Career
Born 1872 in Kadhimiya in Iraq he left Lebanon and went back to Iraq at age 17 in order to study, where he stayed for fifteen years until he became a mujtahid (independent reasoning in legal issues) at the age of 32. He then returned to his home in Jabal 'Amil and based himself in the city of Sur where he became known locally known in short time. Later, the highest ranking religious authority in Lebanon, Sayyid 'Ali al-Amin, authorized (Arabic: ijaza) him to issue fatawa (juridical rulings).
In addition to his engagement in social work in Sur and Jabal 'Amil, Sayyid Sharaf al-Din continued his efforts writing and publishing. In the year 1327 AH, he published Issues important for uniting the Ummah (al-Fusul al-Muhimah fi Ta'lif al-Ummah). He visited Egypt and met Shaykh Salim al-Bishri, the head of al-Azhar Mosque.
The outcome of their discussions and long correspondence was the book al-Muraja'at. Sharaf al-Din died in 1957.
