Al-Bahrani
Kamal al-Dīn Maytham ibn Alī, commonly known by the al-Bahrani, was a leading thirteenth-century Bahraini Twelver Shia theologian, author and philosopher. Al Bahrani wrote on Twelver doctrine, affirmed free will, the infallibility of prophets and imams, the appointed imamate of `Ali, and the occultation of the Twelfth Imam. Along with Kamal al-Din Ibn Sa’adah al Bahrani and Jamal al-Din ‘Ali ibn Sulayman al-Bahrani, Maytham Al Bahrani was part of a thirteenth-century Bahrain school of theology that emphasised rationalism.
At the same time, Maytham Al Bahrani was profoundly influenced by the disciplines of philosophy and mysticism. He wrote widely on theology related philosophical issues such as epistemology and ontology.
According to University of Bahrain academic Ali Al Oraibi, Al Bahrani's scholarship was influenced by both Imami and Sunni sources:
In the thirteenth century, Twelvers – particularly mystics – were a growing influence in Bahrain, which had previously been dominated by the Ismaili Qarmatian sect.
The Bahrain school of thought's integration of philosophy and mysticism into Imami Shi'ism had an enduring legacy, influencing fourteenth-century theologians such as Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsai'i. Politically, the intellectual vitality of al-Bahrani and his contemporaries is credited with converting the Ilkhanid monarch, Mohammed Khudabandeh, to convert to Shi'ism and announce a Shia state.
He is buried in Mahooz, Bahrain, where a shrine and mosque have been constructed.