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
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
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 ...
authority, a Grand
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 ...
with the authority given by a
hawzah
A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...
to make legal decisions within the confines of
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
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
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864), ( ar, مرتضی الأنصاري التستري; fa, مرتضی انصاری شوشتری ), also transliterated as Mortaza Ansari Shushtari, was a Shia jurist who "was genera ...
(d. 1864)
and
Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Iṣḥāq al Kulaynī ar Rāzī ( Persian: ar, أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن يَعْقُوب إِسْحَاق ٱلْكُلَيْنِيّ ٱلرَّازِيّ; c. 250 AH/864 CE ...
(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
Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and v ...
,
Allameh Hilli) and
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
(such as
Imam 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 ...
,
Imam Rohani,
Imam Shirazi and
Imam Sadr) have also been used.
Someone who follows/imitates a marja' (who performs ''
taqlid
''Taqlid'' (Arabic تَقْليد ''taqlīd'') is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on co ...
'') is called a ''muqallid''.
Other clerical titles
;Ayatollahs
The title of an
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 ...
transpires when he becomes a celebrated figure in the
hawza
A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...
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
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 ...
jurisprudence, during the occultation of
the Mahdi
''The Mahdi'' is a 1981 thriller novel by Philip Nicholson, writing as A. J. Quinnell. The book was published in 1981 by Macmillan Publishers, Macmillan in the UK then in January 1982 by William Morrow & Co in the US and deals with political po ...
, (for the past 1000+ years) the highest ranking
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 ...
hawzah
A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...
clerics are bestowed with responsibility for understanding and explaining Islamic religious jurisprudence. As of the 19th century the Shia ''
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' taught believers to turn to "a source of ''taqlid''" (''
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 ...
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
''Taqlid'' (Arabic تَقْليد ''taqlīd'') is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on con ...
'' 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
''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 ...
) 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
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 ...
are the preeminent seminary centers for the training of Shia
clergymen
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. However, there are other smaller hawzas in many other cities around the world, the biggest ones being
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
There are 85
Maraji
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 ...
living worldwide as of 2022, mostly residing 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
Qom. The most prominent among them are
Hossein Vahid Khorasani
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Hossein Wahid Khorasani ( fa, حسین وحید خراسانی; born Mohammad-Hossein Molla-Saleh (Persian: ); 1 January 1921) is an Iranian author and Shia marja'.
He is the current head of the Qom Seminary. Khorasa ...
,
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 ...
,
Sayyid Sadeq Rohani
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Sadiq Husayni Rohani ( fa, ; 16 July 1926 – 16 December 2022) was an Iranian Shia Islam, Shia marja'.
Rohani resided in Qom. He claimed to have gained ijtihad from the grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, at ...
,
Naser Makarem Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi (, born 25 February 1927 in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian Shia '' marja and religious leader.
Biography
He was born in the city of Shiraz, Iran. According to his website, his father was Ali Mohammad, his g ...
,
Sadiq Hussaini 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 cl ...
,
Hossein Noori Hamedani and
Abdollah Javadi-Amoli
Abdollah Javadi Amoli ( fa, عبدالله جوادی آملی; born ) is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. He is a conservative and principlist Iranian politician, philosopher and one of the prominent Islamic scholars of the Hawza. The offic ...
in Qom;
Ali al-Sistani
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been describe ...
,
Muhammad al-Fayadh,
Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
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
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 ...
, died and
Ali al-Sistani
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani ( ar, علي الحسيني السيستاني; fa, , Ali-ye Hoseyni-ye Sistāni; born 4 August 1930), commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is an Iranian–Iraqi Twelver Shia Ayatollah and marja'. He has been describe ...
, "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
The Supreme Leader of Iran ( fa, رهبر ایران, rahbar-e irān) is the List of heads of state of Iran, head of state of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The Supreme Leader directs the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, executiv ...
,
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 ...
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
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 ...
", 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
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Iṣḥāq al Kulaynī ar Rāzī ( Persian: ar, أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن يَعْقُوب إِسْحَاق ٱلْكُلَيْنِيّ ٱلرَّازِيّ; c. 250 AH/864 CE ...
(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
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864), ( ar, مرتضی الأنصاري التستري; fa, مرتضی انصاری شوشتری ), also transliterated as Mortaza Ansari Shushtari, was a Shia jurist who "was genera ...
(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
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, most ...
authorities in the history of
Shi'ism
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 ...
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 al-Mujadid al-Shirazi, ar, المجدد الشيرازي
, birth_name =
, birth_date = April 25, 1815
, birth_place = Shiraz, Qajar Iran
, death_date =
, death_place = Samarra, Ottoman Iraq
, resting ...
imposing sanctions on the use of tobacco during Qajar rule, which led to the abolition of the tobacco concession.
See also
*
Ijtihad
*
Hawza
A hawza ( ar, حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah ( ar, حوزة علمیة) is a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
The word ''ḥawzah'' is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold so ...
*
Risalah (fiqh)
Risalah ( ar, رسالـة) is the Arabic word for treatise, but among the Shia, the term is used as shorthand for a Resalah Amaliyah (risalah-yi'amaliyyah, ar, رسالهی عملیه) or treatise on practical law. These treatises are also ...
*
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 ...
*
List of Ayatollahs
*
List of deceased Maraji
This article provides the list of deceased ''Maraji'' (plural of ''Marja'', the supreme legal authority or the source of emulation), both current and deceased, followed by Twelver (also known as ''Imamiyyah'') Shia Muslims around the world. The con ...
*
List of current Maraji
This article provides the list of ''Maraji'' (plural of ''Marja'', the supreme legal authority or the source of emulation), followed by Twelver (also known as ''Imamiyyah'') Shia Muslims around the world. The concept of a ''Marja-i Taqlid'' (lit. ...
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'