Sheikh Jafar ibn Hussein ibn Ali Shooshtari (born 1230 AH, 1814/1815 AD, died 20

Safar Safar (), also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. Most of the Islamic months were named according to ancient Sabean/Sabaic weather conditions; however, since the calendar is lunar, the months shift ...

1303 AH/28 November 1885) was a prominent

Shia 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 understood ...

scholar from the city of Shooshtar.

Biography

He was born in 1230 AH in Shooshtar. He was a descendant of Ali ibn Hussain Najjar who was a great Shia scholar of 11th century AH. His paternal lineage is as follows: Jafar son of Hussein son of Hassan son of Ali son of Ali AlNajjar Shooshtari. He moved 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 ...

in early childhood with his father. He was taught by Sheikh Mohammad Al-e-Yasin, Sheikh AbdulNabi Kazemi and Sheikh Ismail ibn Asadollah Kazemi. He then returned to Shooshtar and then went to

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 ...

to study under Sheikh Mohammad Hossein Esfahani and Sharif ol Olama. Then he moved to

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 ...

to study under Sheikh Ansari. He returned to Shooshtar in 1255 AH and wrote "Menhaj ol Ershad" and built a Husseinya. In 1287 AH the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of prophet

Daniel Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the acti ...

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

was repaired by the order of Shaikh Jafar in the hands of Haj Mulla Hassan Memar. Then he returned to Karbala. He then made a trip to Iran to visit the tomb of

Ali Al-Ridha Ali al-Rida (, 1 January 766 – 6 June 818), also known as Abū al-Ḥasan al-Thānī, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the eighth imam in Twelver Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Musa al-Kazim. He is also part of th ...

. On the way, he stopped at

Ray Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, where many scholars and clerics on the order of

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (; ; 17 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. During his rule there was internal pressure from the people of Iran, as well as external ...

visited him and asked him to stay in Tehran. He accepted and moved to Tehran and held the prayers in Marvi Mosque. Sheikh Jafar was such a gifted speaker and his sermons were so emotional that they attracted thousands. The number of attendees grew so much that Marvi Mosque could not fit the crowd anymore. With the suggestion of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, he moved to

Sepahsalar Mosque The Sepahsālār Mosque (; ) is a mosque and madrasa located in the Baharestan district of the city of Tehran, in the province of Tehran, Iran. Construction of the mosque commenced in 1879 CE upon the order of Mirza Hosein Sepahsalar, a Grand ...

, and according to one of his students, 40,000 people attended his sermons. His sermons were so emotional, that often even clerics in the audience started weeping. Many have reported that Nasser Al-Din Shah Qajar himself was often coming to his sermons in an anonymous outfit. After spending some time in Tehran, he made a trip to Mashhad and then returned to Tehran again. Shah suggested that he should stay in Tehran, but he said that he wants to be buried next to his master

Ali Ibn Abi Talib Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until Assassination of Ali, his assassination in 661, as well as the first imamate in Shia doctrine, Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muha ...

Teachers

* Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Saheb Javaher * Sheikh Morteza Ansari * Sheikh Ali ibn Jafar Kashef al Ghata * Sheikh Mohammad Hossein Saheb FosoolNiroomand, The biography of Ayatollah Haj Sheikh Jafar Shushtari, 44 * Sheikh Ismail Kazemi * Sheikh Hassan ibn Jafar Kashef Al Ghata * Sheikh Razi Najafi *

Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad-Hasan al-Najafi (; 1785–1850), also known as Sahib al-Jawahir (Arabic: ), was a prominent Shiite religious authority and author. He was most known for his books of ''Jawahir al-Kalam Fi Sharh Shara'i' al-Islam'', ...

Students

* Mirza Mohammad Hamedani * Seyyed Abdulsamad Jazayeri * Agha Mirza Ebrahim * Molla Ahmad Naraghi * Sheikh Ali ibn Reza Kashef Al Ghata

Death

Sheikh Jafar became ill on his way 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 ...

to visit the tomb of Ali ibn Abi Talib and died in the Karand area between Iran and Iraq. His students moved his body to Iraq and buried him there. There is a mosque in Najaf in his honor.

Books

* Menhaj ol Ershad, in Persian. * Al Khasaes Al Hosseinya * Majales Al Mavaez * Favaed Al Mashahed va Natayej Al Maghased * Osol Al Din * Dame ol Ain * Lavaeh Allavahein * Foyouzat Masoudieh * Aldor Alnazid fi Khasaes Al Hossein Al Shahid

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ayatullah Shaykh Ja’far Shustari (R.A.)
1885 deaths 1810s births Shia scholars of Islam People from Shushtar