Ali Al-Biladi
Sheikh Ali bin Hassan bin Ali bin Sulayman Al-Biladi was a Bahraini Shia cleric, historian, writer and poet. He is very well known for his book Anwarul Badrayn which it contains biographies of many Shia clerics who were in Qatif, al-Ahsa and Bahrain.
Early life and education
Al-Biladi was born around 1857 CE in the old village of Al-Bilad on Hajj to Medina. Around ca. 1867, the time of the move, many Bahraini dignitaries moved or were relocated there, including Hakim Ali ibn Khalifah Al Khalifa. Qatif’s large Shia population made it a common destination for those on the island of that faith.Ahmed Al-Taan had previously come from Bahrain to Qatif with his family and hosted Al-Biladi and his mother, who died two years later, becoming Al-Biladi’s tutor and godfather in Islamic studies. Al-Biladi trained thus in Arabic grammar, rhetoric, and fiqh.
Afterwards, he went to Najaf to complete his madrasa study with such illustrious colleagues as Muhammad Husayn Kazimi, Muhammad Taha Najaf, Murtaza Mahdi al-Kashmiri al-Najafi, Mahmoud Dhahab al-Najafi, and Hassan bin Matar al-Jazaery.