Saheb ibn Abbad, the famous Iranian statesman and man of letters

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 24th of the Islamic month of Safar in 385 AH, the famous Iranian statesman and man of letters, Abu’l-Qasem Ismail Ibn Hasan Taleqani, known as Saheb Ibn Abbad, passed away at the age of 58. He was a staunch follower of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and served as the Grand Vizier to the Buwaiyhid Dynasty of Iran-Iraq-Oman for 18 years.
He wrote mostly in Arabic on theology, history, grammar, and lexicography, in addition to literary criticism and composing of excellent Arabic poetry. He learnt Hadith from his father and the holy Qur’an from his mother. He then went to Isfahan and studied under such great masters as Ahmad Ibn Fars Razi and Abdullah Ibn Fars. Saheb Ibn Abbad was a patron of scholars and poets, and respected jurists and theologians. He had a great library in the city of Rayy – a suburb of modern Tehran today – in which there were over 100,000 books.
He authored over 30 books including one on the Imamate, or divinely-decreed leadership, which proves the superiority of Imam Ali (AS) over others. His other books include a Diwan of poetry, a book on medicine, the 7-volume work on lexicography titled \"al-Moheet\", and a treatise on the biography on Seyyed Abdul Azim al-Hasani, the great-great-grandson of Imam Hasan Mojtaba (AS), whose shrine is the main centre of pilgrimage till this in Tehran.