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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. 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] |
Qom Seminary
The Qom Seminary (') is the largest and one of the foremost Shia Islam, Shia hawzas (Islamic seminaries), located in the city of Qom, Iran. It is the largest seminary in Iran, established in 1922 by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi in Qom to train Usuli scholars. The Hawza is composed of several structured institutions and systems developed to govern itself. Its curriculum includes Arabic grammar, rhetoric, Quranic studies, Qur'anic sciences, Aqidah, theology, and traditional sciences. Along with Kufa and Baghdad, the Qom hadith school is among the three earliest centers of hadith transmission in Shia intellectual history. The seminary's history dates back to the founding of Shia Qom, when the Ash'ari family—a Shia clan—migrated from Kufa to Qom and contributed to the development of the city. Once they gained control over Qom, the propagation of Shiism and teaching of hadith and the Qur'an began. This continued with the arrival of agents and descendants of the Imams of Sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Najaf
Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam and one of its spiritual capitals, as well as the center of Shia political power in Iraq. It is the Imam Ali Shrine, burial place of Muhammad's son in law and cousin, ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, and thus a major pilgrimage destination for Shia Muslims. The largest cemetery in the world (Wadi-us-Salaam) and the oldest Shi'a Islamic seminary in the world (Hawza Najaf, Hawza of Najaf) are located in Najaf. Etymology According to Ibn Manzur, the word, "najaf" (), literally means a high and rectangular place around which water is accumulated, although the water does not go above its level. Al-Shaykh al-Saduq appeals to a hadith from Ja'far al-Sadiq, claiming that "Najaf" comes from the phrase, "nay jaff" which means "the nay sea has dried". "Naj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaykh Tusi
Shaykh Tusi (), full name ''Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi'' (), known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah () was a Persian scholar of the Twelver school of Shia Islam. He is the author of two of the Four Books of hadith; namely, '' Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' and ''al-Istibsar'', and is believed to have founded the Hawza of Najaf. In addition, he was a scholar of '' ʾUṣūl al-Fiqh'' and is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential thinkers in Shi’i history. Life Shaykh Tusi was born 995 AD in Tus, Iran, and by 1018 AD he was living under the rule of the Buyid dynasty. Tusi's birth is considered a miracle, as he was born after the twelfth Imam of Shia, al-Mahdi's, supplications. He started his education in Tus, where he mastered many of the Islamic sciences of that period. He later studied in Baghdad, which was taken by Tughril-bek in 1055 AD. There he entered into the circles of Shaykh Al-Mufid as a paramount teacher. He started writing some of his earlier works in his twen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bashir Al-Najafi
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Basheer Hussain Najafi () (born 1942) is a Pakistani Twelver Shia Marja' and one of the Big Four (Najaf), Four Grand Ayatollahs of Najaf, Iraq. He was born in Jalandhar, a city in then-British India. He resides in Najaf, Iraq now. Migration to Pakistan After the Partition of India, partition of British India into the Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan in 1947, his family moved to Pakistan and settled in the city of Gujranwala, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab. In Gujranwala he had his initial education in religion. He was then able to move to Iraq for studies in the early 1960s. He is one of many individuals from South Asia and one of the few Pakistanis to have ever been elevated to the highest rank of Grand Ayatollah in Shia Islam. He was one year senior to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Al Najafi was attacked on 6 January 1999 by a group of armed men, reportedly members of Fedayeen Saddam, while he and members of his seminary were performing religious du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karbala
Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is one of the main political, spiritual and cultural hubs of Shi'a Islam. The city, best known as the location of the battle of Karbala in 680 AD between Husayn ibn Ali and his band of several dozen followers, including some armed women, and several thousand soldiers led by Umar ibn Sa'd, General Umar ibn Sa'd on behalf of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, the local governor. With presence of the shrines of Imam Husayn Shrine, Hussain and Al Abbas Mosque, Abbas, Karbala is considered a holy city for Shia Islam, Shia Muslims.Shimoni & Levine, 1974, p. 160.Aghaie, 2004, pp. 10–11. Soon, Karbala emerged as an important center of pilgrimage for Shiite Muslims across ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayatollah Sistani
Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (; born 4 August 1930) is an Islamic scholar and the dean of the Hawza of Najaf in Iraq. A Grand Ayatollah, Sistani is considered one of the leading religious leaders of Twelver Shia Muslims. After the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent overthrow of the authoritarian Baathist regime, Sistani advocated for democratization instead of the system of Wilayat al-Faqih. He has been a vocal critic of foreign interference in Iraqi affairs and has warned foreign actors against imposing their will on the Iraqi people. Born in Mashhad, Iran to a Sayyid family, Sistani studied in Qom under Hossein Borujerdi and later in Najaf under Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i. An Usuli, Sistani rose to the rank of ''mujtahid'' in 1960 and succeeded Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari as Grand Ayatollah. Sistani was included in top positions of ''The Muslim 500: The World's Most Influential Muslims'' from 2004 to 2024 and named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time'' m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Ayatollah Al-Khoi And Ali Al-Sistani
Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an 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 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 post-modified with the word ''Allah'', making (). The combination has been translated to English a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mashhad
Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. In the Central District (Mashhad County), Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district. It has a population of about 3,400,000 (2016 census), which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh. The city was governed by different ethnic groups over the course of its history. Mashhad was previously a small village, which by the 9th century had been known as Sanabad (Mashhad), Sanabad, and which was located—along with Tus, Iran, Tus and other villages—on the ancient Silk Road connecting them with Merv to the east. Mashhad would eventually outgrow all its surrounding villages. It gained its current name meaning "place of martyrdom" in r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Ayatollahs
Maraji are the supreme legal authority for Twelver Shia Muslims. The following articles contain lists of maraji. * List of current maraji * List of deceased maraji See also *Marja' *Ijtihad *Hawza *Risalah (fiqh) Risalah () is the Arabic word for treatise. Among the Shia the term is short for a () or treatise on practical law. These treatises are also known as collections of juridical edicts or clarifications of questions (). They are usually written by ... * List of ayatollahs * List of hujjatul Islams {{DEFAULTSORT:Maraji ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imam Ali Shrine
The Sanctuary of Imām 'Alī (), also known as the Mosque of 'Alī (), located in Najaf, Iraq, is a mausoleum which Shia and Sunni Muslims believe contains the tomb of 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib, a cousin, son-in-law and companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The Shī'as consider 'Alī as their first Imām and the first of the twelve caliphs of Muhammad, and the Sunnis regard him as the fourth Sunni Rashid Caliph. According to Shī'ite belief, buried next to 'Alī within this mosque are the remains of Adam and Nuh (Noah). Each year, millions of pilgrims visit the Shrine and pay tribute to Imām 'Alī. The shrine monument has been built and rebuilt numerous times throughout history. History The Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid built the first structure over the tomb of Imām 'Alī in 786, which included a green dome. The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil flooded the site in 850, but in the 10th century Abu'l-Hayja, the Hamdanid ruler of Mosul and Aleppo, rebuilt the shrine in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, in academics, or mostly in Christian ministry. The English word is taken from , translated as 'seed-bed', an image taken from the Council of Trent document which called for the first modern seminaries. In the United States, the term is currently used for graduate-level theological institutions, but historically it was used for high schools. History The establishment of seminaries in modern times resulted from Roman Catholic reforms of the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent. These Tridentine seminaries placed great emphasis on spiritual formation and personal discipline as well as the study, first of philosophy as a base, and, then, as the final crown, theology. The oldest Catholic seminary in the United States is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
