Muhammad Kadhim 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 first democratic revolution of Asia that happened in Iran (1905–1911), where he was the main clerical supporter of the revolution. He believed that the democratic form of government would be the best possible choice in the absence of Imam and regarded the democratic constitutional revolution a ''Jihad'' (holy war) in which all Muslims had to participate.

Along with Mirza Husayn Tehrani and Shaikh Abdallah Mazandarani, he led people against what they called a "state tyranny", issued fatwas, and "sent telegrams to tribal chiefs, prominent national and political leaders, and heads of state in England, France, Germany, and Turkey".

When Mohammad Ali Shah became king of Iran, Mohammad Kazim Khorasani sent him a 'ten-point' instruction including points on protecting Islam, promoting domestic industries and modern science, stopping colonial intervention in Iran 'while retaining diplomatic relations', and establishing 'justice and equality'.

He is regarded as one of the most important Shia ''Mujtahids'' of all times, and the title Akhund (the scholar) is almost exclusively used for him. He started to deliver his lectures at Najaf seminary in 1874 CE, when his mentor Syed Mirza Muhammad Hasan Shirazi left for Samarra and appointed him as his successor.

He became a source of emulation in 1895 and he taught for years in Najaf until his death in 1911 CE and trained a significant number of students from different regions of the Shi'ite world. All major Shia jurists in the twentieth century were in some way related to his circle. He was known for his credibility, independent thinking and intellectual rigor. His most famous work '' Kifayat al-Usul'' (''Sufficiency of Principles'' ( ar, کفایة الاصول)),
published in 1903 established him as the supreme authority on Shia theology, where he presented the Shi'ite jurisprudential principles in a more rigorous fashion as a unified theory of jurisprudence. It was recently published for 453rd time.

This book is considered the pinnacle of advanced theology and foundation of Usul al-Fiqh in Shia seminaries of Najaf and Qom. All major Shia jurists following Akhund Khurasani have written commentaries on it, the best known is written by Ayatullah al-Khoei.

Lifestyle and Education

Khurasani was born in Tus, a small town near Mashhad, in 1839 CE. His father, Mullah Hussain Heravi hailed from Herat, who was a cleric and a silk merchant. In 1850, he came to Mashhad to attend a Shi'ite seminary, Madrassa Ismail Khan. By 1856, he had completed the early education (''sutuh'') and got married.

At age 22, he left for Sabzevar, where he stayed for three months and got familiar with islamic philosophy under Molla Hadi Sabzavari. He wanted to go to Najaf but due to lack of funds, he delayed his departure and stayed in Tehran where he continued Islamic philosophy under Mulla Husayn Khoʾi at the Sadr seminary and completed his studies in Logic.

In 1862, he moved to Iraq and in Najaf followed the open lectures of the great Shi'ite jurist Ayatullah Shaykh Murtaza Ansari. Simultaneously he participated in open lectures of Ayatullah Mirza Hassan Shirazi, who later became famous for his campaign against the tobacco concession. He studied about two years under Murtaza Ansari.

After the death of Murtaza Ansari in 1864 CE, Mirza Hassan Shirazi became highest '' marja-e taqlid'' (“sources of emulation”) of the Shi'ite world. Akhund Khurasani continued studying under him until his migration to Samarra in 1875 CE.

Like most seminary students, Khurasani lived a humble life, and he had to bear loss of loved ones. Because of lack of money, he could only fulfill immediate needs and was content with the basic amenities offered by the office of the Marja.

After marriage, he couldn't take his wife with him to Najaf and left her in Mashhad, due to lack of finances. He was informed of the death of his first child soon after arriving in Najaf. His wife joined him later but in 1864 CE, died after giving birth to the second child. It took years before Akhund decided to marry again in 1873 and had four children: Mirza Mahdi Khurasani (1875–1945), Mirza Muhammad (1877–1937), Mirza Ahmad Kifa’i Khurasani (1912–1971), and Zahra (1891–1956). His second wife died from a chronic illness, and Khurasani married for the last time in 1895 and fathered two sons: Hussain Aqa (1901–?) and Hassan Kifa’i (1902–1954).

As a Marja, Khurasani spent khums money on the neediest of the seminary students and funded the operation of the seminary. He supported public schools that were not necessarily fully religious. He also built three madrassahs in Najaf: in 1903, the Grand School of Akhund (Madrisih-yi Buzurg-i Akhund), in 1908, Akhund's Intermediate School (Madrisat al-Wusta al-Akhund) and in 1910, Akhund's Elementary School (Madrisih-yi Kuchak-i Akhund). He also supported local Persian societies, such as Anjuman-i Ukhuvvat-i Iranian, in Iraq and funded the building of several schools in Kazimayn in 1907, the 'Alawi in Najaf in 1908–1909, and the Husseini in Karbala (probably in 1909), established with the support of Anjuman-i Musawat-i Iranian. Akhund Khurasani would also lend his financial support to democratic societies and political organizations.

Theological Influence and Opinions

After Mirza Shirazi moved to Samarra, he asked Khurasani to start giving open lectures in his place in Najaf. He had already granted him with permission to practice Ijtehad. His open lectures soon became popular among students. After Shirazi's death in 1894 CE, he emerged as the most important source of emulation of the Shi'ite world. In 1903 CE, he completed his most famous book, '' The Sufficiency'' ( ar, کفایة الاصول), which is considered as cornerstone of Shi'ite philosophy of law. Under Khurasani's leadership, the Usuli position became the dominant view.

Books

Akhund Khurasani wrote the following books:

Definition of Ijtihad

Akhund Khurasani says that Ijtihad is a process in which jurist “exerts his full capacity in order to arrive at an opinion based on a legitimate legal judgement.” According to Akhund, a jurist is obliged to take whatever time he needs to read and research into a matter before giving a reasonable judgement. He says that if his effort produces no result, the jurist must not give his opinion. In such a case, the jurist should obtain further knowledge. Followers are free to decide whom to emulate, and the most important traits of the Source of Emulation (Marja) are his openness towards contemporary issues and willingness to explore traditional and non-traditional knowledge to address needs of the community.

Ijtihad must be time-sensitive

As science and technology progress, social circumstances and lifestyle also change. Language evolves and new concepts emerge. Akhund Khurasani believed that jurisprudential judgement must be time-sensitive. Also, the jurist should be willing to change his opinions based on the needs of the ever changing society. However, he should not interfere in all aspects of people's life, beyond religious affairs. As for the social issues, he favored those reformers who were ready to think outside the box and consider scholarly inputs from other parts of the world. However, his version of secularism was different from western modernists, it was based on the Shia doctrine of occultation of the