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 given by a hawzah to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and lower-ranking clerics. The highest ranking ''marjiʿ'' is known as the ''marja al-mutlaq'' or ''marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq''.

Sources differ as to when the institution of the marja˓ emerged, with Murtadha al-Ansari (d. 1864) and Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 940 or 941 CE) both being called the first marja'.

Title

Currently, maraji' are accorded the title ''Grand Ayatollah'' ( ar, آية ‌الله العظمی ''ʾĀyatullāh al-ʿUẓmā''). Previously, the titles of Allamah (such as Allameh Tabatabaei, Allameh Majlesi, Allameh Hilli) and Imam (such as Imam Khomeini, Imam Rohani, Imam Shirazi and Imam Sadr) have also been used.

Someone who follows/imitates a marja' (who performs ''taqlid'') is called a ''muqallid''.

Other clerical titles

;Ayatollahs
The title of an ayatollah transpires when he becomes a celebrated figure in the hawza and his students and followers trust him in answering their questions, and ask him to publish a juristic book, the risalah amaliyah—a manual of practical rulings arranged according to topics dealing with ritual purity, worship, social issues, business, and political affairs. The risalah contains an ayatollah's fatwas on different topics, according to his knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life. Traditionally only the most renowned ayatollahs of the given time published a risalah. Today, however, many ayatollahs of varying degrees of illustriousness have published one, while some of the renowned ones have refused to do so.
;Marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq
The highest marja' or “first-among-equals”, is called the ''Marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq''.

Role, authority, requirements

Traditionally, ''taqlid'' or "imitation" of an expert in Islamic jurisprudence (a ''mujtahid'') is lawful and obligatory for all Muslims not so trained themselves; (on "matters of belief" or ''usulu 'd-din'', they must train themselves).
From the perspective of Shia jurisprudence, during the occultation of the Mahdi, (for the past 1000+ years) the highest ranking Shia hawzah clerics are bestowed with responsibility for understanding and explaining Islamic religious jurisprudence. As of the 19th century the Shia ''ulama'' taught believers to turn to "a source of ''taqlid''" (''marja' at-taqlid'') "for advice and guidance and as a model to be imitated."see also

;Authority
Where a difference in opinion exists between the maraji', each of them provides their own opinion and the ''muqallid'' will follow their own marja's opinion on that subject. A mujtahid, i.e. someone who has completed advanced training (''dars kharij'') in the hawza and has acquired the license to engage in ijtihad (''ʾijāz al-ʾijtihād'') from one or several ayatollahs, is exempted from the requirement to follow a marja'. However ijtihad is not always comprehensive and so a mujtahid may be an expert in one particular area of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and exercise ijtihad therein, but follow a marja' in other areas of fiqh.

Who and where

Several senior Grand Ayatollahs preside over hawzas, religious seminaries. The hawzas of Qom and Najaf are the preeminent seminary centers for the training of Shia clergymen. However, there are other smaller hawzas in many other cities around the world, the biggest ones being Karbala, Isfahan and Mashhad.

There are 85 Maraji living worldwide as of 2022, mostly residing in Najaf and Qom. The most prominent among them are Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Mousa Shubairi Zanjani, Sayyid Sadeq Rohani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi, Hossein Noori Hamedani and Abdollah Javadi-Amoli in Qom; Ali al-Sistani, Muhammad al-Fayadh, Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim and Bashir al-Najafi in Najaf.

;Dispute over ''Marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq''
In the early 1990s, the leading marja', Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, died and Ali al-Sistani, "emerged" as the '' marja al-mutlaq'' or highest Marja' in the world of Shia Islam. According to Mohamad Bazzi, Al-Sistani's word "on religious matters carries the most weight" among Shia.

However, in 1994, the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) declared it was the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei who was "the single marja˓ al-taqlid" or "undisputed marja˓".

According to Mohamad Bazzi, this was a bid "to displace" Ali Sistani, the true ''Marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq'', "and his allies in Najaf", but it "failed" because Khamenei "had modest religious credentials (he was only elevated to the rank of ayatollah after Khomeini’s death, so he could assume the post of supreme leader). Faced with Baathist persecution and an Iranian power grab, Sistani was able to retain his position." Gleave does not mention al-Sistani but states that Khamenei's "position as the Marja˓ al-taqlid" has "remained a matter of dispute".

Conditions for a marja'

There is no official body resembling a council of ulama to designate someone a marja al-taqlid, nor any formalized specific process to do it,
because reaching the position of marja al-taqlid "is entirely at the discretion of the believers themselves", (for example, being able to raise enough money "to finance the education of religious students" from donations from the believers, is one of the qualifications of a marja').
Nonetheless, there are "general principles" for their selection including several "conditions" which have been "accepted unanimously by Shiʿite theologians".
*maturity (''bulugh''),
*reasonableness (''aql''),
*being of the male sex (''dhukurrat''),
*faith (''iman''),
*justice (''edalat''), and
*legitimacy of birth.

History

First Marja'

Shiʿi "biographical compilations generally" consider Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 940 or 941), (one of the first compilers of Shiʿite hadith), to be "the first" post-occultation marja al-taqlid, according to Neguin Yavari
and Eric Hooglund. According to Robert Gleave, the institution of the marja˓ emerged in the nineteenth century with the first universally recognized marja˓, "the influential mujtahid Murtadha al-Ansari (d. 1864)". When asked directly "Who was the first ever Marja-e-Taqleed?", only one of four mullahs at al-islam.org resented with the question replied (Mohammad Al-Musawi) and would only say, "from the time of the Prophet (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams, Muslims who lived in places far away from them, were ordered to refer in religious matters to the scholar in their area".

Shiite authorities in the history of Shi'ism have an important role in the religious, political and social thought of their communities. One example is the fatwa of Mirza Mohammed Hassan Husseini Shirazi imposing sanctions on the use of tobacco during Qajar rule, which led to the abolition of the tobacco concession.

See also

*Ijtihad
*Hawza
*Risalah (fiqh)
*Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom
*List of Ayatollahs
*List of deceased Maraji
*List of current Maraji

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

Slate Magazine's "So you want to be an Ayatollah"
explaining how Shiite clerics earn the title

Religious leadership roles
Shia theology
Arabic words and phrases
Islamic honorifics

Hawza
Islamic scholars
Islamic religious leaders
Lists of Islamic religious leaders
Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence
Titles
Marja'