Al-Ayyashi
Muḥammad ibn Mas'ūd al-ʾAyyāshi al-Samarqandi , known as Ayyashi, was a 10th century Twelver Shia Muslim scholar, jurist and mufassir from Samarkand. He had many known works in the field of exegesis of the Quran, Fiqh, Arabic literature and hadith. His exegesis of the Quran, known as Tafsir Ayyashi, is his most famous book.
Birthplace and lineage
His full name was Mohammad ibn Masoud ibn Mohammad Ayyashi Salami Samarqandi or Mohammad ibn Masoud Ayyashi Iraqi Kufi and his kunya or teknonymy was Abu Nazr. From the date of his birth and the birthplace of him, has not been recorded in history and only he has been mentioned as Samarkandi, Iraqi and Kufi. However, there is a narration which tells he was from Tamimi tribe. The great Shiite and Sunni scholars, such as: Ibn al-Nadim, Shaykh Tusi, Najashi, Ibn Shahr Ashub, Allamah Al-Hilli, Ibn Davoud Hilli, Abdollah Mamaghani, Muhammad Ardabili, Abbas Qomi, Agha Bozorg Tehrani and Seyyed Hassan Sadr consider him from Samarkand in TransoxianaThe father of Mohammad ibn Masoud Ayyashi was from a wealthy and well-known family in Samarkand. All of his fund was three hundred thousand dinars of the common currency of that era. His son, Mohammad ibn Masoud Ayyashi, spent all of the fund in spreading Islam science and literature and promoting the culture of Ahl al-Bayt.
Mohammad ibn Masoud Ayyashi was proficient in fields such as Fiqh, Politeness, Tafsir and Hadith and was considered one of the leading contemporary Shiite scholars with Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni. Mohammad Ali Modarres Tabrizi said that Muhammad ibn Umar al-Kashshi, the author of famous rijali book Rijal al-Kashshi, was one of the Ayyashi 's disciples. Modarres Tabrizi has also said that Ayyashi in sciences such as medicine, astronomy and jurisprudence has more than 200 volumes of books. Tafsir Ayyashi is one of his most important books, which is based on the assertions and hadiths of the Twelve Shiite Imams.
Education and career
Ayashi was originally Sunni due to his birth in a predominantly Sunni area, but after researching Shiite works, he converted to Shiism. He then traveled to Kufa, Baghdad and Qom to study Islamic sciences.After studying in the theological seminary of Kufa, Baghdad and Qom, Ayyashi returned to Samarkand and taught and promoted religious and Shiite teachings at his house. It is said that his house, like a mosque, was full of Quran readers, hadith narrators, scholars, students and commentators. He held two sessions: a scientific meeting for the general public and another assembly for the students.