Created page with "{{Infobox religious leader|religion=Shia Islam|name=Grand Ayatollahs or Mujtahid|title=Grand Ayatollah, Ayatollah|image=Grand Ayatollahs.png|caption=A collection of photographs depicting eight prominent Shia Islamic scholars, religious clerics and Grand Ayatollahs Hossien Wahid Khorasani, Mousa Shubairi Zanjani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Abdullah Javadi Amoli, Sayyid Sadiq al-Husseini al-Shirazi, Mohammad Reza Modarresi Yazdi, Mohsen Araki, [..." |
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Latest revision as of 12:42, 1 November 2026
| Grand Ayatollahs or Mujtahid | |
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| Grand Ayatollah, Ayatollah | |
 A collection of photographs depicting eight prominent Shia Islamic scholars, religious clerics and Grand Ayatollahs Hossien Wahid Khorasani, Mousa Shubairi Zanjani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Abdullah Javadi Amoli, Sayyid Sadiq al-Husseini al-Shirazi, Mohammad Reza Modarresi Yazdi, Mohsen Araki, Syed Hasan Imam Rizvi | |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
A Mujtahid (Arabic: مُجْتَهِد, "diligent") is an individual who is qualified to exercise ijtihad in the evaluation of Islamic law. The female equivalent is a mujtahida. In general mujtahids must have an extensive knowledge of Arabic, the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and legal theory (Usul al-fiqh).[1] Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, due to their divergent beliefs regarding the persistence of divine authority, have different views on ijtihad and the qualifications required to achieve mujtahid.
Shia Muslims understand the process of ijtihad as being the independent effort used to arrive at the rulings of sharia. Following the death of the Prophet and once they had determined the Imam as absent, ijtihad evolved into a practice of applying careful reason in order to uncover the knowledge of what Imams would have done in particular legal situations. The decisions the Imams would have made were explored through the application of the Qur'an, Sunnah, ijma and 'aql (reason). It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that the title of mujtahid became associated with the term faqih or one who is an expert in jurisprudence. From this point on religious courts began to increase in number and the ulama were transformed by Shia Islamic authorities into the new producer of ijtihad.[2] Early Shiite theologians had denounced Sunni interpretative tools like Ijtihad and Qiyas (analogical reasoning) citing reports from the Shi'i Imams. They held that Ijtihad was a deductive process based on personal conjecture to argue that it had no legal basis in the shari'a (Islamic law). Therefore, until the 13th century, the concept of Ijtihad was denounced disparagingly by the Shi'i jurists, who wanted to construct a systematic and stable legal edifice that was devoid of any uncertainty. However, with the passage of time some Shia jurists sensed the need to respond to newer and novel circumstances.[3]
According to Usuli scholars, Mujtahids existed continuously since the 16th century and employed Ijtihad to form new laws according to altering circumstances.[4] From the late 18th century, Usuli jurists had advocated for appending 'Aql (intellect) as the fourth source of law. This enabled them to issue legal opinions based on societal needs. The Akhbari school rejected the idea of human intellect playing any role in legal reasoning.[5] In order to produce perceptive mujtahids that could fulfill this important role, Usulis developed the principles of Shia jurisprudence (Usool) to provide a foundation for scholarly deduction of Islamic law. Shaykh Murtada Ansari[6] and his successors developed the school of Shia law, dividing the legal decisions into four levels of certainty (qat), valid conjecture (zann), doubt (shakk), and erroneous conjecture (wahm). These rules allowed mujtahids to issue adjudications on any subject, that could be derived through this process of ijtihad, demonstrating responsibility to the Shia community.[2] Furthermore, according to Shia Islamic Jurisprudence a believer of Islam is either a Mujtahid (one that expresses their own legal reasoning), or a Muqallid (one performing taqlid—following or imitating a Mujtahid) and a Muhtat ("a lay Shiite who does not follow anyone, yet acts on such precaution that assures him the fulfilment of his religious obligations").[7][8] Most Shia Muslims qualify as Muqallid, and therefore are very dependent on the rulings of the Mujtahids. Therefore, the Mujtahids must be well prepared to perform ijtihad, as the community of Muqallid are dependent on their rulings. Not only did Shia Muslims require:
- Knowledge of the texts of the Qur'an and Sunnah
- Justice in matters of public and personal life
- Utmost piety
- Understanding of the cases where Shia mujtahids reached consensus
- Ability to exercise competence and authority[9]
However, these scholars also depended on further training that could be received in religious centers called Hawza. At these centers they are taught the important subjects and technical knowledge a mujtahid need be proficient in such as:
- Arabic grammar and literature
- Logic
- Extensive knowledge of the Qur'anic sciences and Hadith
- Science of narrators
- Principle of Jurisprudence
- Comparative Jurisprudence[10]
Therefore, Shia mujtahids remain revered throughout the Shia Islamic world. The relationship between the mujtahids and muqallids continues to address and solve the contemporary legal issues. Participating in ijtihad, however, has been cautioned by scholars for those not properly educated in interpretation of the Qu'ran. This is narrated by Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin, the great-grandson of Muhammad, when he cautioned Aban ibn abi-Ayyash, a fellow companion, saying, "Oh brother from 'Abd Qays, if the issue becomes clear to you, then accept it. Otherwise remain silent and defer to Allah because your interpretation from the truth will be as far from the Earth as the sky."[11]
List of Mujtahids[edit | edit source]
- Grand Ayatollah Hossien Wahid Khorasani
- Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
- Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenie
- Grand Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi
- Grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani
- Grand Ayatollah Ja'far Sobhani
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadeq Rohani
- Grand Ayatollah Mousa Shubairi Zanjani
- Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi
- Grand Ayatollah Abdullah Javadi Amoli
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Sadiq al-Husseini al-Shirazi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Modarresi Yazdi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohsen Araki
- Grand Ayatollah Syed Hasan Imam Rizvi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Rahmati Sirjani
- Grand Ayatollah Hossein Mazaheri
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi
- Grand Ayatollah Mirza Yadollah Duzduzani
- Grand Ayatollah Shamsodin Vaezi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Gerami Qomi
- Grand Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat Zanjani
- Grand Ayatollah Ali Asghar Rahimi Azad
- Grand Ayatollah Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Asghar Dastgheib
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ahmad Hassani Baghdadi
- Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Zanjani
- Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Javad Alavi Borujerdi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Amin Mamaqani
- Grand Ayatollah Jawad Khalesi
- Grand Ayatollah Khalil Mobasher Kashani
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn Esmaeel al-Sadr
- Grand Ayatollah Fazel Maleki
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Kamal al-Haydari
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Yaqoobi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Jamil Hammoud al-Amili
- Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Reza Hosseini Nassab
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Movahedi Najafi
- Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sannad
References[edit | edit source]
Citations[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Mujtahid". The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shia Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi'ism. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 186.
- ↑ Takim, Liyakat (2022). "2: Usul al-Fiqh and Ijtihad in Shi'ism". Shi'ism Revisited: Ijtihad and Reformation in Contemporary Times. New York, United States of America: Oxford University Press. p. 66. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197606575.001.0001. ISBN 9780197606575.
To further vindicate their practice, the scholars cited traditions from the Imams that denounced Sunni interpretive tools like those of analogical deduction (qiyas) and independent reasoning (ijtihad). The negative stance toward Sunni legal practices was premised on the view that ijtihad was a deductive process based on personal conjecture and therefore had no legal basis in the shari'a. Due to this, the term ijtihad was used in a disparaging way by the Shi'is until the thirteenth century. The denunciation of ijtihad during this period also indicates that Shi'i jurists wanted to construct a legal edifice that was devoid of any doubt or uncertainty. With the passage of time, Shi‛i fuqaha' sensed the need to respond to newer issues and novel circumstances..
- ↑ Mohammad Farzaneh, Mateo (2015). The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8156-3388-4.
- ↑ Mohammad Farzaneh, Mateo (2015). The Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the Clerical Leadership of Khurasani. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8156-3388-4.
- ↑ "The Life and Times of Shaykh Murtada Ansari". www.al-islam.org. January 19, 2013.
- ↑ Mohammadreza Kalantari, ed. (19 January 2017). "Research Seminar: "Lost in Translation: Taqlid and Marja'iyya in Shiite Islam"". AlMahdi Institute. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ↑ Jannati, Muhammad Ibrahim (17 March 2013). "The Term Ijtihad. The Forth Definition of Ijtihad". Ijtihad: Its Meaning, Sources, Beginnings and the Practice of Ray. Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ↑ Mutahhari, Murtada (2 March 2013). "The Principle of Ijtihad in Islam". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ Mutahhari, Murtada (2 March 2013). "The Principles of Ijtihad in Islam". Retrieved 1 May 2013.
- ↑ al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub (2015). Al-Kafi. Vol. 6. NY: Islamic Seminary Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-9914308-6-4.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Meri, Josef W., ed. (2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization. Vol. 2 L-Z, index. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-96692-4.
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Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Wael Hallaq: "Was the Gate of Ijtihad Closed?", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 16, 1 (1984), 3–41.
- Glassé, Cyril, The Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd Edition, Stacey International, London (1991) ISBN 0-905743-65-2
- Goldziher, Ignaz (translated by A And R Hamori), Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law, Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey (1981) ISBN 0-691-10099-3
- Kamali, Mohammad Hashim Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge (1991) ISBN 0-946621-24-1.
- Carlos Martínez, "Limiting the Power of Religion from Within: Probabilism and Ishtihad," in Religion and Its Other: Secular and Sacral Concepts and Practices in Interaction. Edited by Heike Bock, Jörg Feuchter, and Michi Knecht (Frankfurt/M., Campus Verlag, 2008).