Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabataba'i al-Hakim (1889–1970)

A rare photo of the top Shi’i jurist of his time, Grand Ayatollah Sayed Mohsen Al Hakim (d. 1970), teaching most likely in the 1960s in the famous Masjid Al Hindi in Najaf.

With the success of the Bolsheviks in Russia, the Red movement started to gain extensive support around the world. Particularly in the Middle East, many Muslims saw communism as the solution to all their socio-economic woes, and communist parties around the Arab world began to attract massive numbers of disenfranchised youth, especially in Iraq. And yet, the disastrous results of communism were already foreseen by a seemingly out-of-touch old cleric living and teaching in the Shia seminary of Najaf, whose religious edict declaring communism equivalent to Shirk and Kufr (polytheism and disbelief) marked the end of communism in Iraq.

He was born Sayyid Mohsin ibn Sayyid Mahdi Tabatabai al-Hakim to a scholarly family in the holy city of Najaf in 1306 AH. He received his religious education in Najaf, studying under such great giants of the seminary as Akhund al-Khurasani, Sayyid Abul Hasan al-Isfehani, Sayyid Kadhim Tabatabai Yazdi, and Shaikh Muhammad Hussain Naini. Upon the demise of his teachers, Sayyid Mohsin al-Hakim was recognized as the de facto leader of the Najaf seminary, and upon Ayatollah Burujardi's death in 1380 AH, he was accepted as the sole Marja Taqleed (Religious Authority) by Shias around the world.

Under Ayatollah Mohsin al-Hakim, the seminary grew extensively. He embarked on a program to collect various books and manuscripts that had hitherto been ignored or disorganized, culminating in his famous library containing over 30,000 books and nearly 5,000 various manuscripts. 

It is said that in times of financial shortage, Ayatollah Mohsin al-Hakim used to offer the prayers and fasts for diseased individuals and would use that money to buy these books and manuscripts from their owners. He also established several new religious schools, including the Madresa Sharif al-Ulema in Karbala, Madresas Sayyid Yazdi, Dar al-Hikma, and Ilmiya in Najaf, Madresa Ilmiya in Hilla, as well as a religious school especially for students of Afghan and Central Asian origin. His list of students includes such great names as Sayyid Abul Qasim al-Khoei, Sayyid Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini, Martyr Sayyid Qadhi Tabatabai, Martyr Sayyid Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr, Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani, Sayyid Sa'eed Tabatabai Hakim (his grandson), Shaikh Husain Waheed Khurasani, and Shaikh Nasir Makarem Shirazi. Read full

Fifth Anniversary of Fatwa Against ISIS

Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s advice on the 5th anniversary of his fatwa against ISIS

June 14, 2019/in All News, Featured, Human rights, Middle East, NEWS BRIEFS, Other News, Shia islam, world /

SHAFAQNA– On the fifth anniversary of the fatwa (edict) that was issued by top Shia marja’a Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani against the ISIS terrorist group, his remarks addressing the people of Iraq was read by his representative Sheikh Ahmad al-Safi during Friday prayers sermons in the holy city of Karbala.

According to Shafaqna, A statement released by the office of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani reads:

Five years ago on June 13, 2014, the Iraqi Shia religious authority issued a fatwa from the Holy Shrine of Imam Husayn (A.S) in Karbala. The edict called on every able-bodied Iraqi man to take up arm and defend the country, the nation and its sanctuaries against the ISIS (Daesh) terrorists who had taken vast swathes of land and were threatening the Iraqi capital Baghdad as well as other governorates.

After this edict -which was al-jihad al-kifa’i or a collective obligation – was declared, Iraqi men from all walks of life, old and young, enthusiastically rushed to the battle fields and fought for more than three years against the terrorists. They displayed acts of heroism and made sacrifices to save the country and its sacred sites, they had tens of thousands of martyrs and injured. As the result, God Almighty granted them victory; they could defeat the terrorists, purge Iraqi lands of nasty aggressors and eradicate terrorists’ delusional state.
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:::::World's Biggest Pilgrimage Now Underway:::::

It's not the Muslim Hajj, or the Hindu Kumbh Mela.. Known as Arbaeen, it is the world's most populous gathering and you've probably never heard of it! Not only does the congregation exceed the number of visitors to Mecca (by a factor of five, in fact), it is more significant than Kumbh Mela, since the latter is only held every third year. In short, Arbaeen dwarfs every other rally on the planet, reaching twenty million last year. That is a staggering %60 of Iraq's entire population, and it is growing year after year.

Above all, Arbaeen is unique because it takes place against the backdrop of chaotic and dangerous geopolitical scenes. Daesh (aka 'Islamic State') sees the Shia as theirmortal enemy, so nothing infuriates the terror group more than the sight of Shia pilgrims gathering for their greatest show of faith.

There's another peculiar feature of Arbaeen. While it is a distinctively Shia spiritual exercise, Sunnis, even Christians, Yazidis, Zoroastrians, and Sabians partake in both the pilgrimage as well as serving of devotees. This is remarkable given the exclusive nature of religious rituals, and it could only mean one thing: people regardless of color or creed see Hussein as a universal, borderless, and meta-religious symbol of freedom and compassion.

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23rd Death Anniversary of Ayatullah Abul Qaasim al-Khoeii (r.a.)

On 8th Aug, 1992 The Muslim world lost one of its brightest stars when Grand Ayatullah, Abul-Qasim al-Khoei passed away in Kufa.

May Allah shower his blessings on him and elevate him in Jannah under the blessings of 14 Masoomeen (AS). Aameen.
You are requested to recite surah-e-fatiha for Marhum Ayatullah Khoie.

Grand Ayatollah Sistani: Urges Nation to Unite Against Terrorism

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Ayatollah Sistani has met with top Sunni scholars stressing the necessity of unity between Shia and Sunni and urged the Iraqi nation to unite against terrorists.

Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, in a meeting with Sunni scholars and head of Shafi'i institute called for the Iraqi nation to conjoin and stand against terrorists.

The Ayatollah warned against the enemies and said, "Enemies are looking for separating us," adding that "there was no difference between Shia and Sunni."

In this meeting Shaykh Adnan al-a'ani, prayer leader of Sharjeel Mosque in Baghdad, accused the former Baath party regime of Iraq to spread sedition in the Iraqi nation and stressed that the nation will maintain its unity.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Hussaini al-Sistani, the highest ranking Shia leader in Iraq, is also the leader of Najaf Seminary.

Apart from his prominent role as Twelver Shia jurisprudent, he plays an important role in political issues of post-invasion Iraq.

Ayatullah Sistani is Fine

There is a strong rumour circulating via SMS and Telephone about the ill health and even demise of Ayatullah a--Uzma Sayyid Ali al-Sistani. The request on SMS is done to recite "Ammain Yojeeb..." for his early recovery as he is critically ill and is also requested to forward this SMS to other mo'mineen.
There is no substance in this news. It is just a RUMOUR. Please, first confirm the news, then circulate the  SMS.

Ayatullah a--Uzma Sayyid Ali al-Sistani

 While we should always pray for the good health of Olama, Ayatullahs, pious scholars, parents, elders and the mo'mineen.
May Almighty Allah enhance the life span of Ayatullah a--Uzma Sayyid Ali al-Sistani and other Maraj'e wherever they are.

"Allahumash-fe, Kulla Mareedh."

Lebanon's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Fadlallah dies

Lebanon's leading Shia Muslim cleric, a key figure in the founding of Hezbollah, has died aged 74, hospital sources have said.
Grand Ayatollah Fadlallah died in a Beirut hospital on Sunday where he was admitted on Friday for internal bleeding.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was regarded as Hezbollah's spiritual guide after it was founded in 1982.
A vocal critic of the United States, Ayatollah Fadlallah used to slam US warmongering policies in the Middle East, particularly its alliance with Israel.

Born in Najaf, Iraq, Fadlallah studied Islamic sciences in Najaf before moving to Lebanon in 1952.

In Najaf, Fadlallah was a pupil of the Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Sadr, one of the pillars of Iraqi Islamic rebirth between 1950-1960 and a co-founder of the Dawa Party.
Sadr, who was executed by Saddam Hussein's regime in April 1980, said of Fadlallah: "Anyone who leaves Najaf loses something of Najaf, except Fadlallah. When he left, it was Najaf that lost something."

In the following decades, he delivered many lectures, engaged in intense scholarship, wrote dozens of books, founded several Islamic religious schools, and established the Mabarrat Association.
Through that association he established a public library, a women's cultural center, and a medical clinic.