Ayatollah Sheikh Mahdi Ash’ari Astani: Biography and Works

This article presents the biography of Sheikh Mahdi Ash’ari Astani (1257-1339), a renowned 14th-century scientist from Qom whose lineage can be traced back to Musa al-Mubarqa’. The author explores his unpublished works, which are available as manuscripts in the library of Sayyida Masoumeh Holy Shrine. Specifically, the detailed book of Burhan al-Ahkam on argumentative jurisprudence and other cloned books are introduced. Sheikh Mahdi Ash’ari Astani’s writings primarily cover Persian literature, jurisprudence, genealogy, and medicine. The author references a passage from his book Khazinat al-Funun, which provides a glimpse into the history of Qom in 1310 AH. Additionally, the article includes the text of his critical Persian poem “Mouse and Cat,” which follows the poems of the same name from 1319 AH, sourced from two manuscripts.