Sheikh Ali Akbar Masoudi Khomeini , (born 1931) is an Iranian

ayatollah 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 ...

. He is a member of the

Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom ( fa, جامعهٔ مدرسین حوزهٔ علمیهٔ قم, jâme'e madrasin howze 'ilmiah Qom) is an Iranian group founded in 1961/3 by the leading Muslim clerics of Qom. Established by the students ...

, as well as serving as the Trustee for

Fatima Masumeh Shrine The Shrine of Fatima Masumeh ( fa, حرم فاطمه معصومه translit. ''haram-e fateme-ye masumeh'') is located in Qom, which is considered by Shia Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad. Fatima Masumeh was the ...

Early life and education

Ali Akbar Masoudi was born in 1931 in

Khomeyn Khomein ( fa, خمين, also Romanized as Khowmeyn) is a city and capital of Khomeyn County, Markazi Province, Iran. At the 2015 census, its population was 76,706 in 17,399 families. Khomein is located to the south of the province, in a fertil ...

. He was born into a middle-class family, his father, Gholam Ali Masoudi was a pastry chef. He began his education by attending the same primary school as

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 ...

in Khomeyn. When he was 15 he left to Arak to pursue his Islamic studies. There he was taught by several scholars such as Mollah Abdollah and others. He stayed in the seminary in Arak for 2–3 years before leaving to

Qom Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

to further his Islamic studies in the

Qom Seminary The Qom Seminary () is the largest Islamic seminary (''hawza'') in Iran, established in 1922 by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi in Qom. It trains Usuli scholars. History Although big Shi'a academies existed in Qom dating back as early ...

. There he was taught by esteemed Shia scholars such as

Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani (March 20, 1899 – December 9, 1993) was an Iranian Shia Muslim and ''marja scholar and was born in 1899 in Gogad village near the city of Golpaygan, Iran. He was taught preliminary studies by his fa ...

Hossein Borujerdi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Hossein Ali Tababataei Borujerdi (Luri/ fa, آیت الله العظمی سید حسین طباطبایی بروجردی; 23 March 1875 – 30 March 1961) was a leading Iranian Shia Marja' in Iran from approximately 1947 t ...

and others. He also spent 4 years in

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 ...

, attending the

Hawza Najaf The Najaf Seminary ( ar, حوزة النجف), also known as the al-Hawza Al-Ilmiyya (الحوزة العلمية), is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world. It is located in the city of Najaf in Iraq. The ...

Teachers

During his time studying Islam, Ali Akbar had several esteemed teachers. Here are some of them. *

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 ...

* Mollah Abdullah * Sheikh Ahmad al-Tahir *

Musa al-Sadr Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr ( ar, موسى صدر الدين الصدر; 4 June 1928 – disappeared 31 August 1978) was an Iranian-born Lebanese scholar and political leader who founded the Amal Movement. Born in the Chaharmardan neighborhood o ...

* Seyed Reza al-Sadr * Seyed Ali Arakiyeh

Views and responsibilities

After the

1979 Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, Ali Akbar was elected by

Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...

to replace Ahmad Molaei in 1992, as the Trustee of

Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi (Persian: سید محمد سعیدی; born 1951, Qom) is an Iranian Twelver Shia cleric, who is the trustee of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine, and Qom Imam of Friday Prayer. He is also the representative of Guardianship of th ...

was chosen to replace him in 2010. He has spoken against

Mohammad Yazdi Mohammad Yazdi ( fa, محمد یزدی, 2 July 1931 – 9 December 2020) was an Iranian conservative and principlist cleric who served as the head of Judiciary System of Iran between 1989 and 1999. In 2015, he was elected to lead Iran's Assemb ...

after he sent a letter criticising

Mousa Shubairi Zanjani Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mousa Shubairi Zanjani ( fa, موسی شبیری زنجانی, ar, موسی الشبيري الزنجاني, born March 2, 1928) is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'. Biography He was born in Qom to Sayyid Ahmed Shubairi Z ...

. He believes that Mohammad Yazdi had no right to attack the scholar, when he is "not even close" to his level, and found his letter insulting. He has also criticised

Kazem Seddiqi Kazem Seddiqi ( fa, کاظم صدیقی, born 4 March 1951, sometimes with the honorific Ayatollah, and surname anglicised as Sedighi) is an Iranian Shia scholar and Mujtahid currently serving as Tehran's Friday Prayer List of Tehran's Friday ...

after giving a sermon (

Khutbah ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditi ...

) regarding the death of

Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi Ayatollah Taqi Mesbah ( fa, تقی مصباح‌; born Taqi Givechi, fa, تقی گیوه‌چی), commonly known as Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi ( fa, محمدتقی مصباح‌ یزدی, 31 January 1935 – 1 January 2021) was an Iranian Shi' ...

. He advised

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

to "stay home and seek the way of God in the remaining years of his life". He criticised Mahmoud's second term of presidency and claimed "In the second term of his presidency, he took several actions that made some people resent and even hate him". He claims that in the later years of Ahmad Azari Qomi's life, he wrote a letter of apology to

after their falling out. He went on to say "those who reject such a letter, reject my existence". He presented the letter to Ali Khamenei. He has also criticised the words of some members in the

Guardian Council The Guardian Council, (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, fa, شورای نگهبان, Shourā-ye Negahbān) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence i ...

, as well as some of its functions with seminaries in Qom. He believes seminaries in Qom should abstain from politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khomeini, Ali Akbar Masoud 1931 births Living people People from Markazi Province Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom members Iranian ayatollahs

Early life and education

Teachers

Views and responsibilities

See also

References