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AYATULLAH AL-KHOEI
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 Ayatullah
Seyyid Abulqasim Musawi Al-Khoei (RA) was born in Azerbaijan, Iran 15 Rajab
1317 H. / 1899 A. D. and passed away in Najaf Al-Ashraf, Iraq on 8 Safar
1412 A.H.(August 8, 1992)
Educated in the established traditional way of Shia Theology by well known
jurists, he joined the world-renown theological institution in the holy city
of Najaf Al-Ashraf in 1912, the year he migrated from Iran.
At an early age, he attained the degree of ijtihad i.e. the process of
arriving at judgements on points of religious law using reason and the
principles of jurisprudence. This achievement normally warrants the title of
'Ayatullah'.
Teaching, Juristic, and Writing Merits
He taught in Najaf for over
70 years. For 50 years, he specialized in supervising post-graduate studies,
most advanced among which is 'Bahth-al-Kharij' - Graduation Classes -
equivalent to a Doctoral thesis. Successful candidates are qualified to
practice 'Ijtihad'
He is considered as the architect of a distinct school of thought in the
priciples of jurisprudence and Islamic law, and one of the leading exponents
of 'kalam'-scholastic theology- and 'rijal'- study of the biographies of
transmitters of ahadith, the Prophetic traditions, 'fiqh'- jurisprudence-
and 'tafseer'- exegesis of The Holy Qur'an. His interests included
astronomy, maths, and philosophy.
He was a prolific writer in the aforesaid disciplines. He wrote 37 books and
treatises, most of which have been published. His works include:
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Lectures in the Principles
of Jurisprudence - 10 volumes
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Biographies of Narrators of
Tradition - 24 volumes.
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Islamic Law - 18 volumes.
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Al-Bayan fi tafsir al-Qur'an
( The Elucidation of the Exegesis of The Qur'an)
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Minhaju-us-Saliheen (The
Path of the Righteous) - 2 volumes, reprinted 78 times ( guide book on
religious practice and law ) .
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Anthology of Religious
Questions - Concise version of the Path of the Righteous - in Arabic,
Urdu, Farsi, English, Turkish, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, and Gujarati.
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Mabani al-Istinbat (
Edifices of Deduction) Principles of Jurisprudence.
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Ajwad-at-Taqrirat (The Best
of Regulations) Principles of Jurisprudence.
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Sharh-el-Urwatul-Wuthqa
(Commentary on The Steadfast Handle) - Jurisprudence.
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Treatise on Suspected
Attire - Risala fil Libas Al-Mashkok, Evidential Jurisprudence.
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Nafahat-ul Ijaz ( the
Fragrance of Miracles ), in defence of The Noble Qur'an.
His post-graduate institute
normally accommodated some 150 students, at any given time. Among the
students who attended classes and were personally supervised by Imam Al-Khoei
included Ayatullah Al-Udhma Sayyid Sistani,
Ayatullah Al-Shaheed As-Sayyid Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr, Iraq, As-Sayyid Mahdi
Al-Hakim Mohammad Mahdi Shamsuddin ( Lebanon), Imam Mousa As-Sadr (
Lebanon),As-Sayyid Mohammad Husain Fadhlallah ( Lebanon ), Ayatullah Seyyid
Mohammad Al-Rohani ( Iran), Ayatullah Al-Ardabili, former Chief Justice of
Iran , As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Makki (Syria), As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Bahrul 'Uloom
(UK), Poet Mustafa Jamaluddin ( Syria ) .
After the death of As-Sayyid Mohsin Al- Hakim in 1972, Imam Al-Khoei
succeeded him as The Grand Ayatullah ( Al-Marja'a Al-a'alam) as he was the
most knowledgeable of the 3 living Grand Ayatullahs. He had the greatest
following among the Shias worldwide.
Achievements in the Welfare Sphere
He was fervently dedicated to
establishing welfare, social, cultural, and educational institutions for
Muslims worldwide. The following are some of the institutions he
established:
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Al-Akhund
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Darul Hikmah ( House of
Theosophy)
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Madinatul Ilm (City of
Knowledge) in Qom, Iran, considered one of the biggest theology centres in
the Shia world. The complex comprises the school building and living
quarters capable of accommodating 500 families.
-
As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center
in Bangkok, Thailand.
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As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center
in Dhakkah, Bangladesh.
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Ahlul-Bayt University,
Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Imam Al-Khoei Orphanage
Beirut, Lebanon
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Imam As-Sadiq Education
Institute for Boys, London, U.K.
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Imam As-Sadiq Education
Institute for Girls, London, U.K.
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Al-Iman School, New York,
U.S.A.
He was also the patron of
about 1,000 grant-maintained students of theology from Iraq and other
countries like Lebanon, Syria, Gulf States, India, Pakistan, Iran,
Afghanistan, South East Asia. He provided financial support for maintaining
the schools including boarding expenses, teachers' salaries and lodging
costs.
Other Institutions
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Publishing House -
Translation, printing and distribution of books worldwide, Karachi,
Pakistan.
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Cultural Complex, Bombay ,
India. Considered among the biggest Shi' ite Muslims cultural centre-under
construction.
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Representative Offices
catering for the religious, social, educational, and cultural needs of
Muslims all over the world,with the Headquarters in London, U. K. and
branches in the United States, Canada, India, Pakistan, U.A. E., Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, North Africa, Syria, Lebanon, Malaysia.
Imam Al-Khoei was a man of
peace dialogue and understanding. He advocated non-violence and promoted
tolerance,the values which mirror the human and universal principles of
Islam.
In the aftermath of the violent crushing of the popular uprising in Iraq
after the Gulf War by Saddam's troops, he was arrested with all members of
his family, and many ulama, taken to Baghdad, and under duress was made to
appear with Saddam on TV. Under mounting pressure, Saddam returned him,
without his family, to Najaf, where he was placed under house arrest on the
20th of March, l99l.
Mass genocide, destruction, arrests, and displacement of civilians in Najaf,
as well as in other cities and towns in the South of Iraq and North
perpetrated by the brutal Iraqi regime, left many cities virtually deserted
and normal life came to a halt. All classes in Najaf came to a standstill,
especially after the grave restrictions and constraints on the freedom of
the Spiritual Leader. After his death a year later, Saddam's regime closed
down the institute and deported, arrested and harrassed over 1000 students
who had been registered with the institute. |
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LIFE AND TIMES OF
AYATOLLAH AL-KHOEI AND HIS MARTYRED SONS |
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