TEHRAN, Jan. 14 (Mehr News Agency) -- Prominent Islamic historian and Persian language and literature expert Jafar Shahidi died on Sunday in Tehran. He was 89 and had been suffering from pneumonia.

Jafar Shahidi was born in 1918 in Borujerd, Lorestan Province. He was first schooled in his hometown and then continued his studies at Qom Seminary. He also gained a PhD from Tehran University.

Shahidi was a renowned historian and penned many books on the history of Islam including "The Life of Imam Sajjad (AS), the fourth Imam", "The Bounds of Islam", "The Life of Hazrat Zahra (SA)" and "The Great Revolution".

His most notable work is the fluent and eloquent translation of Imam Ali's Nahj-ul-Balagha which won Iran's best book of the year award in 1990.

Shahidi was also president of the International Center for the Teaching of the Persian Language.

He was a colleague of Mohammad Moin, with whom he worked on the Persian language Moin dictionary.

He also worked on the Dehkhoda encyclopedia, and he took over the management of the Dehkhoda Institute after Moin's death.

A few months ago Shahidi donated all his books to the Dehkhoda Institute where a library in his name was also opened. The books had been collected by him over the past fifty years and some of them are invaluable for academic study.

Shahidi set up a literary prize to be given annually to the best academic research work carried out at the University of Tehran.

His funeral procession will set off from the Dehkhoda Institute on Vali-e Asr Ave. (on Wednesday morning at 10 AM) and will progress towards the University of Tehran.

... Payvand News - 01/14/08 ... --