Seyyed Mohammad Hassan Hosseini Quchani ( fa, سید محمد حسن حسینی قوچانی), known as Aqa Najafi Quchani ( fa, آقا نجفی قوچانی) was one of the Islamic scholars and

jurists A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

of the fourteenth century AH. He was one of the disciples of

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

and reached the degree of ijtihad at the age of 30. Aqa Najafi Quchani wrote the famous books

Siahat-e Gharb Siahat-e Gharb ('' fa, سیاحت غرب'', ''The Journey to the West'') or The Fate of Souls after Death is a book by Aqa Najafi Quchani (1878-1944). The book narrates the story of the afterlife and the purgatory world in the form of a story b ...

and Siahat-e Shargh.

Birth and lineage

Aqa Najafi Quchani was born in 1878 in Khosraviyeh, North Khorasan,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. ''Seyyed Mohammad'', the father of Aqa Najafi Quchani, who was a farmer and had a basic education. The father of Aqa Najafi Quchani, ''Seyyed Mohammad'', was Persian-speaking and the mother of Aqa Najafi Quchani was Kurd and his name was ''Zolal''. ''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' grandfather was also named ''Seyyed Javad''.

Education

The father of Aqa Najafi Quchani was very interested in educating his children. He sent Aqa Najafi Quchani to teach in local school of Khosraviyeh village at an early age, so Aqa Najafi Quchani had learned the whole book of

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

before the age of seven. In a short period of time, he completed the usual Persian and Arabic lessons and the preparations of that time in the village house school. he also learned courses such as literature, geometry and arithmetic there. At the age of 13, his father sent him to

Quchan Quchan ( fa, قوچان ' ; also Romanized as Qūchān and Quçan; also known as Khabushan, Gochan) is a city and capital of Quchan County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. It is located due south of the border city of Ashgabat. At the 2006 ce ...

for further education. After studying in Quchan for three years, he went to Mashhad where he studied Islamic

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

sciences and literature. In 1895 at the age of 19 he went to Isfahan and there he studied philosophy under Akhund Mullah Mohammad Kashani and Islamic jurisprudence under ''Abdolkarim Gazi'' and wisdom under ''Jahangir Khan Ghashghaei''. In 1900, at the age of 23, he went 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 ...

and there he began to studying specialized levels of Islamic seminary sciences, first under

Fethullah Qa'ravi Isfahani Fethullah Qa'ravi Isfahani ( fa, فتح‌الله غروی اصفهانی;‎ 1850–1920) was a Persian cleric and rebel. Early life He was the child of Mohammad Javad Namazi, the ''Marja'' of Isfahan. He studied at the Isfahan Seminary ...

and

Mohammad Bagher Estahbanati Mohammad Bagher Estahbanati ( fa, محمد باقر اصطهباناتی; born 1837) was a Persian Faqīh, writer, mathematician and inventor. He was born in Estahban. Education When Estahbanati was 12, he attended Shiraz Mansouriyah school w ...

were also among his teachers. Finally he completed specialized levels of Islamic seminary sciences and reached the level of ijtihad (the ability of deduce the laws in Islamic jurisprudence) at the age of 30.

Spouse and children

Aqa Najafi Quchani married twice. First on the 23th October 1907, he married a girl belonging to an Iranian family living in Karbala named ''Sakineh Beigum'', and from her he had four daughters and a son in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. ''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' two daughters and a son died in

and were buried in Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, bringing with him two other twin girls to Iran. In 1939, two years after the death of his first wife, he remarried and had two sons, ''Ali'' and ''Mahdi'', from his second wife, ''Fatemeh Beigum''.

Return to Quchan

In 1920, after 20 years, Aqa Najafi Quchani returned to

from

, because of his father's death. He first went to Mashhad for pilgrimage of Imam Reza Shrine. After a short stop in Mashhad, he entered the city of

at the request of the people of Quchan and remained there for the rest of his life. He spent more than 25 years of his life as a jurist and religious premier in Quchan and worked as the director and teacher in the ''Islamic seminary of Quchan''.

Bibliography

''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' most famous works are ''Siahat-e Gharb'' and ''Siahat-e Shargh''. He has other works in the field of Islamic jurisprudence,

principles of Islamic jurisprudence Principles of Islamic jurisprudence, also known as ''uṣūl al-fiqh'' ( ar, أصول الفقه, lit. roots of fiqh), are traditional methodological principles used in Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'') for deriving the rulings of Islamic law ('' ...

Islamic mysticism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

, ethics and travel writing. Among his works, the following works can be mentioned: * Sharhe Doaye Sabaah ('' fa, شرح دعای صباح'', ''Description of the Sabah Supplication''): Aqa Najafi Quchani translated the Sabah Supplication attributed to

Imam Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

from Arabic into Persian and explained it in this work. manuscript, 1909. * Ozre Badtar az Gonaah ('' fa, عذر بدتر از گناه'', ''Excuse worse than sin''): About Persian Constitutional Revolution, the composition of this treatise is a mixture of Arabic and Persian prose. 1910. * Siahat-e Shargh ('' fa, سیاحت شرق'', ''The Journey to the East''): This work is one of ''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' most important works and is about the events of his life from the beginning, the report of his education in the cities of

, Mashhad and Isfahan and how he entered

and his final education until reaching the degree of ijtihad. In this book, Aqa Najafi Quchani described the life story and hardships of his studies and described Islamic issues and teachings in a simple pen based on

verses and

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

s. In this book, the reader gets acquainted with the scientific points and events of that time. Because Aqa Najafi Quchani himself was in Najaf at the beginning of the Persian Constitutional Revolution, he described in detail the historical events and the reaction of the constitutional movement in

, especially in

. Issues of education and self-cultivation can also be seen in this book. 1928. *

('' fa, سیاحت غرب'', ''The Journey to the West''): In the quality of the purgatory world and the journey of spirits after death from Islamic perspective. manuscript, 1933. * Sharh va Tarjomeye Resaleye Tofaahieh ('' fa, شرح و ترجمه رسالة تُفّاحیّه'', ''Explanation and translation of the rhetorical treatise''): Description of "the rhetorical treatise" of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

translated into Persian by Afdal al-Din Kashani, manuscript, 1935. * Esbate Rajʽat ('' fa, اثبات رجعت'', ''The proof of

Rajʽa (), also known as (), is a doctrine in Shia Islam positing that some of the dead will return to life before the Resurrection to avenge their oppression. In Twelver Shia doctrine, the concept of is closely intertwined with the eschatological ...

''): Arabic and Persian, manuscript, 1942. * Safari Kotaah beh Abadihaye Quchan ('' fa, سفری کوتاه به آبادی‌های قوچان'', ''A short trip to the settlements of

''): Aqa Najafi Quchani also dealt with the social and religious situation of the villagers in this work. * Hayat al-Islam fi Ahvale Ayah al-Malek al-Allam ('' ar, حیات الاسلام فی احوال آیه الملک العلام'', ''The life of Islam in the conditions of the all-knowing king''): Biography of

along with the text of his telegrams to Iran and other countries. * Hashieh bar Kefayah al-osul ('' fa, حاشیه بر کفایه الاصول'', ''Description on the Kefayah al-osul''): Explanation of the book

Kefayah al-osul Kifayat al-Usul ( ar, كفاية الاصول) (''Sufficiency of Principles'') is a two-volume book that contains the most notable works of Akhund Khorasani in the field of Principles of Islamic jurisprudence (''Usul al-Fiqh''). ''Kifayat al-Us ...

written by

. * Safarhaye Seh Ganeh az Asfare Arbaeh ('' fa, سفرهای سه گانه از اسفار اربعه'', ''Triple journey of the four journeys''): Description of three important journeys in Aqa Najafi Quchani life revived from manuscripts. * Safare Cheharom az Asfare Arbaeh ('' fa, سفر چهارم از اسفار اربعه'', ''The fourth journey of the four journeys''): Description of last important period of the Aqa Najafi Quchani life revived from manuscripts. * Ma'aade Khodemani ('' fa, معاد خودمانی'', ''Resurrection in intimate definition''): About death and the afterlife, combination of two books "Manazil al-Akhirah" written by

Abbas Qomi Abbas Qomi ( fa, عباس قمی) also known as ''Mohaddith Qomi'' ( fa, محدث قمی) was a Shia scholar, historian, and hadith narrator. He wrote books, including Mafatih al-Janan. Biography Abbas Qomi was born in 1877 (1294 AH) in Qom, ...

and

written by Aqa Najafi Quchani. * Siahate Shargh va Gharb ('' fa, سیاحت شرق و غرب'', ''The Journey to the East and the West''): A collection of descriptions of ''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' travels and life and his spiritual revelations. * Sargozashte Arvaah dar Aalame Barzakh, Matne Saadeh Shodeye Siahat-e Gharb ('' fa, سرگذشت ارواح در عالم برزخ، متن ساده شده سیاحت غرب'', ''The Fate of Souls after Death, simplified text of

''): Rewriting and simplifying of the book

. * Seiri dar Zamaan va Makaane Barzakhi Montahi beh Zohoore Mahdi ('' fa, سیری در زمان و مکان برزخی منتهی به ظهور مهدی (ع)'', ''A journey in the time and place of purgatory leading to the reappearance of

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...

''): Description of the book "Siahat-e Gharb" with the meaning of difficult Arabic words and sentences into Persian.

Reception

Many Islamic scholars such as

Morteza Motahhari Morteza Motahhari ( fa, مرتضی مطهری, also Romanized as "Mortezā Motahharī"; 31 January 1919 – 1 May 1979) was an Iranian Twelver Shia scholar, philosopher, lecturer. Motahhari is considered to have an important influence on th ...

(Iranian philosopher) and Ali Khamenei (

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 ...

and

supreme leader of Iran The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the executive system and judicial system of the Islamic theocratic government and is the co ...

) praised ''Aqa Najafi Quchani's'' works (especially ''"Siahat-e Gharb"'' and ''"Siahat-e Shargh"'' books) and encouraged others to read his works. City of Quchan, The shrine of Aqa Najafi Quchani, Nov 2015

City of Quchan, The shrine of Aqa Najafi Quchani, Nov 2015

Death

Aqa Najafi Quchani died on 20 April 1944 in

and was buried in the house where he was studying. Years later, with the help of the people and city officials, a tomb was built on his grave.

References

External links

Journey to the Unseen World: Hujjatul Islam Najafi Quchani

Aqa Najafi Quchani's tomb location and pictures

Āqā Najafī Qūchānī — Brill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quchani, Aqa Najafi 1878 births 1944 deaths Iranian Shia scholars of Islam People from Quchan Pupils of Muhammad Kadhim Khorasani