|
Marja'
Marja (; plural ''marājiʿ''; ) is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Sharia, Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank. The highest ranking ''marjiʿ'' is known as the ''marja al-mutlaq'' or ''marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq''. A marji' is usually also a grand ayatollah. Sources differ as to when the institution of the marja˓ emerged, with Murtadha al-Ansari (died 1864) and Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (died 940 or 941) both being called the first marja'. As of 2023, there are approximately List of current maraji, over 50 living maraji, almost all residing in Iran or Iraq. Title Currently, maraji' are accorded the title ''grand ayatollah'' ( ''ʾĀyatullāh al-ʿUẓmā''). Previously, the titles of Allamah (such as Allameh Tabatabaei, Allameh Majlesi, Allameh Hilli) and Imam (such as Imam Khomei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imam Khomeini
Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian Revolution, which overthrew Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and served as the first supreme leader of Iran, the highest-ranking political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic until Death and state funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini, his death in 1989. Born in Khomeyn, in what is now Iran's Markazi province, his father was murdered when Khomeini was two years old. He began studying the Quran and Classical Arabic, Arabic from a young age assisted by his relatives. Khomeini became a high ranking cleric in Twelver Shi'ism, an ''ayatollah'', a ''marja''' ("source of emulation"), a ''Ijtihad#Qualifications of a mujtahid, mujtahid'' or ''faqīh'' (an expert in ''fiqh''), and author of more than 40 books. His opposition to the White Revolution result ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mohammad Al-Husayni Al-Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad al-Husayni al-Shirazi (; ; August 31, 1928 – December 17, 2001), commonly known as Imam Shirazi, was an Iraqi Shia marja' and political activist. Early life and education al-Shirazi was born to Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi and Halima al-Shirazi in Najaf. Both of his parents are from the distinguished clerical al-Shirazi family that emigrated from Shiraz to Karbala in the 19th century. He is the first of ten children. All of his brothers are clerics, and Sadiq al-Shirazi is a marja'. His mother is the great-granddaughter of Mirza Shirazi, the pioneer of the Tobacco Movement. His nephew, Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi is also a marja'. Education He grew up and studied briefly in Najaf, and moved to Karbala with his father in 1937. He remained in Karbala studying in its seminary under his father, as well as prominent scholars like Sayyid Hossein Tabatabaei Qomi, Sayyid Muhammad-Hadi al-Milani, Sheikh Muhammad-Ridha al-Isfahani, Sayyid Zain al-Abiden a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twelver
Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the Islamic schools and branches, largest branch of Shia Islam, Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Hujjat-Allah al-Mahdi, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in Occultation (Islam), occultation (''ghayba'') and will reappear as "the awaited Mahdi" (''al-Mahdi al-muntazar''). Twelver Shi'as believe that the Twelve Imams are divinely appointed as both spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and that they possess special knowledge and authority to guide the Muslim community. According to theology of Twelvers, Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who rule over the Ummah, Muslim community (''Ummah'') with justice, and are able to preserve and interpret the Sharia, Islamic law (Sharia) and the Esoteric inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sayyid Sadeq Rohani
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Sadiq Husayni Rohani (; 16 July 1926 – 16 December 2022) was an Iranian Shia marja'. Rohani resided in Qom. He claimed to have gained ijtihad from the grand Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, at the age of 14. He announced his marja'iyya after the death of grand Ayatollah Hossein Borujerdi, at the age of 35. Rohani was one of the first senior clerics to be placed under house arrest under direct order from grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini just a few years after the Iranian revolution. Rohani was for a time a critic of the Iranian government. Early life and education Rohani was born on 16 July 1926, to Sayyid Mahmoud Rohani (d. 1961), a renowned instructor in the Islamic seminary of Qom. It is believed that his father was the person who convinced Sheikh Abd al-Karim al-Haeri to move to the city of Qom and establish the seminary there. His mother was the daughter of Sayyid Ahmed Tabatabei Qomi, an Imam of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine. His brothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayatollah
Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most distinguished ''marja' at-taqlid'' ''mujtahid'', it suffered from "inflation" following the 1979 Iranian Revolution when it came to be used for "any established mujtahid".Momen, ''An Introduction to Shi'i Islam'', 1985, p.205-6 By 2015 it was further expanded to include any student who had passed their Mujtahid final exam, leading to "thousands" of Ayatollahs. The title is not used by the Sunni Islam, Sunni community of Iran. In the Western world – especially after the Iranian Revolution – it was associated with Ruhollah Khomeini, who was so well known as to often be referred to as "The Ayatollah". Etymology The title is originally derived from the Arabic word Grammatical modifier#Premodifiers and postmodifiers, post-modified with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murtadha Al-Ansari
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864; ) known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah () was an Arab Islamic scholar who was “generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time". He is considered to have laid the foundation of modern Shii jurisprudence, and his style has been imitated more than any other classical scholar of Shia Islam. Ansari has also been called the "first effective" model or '' Marja'' of the ShiaMottahedeh, ''The Mantle of the Prophet'', (2000), p. 210 or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law".Esposito, John, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam,'' (2003) p. 21 Life and studies His nasab is Murtadha bin Muhammad Amin bin Murtadha bin Shams al-Din bin Muhammad Sharif bin Ahmad bin Jamal al-Din bin Hassan bin Yusuf bin Ubaid Allah bin Qutb al-Din Muhammad bin Zaid bin Abi Talib. He traces his paternal lineage to the Sahabi Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari, who hailed from the Arab tribe of Kha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ijtihad
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) 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 legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (imitation, conformity to legal precedent). According to classical Sunni theory, ''ijtihad'' requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, revealed texts, and principles of jurisprudence ('' usul al-fiqh''), and is not employed where authentic and authoritative texts (Qur'an and hadith) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus ('' ijma''). ''Ijtihad'' is considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to perform it. An Islamic scholar who is qualified to perform ''ijtihad'' is called a "'' mujtahid''". For first five centuries of Islam, the practice of ''ijtihad'' continued in theory and practice among Sunni Muslims. It then first became subject to dispute in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taqlid
''Taqlid'' (, " imitation") is an Islamic term denoting the conformity of one person to the teaching of another. The person who performs ''taqlid'' is termed ''muqallid''. The definite meaning of the term varies depending on context and age. Classical usage of the term differs between Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. Sunni Islamic usage designates the unjustified conformity of one person to the teaching of another, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of a ''mujtahid'' (a person who is qualified for independent reasoning). Shia Islamic usage designates general conformity to the teaching of a ''mujtahid'', and there is no negative connotation. The discrepancy corresponds to differing views on the Shia Imamate and Sunni imams. In contemporary usage, especially in the context of Salafism, ''taqlid'' is often portrayed in a negative light and translated as "blind imitation". This refers to the perceived stagnation of independent intellectual effort ('' ij ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawzah
A hawza () or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah () is the collective term (plural hawzat) for a ''madrasa'' (i.e. seminary) where Marja', Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated. The word ''ḥawzah'' is Arabic, and has been adopted into Persian as a loan word. In Arabic, the word means "to hold something firmly". Accordingly, ''ḥawzah ʿilmīyah'' would mean a place where the firm knowledge (of the Muslim religion) is acquired. In the Persian language, ''ḥawzah'' refers to the middle part of a place or an area. ''Ḥawzah ʿilmīyah'' in Persian, therefore, means "the place of knowledge". Another meaning of the word is "circle of knowledge". Several senior Grand Ayatollahs constitute the hawza. The institutions in Najaf, Iraq and Qom, Iran, are the preeminent seminary centers for the education of Shi'a scholars. However, several smaller hawzas exist in other cities around the world, such as at Karbala, Iraq, Isfahan and Mashhad in Iran, Beirut, Lebanon, Lucknow, India, Lahore, Pakistan, Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mujtahid
''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) 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 legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (imitation, conformity to legal precedent). According to classical Sunni theory, ''ijtihad'' requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, revealed texts, and principles of jurisprudence (''usul al-fiqh''), and is not employed where authentic and authoritative texts (Qur'an and hadith) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus (''ijma''). ''Ijtihad'' is considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to perform it. An Islamic scholar who is qualified to perform ''ijtihad'' is called a "'' mujtahid''". For first five centuries of Islam, the practice of ''ijtihad'' continued in theory and practice among Sunni Muslims. It then first became subject to dispute in the 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatwa
A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', and the act of issuing fatwas is called ''ifta. Fatwas have played an important role throughout Islamic history, taking on new forms in the modern era. Resembling ''jus respondendi'' in Roman law and rabbinic ''responsa'', privately issued fatwas historically served to inform Muslim populations about Islam, advise courts on difficult points of Islamic law, and elaborate substantive law. In later times, public and political fatwas were issued to take a stand on doctrinal controversies, legitimize government policies or articulate grievances of the population. During the era of mass European/Christian invasions, fatwas played a part in mobilizing resistance against foreign aggressors. Muftis acted as independent scholars in the classical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
