Molla Ahmad Naraqi (1185-1245 A.H./1771-1829 C.E.) also known as known as “Fauzel Narauqee”, was a

Shi'i 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 n ...

cleric ("mullah"), who has been called "the first Shi‘i jurisprudent to argue for '' wilayat al-faqıh al-siyasıyah'', or "the divine mandate of the jurisprudent to rule" during the

occultation An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks ...

of the

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 ...

. The concept of ''wilayat al-faqıh'' or ''Velayat-e Faqıh'' (

Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist The Guardianship or Governance/''Wilāyat'' of/by an Islamic Jurist/''Faqīh'' ( fa, , Velâyat-e Faqih; ar, وِلاَيَةُ ٱلْفَقِيهِ, Wilāyat al-Faqīh), is a concept in Twelver Shia Islamic law which holds that until the r ...

) came to the attention of the world when Ayatollah

Ruhollah 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 ...

led the Islamic

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

in 1978-9 and established the

Islamic Republic of 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 ...

using ''wilayat al-faqıh'' as its governing principal. Naraqi's work called for the system in his technical fiqh work entitled ''Awa’id al-ayyam'' predating the call by the Ayatollah

for this system in his lectures and book

Islamic Government ''Islamic Government'' ( fa, حکومت اسلامی, ''Hokumat-i Eslami''), also known as ''The Jurist's Guardianship: Islamic Government'', ( fa, حکومت اسلامی ولایت فقیه, ''Velayat-e faqih: Hokumat-i Eslami '') Abrahamian, ...

by more than a century. Unlike Khomeini, Molla Naraqi never tried to establish or called for the establishment of a state based on ''wilayat al-faqıh al-siyasıyah''.Hairi, Abdul-Hadi 1988: “The Legitimacy of the Early Qajar Rule as Viewed by the Shi‘i Religious Leaders,” Middle Eastern Studies 24/3, 271-286; quoted in MATSUNAGA

Biography

Naraqi was born on the 14th of

Jumada al-Thani Jumada al-Thani ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلثَّانِي, Jumādā ath-Thānī, lit=The second Jumada) also known as Jumada al-Akhirah ( ar, جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة, link=no, Jumādā al-ʾĀkhirah, lit=The final Jumada), Jumad ...

, 1185 A.H. during the reign of

Karim Khan Zand Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Cauc ...

. He was tutor by his father from the age of five until twenty. He received the title of

mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ar, اجتهاد ', ; lit. physical or mental ''effort'') is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a le ...

at the age of fifteen and traveled to Iraq with his father in order to continue 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 ...

studies "in the main center of Shia hawza where he was a student under

Moḥammad Mahdī Baḥr al-ʿUlūm Al-Sayyid Moḥammad Mehdī Baḥr al-ʿUlūm or Bahrululoom (Arabic: السید محمد مهدی بحرالعلوم) (b.1155 Hijri year, AH (1742 CE)—d.1212 AH (1797 CE)) was a mystic and a Shiite religious authority in the 12th and 13th centu ...

, Sayyed Ali Tabautabau’ee, Sayyed Mahdi Shahrestani, and Sheikh Mohammad Ja’far Najafee. After his father Molla Mahdee died in 1209 A.H., Naraqi returned to

Kashan Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families. Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...

to take over his father’s

in that region. How many sons Naraqi had is disputed. According to one source he had two sons who both of whom became scholars. Hauj Molla Mohammad, became known as “Hojjat-ol-islam”, and received the title of “Khautam-ol-mojtahedeen”, and was the son-in-law of Mirza-ye-qomee. Nasiroddeen also became a scholar.

Notes

References

{{Reflist 1771 births 1829 deaths 20th-century Iranian people Iranian Shia clerics