Current
The names are ordered by age (from Oldest to youngest).
This article provides the list of Maraji (plural of Marja, the supreme legal authority or the source of emulation), followed by Twelver (also known as Imamiyyah) Shia Muslims around the world. The concept of a Marja-i Taqlid (lit. source of emulation) is central to Usuli Shi'a Islam. [1] Marja-i Taqlids provide religious interpretations on matters of law and rituals. [2] [3] Ideally, the most just and knowledgeable specialist in the field of the Islamic law should become recognized throughout the Muslim world as the Marja-i Taqlid. In practice however this rarely happens and there are several marja taqlids among whom an individual is free to choose and emulate. [2] [3]
Those clerics who reach the apex in the hierarchy of theological rank in the centers of Shi'a learning become Marja-i Taqlids. [2] [4] Since around 1940, Marja-i Taqlids are often referred to by their followers with the honorific title of Ayatollah al-`Uzma (Grand Ayatollah - "ayatollah" meaning "sign of God"). [2] Among the functions of Marja-i Taqlids is the collection and distribution of religious taxes (zakat and khums). [2] [3]
The names are ordered by age (from Oldest to youngest).
Ayatollah is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran that came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most distinguished marja' at-taqlidmujtahid, it suffered from "inflation" following the 1979 Iranian Revolution when it came to be used for "any established mujtahid". By 2015 it was further expanded to include any student who had passed their Mujtahid final exam, leading to "thousands" of Ayatollahs.
Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Fazel Lankarani was an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja'. He was student of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi. He was a child of a Persian mother and an Azerbaijani father.
A hawza or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah is the collective term for madrasa where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.
Grand Ayatollah Kadhim Husayni al-Haeri is a prominent Twelver Shi'a Marja. He has studied in seminars of Najaf, Iraq under Grand Ayatollah Sadeq al-Sadr. Haeri was born in Karbala, Iraq. He was a top leader of the Al-Da'wa Party in Iraq. His involvement in the party led to his exile in the 1970s, later he moved to Iran, where he remains to this day in the city of Qom.
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 in the creation of new rules of fiqh; in assessing hadith to exclude traditions they believe unreliable; and in considering it obligatory to obey a mujtahid when seeking to determine Islamically correct behavior.
In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches have different clergy structures. Individual clerics are referred to as mullā or ākhūnd, but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term rūḥānī has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself".
Ayatollah Haydar al-Sadr was born in Samarra, Iraq. His father, Ismail as-Sadr was a Grand Ayatollah and the first to be use the as-Sadr surname, which came to be associated with a long line of religious scholarship within Shia Islam. Haydar and the as-Sadr family are also considered as Sayyid, or those who can trace their lineage back to Muhammad. The family's lineage is traced through Imam Jafar al-Sadiq and his son Imam Musa al-Kazim the sixth and seventh Shia Imams respectively. This direct and meticulously documented lineage is unprecedented even among the illustrious families in the Islamic world who claim such lineage. The Shia Muslims consider themselves the followers of Muhammad's bloodline, thus a great deal of respect and reverence is paid to the Sayyids throughout society. Some of the well known relatives of Haydar al-Sadr include his brother, Sadr al-Din Sadr, his nephew Moussa as-Sadr and another nephew Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.
The Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom is an Iranian group founded in 1961/3 by the leading Muslim clerics of Qom. Established by the students of Ayatollah Khomeini after his exile to Iraq, it was formed in order to organize political activities of Khomeini's followers and promote his revolutionary interpretation of Islam, such as the idea of Islamic government. Since the 1979 revolution, it has largely become the body to keep the regime's registrar of who counts as a grand ayatollah, an Ayatollah and a Hojjat ul Islam. It has a head who is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. It currently heads the Supreme Council of Qom Hawzas, and proposes judges to the judiciary system. The body gained international prominence when it announced in 1981 that Ayatollah Shariatmadari was no longer a source of emulation (marja'). It has demoted a number of clerics over the last three decades. A recent case was that of Ayatollah Yousef Saanei who for his solidarity with the green movement was demoted from marja' to hojatoleslam. The Society also includes Ayatollah Sistani on its list.
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Mazaheri Isfahani is a senior Iranian Twelver Shia Marja. He was also a member of the Third Assembly of Experts.
Twelver Shīʿism, also known as Imāmiyya, is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term Twelver refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as the Twelve Imams, and their belief that the last Imam, Imam al-Mahdi, lives in Occultation and will reappear as the promised Mahdi.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Ali Hosseini Alavi Gorgani was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a marja.
Seyed Reza Hosseini Nassab is an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja, currently residing in Canada. He was the President and Imam of the Islamic Centre in Hamburg, Germany, and since 2003 he has served as the President of Shia Islam Federation in Canada.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abbas Hosseini Kashani was an Iraqi born Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja from Karbala whose ancestors were from Kashan, Iran hence his surname.
Grand Ayatollah Agha Mojtaba Tehrani was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja' taqlid, which is described as "a high-ranking Shia cleric who is regarded as a source of emulation".
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Ezodin Hosseini Zanjani was an Iranian Twelver Shi'a Marja'. He studied in seminaries of Qom, Iran under Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi and Ruhollah Khomeini, and also in seminaries of Najaf, Iraq under Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei.
Ayatollah Mohammad al-Yaqoobi is a prominent Iraqi Twelver Shi'a Marja'. He is the second most widely followed Marja' in Iraq, the most widely followed being Ali al-Sistani. As well as heading the Al-Sadr Religious University in Najaf, he established one of the largest women's Hawzas in Iraq, and oversees many charitable organisations within Iraq. He is an active figure within Iraqi politics, and is considered by the Hawza to be the spiritual successor of Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and the school of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, with the former famously naming Yaqoobi his successor in an audio recording.
The Qom Seminary is the largest Islamic seminary (hawza) in Iran, established in 1922 by Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi in Qom. It trains Usuli scholars.
Marji', lit. 'source to follow' or 'religious reference', is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank. The highest ranking marjiʿ is known as the marja al-mutlaq or marja al-taqlid al-mutlaq. A Marji' is also, or usually is also, a Grand Ayatollah.
