Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei explained

Honorific-Prefix:Grand Ayatollah Sayyid
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
Birth Date:November 19, 1899
Birth Place:Khoy, West Azerbaijan, Sublime State of Persia
Death Place:Kufa, Ba'athist Iraq
Resting Place:Imam Ali Shrine
Main Interests:Hadith, Fiqh
Website:Official website
Works:Mu'jam rijal al-hadith
Native Name:Arabic: السيد أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي
Background:
  1. ABE9CC
Creed:Twelver
Denomination:Shi'a
Jurisprudence:Ja'fari (Usuli)
Religion:Islam
Period:1970–1992
Successor:Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani
Location:Najaf, Iraq
Predecessor:Muhsin al-Hakim
Parents:Ali-Akbar al-Khoei (father)

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei (; Arabic: أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; Persian: {{nq|ابوالقاسم موسوی خویی; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian-Iraqi Shia marja'.[1] [2] Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential twelver scholars.

After the death of Muhsin al-Hakim in 1970, he became the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992. He was succeeded briefly by Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari, until his death in 1993. Then his former student, Ali al-Sistani, took leadership of the seminary, whereby many of his followers became followers of al-Sistani.[3] [4]

Biography

Al Khoei was born in the Iranian city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province in 1899. Khoei grew up in Iran. Around the age of 13, he moved to Iraq along with his older brother Abdullah and took up residence in the holy city of Najaf where he began studying Shia theology with the scholars of that city. He eventually attained the rank of Ayatollah and was made a marja. Khoei continued to live in Najaf, becoming a teacher for the remainder of his life, and overseeing the studies of scholars who would be qualified to issue fatwas based on Shia theology.

Due to his prominent position as a teacher and scholar in Najaf, he became an important leader of worldwide Shias. He was made the most prominent Grand Ayatollah in 1971 after the death of Muhsin al-Hakim. In this position, he became a patron of numerous institutions across the globe that sought to provide welfare, and also provided scholarships to theological students from across the Muslim world.

He is considered as the architect of a distinct school of thought in the principles 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 Qur'an). His interests included astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy.

Al-Khoei's status as the pre-eminent scholar of his age did not go unchallenged. In the 1970s, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Al-Shirazi, a radical theologian based in Karbala had a long-running feud with Al Khoei and his fellow clerics in Najaf over the legitimacy of theocratic rule. The dispute resulted in Al-Khoei seeking to dismiss Al Shirazi's status as a religious scholar.[5]

After the Persian Gulf War, Khoei was arrested by Saddam Hussein during the mass Shia uprising that followed the defeat of Iraqi forces. While under arrest, he was taken to Baghdad and forced to make public appearances with Saddam Hussein. Hussein eventually allowed Khoei to return to Najaf, but he was placed under house arrest. Khoei died on 8 August 1992 in Najaf, at the age of 92.[6] His funeral was led by his student Ali al-Sistani. He was buried in the Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf.[7]

Legacy

Welfare

He was fervently dedicated to establishing welfare, social, cultural, and educational institutions for Muslims worldwide. The following are some of the institutions he established:

He was also the patron of about 1,000 grant-maintained students of theology from Iraq and other countries like Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Persian Gulf States, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South East Asia. He provided financial support for maintaining the schools including boarding expenses, teachers' salaries, and lodging costs.

Students

Former student Ali al-Sistani is currently the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq and widely regarded as "wield[ing] enormous power over Iraq's Shia majority."[8] The degree of success of his articulation of moderate Shia politics in Iraq have been said to be "in no small part traceable to the legacy of his mentor and teacher", al-Khoei.[9]

Another significant student of al-Khoei, is Muhammad-Sadiq Rohani, who also shared a close relationship with al-Khoei.[10] He was considered a high religious authorities in Iran, alongside Waheed Khurasani.

Works

Khoei wrote about various topics, ranging from Islamic jurisprudence to mathematics and astronomy and was a prolific writer in these disciplines. He wrote 37 books and treatises, most of which have been published. His works include:

Internet

Political impact

Al-Khoei was an "old rival" of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from when the two lived in Najaf, and dismissed Khomeini's theory that Velayat-e faqih—i.e., a ruling jurist should be the basis of Islamic Government—as a "bogus innovation" in Islam according to scholar Vali Nasr. Nasr argues that Al-Khoei's importance in limiting the reach of Khomeini's ideas "is often underrated and unrecognized".[11]

Although enthusiasm was passionate in the Shi'i world for the Iranian Revolution in its early years, Al-Khoei "openly urged followers to ignore" Khomeini[12] and "kept alive" the tradition of Shia thought "that accords more leeway to the idea of distinguishing between religious and political authority" then and "did so" until enthusiasm for Islamist rule had lost much of its "allure" among Shia worldwide. He should also be given much of the credit for whatever influence "moderate Shia politics" has had in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein through his mentee and student Ali al-Sistani who became the leading marjaʿ in Iraq after Al-Khoei's death.

Personal life

Khoei was married and had seven sons:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tarrad. Hamada. al-Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei: Za'im al-Hawza al-Ilmiya. Abd al-Hasan. Amin. 2004. Mu'sasat al-Imam al-Khoei al-Khayriya. ar. Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei: Head of the Islamic Seminary.
  2. Book: al-Waseti, Ahmed. Sirat Wa Hayat al-Imam al-Khoei. 1998. Dar al-Hadi. Beirut, Lebanon. ar. Biography and Life of Imam al-Khoei.
  3. Book: Corboz, Elvire. Guardians of Shi'ism: Sacred Authority and Transnational Family Networks. 2015-01-20. Edinburgh University Press. 978-0-7486-9145-6. 64–5. en.
  4. Book: al-Shafi'i, Abd al-Malik. Mawqif al-Tashayyu al-Imamiya Min Baqi al-Firaq al-Muslimeen. Maktabat al-Ridhwan. 2005. Egypt. 227–30. ar. The Stance of Imami Shiism on the Rest of the Islamic Creeds.
  5. http://www.aei.org/outlook/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/middle-east-and-north-africa/has-kuwait-reached-the-sectarian-tipping-point/ Has Kuwait reached the sectarian tipping point?
  6. https://www.al-khoei.org/about-2/the-foundation-2/ Biography of Ayatollah Khoei in English
  7. https://www.al-khoei.org/about-2/the-foundation-2/ Biography of Ayatollah Khoei in English
  8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3033306.stm Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004
  9. Book: Nasr, Vali. The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will shape the Future. Norton. 2006. 0-393-06211-2. 145. registration.
  10. Book: al-Shafi'i, Abd al-Malik. Mawqif al-Tashayyu al-Imamiyah Min Baqi Firaq al-Muslimeen. Maktabat al-Rudhwan. 2005. Cairo, Egypt. 229. ar. The Stance of Shiism On Other Muslim Sects.
  11. Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, 2006, p. 145
  12. Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, 2006, p. 144
  13. Web site: Usratuh - Awladih. www.alkhoei.net. His family - His sons. 2020-04-11.