.e., paying for the woman's living expenses, must also be done by the man; otherwise, the man's guardianship (*qawwamiyyah*) over the woman will not exist.<ref>Vatani, *Rights and Duties of Spouses and...*, 2009, pp. 54-55.</ref>

Like Morteza Motahhari, Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din holds that the narrations prohibiting women's management are related to the context in which they were issued and cannot be generalized to other eras.<ref>Mehrizi, *Hadith-Pazhuhi*, 2011, vol. 1, p. 283.</ref>

==Works==
Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din has written over 30 works on various topics including political jurisprudence and Islamic government, the event of Ashura, Quranic exegesis, women's issues, and Nahj al-Balaghah.<ref>See: [https://wikinoor.ir/شمس‌الدین،_محمدمهدی "Shams al-Din, Mohammad Mahdi"], WikiNoor website.</ref> Some of his jurisprudential works include:
* [[Nizam al-Hukm wa al-Idarah fi al-Islam (Book)|Nizam al-Hukm wa al-Idarah fi al-Islam]] (The System of Governance and Administration in Islam), is Shams al-Din's first work, written in 1954, and was the first political text in Arabic to address the issue of Islamic government in the modern era.<ref>Moradi, "Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, His Life, Times, and Works," p. 131.</ref> The second edition of the book was published with additions about forty years after its first printing.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 15.</ref> He considered the evidence for the guardianship of the jurist inconclusive and believed that in this regard, one must suffice with the certain extent (*qadr al-mutayaqqan*), and there is no proof for the complete political deputyship of the jurist from the Infallible Imam. Consequently, Shams al-Din believes that Islamic government requires the election of the people. He also considers the [[Maqbula of 'Umar ibn Hanzalah]] to be an expression of the role and position of the people in determining the ruler, based on which the legitimacy of the government is indebted to the popular will.<ref>Qasemi, *Political Guardianship of Jurists*, 2013, pp. 139-141.</ref>
* [[Al-Ihtikar fi al-Shari'a al-Islamiyya (Book)]]: A Comparative Jurisprudential Study, is a comparative study of hoarding within the framework of [[comparative jurisprudence]], written in 1410 AH. It includes the rulings on hoarding, compelling the sale of hoarded goods, and hoarding in companies and governments. It was published in Persian in 1999 under the title "Hoarding in Islam: A Comparative Study in Jurisprudence from the Viewpoint of Islamic Schools of Thought."
* A series of books titled [[Masa'il Harija fi Fiqh al-Mar'a]] on four topics: hijab, women's leadership, marital rights, and women's economic and social activities:<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 12.</ref>
:::*Al-Sitr wa al-Nazar*, is about women's hijab.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 12.</ref>
:::*Ahliyyat al-Mar'a li-Tawalli al-Sultah*, about women's leadership, was published in Beirut in 1996.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 10.</ref>
:::*Huquq al-Zawjiyya wa Haqq al-'Amal lil-Mar'a*, which was published in Beirut in 1415 AH.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 12.</ref>
* *Al-Silm wa Qadaya al-Harb 'ind al-Imam 'Ali*: A study of Nahj al-Balaghah, published in Beirut in 1981, contains an examination of Imam Ali's (a) views on war and peace in relations between states and nations, which has also been translated into Persian.<ref>Hosseini, "Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din," p. 13.</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{footnotes}}

==References==
{{References}}
* "Ayatollah Asefi and the Dawa Party," interview with Sayyid Hadi Khosrowshahi, *Be'that Publication*, first half of Tir 1394, no. 1501.
* Eslami, Seyyed Hassan, "Shabih-sazi-ye Insan az Didgah-e Shi'eh; Barrasi-ye Chahar Didgah" [Human Cloning from a Shia Perspective; A Review of Four Viewpoints], *Majalla-ye Fiqh*, no. 44, Summer 2005.
* Ansari Qomi, Naser al-Din, and Seyyed Hassan Amin, [https://jap.isca.ac.ir/article_2529_95ab1360f2ced5f72bd39b9047ae3b5c.pdf "Dargozashtegan: Ayatollah Shams al-Din"] [Obituaries: Ayatollah Shams al-Din], *Majalla-ye Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh*, no. 67, April-May 2001.
* Hubb-Allah, Haydar, [http://hobbollah.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/shamsaldeen.pdf "Mushakhkhasat-e Nazariyeh-ye Faragh va Qavanin-e Baladasti-ye Shari'at: Nazariyeh-ye Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din"] [Characteristics of the Theory of Faragh and the Overarching Laws of Sharia: The Theory of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din], by Sa'id Noura and Mostafa Mahdavi, official website of Haydar Hubb-Allah.
* Hosseini, Mohammad, "Ketabshenasi-ye Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din" [Bibliography of Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din], *Majalla-ye Ketabhay-e Islami*, no. 2, Autumn 2000.
* Haghighat, Seyyed Sadegh, "Fiqh-e Siyasi va Demokrasi" [Political Jurisprudence and Democracy], *Faslnameh-ye Andisheh-ye Siyasi dar Islam*, no. 4, Summer 2015.
* Shaker Salmasi, Majid, "Mo'arrefi-ye Howzeh-ha-ye 'Elmiyyeh-ye Mo'aser-e Shi'eh-ye Lobnan" [Introducing the Contemporary Shia Seminaries of Lebanon], *Majalla-ye Ayeneh-ye Pazhuhesh*, no. 5 & 6, Dec 2013 - Mar 2014.
* "Shams al-Din, Mohammad Mahdi," WikiNoor website: Specialized Encyclopedia of Bibliography and Biography, accessed: July 13, 2021.
* Shams al-Din, Mohammad Mahdi, *Hudud-e Musharakat-e Siyasi-ye Zanan dar Islam* [The Limits of Women's Political Participation in Islam], translated by Mohsen Abedi, Tehran: Be'that Publications, 1997.
* Qasemi, Mohammad-Ali, *Danshnameh-ye Fiqh-e Pezeshki* [Encyclopedia of Medical Jurisprudence], Qom: Markaz-e Fiqhi-ye A'emmeh-ye Athar, 2016.
* Qasemi, Mohammad-Ali, and Ahmad Khansari, *Naqd va Barrasi-ye Fiqh-e Maqasedi az Nazargah-e Ahl-e Sonnat* [Critique and Review of Maqasidi Fiqh from the Sunni Viewpoint], Qom: Markaz-e Fiqhi-ye A'emmeh-ye Athar, 2016.
* Qasemi, Mohammad-Ali, *Velayat-e Siyasi-ye Faqihan* [Political Guardianship of Jurists], Qom: Markaz-e Fiqhi-ye A'emmeh-ye Athar, 2013.
* Kadivar, Mohsen, *Nazariyeh-ha-ye Dowlat dar Fiqh-e Shi'eh* [Theories of Government in Shia Fiqh], Tehran: Nashr-e Ney, 2001.
* Kamali Ardakani, Ali-Akbar, and Mohsen Kadivar, "Mardom-salari dar Ara-ye Shaykh Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din va Doktor Mehdi Haeri Yazdi va Moqayeseh-ye an ba Model-e Demokrasi-ye Takamoli (Ara-ye Rousseau-Mill)" [Democracy in the Views of Sheikh Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din and Dr. Mehdi Haeri Yazdi and Its Comparison with the Model of Evolutionary Democracy (Views of Rousseau-Mill)], *Nameh-ye Mofid*, no. 44, Oct-Nov 2004.
* Moradi, Majid, "Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, Zendegi va Zamaneh va Asar" [Mohammad Mahdi Shams al-Din, His Life, Times, and Works], *Faslnameh-ye Misagh-e Amin*, preliminary issue 1, Winter 2007.
* Mehrizi, Mehdi, *Hadith-Pazhuhi*, Qom: Mu'asseseh-ye 'Elmi Farhangi-ye Dar al-Hadith, 2011.
* Nouri, Davoud, *Shi'iyan-e Lobnan: Vaz'iyat-e Siyasi-Ejtema'i pas az Enqelab-e Islami-ye Iran* [The Shias of Lebanon: Socio-Political Situation after the Islamic Revolution of Iran], supervised by Mahmoud Taqizadeh Davari, Qom: Shi'a-shenasi Publications, 2010.
* Vatani, Mansoureh, *Hoquq va Takalif-e Zowjein va Moqayeseh-ye Tatbiqi ba Motun-e Mazhabi dar Qur'an va Kalam-e Ahl-e Bayt*, Qom: Author and Za'er Publishing, 2009.

[[Category:Articles by Hassan Ejraei]]
[[Category:Biographical Articles]]
[[fa:محمدمهدی شمس‌الدین]]