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 Reza Nekoonam (; 9 January 1949 – 7 August 2024) 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 ...

Shi'a 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 understoo ...

cleric.

Biography

Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Nekoonam was born in Golpaygan on 9 January 1949. From the age of three, he was taught by spiritual teachers and distinguished masters of various fields, particularly, Islamic mysticism. Most of them used to live in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

and were the top scholars of Iran. Nekoonam died on 7 August 2024, at the age of 75.

Arrest

On 1 January 2015, Nekoonam was arrested and given a five-year prison sentence after he defended high-speed internet and called for greater internet freedoms in September 2014. He suffered a stroke while in prison. On 16 September 2017, Nekoonam was sentenced to 5 years in prison and was stripped of his priesthood.

Teaching experiences

Ayatollah Nekoonam taught for over 40 years at the Qom Seminary. Some of the main areas where he wrote many books on included fiqh (advanced Islamic jurisprudence), usul (advanced Islamic principles), Islamic mysticism, philosophy, moral philosophy, sociology, economics, history, politics, psychology, law, studies of angels and jinn, dream interpretation, poetry, music, women, seminaries, medicine, Koranic exegesis, etymology, etc.

Publication

Ayatollah Nekoonam started writing at childhood. “What Do Literalists (Ikhbari) and Principlists (Usuli) Say?” which caught distinguished scholars’ attention at that time was the first book he wrote at the age of 11. He published over 800 books, over 200 of which have been published in Persian and Arabic. The rest are in print. Furthermore, a selection of his works are under translation into English.

Teachers

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 di ...

Mohammad Reza Golpaygani, Mohammad Ali Araki, Sheykh Morteza Haere, Mirza Hashem Amoli, seyyed Ahmad Khansari, Milani, Adib Neyshabori,

Allameh Tabatabai Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i (; 16 March 1903 – 15 November 1981) was an Iranian scholar, theorist, philosopher and one of the most prominent thinkers of modern Shia Islam. He is perhaps best known for his ''Tafsir al-Mizan'', a twenty-seven-volu ...

, Allameh Sha'rani, Allameh Elahiye Qomshei.

References

External links

Biography in Persian

www.nekoonam.ir
1949 births 2024 deaths Iranian ayatollahs Iranian Islamists Iranian Shia clerics sentenced to deposition by the Special Clerical Court People from Golpayegan Shia Islamists {{Islam-bio-stub