Ayatollah Sayyid Murtadha al-Musawi al-Qazwini (; b. August 1, 1930) is a senior
Iraqi Shia
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
,
poet and
orator of
Iranian descent.
al-Qazwini is currently 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 ...
of the eastern wing of the
Imam Husayn shrine. He lived in exile for twenty three years between
Kuwait,
Iran and the
United States, until he returned to
Iraq after the
2003 invasion
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
He is the founder of the Development and Relief Foundation, a charitable institution that has established schools, a seminary, a state of the art hospital, and clinic 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 ...
.
He is currently the chief of the
al-Qazwini family.
Early life and education
al-Qazwini was born in Karbala to the prominent religious al-Qazwini family. His father was Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Sadiq al-Qazwini, a
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 ...
, that was the Imam at the
Abbas shrine. He was abducted by the Baathist regime on April 18, 1980 at the age of eighty. He has been missing ever since. His mother was the daughter of his third cousin, once remove, Sayyid Muhammad-Mehdi al-Qazwini, a
alim
Alim (''ʿAlīm'' , also anglicized as ''Aleem'') is one of the Names of God in Islam, meaning "''All-knowing one''". It is also used as a personal name, as a short form of Abdul Alim, "''Servant of the All-Knowing''":
Given name
* Alim ad-Din A ...
and poet, most known for authoring ''Huda al-Musanafin'' (Guidance of the Ranks), a critique on
Shaykhism. He is the fourth of seven children.
al-Qazwini naturally began his religious education at a young age. He carried out theological studies and academic education concurrently, and at the age of seventeen, was awarded by
Salih Jabr, for being the highest achieving student in the country.
In his religious education, he studied his intermediate stages under Sheikh Jafar al-Rashti, Sheikh Muhammad al-Khatib and his third cousin, once removed Sayyid Muhammad-Hassan Agha-Mir al-Qazwini.
As for the advanced stages, he studied them under Mirza
Mahdi al-Shirazi, Sheikh Yusuf al-Khurasani and Sayyid
Muhammad-Hadi al-Milani.
In 1942, he studied oratory under the supervision of his maternal uncle, Sayyid Muhammad-Salih al-Qazwini, who was a renowned cleric and orator. His uncle authored ''al-Mawidha al-Hasina'' (The Good Instruction), a critique of
Ali al-Wardi's ''Wuadh al-Salatin'' (The Sultans Preachers').
By the 1950s, he was giving sermons in the Husayn shrine. Consequently, he began to travel to other countries in the
Persian Gulf region
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body ...
, to deliver religious speeches.
He was really interested to study in the
Al-Azhar University
, image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg
, image_size = 250
, caption = Al-Azhar University portal
, motto =
, established =
*970/972 first foundat ...
, and so he travelled to
Cairo to and enrolled into the university. However, upon looking into the syllabus, he realised that the studies were not as advanced as he imagined them to be, and that he felt the level in Karbala was of much higher calibre, which led him to abandon his studies in Al-Azhar, and return to Karbala.
In 1953, he was granted
ijaza's from Sayyid
Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din, Sheikh
Agha Bozorg al-Tehrani and al-Milani.
The following year, the Imam Sadiq primary school was established, and al-Qazwini was made headmaster. He then resigned a few years later and went on to get married, go to the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
and visit many other countries.
Activism
Communist and Baathist Iraq
During the days of the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
red tide, under the rule of
Abd al-Karim Qasim, al-Qazwini supported Ayatollah Sayyid
Muhsin al-Hakim's fatwa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
deeming communism an infidelity and atheist. He took a strong stance against Qasim, by rejecting to join the
iftar he had prepared for the religious convoy in Ramadan, 1960, which lead to his imprisonment, making him the first cleric to become a political prisoner in Baghdad.
After the
Baathist regime took control in 1968, severe persecution began to gradually be administered towards the Shias, specifically the clerical class. As a result, al-Qazwini could not remain in home country for too long, and had to flee Iraq.
Exile
al-Qazwini fled to Kuwait in October, 1971 and picked up where he left off in Iraq from delivering speeches to teaching jurisprudence classes. In 1980, he travelled to Iran after the
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 ...
, and carried on his duties and activities, raising awareness of the teachings of the
Ahl al-Bayt
Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...
.
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 ...
, he spent a few years teaching in its seminaries, and led the Friday prayers at the
Jamkaran Mosque. In
Tehran, he served as a professor in
Shahid Motahari University Shahid Motahari University (Persian: دانشگاه شهید مطهری) was built in 1879 by Mirza Hosein Sepahsalar (Persian: میرزا حسین سهپسالار). The university is located in Baharestan square in Tehran, Iran.
After the revol ...
as well as a judge in the Islamic republic's judiciary system, appointed by
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 ...
. He led the Friday prayers at the al-Qodos Mosque.
In 1985, he emigrated to the
United States, and settled in
Los Angeles. He gained representation of the grand
maraja' of his time and began to widen the spectrum of his communication of Islam.
Return to Iraq
After the 2003 Iraqi invasion, al-Qazwini immediately returned to his Iraq and settled in Karbala. al-Qazwini claimed the ''Shirazi'' wing (eastern side) of the Husayn shrine and became the Imam of the daily prayers. He also performs a sermon after the congregational prayer.
It was evident that the Baathist regime had suppressed the Shias in Iraq, with Karbala in the forefront, having a single poorly maintained hospital in all of Karbala, as well as a very few schools, that did not meet basic academic standards. According to
UNICEF, there were five million orphans in Iraq in 2007. In 2004, al-Qazwini founded the Development and Relief Foundation (DRF). al-Qazwini embarked on a mission to revive Karbala. The DRF has established a school, orphanage, Islamic Seminary, hospital and clinic.
In 2008, he sponsored and lead the efforts of constructing the Imam Al-Hujjah Hospital,
a first of its kind charitable hospital in the region, that is solely founded on donations of philanthropists at large. This ambitious enterprise has gained interest and recognition of several healthcare institutes in North America, among which are the Institute of International Health at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
and Hardin Memorial Hospital in
Louisville.
In 2007, he was injured in an attempt to assassinate him as he was on his way home after delivering his nightly sermon at the Husayn shrine.
Establishments
al-Qazwini established a number of institutions in his lifetime. In the 1960s, he established and directed al-Kitab wal-Itra Institution for advanced religious studies in Karbala. The institution developed and trained speakers and scholars and dispatched them to all parts of Iraq.
Whilst In the United States, he founded:
* Masjid al-Zahra in
Southgate
Southgate or South Gate may refer to:
Places Australia
*Southgate, Sylvania
*Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria
Canada
*Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County
* Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario
Ed ...
, where he led prayers and offered lectures and religious programs.
* Imam Ali Islamic Center in
San Diego, which was directed by his son, Muhammad.
* Islamic Educational Center of Orange Country in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
, which as directed by his son Mousafa.
* Assadiq Foundation, which is now known as the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno in
Fresno, which is directed by his son Ali.
* City of Knowledge School in
Pamona
Pamona (also ''Poso'' or ''Bare’e'') is an Austronesian language spoken in Central and South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is part of the northern group of the Kaili–Pamona languages.
Dialects
''Ethnologue'' lists the following as dialects: Laiw ...
, which is a full-time academic Islamic school.
After al-Qazwini returned to Iraq in 2003, he founded Imam al-Sadiq School, a state-of-the-art full-time Islamic school in Karbala.
Works
Books
al-Qazwini has written numerous books including:
* ''al-Nubuwa wal-Anbiya' Fi Nathar Ahl al-Bayt'' (Prophethood and Prophets in the perspective of the Ahl al-Bayt)
* ''al-Mahdi al-Muntathar'' (The Awaited Mehdi)
* ''A'lam al-Shia'' (Notables of the Shia). Three volumes, 1)
al-Alamah al-Hilli. 2)
al-Tusi. 3)
Baha al-Din al-Ameli.
Poetry
al-Qazwini has written many verses of poetry, mostly in memory of the Ahl al-Bayt, either in praise or mourning. His most famous poem, about Husayn ibn Ali is as follows:
Personal life
al-Qazwini is married to the daughter of Sayyid Abd al-Amir Nasrallah, from the
Nasrallah
Nasrullah ( ar, نصرالله , lit=victory of God) is a masculine given name, commonly found in the Arabic language and is used by Muslims and Christians alike. It may also be transliterated as Nasralla, Nasrollah, Nasrullah, and Al-Nasrallah. ...
family in Karbala. He has six sons, who have all pursued clerical careers.
See also
*
al-Qazwini Family
The family of al-Qazwini (Arabic: آل القزويني, romanized: ''ʾĀl al-Qazwīnī''), also transliterated in a number of other ways, including al-Qazweeni or al-Qazvini are an Iraqi-Iranian religious Shia family that settled in Karbala from ...
*
Mohammed Kadhim al-Qazwini
Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Kadhim al-Musawi al-Qazwini (; ; March 13, 1930 – November 17, 1994) was an Iraqi Shia scholar, poet and orator of Iranian descent. He was born in Karbala, Iraq and died in Qom, Iran.
He was a dubbed the 'master of Ka ...
*
Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi
References
External links
Official websiteDevelopment and Relief FoundationThe Imam Al-Hujjah Hospital-Karbala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qazwini, Murtadha
Iraqi ayatollahs
People from Karbala
Al-Azhar University alumni
1931 births
Living people
Iraqi people of Iranian descent