Portal:Shia Islam/Selected biography/6

Al-Shaykh al-Mufid (c. 948–1022 CE) was a prominent Twelver Shia theologian. He was the son of Muallim, hence the name Ibn Muallim. The title "al-Mufid" was given to him either by Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Shia Imam, or by al-Rummani, a Sunni scholar, after a conversation with him. The leader of the Shia community, he was a Mutikallim, theologian, and Shia jurist. His skill in polemical debate was such that he was said to be capable of convincing his opponents "that a wooden column was actually gold". He was taught by Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, Ibn Qulawayh, Abu Abdallah al-Basri and al-Rummani, and Sharif al-Murtaza and Shaykh Tusi were among his students. Only 10 of his 200 works have survived, among which are Amali, Al-Irshad, Al-Muqni'ah, and Tashih al-Itiqadat.