Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shirazi
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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 ...
Muhammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi ( ar, محمد الحسيني الشيرازي; fa, ; August 31, 1928 – December 17, 2001), commonly known as Imam Shirazi, 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 ...
and
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
activist.


Early life and education

al-Shirazi was born to
Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi al-Husayni al-Shirazi (; fa, مهدی حسینی شیرازی; 9 May 1887 – 14 February 1961), also known as Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi, was an Iraqi-Iranian Shia marja. After the death of Abu al-Hasan al-Esfehani a ...
and Halima al-Shirazi. Both of his parents are from the distinguished clerical al-Shirazi family that emigrated from
Shiraz Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
to
Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
in the 19th century. He is the first of ten children. All of his brothers are clerics, and
Sadiq al-Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Husayni al-Shirazi ( ar, صادق الحسيني الشيرازي; fa, سید صادق حسینی شیرازی; born August 20, 1942) is an Iraqi-Iranian Shia marja'. He hails from an influential transnational c ...
is a marja'. His mother is the great-granddaughter of Mirza Shirazi, the pioneer of the
Tobacco Movement The Persian Tobacco Protest (Persian: نهضت تنباکو ''nehzat-e tanbāku'') was a Shia Muslim revolt in Iran against an 1890 tobacco concession granted by Nasir al-Din Shah of Persia to the United Kingdom, granting British control over gr ...
. His nephew,
Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Taqi al-Husayni al-Modarresi ( ar, محمد تقي الحسيني المدرسي; fa, ; b. 1945) is an Iraqi-Iranian Shia marja' and political theorist. al-Modarresi is the author of over 400 books on matters ...
is also a marja'.


Education

He grew up and studied briefly 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 ...
, and moved to Karbala with his father in 1937. He remained in Karbala studying in its seminary under his father, as well as prominent scholars like Sayyid Hossein Tabatabaei Qomi, Sayyid Muhammad-Hadi al-Milani, Sheikh Muhammad-Ridha al-Isfahani, Sayyid Zain al-Abiden al-Kashani and Sheikh Jafar al-Rashti. He was granted an
ijaza An ''ijazah'' ( ar, الإِجازَة, "permission", "authorization", "license"; plural: ''ijazahs'' or ''ijazat'') is a license authorizing its holder to transmit a certain text or subject, which is issued by someone already possessing such au ...
by grand Ayatollah's Sayyid
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 ...
; Sayyid
Abd al-Hadi al-Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Mirza Abd al-Hadi al-Husayni al-Shirazi (; fa, ; 1882 – July 13, 1962) was an Iraqi-Iranian Shia marja' and poet. After the death of Abu al-Hasan al-Esfehani, al-Shirazi was considered to be one of the highest ranking schol ...
; Sayyid Ahmed al-Khawansari to lead the seminary of Karbala after the death of his father, in 1961. al-Milani also announced al-Shirazi's capability to numerous notable figures, including Agha Bozorg al-Tehrani who mentions this in his ''Tabaqat al-A'lam''.


Base in Kuwait

In 1971, he was exiled to
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
by the Baathist regime. From Lebanon, al-Shirazi travelled to
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, where he settled for nine years. After his nephews joined, al-Shirazi turned Kuwait into the base of Shiite scholarship. At the time Al-Shirazi came into conflict with other prominent Shia religious figures 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 ...
. The most prominent Shia religious leader of the time, Grand Ayatollah
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei ( ; ar, أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; fa, ; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian- Iraqi Shia marja'. Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential t ...
, sought to dismiss Al-Shirazi's status as a scholar. Through personal charisma and intellectual arguments, al-Shirazi built up a large following in Kuwait and Iraq. His followers became known as the 'Shiraziyyin' and tended to be critical of existing Shi'i religious establishments.


Theory of clerical rule

al-Shirazi was a leading Islamist political theorist and devised the Hukumat al-Fuqaha' principle of theocratic rule. According to Cambridge University's Toby Matthiesen: "The political theory of Muhammad al-Shirazi and the MVM ovement of Vanguard Missionswas quite close to Khomeini’s notion of velayet-e faqih (the guardianship of the jurisprudent), although al-Shirazi favored the theory that not a single cleric, but a council of scholars should govern the Islamic State (hukumat al-fuqaha’/shurat al-fuqaha’)."Toby Matthiesen
Hizbollah Al-Hjaz: A History of the Most Radical Saudi Shia Opposition Group, Middle East Journal, Spring 2010
Under al-Shirazi's theory government would be in the form of a 'Consultative System of Leadership' composed of senior clerics, and he called for the establishment of the 'Leadership Council of Religious Authorities'. He argued for the establishment of a Universal Islamic Government to encompass all the Muslim countries run in accordance with Hukumat al-Fuqaha'.


Iranian Revolution

After the Islamic revolution, al-Shirazi moved 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 ...
. al-Shirazi was initially an important figure within Iran's Islamic Republic with his supporters in key roles within the Iranian state in the 1980s. He was the spiritual guide of the Movement of Vanguard Missionaries, an umbrella group for Iran-based Islamist paramilitaries that included military groups like the
Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية لتحرير البحرين) was a Shi'a Islamist militant group that advocated theocratic rule in Bahrain from 1981 to the 1990s. It was based in Iran and tr ...
. Iran maintained support for these paramilitaries in the 1980s through the Office of Liberation Movements, part of the
Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
. The Movement of Vanguard Missionaries operated as a military organisation and it was active in Bahrain and Iraq. He has been critical of the Iranian government.


Iran power struggle

Grand Ayatollah Al-Shirazi expected a bigger role in the Islamic Revolution and this was a point of tension between him and Grand Ayatollah Khomeini. In addition, Al-Shirazi believed he was the senior cleric to Khomeini, as both competed for the position of marja al-taqlid. As the revolution progressed Al-Shirazi fell out with Ayatollah Khomeini and particularly his successor, Grand Ayatollah
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 ...
. The Movement of Vanguard Missionaries was close to radicals in the Iranian government within the Revolutionary Guards. As the radicals were increasingly sidelined by the more moderate Sayyid ‘Ali Khamenei and ‘Ali-Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Al-Shirazi's influence waned. Al-Shirazi was highly critical of Khamenei's bid to become a marja and assumption of the position of Iranian supreme leader. With the political ascendency of Khamenei and Rafsanjani, Al-Shirazi's followers were at times mistreated by the government of the Iranian authorities. In 1995, one of his sons Seyd Morteza Shirazi was imprisoned for 18 months after which "reportedly escaped to
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and has requested political asylum, the INP reported in Tehran." Amnesty International reports that in Iran:
several followers of Grand Ayatollah Sayed Mohammad Shirazi were detained during
998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...
In January Sheikh Mohammad Amin Ghafoori, a well-known religious figure and writer, his wife, and Sayed Hossein Fali were arrested in
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 ...
. There were reports that they were beaten during arrest and tortured in detention. Sayed Hossein Fali was reported to have been released in June. Sheikh Mohammad Amin Ghafoori was said to have been sentenced in July to two and a half years' imprisonment by the Special Court for the Clergy, whose procedures fell far short of international standards. In October, five other followers of Grand Ayatollah Shirazi, including Reza Sultani, were reported to have been arrested and they remained held incommunicado at the end of the year. Sheikh Sadiq Za'eemiyan has also been harassed.
Seven students arrested in November 1995, apparently on account of their links with Grand Ayatollah Shirazi (see Amnesty International Reports 1996 and 1997), were released in June. However, two of them, Aman Allah Bushehri and Sheikh Mohammad Qahtani, were reportedly rearrested in July and August respectively.
According to reports, methods of torture used against some of these detainees have included beatings, prolonged sleep deprivation, electric shocks and threatened execution by electrocution after attaching electrodes to the body. Sheikh Ali Maash is said to have required medical treatment after his release for the effects of torture, including for a toe on his right foot which was broken and left untreated."
Despite these differences, Al-Shirazi's followers were part of the most pro-Iranian political faction in the post-Saddam Iraq, the
United Iraqi Alliance The National Iraqi Alliance (NIA or INA; ar, الائتلاف الوطني العراقي; transliterated: al-Itilaf al-Watani al-Iraqi), also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the 2010 Iraqi legislative ...
. The Shirazis' Islamic Action Organization contested parliamentary elections along with other pro-Iranian parties such as the
Badr Organization The Badr Organization ( ar, منظمة بدر ''Munaẓẓama Badr''), previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps, is an Iraqi Shia Islamist political party and military organization headed by Hadi Al-Amiri. The Badr Brigade was the Ir ...
and
SCIRI The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the ...
as part of the United Iraqi Alliance. In 2006, the Islamic Action Organization had one minister in government in Iraq, the State Minister for Civil Society Affairs, Adil al-Asadi.


Literary contributions

Al-Shirazi has written on different subjects including science, ethics, politics, economics, sociology, law, human rights, etc. He has published over 1200 books, treatises and studies.
Assad Ali Assad Ali is a retired Syrian professor of Arabic literature (formerly at the University of Damascus) and prolific writer of contemporary Arabic poetry. He is also the founder and chairman of the World Union of Arabic Writers. His writings deal ...
, a poet and professor of Arabic literature, called him the "King of Authors", because of his prolific output. A bid by Assad Ali to get the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
to recognise Muhammad al-Shirazi as the most prolific writer in Arabic was rejected by the publisher. Al-Shirazi believed in the fundamental and elementary nature of freedom including freedom of expression, political plurality, debate and discussion, tolerance and forgiveness. Regarding war and violence he advocated war as a last resort in response to an enemy who has forced the situation.Imam Muhammad al-Shirazi, ''War, Peace and Non-violence: An Islamic perspective,'' tr. Ali ibn Adam and Z. Olyabek , (2003). He called for the Jizyah tax to be imposed on non-Muslims saying 'The obstinate person should become less obstinate in the face of what should return him gradually to the truth.' He believed in the "Consultative System of Leadership" and called for the establishment of the Leadership Council of Religious Authorities. He called for the establishment of the ''Universal Islamic Government'' to encompass all the Muslim countries. These and other ideas are discussed in detail in his books. He had established many Islamic centers, medical and charitable financial services, educational, welfare and social foundations, libraries, and Hawzah's, or universities for Islamic Studies, in different regions of the world. Hundreds of individuals have graduated from his schools as scholars, lecturers, authors and intellectuals.


Death

After many years of being under the house arrest, Grand Ayatollah Shirazi died on Monday, December 17, 2001 in Qom. After his death, his legacy and school of thought were continued through his seminary. His brother
Sadiq al-Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Husayni al-Shirazi ( ar, صادق الحسيني الشيرازي; fa, سید صادق حسینی شیرازی; born August 20, 1942) is an Iraqi-Iranian Shia marja'. He hails from an influential transnational c ...
is at the helm of this school of thought and is continuing his late brother’s legacy and work.


Legacy

Although he was under house arrest for a long time, people who often saw him said he never insulted the former supreme guide, Khomeini, or the current one, Ali Khamenei, although his relations with them were not good. According to his visitors, he used to say: “Allah have mercy on a man who shows me my faults.”


Works

*War, Peace & Nonviolence: An Islamic Perspective *The Qur'an: When was it compiled? *On the question of the Bible and Christianity *Islamic Beliefs For All *The Family *Hajj: Duties and Rulings *If Islam were to be established *The Islamic System of Government


Establishments

* al-Rasool al-Adham Mosque. Kuwait. * al-Rasool al-Adham Seminary. Kuwait. * Husayniyat al-Rasool al-Adham. Kuwait. * Husayniyat al-Rasool al-Adham. London. * Imam Ali Center. Washington DC.


Notes


External links


Imam Shirazi World Foundation - Washington, DC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirazi, Mohammad 1928 births 2001 deaths Iraqi grand ayatollahs Iraqi people of Iranian descent Iraqi emigrants to Iran Muslim encyclopedists Critics of Sunni Islam People who have been placed under house arrest in Iran