Seyyed ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn. The title may also refer to the descendants of the fa ...

Abdollah Behbahani (, 1840–1910) was a Shi'a

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and a prominent leader of the constitutional movement. He was born 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 ...

and was educated by scholars such as

Morteza Ansari Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Murtadha al-Ansari al-Tostari (1781–1864; ) known as Shaykh al-Ta'ifah () was an Arab Islamic scholar who was “generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time". He is considered to have laid the foundation ...

. During the constitutional movement he was influential in the

Majlis (, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning 'sitting room', used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to the Mus ...

. On the night of 15 July 1910, four gunmen attacked his house and killed him. Seyyed Hassan Taghizadeh was suspected to be responsible, and he subsequently fled the country.

Early life

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani was born in

. His father, Seyyed Esmaeil, was a famous scholar in Iran. He was descended from a prominent Shia scholar of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

, Abdollah al-Beladi from the village of al-Gorayfa. He was educated in Najaf by scholars such as

, Hosayn Kuhkamarai, Mirza Ḥasan Sirazi, and Shaikh Rażi Naǰafi and became qualified to provide religious guidance.

Political efforts

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani spent much of his life expressing his political views. His campaigns included refusing to participate in the Tobacco Protest; being dissatisfied with the selection of Ein al-Dowleh as grand vizier; desiring to conclude a solidarity treaty with Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai; agreeing to fight against the ruler at that time (Ahmad Kasravi referred to this treaty as the beginning of the Persian Constitutional Revolution); circulating the photo of Naus (the Belgian supervisor of the Iranian customs) wearing Islamic scholar clothes at a

Masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or bal masqué) is a special kind of formal ball which many participants attend in costume wearing masks. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal " costume parties" may be a descend ...

and asking for him to be dismissed; seeking sanctuary in Rey after objections were raised to the rise in the price of sugar, and punishing the merchants involved; establishing an assembly known as the ''Islamic seminary'' aimed at stopping sabotage by Ein al-Dowleh for founding the house of justice; and emigrating to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

as a protest against the failures of the government (this migration is now considered to be a major migration). He remained in Iraq until the constitutional decree of

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907) was the fifth Qajar shah of Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906, which he approved of in ...

. He was in agreement with the participation of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

as deputies in the

1st Iranian Majlis The 1st Iranian Majlis was a national legislative assembly from October 7, 1906, to June 23, 1908. This was the result of the constitutional movement emerging in Iran, opposing growing foreign influence, and aiming at limiting the shah's power. Th ...

(Persian legislative assembly), he objected to the bombardment of the Majlis by

Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (‎; 21 June 1872 – 5 April 1925) was the sixth shah of the Qajar dynasty and remained the Shah of Iran from 8 January 1907 until being deposed on 16 July 1909. He was furthermore the grandson of Iran’s early mod ...

, and he objected to the execution of

Sheikh Fazlollah Noori Sheikh Fazlollah bin Abbas Mazindarani (; 24 December 1843 – 31 July 1909), also known as Fazlollah Noori (), was a major figure in Iranian Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) as a Twelver Shia Muslim scholar and politically connected mull ...

Leader of constitutional movement

After the dissemination of the photo of Naus (the Belgian supervisor of the Iranian customs) at the

wearing the special clothes belonging to an Islamic scholar, Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani showed the photo to people and asked for Naus' dismissal. The fight against the government was started by sending letters to four

mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (i ...

in Tehran.

Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai Mirza Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabai (Persian: آیت الله میرزا سید محمد طباطبائی, also known as Mohammad Sang-e-laji,;''Sang-e-laj'' (سَنگِلَج) is one of the neighbourhoods of the Old Tehran, not far from the Grand Ba ...

accepted his request and a solidarity treaty was concluded between him and Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani. When

came back to Iran, at a time when there was increasing dissatisfaction among the people and scholars against the government, and Ein al-Dowleh was finally dismissed, Shah issued a constitutional order. Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani and Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai were not deputies or members of the Majlis, but they participated in the whole of the meeting.

Assassination

In the second

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, the deputies were divided into two groups: ultra progressive and moderate. Behbahani supported the moderate group and became an influential person when differences of opinion arose between the two groups, causing the ultra progressive deputies led by Sayyed Hasan Taqizadeh to dislike him. On the night of Friday 15 July 1910, four gunmen associated with the Social Democrats attacked him at his home and killed him. Seyyed Hassan Taghizadeh was suspected to be responsible, and he subsequently fled the country.

Haydar Khan Amo-oghli Haydar Khan Amo-oghli Tariverdi (; December 20, 1880 – October 15, 1921) was an Iranian left-wing revolutionary, key figure during the Persian Constitutional Revolution and among the founders of the Communist Party of Persia. Early years A ...

had organized the assassination. Behbahani's body was transferred to Najaf and buried in the courtyard of the Imam Ali Mosque.

Books

Seyyed Abdollah Behbahani authored ''Rasael-va-Masael fi

fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

'' (Dissertations and Problems in fiqh) containing 25

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

s each related to one of the problems of ''fiqh''.

References