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 ...
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-Ridha al-Husayni al-Shirazi ( ar, محمد رضا الحسيني الشيرازي; fa, ; 1959 – June 1, 2008) was an
Iraqi-
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 ...
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 ...
scholar, and the eldest son of
Muhammad al-Shirazi.
Mohammad Ridha Shirazi was considered to be the 'hope for the future of Islam.' The reason was mainly because of his ability to move those whose attended his lectures. It was widely understood that he would soon replace Ayatollah
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 cl ...
as
Marja, and succeed as the future head of the family.
Early life and education
Born in
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 ...
, to Sayyid Muhammad al-Shirazi, and Zainab Maash. He comes from the prominent
al-Shirazi family of Shia scholars, who claim ancestry from
Zayd ibn Ali
Zayd ibn Zayn al-Abidin ( ar, زيد بن زين العابدين; 695–740), also spelled Zaid, was the son of Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, and great-grandson of Ali ibn Abi Talib.
He led an unsuccessful revolt against the Umayyad Calipha ...
, the son of the fourth Shiite Imam,
Ali ibn Husayn. He is the great-great grandson of
Mirza 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_ ...
from his father's mother's side. His mother was the daughter of Muhammad-Salih Maash, a well known merchant in Karbala.
Education
His education began at a very young age, he spent his basic levels of
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, ...
studies at 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 ...
of Karbala. He then emigrated to Kuwait in 1971, along with his father and uncle due to the
Bathist pressure in Iraq, and continued to study under his uncle
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 cl ...
and cousin
Muhammad-Taqi al-Modarresi.
In 1980, he moved to
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 ...
and settled 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 ...
. Over there he spent his advanced levels of seminary studies, and excelled quickly under his father and uncle, as well as senior religious clerics such as Grand Ayatollah
Vahid Khorasani and Mirza
Jawad Tabrizi.
He gained the degree of ijtihad from his father, his uncle Grand Ayatollah Sadiq al-Shirazi, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad al-Fatimi al-Abhari, Grand Ayatollah
Yadollah Duzduzani, Grand Ayatollah
Jafar Sobhani
Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani ( fa, جعفر سبحانی) (born 9 April 1929 in Tabriz) is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja', marja, influential theologian and writer. Sobhani was a former member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom and founde ...
, Ayatollah Ahmed Shahristani, Ayatollah Ridha Sadr, Grand Ayatollah Murtadha al-Ardikani.
By 1989, he began to supervise ''bahth kharij'' (advanced research seminars) in jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence.
Works
Books
al-Shirazi authored many books. He wrote books at different academic levels; some directed at senior clerics, and others at the general public. Some of his books are:
*''al-Rasool al-Atham: Ra'id al-Hadhara al-Insaniya'' (The Great Messenger: Leader of Human Civilsation)
*''al -Tadabor Fi al-Qur'an'' (Reflecting In The Quran)
*''al-Imam al-Husayn: Athama Ilahiya Wa Ataa' Bila Hidood'' (Imam Husayn: Divine Greatness and Limitless Altruism)
*''al-Sha'aer al-Husayniya'' (The Husayni Symbols)
*''al-Zahra al-Faisal Wa al-Qudwa'' (Zahra: The Arbiter and Role Model
Lectures
al-Shirazi has given over five thousand lectures, in the science of Quran exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, principles of Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic scholastic theology, creed, manners, family, history and Arabic literature.
Death
al-Shirazi was found dead in the kitchen of his home in Qom, in the early hours of Sunday, 1 June 2008. He was then taken to Karbala, and buried in the
Imam Husayn Shrine near his grandfather
Mirza Mehdi. His death was sudden and considered to be due to a chronic disease. However, no death certificate was issued.
Murder Allegation
Followers of al-Shirazi denied his death to be of natural cause or a chronic disease, rather they believe he was murdered. al-Shirazi had carried out some medical tests a week before his passing, and showed no signs of concern. He had no previous known illnesses, except for a slipped disc, and was arguably leading a relatively healthy life.
His family found him on the floor, with nothing surrounding him close enough, to hit him on his way down to the floor. They had seen bruises and dark marks across his face, head and neck. The marks can be seen in the pictures and videos of his corpse, that were released briefly after his burial. It is also claimed that a death certificate was not issued from the hospital, despite it being unlawful in Iran for a corpse to leave a hospital without a death certificate. On Wednesday, 3 June, the corpse was sent to Karbala to be buried, and in Karbala, those responsible for the burial had to change his shroud, because the original from Qom, was stained with blood streaming from the three areas on his face where the marks can be seen.
A source alleged that al-Shirazi's blood was tested for chemicals in a lab in Baghdad, and the result came in positive for a strange chemical substance.
Funeral
al-Shirazi's funeral saw the attendance of many religious authorities as well as notable politicians including
Ibrahim al-Jafari and
Ahmed al-Chalabi.
External links
Library of al-Shirazi's Books(in Arabic) by ''al-Feker''.
Sound Library of al-Shirazi's lectures(in Arabic) by ''Shia Voice''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirazi, Mohammed Reza
1959 births
2008 deaths
Iraqi ayatollahs
Clergy