Grand Ayatollah 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 Sh ...

Mohammad Ali Araki (, 22 December 1894 in Arak – 24 November 1994 in

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

) was an Iranian

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 twel ...

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

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 Sh ...

. Araki was teacher of many

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

ary person and was the last survivor from Ruhollah Khomeini's era. When he died,

IRNA The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA; , ''Xabargozâri-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi'' or ), is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Founded in November 1934 as Pars News Agency during the time of Reza Shah, it is State media, g ...

declared that "he was considered the greatest living

Biography

Mohammad Ali Araki was born in 1894 in Arak,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He started his education from Arak

Hawza 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. ...

. Grand Ayatollah Haeri allowed him to wear the turban and robe because qualified individuals were limited. Also, Araki studied many years in Yazd Hawza. After that he migrated to

and continued his studying under supervision of Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi. After the death of

Ruhollah 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 ...

, Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani was selected by Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom as Marja' for Khomeini's followers and after Golpaygani's death Araki was introduced. So, Araki was the last survivor from Ruhollah Khomeini's era.

Death

Ayatollah Araki died on 24 November 1994 at the age of 99. He was buried in Qom's

Fatima Masumeh Shrine The Shrine of Fatima Masumeh () is a Twelver Shi'ite shrine, located in the city of Qom, in the province of Qom, Iran. Qom is considered by Twelver Shia Muslims to be the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad. Fatima Masumeh was the si ...

References

External links

Photos of Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Araki
1894 births 1994 deaths People from Arak, Iran Iranian grand ayatollahs Burials at Fatima Masumeh Shrine {{Iran-bio-stub

Biography

Death

See also

References

External links