New Discoveries from Najm Razi’s Life and Works

The main aim of this study was to present valuable information about Najmuddin Razi’s life and works, which could be found in a newly found version of Bahr al-Haqiq's commentary (Version 37 found in Hassan Hassani Pasha Library). In this detailed report, Najm Razi’s first introduction of the masters following his way was presented in the following order: 1) Sheikh Majdaldin Baghdadi; 2) Najmuddin Kobra; 3) Tajuddin Ashnahi; and 4) Shahabuddin Suhrawardi. In the style of the scholars of rijal and hadith, he wrote the types and durations of their companionships, types of permission they received from the mentioned sheikh, their dates of study, and even the reason for their precedence and delay in dhikr, which contained new information about them. He then reported on his long journeys before and after the Mongol invasion. Based on this biography, it turned out that Najm Razi served Suhrawardi from the very first years of Afaqi’s career in 601, used his services several times in different cities, and received several licenses from him. The companionship of the midwife with Tajuddin Oshni in Hamedan, rejection of the idea that he escaped from Rey during the Mongol invasion, etc. were some other aspects addressed in this article. Another finding in this study was the possibility of Najmuddin returning to Iran from Anatolia (after the Mongol settlement) and settling in Khuzestan. It seemed that this version of the commentary, considering the date of its writing, must be a transcript of Najm Dayeh’s first writings. At this stage of writing this commentary, Najmuddin was strongly dependent on al-Kashf and al-Bayan al-Thalabi and quoted many cases by citing their sources from the very beginning of the introduction. The information extracted from this version was analytically compared with other findings obtained from his contemporaries in this regard.