Noureddin Esheni Qudejani or Noureddin Qudejani Esheni (1903 – October 14, 1978) was an
IranianShia cleric, famous preacher and orator of
Isfahan,
Faqih, lawyer and professor of
Isfahan Seminary. He was the famous
Salah al jama'ahimam of the
Seyyed Mosque of Isfahan. He was one of the modernist clerics and the first cleric to study law and become a lawyer.
Birth
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani was born in 1903 (1321
AH) in the village of
Eshen in
Najafabad County,
Isfahan Province,
Iran. His father was
Mohammad Hossein Esheni Qudejani.[1] He was born in the family of science,
ijtihad, and the house of virtue and morality, so he was educated and guided by his parents, and the ground was laid for his progress in the later stages.[2]Seyyed Mosleh al-Din Mahdavi[3] (famous Iranian researcher and historian) mentions Noureddin Esheni Qudejani 's birthplace in
Najaf.[4]
Educations
He began his education with his scientist father Mohammad Hossein Esheni Qudejani[1] and at the same time, used the presence of great Islamic scholars of
Isfahan. Among his teachers in Isfahan are the great Islamic scholars: Seyyed Mohammad Bagher Dorchehie,[5]Sheikh Mohammad Reza Najafi,[6]Sheikh Mohammad Hakim Khorasani.[7][8][9][10][11] His other teacher, especially in the Islamic seminary levels and in the literature, was Jalaluddin Homaei.[12][13]
Considering the years that Noureddin Esheni Qudejani was studying in Isfahan, it can be guessed that he studied under the great figures such as Mir Seyyed Ali Najafabadi[14] and Mir Seyyed Mohammad Najafabadi and great masters such as:
Rahim Arbab, Abu l-Huda Kalbasi,[15]Seyyed Abu l-Qasim Dihkurdi Isfahani[16] and Mir Mohammad Sadegh Khatunabadi.[17]Noureddin Esheni Qudejani, after using the presence of Isfahan scholars, went to the
seminary of Qom and studied under its famous founder,
Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi and also studied under the great
muhaddithjuristSeyyed Mohammad Hojjat Kooh Kamari. Then he went to
Tehran and benefited a lot from the mystic
juristMohammad Ali Shahabadi.[18][19][20]
While studying in
Qom, Noureddin Esheni Qudejani succeeded in obtaining permission for
ijtihad from
Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi, the document of which is available to his family.[21]
His contemporaries
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani has been both a period and a debate with many of the great contemporary scholars and jurists of recent times. In the lecture hall of Jalaluddin Homaei,[12] in courses which was held in
Jarchi Mosque and 70 to 80 participant from people of Isfahan regularly attended it, Noureddin Esheni Qudejani participated in it and there he discussed and exchanged ideas with scholars like Seyyed Hassan Modarres Bidabadi (a Shiite scholar),[22]Morteza Ardakani Yazdi[23] (a Shiite scholar) and Abbas Ali Adib Habibabadi[24] (a Shiite jurist and belletrist).[25]
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani was also a classmate of Mir Seyyed Hassan Modarres Hashemi Esfahani[26] (Isfahani scholar and sage) during studying Islamic courses of
Qom Seminary. Noureddin Esheni Qudejani was a classmate of
Ruhollah Khomeini (the founder of the
Islamic Republic of Iran) in the lessons of Mohammad Ali Shahabadi[18] (famous mystic and
jurist)[19] and in the
Qom Seminary, Noureddin Esheni Qudejani has been a roommate of him for five years.[27][4]
Social careers
Although Noureddin Esheni Qudejani had a high scientific status, he was never unaware of his social duties and his relationship with the people. He did not limit himself to teaching, but also preached Islam and lectured in public and private assemblies, and even practiced law. In general, his social activities and occupations can be divided as follows:[27][28]
Establishing
Salah al jama'ah (prayer in congregation) in some mosques of
Isfahan and answering people's religious questions and resolving their problems.
Establishing pulpit and sermons and speeches in various assemblies in Isfahan and some other cities and villages of Iran. His speeches were also broadcast on the
National Iranian Radio.[8]
Managing some weekly meetings and answering students' scientific questions.
Due to his mastery of
Islamic jurisprudence, wisdom,
hadith, theology,
tafsir, and poetic and mystical taste, he had attractive pulpits and lectures, and he was a glorious orator and an eloquent preacher. He studied and researched a lot before each of his lectures and presented the scientific and jurisprudential documents. Another feature of his speeches was his outspoken opposition to the tyranny and corruption of the imperial regime of
Pahlavi dynasty (the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979). In his speeches, he publicly fought against the lack of
hijab and the moral corruption and the oppression and injustice of that time, for this reason, he was summoned several times by the
IsfahanPolice Department.[29][4]
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani 's
Rawda Khwani rituals and sermons were very popular in Isfahan and people showed great interest in his speeches, so that he, at the invitation of the people and various assemblies, in the last thirty years of his life, regularly gave pulpits and speeches. At that time, several meetings were held in Isfahan on social and religious issues. In the meantime, the sermon assemblies of scholars such as Seyyed Abdul Hussein Tayyeb,[30]Sheikh Mohammad Baqir Zand Kermani,[31]Noureddin Esheni Qudejani and Agha Seyyed Hassan Modarres were of special importance and were more famous than the other assemblies. Noureddin Esheni Qudejani, who was a figure with extensive knowledge, held his weekly meetings mostly in the field of philosophy of
Ahkam.[32]
Islamic Youth Organization
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani, who was known among the clergy and scholars for his enlightenment and who also studied and researched modern Western philosophy and thought, was for some time the head of the Islamic Youth Organization of
Isfahan and spoke to intellectuals and modernists. A series of his articles in this regard also published in the Toofan newspaper (an analytical and critical newspaper of the
Qajar period).[33][34]
Teaching and students
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani taught in various schools of
Isfahan Seminary such as:
Sadr Madrasa,
Chaharbagh, Masjed Nov Bazaar,[35] and in his law office and even in his personal home. He taught books such as Faraed ol-Usul (a very important book on the principles of
Shiite jurisprudence),[36]Makasib (one of the important books of the highest levels of Shiite seminaries), Kefayah al-osul (important book of
Principles of Islamic jurisprudence), Manzoomeh (a philosophical book considered by Shiite scholars),[37]Four Journeys (an extended compendium of
Islamic philosophy) and some other theological and mystical texts to students and scholars. For a long time he was one of the leading teachers of
Sadr school and taught books such as Manzoomeh, Qawanin al-Usul (a complete course in the science of the principles of Shiite jurisprudence)[38] and Faraed ol-Usul there. He also had a course on
interpreting the Quran for the students of
Sadr school, in which a group of scholars participated.[39] It is narrated that about three hundred of students and scholars attended Noureddin Esheni Qudejani 's classes at the Masjed Nov Bazaar.[35] In addition, he had private students who taught at home or at work. His students were both men and women, and at the request of some religious women in Isfahan, he went to their homes and taught them. Among his prominent students, can be mentioned: Seyyed Ahmad Faqih Emami,[40]Hossein Mazaheri, Ahmad Qominejad, Sheikh Parsa and women such as: Zīnah al-Sādāt Humāyūnī and Effat al-Zaman Amin.[41][42][43][44]
Writings
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani did not give up writing, despite his social work and the abundance of lectures and advocacy. The largest volume of his writings is about the
interpretation of the Quran because he considered the knowledge of the
Quran as the highest sciences and devoted his great effort, both in expression and speech and in his teaching or writings, to the interpretation of the Quran. In general, his remaining works can be divided into five general topics: 1-
Interpretation, 2- Theology and ethics, 3- Wisdom and mysticism, 4-
Hadith, 5- Miscellaneous topics.[44][4]
All his books are in
Persian. Titles translated for ease of understanding.
Interpretations of Quran
Interpretation of the
Al ImranSurah,
verse of 190: «اِنَّ فی خَلْقِ السَّمواتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ وَاخْتِلافِ اللَّیْلِ وَالنَّهارِ لَایاتٍ لاِوُلِی الْاَلْبابِ»
Interpretation of the
IbrahimSurah,
verse of 24: «اَلَمْ تَرَکَیْفَ ضَرَبَ اللّهُ مَثَلاً کَلِمَهً طَیِّبَهً کَشَجَرَهٍ طَیِّبَهٍ اَصْلُها ثابِثٌ وَ فَرْعُها فِی السَّمآءِ»
Interpretation of the
Al-QasasSurah,
verse of 5: «وَ نُریدُ اَنْ نَمُنَّ عَلَی الَّذینَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِی الْاَرْضِ وَ نَجْعَلَهُمْ اَئِمَّهً وَ نَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوارِثینَ»
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani from his wife Khanum Agha Kathiri had two sons named Asif and As'ad and four daughters.[53]
Death
Noureddin Esheni Qudejani finally died of a heart attack on October 14, 1978 (
Dhu al-Qadah 12, 1398
AH), and was buried in "Kalbasi
Tekyeh" (Tomb of Mirza Abolma'ali Kalbasi) in
Takht-e Foulad cemetery of
Isfahan next to the grave of his father.[54][4]