Husayn Kashifi
Kamāl al-Dīn Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī Kashifi, best simply known as Husayn Kashifi, was a prolific Persian prose-stylist, a poet, a Quran exegete, a Sufi scholar, and an astronomer of the Timurid era. Kashifi was his pen name, whereas his surname al-Wāʿiẓ ("the preacher") denoted his professional occupation.
Mawlana Husayn Wa'ez Kashifi مولانا حسین واعظ کاشفی | |
|---|---|
A memorial in his birthtown, Sabzevar. | |
| Title | Kamal al-Din |
| Personal | |
| Born | 840 AH = 1436 CE Bayhaq (modern-day Sabzevar, Iran) |
| Died | 910 AH = 1504 CE Herat (modern-day Afghanistan) |
| Religion | Islam |
| Era | Timurid Empire |
| Region | Greater Khorasan |
| Denomination | Sunni Islam |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Creed | Maturidi |
| Main interest(s) | Tafsir, Persian literature, Sufism, Astronomy |
| Notable work(s) | Akhlaq-e Mohseni, Anwar-e Sohaili, Jawaher al-Tafsir, Mawaheb-e 'Aliyya |
| Occupation | scholar, poet and astronomer |
| Muslim leader | |
He spent most of his career in Herat, where his academic activities were supported by Ali-Shir Nava'i, a senior vizier in the Timurid court during Sultan Husayn Bayqara's rule, hence the reason for Kashifi to dedicate most of his works to Nava'i. He was also very close to the famous Persian poet and Sufi, Nur al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman Jami.
His famous works include Akhlaq-e Mohseni and Anwar-e Sohaili in Persian prose, and Jawaher al-Tafsir and Mawaheb-e 'Aliyya which are Persian tafsirs of the Quran.