Name Muhammad al-Makki | Died 1385, Damascus, Syria | |
Muhammad Jamaluddin al-Makki al-Amili al-Jizzini, (1334–1385) also known as Shahid Awwal (Arabic: الشهيد الأولash-Shahid al-Awwal "The First Martyr"), is the author of Al-Lum'ah ad-Dimashqiya (Arabic: اللّمعة الدّمشقية, The Damascene Glitter") and was a Shi'a scholar. Although he is neither the first Muslim, nor the first Shi'te to die for his religion, he became known as "Shahid Awwal" because he was probably the first Shia scholar of such stature to have been killed in a brutal manner.
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Life
He was born in 734 A.H (ca. 1334 ) in Jabal 'Amel. When Mohammad bin Makki was 16 years old he went to study at al-Hilla in Iraq. He returned home when he was 21. He used taqiyya to establish himself as one of the religious scholars of Damascus, using Sunni law to judge Sunnis, while covertly judging the Shia using Shia law.
Death
He was killed on Thursday the ninth of Jumada al-awwal, 786 A.H. (ca. 1385) during the reign of Sultan Barquq. His death was in accordance with the fatwa of a jurist from the Maliki sect, which was endorsed by a jurisprudent of the Shaf'i sect. Accusations against him included rafd, opposition with Aisha, Abu Bakr and Umar, These accusations were first brought against him by two of his former students from Jabal Amil.One of them, Yusuf ibn Yahya, submitted a report (which included the signatures of 70 former Shiites from Jabal Amil) to the authorities detailing al-Amili's "vile doctrines and abominable beliefs." However, according to Shia biographer al-Khwansari, al-Amili denied these charges in a letter to the governor of Damascus, protesting his love for "the Prophet and all who loved him, all the Companions without exception." He was imprisoned for one year, then beheaded by sword. His body was then brutally crucified and stoned in Damascus.then burned and the ashes were thrown out to the air.