Shi'a clergy
Encyclopedia
In Shi'a Islam
the guidance of clergymen and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. The clergy structure depends on the branch of Shi'ism we refer to.
and Akhbari
Shia Twelver Muslims believe that the study of Islamic literature
is a continual process, and is necessary for identifying all of God
's laws. Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the process of finding God's laws from the available Islamic literature will facilitate in dealing with any circumstance. They believe that they can interpret the Qur'an
and the Twelver Shi'a traditions with the same authority as their predecessors. This process of ijtihad has provided a means to deal with current issues from an islamic perspective. Generally, the Twelver Shi'a clergy have exerted much more authority in the Twelver Shi'a community than have the Sunni ulema, who have generally followed directions handed by their political authorities.
Most Sunni scholars, preachers, and judges (collectively known as the Sunni ulema
) traditionally believe that the door of ijtihad
, or private judgment, is closed. That is because they have been under the direct scrutiny and control of Islamic scholars over the years. Thus, traditionally religious rulings have been issued by ulama. In contrast, Shia scholars have traditionally been distanced from, and therefore, outside the direct control of governments. This has afforded these clerical establishments much more flexibility in dealing with religious as well as political matters, while also allowing the door to Ijtihad wide open.
Islām
, the term dāʻī has been used to refer to important religious leaders other than the hereditary Imāms and the Daʻwa
or "Mission" is a clerical-style organisation. "The Daʻwa" was a term for the Ismā'īlī faith itself from early on. They are also called Dāʻī Syednas.
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
the guidance of clergymen and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. The clergy structure depends on the branch of Shi'ism we refer to.
Twelver
UsooliUsooli
Usulis are the majority Twelver Shi'a Muslim group. They differ from their now much smaller rival Akhbari group in favoring the use of ijtihad i.e...
and Akhbari
Akhbari
The Akhbārīs are Twelver Shī‘a Muslims who reject the use of reasoning in deriving verdicts, and believe only the Qur'an, aḥadīth, and consensus should be used as sources to derive verdicts . The term Akhbārī is used in contrast to Usūlī...
Shia Twelver Muslims believe that the study of Islamic literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
is a continual process, and is necessary for identifying all of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
's laws. Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the process of finding God's laws from the available Islamic literature will facilitate in dealing with any circumstance. They believe that they can interpret the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and the Twelver Shi'a traditions with the same authority as their predecessors. This process of ijtihad has provided a means to deal with current issues from an islamic perspective. Generally, the Twelver Shi'a clergy have exerted much more authority in the Twelver Shi'a community than have the Sunni ulema, who have generally followed directions handed by their political authorities.
Most Sunni scholars, preachers, and judges (collectively known as the Sunni ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
) traditionally believe that the door of ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
, or private judgment, is closed. That is because they have been under the direct scrutiny and control of Islamic scholars over the years. Thus, traditionally religious rulings have been issued by ulama. In contrast, Shia scholars have traditionally been distanced from, and therefore, outside the direct control of governments. This has afforded these clerical establishments much more flexibility in dealing with religious as well as political matters, while also allowing the door to Ijtihad wide open.
Ismaili
The term Dāʻī al-Mutlaq literally means "the absolute or unrestricted missionary". In Ismā'īlīIsmaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Islām
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, the term dāʻī has been used to refer to important religious leaders other than the hereditary Imāms and the Daʻwa
Dawah
Da‘wah or Dawah usually denotes the preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summons" or "making an invitation", being the active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite"...
or "Mission" is a clerical-style organisation. "The Daʻwa" was a term for the Ismā'īlī faith itself from early on. They are also called Dāʻī Syednas.
Scholars
- Muhammad Ya'qub KulainyMuhammad Ya'qub KulainyAbu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Kulayni Al-Razi .-Life:Details of Kulayni’s life are not available therefore his date of birth is not ascertained. He was the foremost Shia compiler of hadith following into the footsteps and the traditions of Imams of Ahl al-Bayt...
- Shaikh Saduq
- Sheikh al-Mufid
- Abu Ja'far al-Tusi
- Nasir al-Din Tusi
Iraq
- Ali al-Sistani
- Bashir Hussain Najafi
- Sayed Muhsin al-HakimSayed Muhsin al-HakimGrand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabataba'i al-Hakim was born into a family, the Tabatabai, renowned for its scholarship. He was always in the forefront to defend Islam and Muslims. He became the sole Marja in 1961 after the death of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn Borujerdi...
(late) - Abul-Qassim KhoeiAbul-Qassim KhoeiGrand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul-Qassim al-Khoei was one of the most influential Twelver Shia Islamic scholars , and the predecessor to Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al-Husayni Al-Sistani. He was the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992...
(late) - Muhammad Baqir al-SadrMuhammad Baqir al-SadrShahid-e-Khamis Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr was an Iraqi Shi'a cleric, a philosopher, and ideological founder of Islamic Dawa Party born in al-Kazimiya, Iraq. He is the father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr and cousin of both Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and Imam Musa as-Sadr...
(late)
Iran
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shirazi (late)
- Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali MontazeriGrand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali MontazeriGrand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri Najafabadi was a prominent Iranian scholar, Islamic theologian, Shiite Islamic democracy advocate, writer and human rights activist. He was one of the leaders of the Iranian Revolution in 1979...
(late) - Sadiq Hussaini ShiraziSadiq Hussaini ShiraziGrand Ayatollah Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi (Arabic: سيد صادق الحسيني الشيرازي; born 20.12.1360 H (Islamic calendar) 8 January 1942CE (Gregorian) is an Iraqi Shi'a Marja, and the brother of the late Grand Ayatollah Sayed...
- Waheed Khorasani
- Ali KhameneiAli KhameneiAyatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
- Naser Makarem ShiraziNaser Makarem ShiraziGrand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is an ayatollah in Iran. He is a spiritual guide for many Shia Muslims.-In Iran:He started his formal Islamic studies at the age of 14 in the Agha Babakhan Shirazi seminary....
- Hossein Noori HamedaniHossein Noori HamedaniGrand Ayatollah Hosein Nuri-Hamadani is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja. Nuri-Hamadani has been called a "hard-line cleric," who has expressed his strong disapproval of Sufis and dervishes, Jews, the intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of...
- Lotfollah Safi GolpayganiLotfollah Safi GolpayganiGrand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja. He was born in Golpaygan, Iran. He has studied in seminaries of Najaf, Iraq under Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi. He currently resides and teaches in the Seminary of Qom, Iran....
- Taqi Bahjat (late)
- Ruhollah KhomeiniRuhollah KhomeiniGrand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
(late) - Sheikh Mirza Jawad Tabrizi (late)
Pakistan
- Late Syed Ijaz Hussain Kazmi
- Allama Hafiz Tasaduq Hussain
- Bashir Hussain Najafi
India
- Syed Ali Akhtar Rizvi(late)
- Kalbe AbidKalbe AbidMaulana Syed Kalbe Abid Naqvi was a mujtahid from Lucknow, India who preached Shia Islam and came from a family of scholars known as "Khandaan-e-Ijtehad", notably Syed Dildar Ali Nasirabadi, also known as Ghufran Ma'ab. His father was Syed Kalbe Hussain and grandfather Syed Aqa Hasan...
- Kalbe JawadKalbe JawadHujjat al-Islam Imam-e-Juma Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi is a Shi'a scholar from Lucknow, India.-Family background:...
- Mirza Mohd AtharMirza Mohd AtharMaulana Mirza Mohammad Athar is a zakir-e-ahl-e-bayt from Lucknow, India. He is the son of a very learned and popular speaker, the late Mulla Mirza Mohammad Tahir. Mirza Athar was educated at Sultan-ul-Madaris where he graduated with "Sadr-ul-Afazil" and Lucknow University where he obtained a...
- Hassan SadiqHassan SadiqMaulana Sadiq Hasan, is a Twelver Shia cleric from the city of Karachi, Pakistan.Hassan Sadiq is a Legendary Noha Khawan and Sana Khawan of Ahl-e-Bait . He is reciting Noha's and Manqabat's since 1982. He has a huge list of Noha's which are everlasting and are famous all over the world. He belongs...