Grand Ayatollah Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...

Abu al-Hasan al-Musawi al-Isfahani ( ar, أبوالحسن الموسوي الأصفهاني; 1861–November 4, 1946) was an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

- Iraqi

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

marja' Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...

. al-Isfahani became the leading marja' of the Shia world after the death of Muhammad-Hussein al-Naini.

Biography

al-Isfahani was born in Madiseh to Sayyid Muhammad al-Isfahani, a renowned

alim Alim (''ʿAlīm'' , also anglicized as ''Aleem'') is one of the Names of God in Islam, meaning "''All-knowing one''". It is also used as a personal name, as a short form of Abdul Alim, "''Servant of the All-Knowing''": Given name * Alim ad-Din A ...

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

. He passed his preliminary training in Nimarud School in Isfahan and traveled to

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

in 1890. He joined the lessons of

Akhund Khorasani Ayatullah Sheikh Muhammad Kazim Khurasani ( fa, ; 1839 – 12 December 1911), commonly known as Akhund Khurasani ( fa, ) was a Shia jurist and political activist. He is known for using his position as a Marja as legitimizing force behind the ...

, who soon recognized the talents of his disciple. al-Isfahani received his degree of

Ijtihad ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...

from Khorasani. After the death of his contemporary scholar,

Ayatollah Mirza Hussein Naini Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad-Hossein Naini Gharavi ( fa, ; May 25, 1860 – August 14, 1936) was Iranian Shia marja'. His father Mirza Abdol Rahim and grandfather Haji Mirza Saeed, both one were Sheikhs of Nain and Mohammad Hussein proved hims ...

, he became as sole

Marja' Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...

for most of Shia Muslims. Isfahani was banished to Iran for protecting Iraqi Muslims against colonial policies. Also, he had a strong position towards the incidents of the

Goharshad Mosque Goharshad Mosque ( fa, مسجد گوهرشاد) is a grand congregational mosque built during the Timurid period in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, which now serves as one of the prayer halls within the Imam Reza shrine complex. Hist ...

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

. al-Isfahani had a grandson named

Musa al-Musawi Musa al-Musawi (1930-1997) was a Muslim scholar and professor of philosophy, he wrote books on philosophy and revisionist texts on Shia Islam. His grandfather was Grand Ayatullah Abu al-Hasan al-Esfahani whom he lived with for 17 years after the a ...

who studied with him for 17 years,

was a renowned academic and philosopher, he wrote a revisionist text on

Shia Islam Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...

where he sought to purify schism from innovation and bring it closer to the majority of Muslims.

Works

Fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...

, ''Wasila al-Naja'' which due to its comprehensive nature, has been elucidated by many Fuqaha including

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

Students

Ayatollah Borqei Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیت‌الله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Etymology The title is originally derived from ...

Muhsin al-Hakim Muhsin al-Tabatabaei al-Hakim ( ar, محسن الطباطبائي الحكيم; 31 May 1889 – 2 June 1970) was an Iraqi Shia religious authority. He became the leading marja' of Najaf in 1946 after the death of Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani, and ...

Mohammad Hadi Milani Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Hadi Milani (; ; July 1, 1895 – August 7, 1975) was an Iraqi-Iranian marja'. al-Milani was also active in political and social affairs. When he moved to Mashhad, the Islamic seminary of Mashhad flourished. He con ...

Mirza Hashem Amoli Ayatollah Mirza Hashem Amoli Larijani ( fa, لاریجانی میرزا هاشم آملی; 26 February 189925 February 1993) was an Iranian Shia Marja' and scholar of jurisprudence. Biography Hashem Amoli Larijani was born on 26 February 1899 ...

Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i or Sayyid Mohammad Hossein Tabataba'i (16 March 1903 – 15 November 1981) was an Iranian scholar, theorist, philosopher and one of the most prominent thinkers of modern Shia Islam. He is perhaps best known for his ''T ...

Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani ( fa, محمدتقی بهجت فومنی) (24 August 1916 – 17 May 2009) was an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'. Biography Mohammad-Taqi was born on 24 August 1916 in the Fouman, Gilan province in t ...

* Mohammad Shahroudi * Sayyed Hassan Musavi Bojnourdi *

Ali Naqi Naqvi Grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi (born 26 December 1905 – 18 May 1988) (26 Rajab 1323 AH – 1 Shawal 1408 AH), also known as Naqqan Sahib, was a Twelver Shia Marja', Marja, Intellectual, thinker, poet, writer, jurist and Qur'anic interp ...

Death

He died in

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya ( ar, ٱلْكَاظِمِيَّة, al-Kāẓimiyyah, ) or Kadhimayn (, ) is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of on ...

in 1946.

References

{{Authority control 1860 births 1946 deaths Iranian grand ayatollahs Iranian emigrants to Iraq Twelvers People from Isfahan Province Al-Moussawi family Burials at Imam Ali Mosque 19th-century Iranian people 20th-century Iranian people Pupils of Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani

Biography

Works

Students

Death

See also

References