Hawza Najaf

The Najaf Seminary (Template:Lang-ar), also known as the al-Hawza Al-Ilmiyya (الحوزة العلمية), is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world. It is located in the city of Najaf in Iraq. The school also operates a campus in Karbala, Iraq.

It is located near the Imam Ali Mosque. It was established in the 11th century by Grand Ayatollah Shaykh al-Tusi.

History

Shaykh Tusi went to Baghdad to continue education. After 12 years, he was forced to leave Baghdad and go to Najaf for sectarian differences.^[1] He established the seminary in Najaf in 430 AH (the 11th century AD),^[2] which continued as a center of study until the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921. He died in 460 AH (1067 CE).^[3]^[4] The seminar was one of the biggest and most important hawza of the world for educating and training Shia clerics.^[5]

Subjects

The subjects taught at the seminary include:^[6]

Mantiq (Logic)
Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence)
Fiqh (Jurisprudence)
Tafsir al-Qur'an (Qur'an Exegesis)
Ulum al-Qur'an (Qur'an Sciences)
Ilm al-Hadith (The Study of Traditions)
Ilm ar-Rijal (Science of Narrators)
Tarikh (History)
Aqaid / Kalam (Theology)
Lugha (Language Studies)
Falsafa (Islamic Philosophy)
Irfan (Islamic Mysticism)

Trained scholars

Some of the known Shia Grand Ayatollahs were trained in the Najaf seminary.^[7]

Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ardabili - he was one of the most famous Shia scholars. He was known as Mohaghegh (researcher) and Moghaddas (saint).^[8]
Moḥammad Mahdī Baḥr al-ʿUlūm - he was known as Baḥr al-Ulum for his considerable knowledge. Bahr al-Ulum was a popular Shia Muslim scholar. He is specifically known as one of the few individuals who attained the climax of spiritual perfection.^[9]
Mohammad Bagher Shafti - he was the leader of Isfahan seminary.^[7]
Akhund Khorasani - he was a student of Morteza Ansari. Khorasani was the greatest Marjaʿ after Mirza Shirazi and before Mohammad Fadhil Sharabiani, he was known as an indubitable master of usul al-fiqh.^[10] He authored a book focused on commercial law.^[11]
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei - Ali al-Sistani was his student.^[12] He was made the most prominent Grand Ayatollah in 1971 after the death of Muhsin al-Hakim.^[13] He was well-known author in Hadith studies and Rijal and Kalam knowledge.^[12]^[14]
Ibn Idris Hilli - he founded the Hillah seminary.^[7]
Mirza Shirazi - he was the leader of Samarra seminary and Tobacco Protest.^[11]
Hajj Muhammad Ibrahim Kalbasi - he was the leader of Isfahan seminary.^[7]
Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi - he was the founder of the Qom Seminary in Iran.^[15] Ruhollah Khomeini was his student. He was Marjaʿ.^[16]
Kashif al-Ghita - he was the leader and great Marjaʿ of Shia.^[7]
Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi - he authored Javaher al-kalam Fi sharh-e Sharay-e al-Islam^[17] and was a leader of the Najaf seminary.^[18]
Morteza Ansari - he was the leader of Najaf seminary after the death of Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi.^[7] He has been called "first effective" Marjaʿ of the Shia^[19] or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law".^[20]^[7]
Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi - his popular students included Imam Khomeini, Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Sayed Ali Khamenei, Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, and Dr. Seyed Ali Mirlohi Falavarjani.^[21] Borujerdi was the sole marja "in the Shia world" from 1945-6 until his death in 1961.^[22] Borujerdi was the first Marja who attempted Islamic unity. He sent Sayyid Muhaqqiqi to Hamburg, Germany, Aqa-e-Shari'at to Karachi, Pakistan, Al-Faqihi to Medina and Musa al-Sadr to Lebanon.^[23]^[24]
Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i - he authored Tafsir al-Mizan^[25] and he was one of the most prominent Intellectuals of philosophy and contemporary Shia Islam.^[26]^[27] He was an expert in philosophy in Islam. His philosophy is focused upon the sociological treatment of human problems.^[26] His book, Shi'ite Islam, was translated into English by Hossein Nasr and William Chittick as a project of Colgate University. He was interviewed by Henry Corbin.^[28]
Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi - he was one of the greatest Marja in Lebanon. He attempted to bring Shia and Sunni closer.^[29]

References

^ Jaffer - XKP, Mulla Asghar Ali M. FIQH and FUQAHA (PDF). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 4, 2015). ISBN 978-1519106759. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-26.
^ "Part 2: The Fuqaha". World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities.
^ "Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
^ Sreeram Chaulia. "Shiites and Democracy". Mideast Monitor. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.
^ "A rare look inside the 'heart of society' for Iraq's Shi'ites". Reuters. 12 October 2017.
^ "Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Archived from the original on 2011-03-08.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani (10 November 2016). "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly.
^ Ghobadzadeh, Naser (2015). Religious Secularity: A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State (Religion and Global Politics). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0199391172.
^ Litvak, Meir (2 May 2002). Shi'i Scholars of Nineteenth-Century Iraq: The 'Ulama' of Najaf and Karbala'. Cambridge University Press (May 2, 2002). ISBN 978-0521892964.
^ Hairi, A.; Murata, S. (1984). "AḴŪND ḴORĀSĀNĪ". Encyclopædia Irannica.
^ ^a ^b Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). ISBN 978-1851682348.
^ ^a ^b Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004
^ "The Wall Street Journal: Index, Volume 2". Dow Jones & Co., 1992. 1992.
^ Allawi, Ali A. (2007). The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. Yale University Press; Reprint edition (March 18, 2008). p. 207. ISBN 978-0300136142. al-Khoei is lead rijal.
^ "Haeri Yazdi، Ayatollah Abdulkarim".
^ Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.229
^ Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (8 October 1998). The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press; Revised edition (October 8, 1998). ISBN 978-0195119152.
^ Arjomand, Saïd Amir (January 1988). Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies). SUNY Press; Annotated edition (July 8, 1988). ISBN 978-0887066399.
^ Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). p. 210. ISBN 978-1851682348.
^ Esposito, John L. (21 October 2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Quick Reference). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (October 21, 2004). p. 21. ISBN 978-0195125597.
^ The course of Imam Khomeini's struggles narrated by SAVAK [Seir e mobarezat e imam khomeini be revayat e savak] (in Persian). Vol. 1. p. 45. and http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2130/bio
^ Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.231
^ "Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi".
^ Chehabi, Abisaab, Houchang , Rula Jurdi (2006). Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years. I.B.Tauris (April 2, 2006). ISBN 978-1860645617.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Biography of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei by Amid Algar, University of California, Berkeley, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
^ ^a ^b Legenhausen, Dr. Muhammad (19 February 2015). "'Allamah Tabataba'i And Contemporary Philosophical Theology". ALHODA PUBLISHERS.
^ Husayni Tihrani, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn (2011). Shining Sun. Islamic College for Advanced Studie; UK ed. edition (May 1, 2011). ISBN 978-1904063407.
^ Randall, Yafia Katherine (31 March 2016). Sufism and Jewish-Muslim Relations: The Derekh Avraham Order in Israel. Routledge; 1 edition (April 7, 2016). ISBN 978-1138914032.
^ Rizvi, Arsalan (11 August 2008). "Sayyid Sharafuddin al-Musawi".

External links

[1] Jaffer - XKP, Mulla Asghar Ali M. FIQH and FUQAHA (PDF). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 4, 2015). ISBN 978-1519106759. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-26.

[2] "Part 2: The Fuqaha". World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities.

[ai-Hawza-3] "Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.

[S&D-4] Sreeram Chaulia. "Shiites and Democracy". Mideast Monitor. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.

[reuters-5] "A rare look inside the 'heart of society' for Iraq's Shi'ites". Reuters. 12 October 2017.

[6] "Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies". Archived from the original on 2011-03-08.

[Rasoul_Imani-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Khoshkhu, Rasoul Imani (10 November 2016). "A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1". Ahlul Bayt World Assembly.

[8] Ghobadzadeh, Naser (2015). Religious Secularity: A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State (Religion and Global Politics). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2014). ISBN 978-0199391172.

[9] Litvak, Meir (2 May 2002). Shi'i Scholars of Nineteenth-Century Iraq: The 'Ulama' of Najaf and Karbala'. Cambridge University Press (May 2, 2002). ISBN 978-0521892964.

[Iranica-10] Hairi, A.; Murata, S. (1984). "AḴŪND ḴORĀSĀNĪ". Encyclopædia Irannica.

[Mottahedeh1985-11] Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). ISBN 978-1851682348.

[bbc-12] Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004

[13] "The Wall Street Journal: Index, Volume 2". Dow Jones & Co., 1992. 1992.

[14] Allawi, Ali A. (2007). The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace. Yale University Press; Reprint edition (March 18, 2008). p. 207. ISBN 978-0300136142. al-Khoei is lead rijal.

[15] "Haeri Yazdi، Ayatollah Abdulkarim".

[16] Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.229

[17] Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (8 October 1998). The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence. Oxford University Press; Revised edition (October 8, 1998). ISBN 978-0195119152.

[18] Arjomand, Saïd Amir (January 1988). Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies). SUNY Press; Annotated edition (July 8, 1988). ISBN 978-0887066399.

[19] Mottahedeh, Roy (18 October 2014). The Mantle of the Prophet. Oneworld (August 15, 2000). p. 210. ISBN 978-1851682348.

[20] Esposito, John L. (21 October 2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Quick Reference). Oxford University Press; 1 edition (October 21, 2004). p. 21. ISBN 978-0195125597.

[21] The course of Imam Khomeini's struggles narrated by SAVAK [Seir e mobarezat e imam khomeini be revayat e savak] (in Persian). Vol. 1. p. 45. and http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2130/bio

[22] Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, (1985, 2000), p.231

[23] "Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi".

[24] Chehabi, Abisaab, Houchang , Rula Jurdi (2006). Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years. I.B.Tauris (April 2, 2006). ISBN 978-1860645617.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[25] Biography of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei by Amid Algar, University of California, Berkeley, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.

[tabatabai-26] Legenhausen, Dr. Muhammad (19 February 2015). "'Allamah Tabataba'i And Contemporary Philosophical Theology". ALHODA PUBLISHERS.

[27] Husayni Tihrani, Sayyid Muhammad Husayn (2011). Shining Sun. Islamic College for Advanced Studie; UK ed. edition (May 1, 2011). ISBN 978-1904063407.

[28] Randall, Yafia Katherine (31 March 2016). Sufism and Jewish-Muslim Relations: The Derekh Avraham Order in Israel. Routledge; 1 edition (April 7, 2016). ISBN 978-1138914032.

[29] Rizvi, Arsalan (11 August 2008). "Sayyid Sharafuddin al-Musawi".

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Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States Israel

History

Subjects

Trained scholars

See also

References

External links