Sheikh Ahmed bin Saleh bin Taan bin Nasser bin Ali al-Sattari al-Bahrani al-Qatifi (, born in 1835 in Markouban, Sitra, Bahrain, died in 1898 in Al-Qudaih, Qatif, Saudi Arabia) was a Bahraini cleric, jurist, and Shia Muslim authority, who was among the most influential Twelver Shiites of the early modern Gulf. Many Shiites in Bahrain and Qatif followed his fatwas, but he is also known for his compilations on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), hadith, history, and poetry.
Early life and education
Born in the village of Markouban on the island of Sitra in 1835, Al-Taan moved with his father to Manama, where he studied grammar, morphology, logic, etc. at a Shia hawza (madrasa) with Ibn Ishaq Al-Baladi for nearly two years.
Migration to Najaf
Al-Taan immigrated to Najaf to complete his religious studies in the late 1860s or early 1870s due to his father's poor financial condition. His first father-in-law funded his travels, so he moved to Najaf where he worked for a time with a group of ulema (clerics).
Migration to Qatif
After a while, he returned to Bahrain and stayed there another two years, until he traveled to Iraq once again to visit Shiite holy sites with his family. Hearing an appeal by Mohammed bin Khalifa, the then-ruler, to capture the island from Mohammed's brother Ali, Al-Taan considered the idea of joining a few Bedouins there to form a raiding party. He ultimately decided not to go and settled near Qatif, specifically in the town of Saihat. The mayor there summoned someone who was beaten to death, in protest of which Al-Taan's family moved to al-Dababiyya, where he was visited by a delegation from Al-Qudaih, including Mayor Ibrahim ibn Ali Abu Al-Raha, inviting him to settle there.
He settled for the remainder of his life in Qatif. However, he left for a trip to Mashhad (a key Twelver pilgrimage site where Ali al-Ridha was buried) and several visits to Bahrain.
Mentors
Ali bin Muhammad bin Ishaq Al-Baladi Al-Bahrani, his first hawza teacher in Bahrain Abdullah bin Abbas Al-Sitri Al-Bahrani Murtadha al-Ansari (“The Great Sheikh”) Muhammad Hussain Al-Kazemi Radhi bin Muhammad bin Muhsin al-Najafi
Work
In praise of Caliph Ali:
قالوا إمدحن أمير النحل قلت لهم... مدحي له موجب نقصاً لمعناه
لأن مدحي له فرع بمعرفتي... بذاته وهي سر صانه الله
فإن أصفه بأوصاف الأناس أكن... مقصرا إذ جميع الخلق أشباه
وإن أزد فوق هذا الوصف خفت بأن... أتيه مثل غلاة فيه قد تاهوا
فدع مديحي ومدح الناس كلهم... والزم مديحا له الرحمن أولاه
فكل من رام مدحا فيه منحصر... لسانه عن يسير من مزاياه
They said to praise the Amir al Nahl [“Prince of Bees”, a metaphor for believers], but I said to them...that praising him loses all meaning Because my praise is from my wisdom...and thus the secret of Allah's keeping If I describe him in human terms, I would be...negligent, since all creation is akin And if I go beyond such concepts, I fear that...I have exaggerated and strayed from him So let my praise and that of all people...serve to praise him, the Most Merciful Since whoever speaks in His praise...holds a tongue unworthy of his due.
His compilation of lyric poetry by Abu Firas al-Hamdani includes the following original:
الحق نور عليه للهدى علم... من أمه مستنيرا قاده العلم
يا حبذا عترة بدئ الوجود بهم... وهكذا بهم ينهى ويختتم
من مثلهم ورسول الله فاتحهم... وسيطة العقد والمهدي ختمهم
وهل أمية لا أمت بمغفرة... ولا نحت سوحها من رحمة ديم
تنوش هدب ذيول للهدى سدلت... من الالاه لها الأملاك تحترم
ولا كمثل بني العباس لأرقبوا... الا ولا ذمة بل رحمهم جذموا
جنوا بمثل الذي تجني أمية بل... على طنابيرهم زادت لهم نغم
Truth is the light that guides knowledge...for those who follow the mother of wisdom Oh it is good from the beginning of one's existence...and through its end To be like them who Muhammad...and the Mahdi has reached in word And the unreached dies neither forgiven...nor saved by the mercy of sihr Sealed with tantosh, the hem of the gift...to God, such talismans are neither respected Nor, like the Abbasids watched over...with an oath but mercy is denounced And they reap the same as the illiterate [of God's word], but...their drums beat louder.
His lament for Al-Ansari is another example: