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 ...

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Muhammad-Taqi Golshan Shirazi Ha'eri (; ), also known as al-Mirza al-Thani (; the first being

Mirza Shirazi Marja', Grand Ayatollah Mujaddid Sayyid, Mirza Abu Muhammad Mu'iz al-Din Muhammad Hassan Husayni Shirazi (; ; 25 April 1815 – 20 February 1895), better simply known as Mirza Shirazi (میرزای شیرازی), was an Iranian Shia marja'. Aft ...

), was a senior

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

- Iraqi jurist and political leader. He led the

Iraqi revolt of 1920 The Iraqi Revolt of 1920, also known as the Iraqi War of Independence or Great Iraqi Revolution began in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman Army, agai ...

Early life and education

Shirazi was born in 1840, to Mirza Muhib Ali Golshan Shirazi. His uncle was Mirza Habibullah Shirazi, a famous Iranian poet. He migrated to Karbala in 1854, and began his religious studies there, under scholars such as Sheikh Zayn al-Abideen al-Mazandarani, Sayyid Ali Taqi al-Tabatabaei, and Sheikh Fadhil al-Ardakani. He was granted ijazas by Mirza Husayn al-Khalili, Sheikh Husayn bin Taqi al-Nuri, Sheikh Abbas al-Tehrani, and Mirza Hasan Khan al-Shirazi. He then moved to Samarra along with his mentor and predecessor,

, to establish the city, as the new Shi'ite intellectual loci. In Samarra, Shirazi spent his time teaching and delivering lectures at the seminary. After the demise of his teacher, Shirazi took the reins of the seminary in Samarra. He remained in Samarra until 1916, when the situation began to deteriorate, and Shirazi feared that Samarra was going to end up like

Kut Kūt (), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare, Kut al-Imara, or Kut Al Amara is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad, and the capital of the Wasit Governorate. the estimated populatio ...

, during its

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, so he travelled to

Kadhimiya Kadhimiya (, ) or Kadhimayn () is a northern neighbourhood of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It is about from the city's center, on the west bank of the Tigris. 'Kadhimiya' is also the name of one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad. As th ...

. He remained there for just under two years, until he finally settled in Karbala.

Work

Shirazi had a number of publications, and often used ''Gulshan'' as his pen name: * ''.'' A commentary on Murtadha al-Ansari's . * ''.'' An exposition on Sadr al-Din al-Amili's ''.'' *

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

in the Persian language. * * * ''.'' Poetry in praise of the

Ahl al-Bayt () refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Sunni Islam, the term has also been extended to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. In Shia Islam, the term is limited to Muhammad, his daugh ...

''.''

Death

Shirazi died on August 28, 1920, in Karbala at the age of eighty. Sheikh Fatthullah al-Isfahani offered his funeral prayers. He was buried in the southern chamber in the Imam Husayn shrine courtyard.

References

Iraqi grand ayatollahs People from Karbala People from Shiraz 1840 births 1920 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire of Iranian descent Iraqi people of Iranian descent 19th-century Iranian writers Iraqi revolt of 1920 {{Islam-bio-stub