Mohammed Kazem Tabataba'i Yazdi (; 1831–1919) was a

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 ...

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 ...

based 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 ...

, most famous for compiling a collection of religious rulings, al-Urwa al-wuthqa.

Constitutional Revolution

He was apolitical, and therefore during the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...

, he stayed neutral most of the times and seldom issued any political statement. Contrary to

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

, he thought that

Usuli Usulis ( ar, اصولیون, fa, اصولیان) are the majority Twelver Shi'a Muslim group. They differ from their now much smaller rival Akhbari group in favoring the use of ''ijtihad'' (i.e., reasoning) in the creation of new rules of ''fiq ...

sm did not offer the liberty to support constitutional politics. In his view, politics was beyond his expertise and therefore he avoided taking part in it. While Akhund Khorasani was an eminent

, many imitators prayed behind Kazim Yazdi too, as his lesson on rulings (figh) was famous. In other words both Mohammad Kazem and Khorasani had constituted a great Shia school in Najaf although they had different views in politics at the same time. However, he was not fully supportive of the King

Muhammad Ali Shah Qajar Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ( fa, محمدعلی شاه قاجار; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925, San Remo, Italy), Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 to 16 July 1909. He was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty. Biography Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar ...

Fazlullah Nouri Sheikh Fazlollah bin Abbas Mazindarani (; 24 December 1843 – 31 July 1909), also known as Fazlollah Noori (), was a twelver Shia Muslim scholar and politician in Qajar Iran during the late 19th and early 20th century and founder of islamis ...

, despite their efforts he didn't fully support them. Therefore, when parliament asked him to review the final draft of constitution, he suggested some changes and signed the document. He said that modern industries were permissible unless explicitly prohibited by Sharia. He also agreed with teaching of modern sciences, and added that the state should not intervene in the centers of religious learning (Hawza). He wasn't against formation of organizations and societies that do not create chaos, and in this regard there was no difference between religious and non-religious organizations. In law-making, unlike Nouri, he separated the religious (Sharia) and public law (Urfiya). His opinion was that the personal and family matters should be settled in religious courts by jurists, and the governmental affaris and matters of state should be taken care of by modern judiciary. Parliament added article 71 and 72 into the constitution based on his opinions. Ayatullah Yazdi said that as long as modern democratic constitution did not force people to do what was forbidden by Sharia and refrain from religious duties, there was no reason to oppose democratic reform, and the government had the right to prosecute wrong doers.

Works

One of his important books is ''

Urwa al-Wuthqa Urwa al-Wuthqa (Arabic: العروة الوثقي) is Mohammed Kazem Yazdi's book which is considered as the most prominent compilation and Fiqhi book of him so that it is mentioned there are many—Islamic—scholars who hold this book with them ...

(Orwatul Wosgha)''.Urwa al-Wuthqa
hawzah.net Retrieved 27 Oct 2018 This book which is in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

is to a collection of legal ruling issued in 1919.

Bibliography

* *
The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran By Said Amir Arjomand
*Mottahedeh, Roy, ''The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran'', One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yazdi, Mohammed Kazem Iranian ayatollahs 20th-century Iranian politicians People of the Persian Constitutional Revolution 1831 births 1919 deaths Burials at Imam Ali Mosque Hashemite people 19th-century Iranian politicians

Constitutional Revolution

Works

See also

Bibliography

References