Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Mahdi

Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Muḥyī al-Dīn Mahdi b. Ḥājj Mullā Abū al-Hasan.Shiite scholar, philosopher, translator of the Quran, and poet, known by the pen name Elāhī (1901–1973/1280–1352).

He was born in 1901/1280 in Qumshe* (present-day Shahreza*), located eighty kilometers south of Isfahan. He descended from a family of Sayyids (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad) who had originally come from Bahrain and who had later migrated to Qumshe during the reign of Nāder Shah. His father was a religious scholar. Mahdi received his elementary education in his hometown, primarily under Ḥakīm Muhammad-Hādī Farzāneh*, and later moved to Isfahan, where he resided in one of the student chamber of the Ṣadr seminary*. He studied jurisprudence, legal theory, logic, and theology in Isfahan for one year before continuing his education in Mashhad. In Mashhad, he attended the classes of Ḥājj Āqā Hussein Ṭabāṭabāʾī Qummī, a leading jurist; Mullā Muhammad-Ali, known as Ḥājjī Fāḍel; Ḥājj Sheikh Hasan Bursī; Asadullāh Yazdī, a teacher of Illumination and Transcendent Philosophy and mystical texts; and most notably, Āqā Buzurg Shahīdī, the pre-eminent teacher of philosophy, with whom he studied for over a decade. Elāhī Qumsheʾī praised his teachers—especially Āqā Buzurg Shahīdī—repeatedly in his poetry. He later moved to Tehran, where he was imprisoned due to his association with Sayyed Ḥasan Mudarres*. After three months, he was released through the intercession of then-Prime Minister Muhammad-Ali Furūghī and resumed his teaching career. For a total of 35 years, he taught Arabic literature, jurisprudence, philosophy, logic, and Quranic exegesis at the Sepahsālār School, and finally at then the Faculty of Theology (ma‛qūl va manqūl), and the Literature Faculty at the University of Tehran. He also taught regularly in his home and during his frequent visits to Mashhad. Among the major works he taught were al-Eshārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt by Avicenna, the commentary on Suhrawardī’s Ḥekmat al-Eshrāq, commentary on the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥekam, al-Asfār, commentary on the Manẓūme, and even Avicenna’s al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭebb (Canon of Medicine).¹

Elāhī Qumsheʾī was highly skilled in nasta‛līq calligraphy and, despite his elevated scholarly and religious standing, he continued to study calligraphy under Sayyed Hussein Mīrkhānī, the leading calligrapher of the time. One of his notable characteristics was that, although he descended from the family of the Prophet, he wore a white turban. He regarded wearing a black turban as a grave responsibility before God, the Prophet, and the people.

Elāhī Qumsheʾī trained many accomplished and learned students. Ghulām-Reza Rashīd Yāsamī, a contemporary poet, translator, and scholar—despite being older in age—studied certain courses of philosophy under his auspicious. Rashīd Yāsamī was the first to publish a biographical sketch and selections of his teacher’s poetry in his book Adabīyāt-e Mu‛āṣer (Contemporary Literature).² Two prominent students of Elāhī Qumsheʾī were Hasan Hasan-zādeh Āmulī and ‛Abdullāh Javādī Āmulī, both renowned teachers of philosophical and mystical texts in the seminary of Qum. They studied textbooks such as Avicenna’s al-Eshārāt, Mullā Ṣadrā’s al-Asfār, and Mullā Hādī Sabzevārī’s Manẓūme with him. Sayyed Raḍī Shīrāzī, a contemporary scholar and teacher of philosophy in Tehran, and Mahdi Muḥaqqeq, a distinguished professor and permanent member of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, were also among his students. Other notable disciples include: Dāryūsh Shāygān, Muhammad-Amīn Rīyāḥī, Muhammad-Javād Mashkūr, Muḥsen Jahāngīrī, ‛Abbās Meṣbāḥ-zāde, ‛Abdul-Hussein Zarrīn-kūb, Muhammad-Reza Rabbānī, Hasan Malekshāhī, Muhammad-Reza Kashfī, Sayyed Muhammad-Hussein Murtaḍavī Langrūdī, Ali-Aṣghar Faqīhī, Kāẓem Mudīr Shānechī, Aḥmad Mahdavī Dāmghānī, and Akbar Thubūt.³

Elāhī Qumsheʾī was especially devoted to the philosophy of Mullā Ṣadrā, placing particular emphasis on the mystical dimension of Ṣadrian philosophy and its connection to the teachings of Ebn ‛Arabī. His appreciation for ancient Iranian wisdom—introduced to him through the works of Suhrewardī and Mullā Ṣadrā—was equally profound. Like Mullā Ṣadrā, Elāhī Qumsheʾī adhered—in his most central philosophical doctrine, the gradation of existence (tashkīk al-wujūd)—to what he considered the same metaphysical worldview held by the sages of ancient Iran. In spite of Murtaḍā Mutahharī’s strong rejection of this view, Elāhī referred to it as the doctrine of the Fahlavīyyūn.⁴ This doctrine, which is based on the belief in a single, unified reality (wujūd wāḥid), posits that existence comprises countless degrees and manifestations, and affirms unity in multiplicity and multiplicity in unity.⁵ This vision is also reflected in his philosophical poetry.⁶

Elāhī Qumsheʾī studied Masnavī-ye Ma‛navī by Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī under Sheikh Muhammad Khurāsānī in Isfahan. He held deep affection for this work and, following his teacher’s example, referred to it as the “polisher of souls,” the “call of tawḥīd,” and the “store of spiritual poverty”. While teaching philosophical texts or interpreting religious and metaphysical topics, he frequently adorned his lectures with verses from the Masnavī.⁷

His devotion to Rūmī’s masterpiece stemmed from his deep attachment to Islamic mysticism, which infused his classes and lectures with a vibrant spiritual presence. This spiritual ecstasy was also evident in his acts of worship. Dāryūsh Shāygān described him as “a wayfarer on the path of loving servitude,” and likened his prayer to a spring that “rises and trembles within itself before it overflows and weeps along the shores of proximity to God.”⁸ Elāhī Qumsheʾī passed away on May 14, 1973/24 Urdībehesht 1352, in Tehran and was buried in Wādī al-Salām cemetery in Qum. He had eight children—sons and daughters—two of whom passed away during his lifetime, while the others went on to become distinguished figures in Iranian intellectual and cultural life.

Works

Alongside his teaching, Elāhī Qumsheʾī engaged in the editing, commentary, and translation of classical texts, as well as composing original works in both prose and poetry. His most significant contributions include:

1. Taṣḥīḥ-e du-beytī-hā-ye Bābā Ṭāher (Critical edition of the quatrains of Bābā Ṭāher), Tehran, 1984/1363.

2. Critical edition of Rawḍ al-jenān wa rawḥ al-janān, a ten-volume Quranic commentary by Abū al-Futūḥ Rāzī (d. 1159/554), accompanied by an introduction and annotations explaining obscure passages and occasionally offering critical remarks on the author. Commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, this edition was published in 1941/1320.

3. Persian translation of the Quran, widely recognized as the first of its kind in recent centuries to be undertaken by a literary scholar highly proficient in Persian prose and poetry. Unlike many earlier translations, his rendering is fluid and eloquent, incorporating a modest degree of interpretation while avoiding literalist translation. These features—combined with the translator’s spiritual disposition—led to its widespread acceptance. The translation was praised by Sayyed Hussein Burujerdī, then the leading Shiʽa jurist, and by Muhammad-Hussein Ṭabāṭabāʾī (known as ʿAllāmeh). Although several scholars, including Abulghāsem Pāyande in the introduction to his own translation⁹ and Bahāʾ al-Dīn Khūrramshāhī in his Quran Pajhūhī,¹⁰ criticized various aspects of Qumsheʾī’s translation, it has remained popular and well-received more than sixty years after its first publication. One of the early distinguishing features of the work was its elegant design: both the Arabic text and Persian translation were printed in fine nasta‛līq script by Sayyed Hussein Mīrkhānī.

4. Translation of Mafātīḥ al-Jenān, this is a Twelver Shīʽa compilation by Sheikh ʽAbbās Qumi (d.1941), of Quranic chapters, prayers, ordered acts during Islamic months and days, supplications narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt, and the text of Zīyārat.

5. Translation of Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādīyya, a complex prayers attributed to Imam Sajjād (d. 715).

6. Ḥekmat-e Elāhī-ye ‛Āmm va Khāṣṣ (General and Particular Divine Wisdom), in two volumes:

The first volume covers general theology (elāhīyāt be-ma‛nā-ye a‛amm), substances and accidents, cosmology and eschatology in the Islamic sense (al-mabdaʾ wa al-ma‛ād). The second volume includes: a. A refined Persian translation and commentary on the Fuṣūṣ attributed to Fārābī, b. A commentary on the first sermon of Nahj al-Balāgha, c. Akhlāq-e Murtaḍavī.

7. Tawḥīd-e Hūshmandān (The Monotheism of the Intelligentsia), his doctoral dissertation at the University of Tehran.

8. Annotations on the Qaṣīdat al-Enṣāfiyya by Luṭf-Ali Dānesh.

9. Resāle dar Marāteb-e ‛Eshq (Treatise on the Degrees of Love),

10. Mushāhedāt al-‛Ārefīn fī Aḥwāl al-Sālekīn elā Allāh (The Contemplations of the Gnostics on the States of the Wayfarers toward God).¹¹

11. Kullīyāt Ash‛ār, Collected poems, composed in various forms including qaṣīda, ghazal, robā‛ī, qeṭ‛a, mustazād, and musammaṭ, under the pen name Elāhī.¹²

From a young age, Elāhī Qumsheʾī actively participated in literary circles and poetry contests. For example, in a competition for composing mustazād poetry, he competed alongside figures such as Vusūq al-Dawla and others. His verses are infused with passion, spiritual longing, and mystical depth, while also reflecting sharp awareness of bitter social realities. His poetry often voices criticism of injustice, cruelty, and societal disorder.¹³

/Akbar Thubūt/

Bibliography

Amānī, Reza, “Naqd-e Tarjume-hā-ye Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Fūlādvand va Khurramshāhī az Qurān bar asās-e Tajzīye bar Āḥād-e Vājhegān (Barresī-ye Muredī-ye Vājhegān-e Rayb, Dhebḥ, va Khashya dar Sūre-ye Baqara),” Pajhūhesh-hā-ye Tarjume dar Zabān va Adab-e ‛Arabī, Vol. 4, No. 10, Spring–Summer 2014/1393.

Bayāt Mukhtārī, Māshāʾallāh, “Barresī-ye Kefāyat-hā va Kāstī-hā-ye Tarjume-ye Qurān-e Elāhī Qumsheʾī,” Pazhūhesh-hā-ye Qurānī, vol. 11, no. 44, Winter 2005/1384.

Beheshtī, Aḥmad, “Dar Bāre-ye Naqd-e Tarjume-ye Shādravān Elāhī Qumsheʾī az Qurān-e Karīm,” Waqf: Mīrāth-e Jāvīdān, vol. 2, no. 5, Spring 1994/1373.

Burqa‛ī, Muhammad-Bāqer, Sukhanvarān-e Nāmī-ye Mu‛āṣer-e Iran, Qum: Khurram, 1994/1373.

Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Mahdi, Ḥekmat-e Elāhī-ye ‛Āmm va Khāṣṣ, Tehran: University of Tehran, 1956–1957/1335–1336.

Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Mahdi, Kullīyāt-e Dīvān-e Ḥakīm Elāhī Qumsheʾī, Tehran: ‛Elmīyye-ye Eslāmīyye, 1988/1408.

Ḥusaynī, Mālek, “Pāyande, Abūul-Qāsem,” in Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam, vol. 5, Tehran: Encyclopaedia Islamica Foundation, 2000/1379.

Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn, Qurān-Pazhūhī: Haftād Baḥs va Taḥqīq-e Qurānī, Tehran: Markaz-e Nashr-e Farhangī-ye Mashreq, 1993/1372.

Rashīd Yāsamī, Ghulām-Reza, Adabīyāt-e Mū‛āṣer, Tehran: Ebn-e Sīnā, 1973/1352.

Shāygān, Dāryūsh, “Dar Maḥḍar-e Se Ḥakīm,” Tehran: The Centre for the Great Islamic Encyclopaedia, 2020/1399, retrieved May 6, 2025, from: www.cgie.org.ir/fa/news/262522

Thubūt, Akbar, “Ḥakīm-e ‛Āref,” in Zendegīnāme, Khāṭerāt va Khulāṣe-ye Dīvān-e Ḥakīm Mahdi Elāhī Qumsheʾī, ed. Mahdīyye Elāhī Qumsheʾī and Farībā Malekīān, Tehran: Ettelā‛āt, 2017/1396.

Thubūt, Akbar, “Naẓarīye-ye Tashkīk dar Wujūd dar Ḥekmat-e Iran-e Bāstān va Falsafe-ye Eslāmī (1),” Faslnāme-ye ‛Erfān-e Iran, no. 4, Winter 2000/1378.

Thubūt, Akbar, “Naẓarīye-ye Tashkīk dar Wujūd dar Ḥekmat-e Iran-e Bāstān va Falsafe-ye Eslāmī (2),” Faslnāme-ye ‛Erfān-e Iran, nos. 5–6, Spring–Summer 2001/1379.

1. Rashīd Yāsamī, p. 18; Burqaʿī, vol. 1, p. 334.  [↩]
2. Rashīd Yāsamī, pp. 18–19.[↩]
3. Thubūt, 2017/1396, pp. 133–134.[↩]
4. Elāhī Qumsheʾī, 1956–1957/1335–1336, vol. 1, pp. 10–11, 242; vol. 2, pp. 284–285.[↩]
5. See: Thubūt, 2000/1378, pp. 14–41; id., 2001/1379, pp. 69–94.  [↩]
6. See: Elāhī Qumsheʾī, 1988/1408, pp. 299, 443, 745.[↩]
7. See: Elāhī Qumsheʾī, 1956–1957/1335–1336, vol. 1, pp. 148, 273, 277, 282.[↩]
8. Shāyegān, 2020/1399.[↩]
9. Ḥusaynī, p. 502.  [↩]
10. Khurramshāhī, pp. 460–529, raised over a hundred criticisms against his Quran translation; Beheshtī, pp. 31–38, while rejecting some of Khurramshāhī’s objections, accepted others. For further critiques, see: Bayāt Mukhtārī, pp. 98–104; Amānī, pp. 5–21.  [↩]
11. Apparently unpublished.[↩]
12. Its fourth edition was published in 1988/1408 in 1026 pages in Tehran, and a selection of it appeared in 1990/1369 in nasta‛līq script by contemporary calligrapher Hasab Sekhāvat. For a partial list of his works, see: Rashīd Yāsamī, p. 18; Burqaʿī, vol. 1, p. 334; Thubūt, 2017/1396, pp. 123–124.[↩]
13. See: Elāhī Qumsheʾī, 1988/1408, pp. 444, 704.[↩]