A Lebanese Christian scholar spent much of his life writing book after book on the Prophet Muhammad (S) and the Imams of his Ahl al-Bayt — yet most Muslims have never heard his name. Now, the full collection of Sulayman al-Kattani’s works has been presented to Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi in Qom, who has called for the books to be translated so a new generation can discover them.
The story was recounted by Hojjat al-Islam Zamani, a seminary teacher and adviser on religious and sectarian affairs to the heads of Iran’s seminaries.
A book read before the Revolution
Zamani’s encounter with al-Kattani’s writing began decades ago, before the Islamic Revolution, when he came across the Persian translation of the Christian author’s book on Lady Fatima al-Zahra (SA), published in Iran as Fatima Zahra, Niyay-e Niyam. The work — originally titled Fatimat al-Zahra, Witrun fi Ghimd — had drawn wide attention, including internationally, and left a lasting impression on the young seminary student.
Years later, he would also read the Persian translation of al-Kattani’s book on Imam Ali (AS), rendered in Persian under a title describing the Imam as a lamp of guidance and an impregnable fortress against oppressors.
A meeting at the Unity Conference
Around ten years ago, Zamani was attending the International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, where he made a habit of seeking out new thinkers from across the Muslim world and beyond. Asking organisers which fresh faces were present that year, he was told that a Christian scholar drawn to the school of the Ahl al-Bayt was among the guests: Adil Kattani.
The surname struck him immediately. When the two met, Zamani asked whether he was related to the Sulayman Kattani whose books he had read years earlier. Adil confirmed he was the author’s nephew — and the inheritor of his uncle’s entire literary legacy.
What followed astonished Zamani. Al-Kattani’s writings, it turned out, formed nothing less than a library devoted to the Prophet’s household:
A volume portraying the Prophet (S) as an ocean of mercy for the people of the earth and a cloud of mercy for the inhabitants of the heavens
Al-Imam Ali, Nibras wa Mitras — Imam Ali as a lamp of guidance and a fortress against oppressors
Fatimat al-Zahra, Witrun fi Ghimd — his celebrated work on Lady Fatima (SA)
Al-Imam al-Hasan, Al-Kawthar al-Mahdur — Imam Hasan as a pure, flowing fountain of divine knowledge from which history has not drunk its fill
A book on Imam Husayn and his rising against oppression
Al-Imam Zain al-Abidin, Anqud Murassa — the Imam presented as a jewelled cluster of prayers and supplications
Works on Imam al-Baqir, the confidant of the Messenger, and Imam Musa al-Kazim, among others
And his final book, Al-Imam al-Khumayni, Shararatun Ilahiyyah — Imam Khomeini as a divine spark whose fire scorched the oppressors
Every one of them, Adil confirmed, had been published and could be found in different countries — yet few Muslims knew they existed.
Midnight to Qom
When Zamani asked to see the books, Adil went to his hotel room around midnight and returned carrying the complete collection. Determined that the treasure should not slip away, Zamani proposed they travel to Qom together. Adil had a flight back to Beirut the next day — but he agreed to postpone it by a week, and the two set off for Qom that same night, books in hand.
The following morning they called on Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi. Zamani announced he had brought a gift, and asked whether the senior cleric knew the name Sulayman Kattani. He did. Zamani then laid out the full scope of the Christian author’s work — and presented the entire collection.
“Even Christian scholars devoted their lives to them”
According to Zamani, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi was both surprised and delighted, describing the books as highly valuable works that should be translated so Iranian society could benefit from them. He stressed in particular that young people — Shia and Sunni alike — should come to know these writings and the stature of the Ahl al-Bayt they portray.
The marja observed that the virtues of the Prophet’s family were so widely recognised that even Christian scholars had devoted their intellect and a significant part of their lives to recording them.
The meeting ended with a decision to begin translating the collection for scholars, researchers and the wider public — with a special eye toward introducing Sunni youth to this remarkable body of literature.
For Zamani, the episode carries a quiet lesson: some of the most devoted tributes to the Ahl al-Bayt have come from outside the Muslim community, and remain hidden in plain sight. A Christian’s library, carried through the night to Qom, may yet become a bridge between hearts.
Reference: ABNA24