The Islamic scholar, Shaikh Jamal od-Din Meqdad Hilli al-Asadi

Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 26th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani in 826 AH, the Islamic scholar, Shaikh Jamal od-Din Meqdad Hilli al-Asadi, passed away in holy Najaf. He was a prominent student of the First Martyr, Mohammad ibn Makki, and was an outstanding jurisprudent himself. Known popularly as Fadhel Meqdad, he groomed many scholars and wrote several books, including “Ayaat al-Ahkam”.
The most important book written by him is “Kanz al-Irfan”, in which he has listed all those ayahs of the Holy Qur’an which form the basis of Fiqh, and had deduced from them several rules of Islamic jurisprudence. There are several books written in the same vein by both Shi’ite and Sunni scholars, but “Kanz al-Irfan” stands out prominently as one of the best, if not the best.