| Religion: | Shia Islam |
| Honorific Prefix: | Grand Ayatollah |
| Seyyed Mohammad-Reza Golpayegani | |
| Grand Ayatollah | |
| Birth Name: | Mohammad-Reza Golpayegani |
| Birth Date: | 20 March 1899 (8th Dhu al-Qi'dah 1316 AH) |
| Birth Place: | Golpayegan, Sublime state of Persia |
| Death Place: | Qom, Iran |
| Resting Place: | Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom |
| Nationality: | Iranian |
| Era: | Modern history |
| Influences: | Seyyed Muhammad Hasan Khansari, Ayatollah Haeri, Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi Golpayegani, Ayatollah Muhammad Baqer Golpayegani, Ayatollah Muhammad Reza masjed Shahi Isfahani, Allameh Naieni, Allameh Sheykh Muhammad Hossein Qaravi Esfahani, Ayatollah Borujerdi, Muhaqeq Iraqi, Seyyed Abul Hasan Isfahani, Sheykh Abul Qasem Kabir |
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani (Persian: محمدرضا گلپایگانی; March 20, 1899[1] – December 9, 1993) was an Iranian Shia and marja' scholar.[2] He was born in 1899 in Gogad village near the city of Golpaygan, Iran. He was taught preliminary studies by his father, Mohammad Bagher. At the age of 9, his father died and he later on moved to Golpaygan to continue his studies. He was one of the highest-ranking Shia clergies to participate in the Iranian Revolution, and a one-time serious contender to succeed Ruhollah Khomeini in the 1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election. However, his candidacy was voted down by the Assembly of Experts, in favor of the eventual successor, Ali Khamenei.
Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad-Reza Golpayegani's father, Sayyed Muhammad Bagher, was a great scholar[3] who made sure that his son learned primary education and religious sciences under great masters.[4] At the age of 20, he moved to Arak to study under Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi and became one of his most noteworthy students.[5] After completing his education and achieving high scientific and spiritual positions, he started teaching and went on to become one of the most important masters of his time. After Ha'eri Yazdi and Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Khansari founded the hawza of Qom, he moved there and delivered lectures in the Islamic Seminary.[6]
He wrote many treatises and books about Jurisprudence and Islam, among them:
Ayatollah Golpayegani died in 1993 in Qom near Fateme Masoumeh Shrine.