Muhammad ibn Muhammad Bagher Iravani () or Fazil Iravani was an Islamic jurist and the second

Sheikh ul-Islam Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning " elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of ...

of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and an Ayatollah al-Uzma.

Early life and education

Fazil Iravani was born in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

in either 1782 or 1817 to Muhammad Baqir Iravani. His grandfather Mir Abdulfattah Iravani was a cleric as well. He got his primary religious education in same city. He went on to continue his education in 1802 to

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

. He later went on to be a disciple of Ayatollah Sayyed Ibrahim Qazwini in

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 ...

and later studied in

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 an ...

. He was also a disciple of Sayyid Husayn Kuhkamara'i, uncle of Muhammad Hujjat Kuh-Kamari. According to Iranian writer Aghighi Bakhshayeshi, he was a successor to Kuhkamara'i and the Turkish faction of Najaf scholars. He later became a

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 ...

, having 30 students and disciples of himself, including Sayyid 'Ali Kuhkamara'i, his teacher's brother, Muhammad Hirz al-Din, Abdallah Mazandarani and Sayyed Hussein Khamenei (grandfather of

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

). He was

akhund Akhund () is a Persian language, Persian title or surname for Islamic scholars, common in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Azerbaijan. Other names for similar Muslim Scholar include Sheikh and Mullah. The Standard Chin ...

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

in his 40s.

Sheikh ul-Islam

He returned to his native Yerevan in 1827 and became

of Blue Mosque. He was appointed as deputy of

Mahammadali Huseinzadeh in 1843. He succeeded him as

of the

prior to former's resignation in 1846. He reformed many clerical issues, including taking

nikah In Islamic law, marriage is accomplished through the marriage contract, known as a () or more specifically, the bride's acceptance of the groom's dowry (''mahr'') and the witnessing of her acceptance. The contract has rights and obligatio ...

rights from mosque

mullah Mullah () is an honorific title for Islam, Muslim clergy and mosque Imam, leaders. The term is widely used in Iran and Afghanistan and is also used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and Sharia, sharia law. The title h ...

s and handing it over to more educated

s. He resigned his post in 1852 and was succeeded by Ahmad Huseinzadeh. He died on 3 March 1885, Yerevan in very old age and buried in

Works

He was long thought to be the author of famous novel ''The Rose and the Nightingale'' (1834), being mistaken for Fazlî Kara, an Ottoman poet. Besides that, he authored at least 15 treatises including ''Qawaid-i Farsi'' (1845,

), ''Usuli Ibrat''.

Family

He had at least 3 children: # Sheikh Mahmud Iravani # Sheikh Morteza Iravani # Sheikh Muhammad Javad Iravani (b. 1870, Najaf - 1962) ## Mirza Mohammad Iravani (died young) ## Sheikh Kazem Iravani ## Sheikh Mohammad Taghi Iravani (b. 1911 - d. 1 November 2005) ### Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Irawani (b. 1949, Najaf) ### A daughter #### Ammar Nakshawani

References

{{Religious Council of the Caucasus 1782 births 1885 deaths Azerbaijani Shia clerics Iranian Azerbaijanis People from Yerevan Muslims from the Russian Empire Shia clerics from the Russian Empire