Sheikh Baha’i

Today as every year is commemorated in the Islamic Republic of Iran as National Day for the celebrated Islamic scholar and scientist of the Safavid era, Baha od-Din Mohammad al-Ameli, popularly known as Sheikh Baha’i.

Born in Ba’lbak in the Jabal Amel region of what is now Lebanon, he came to Iran while still a child with his father and developed into not just an expert in jurisprudence, theology, hadith, and Arabic and Persian literature, but also in astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and architecture. He was appointed Sheikh ol-Islam by Shah Abbas the Great and besides writing over a hundred valuable books and treatises on religion, astronomy, literature, and various other topics, he designed the famous Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the Grand Shah Abbas Mosque of Isfahan (Imam Mosque). His treatise on mathematics was in use as a textbook until the end of the 19th century. He was among the teachers of the famous philosopher, Mullah Sadra. Sheikh Baha’i passed away at the age of 77 in Isfahan, and according to his will, his body was taken to Mashhad and buried in the premises of the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the 8th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).