ayatollah
[ah-yuh-toh-luh]
Licensed from Columbia University Press
(born May 17, 1900?, Khomeyn, Iran—died June 3, 1989, Tehrān) Shīaynite cleric and leader of Iran (1979–89). He received a traditional religious education and settled in Qom circa 1922, where he became a Shīaynite scholar of some repute and an outspoken opponent first of Iran's ruler, Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1926–41), and then of his son, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1941–79). Popularly recognized as a grand ayatollah in the early 1960s, he was imprisoned and then exiled (1964) for his criticism of the government. He settled first in Iraq—where he taught at the shrine city of Al-Najaf for some years—and then, in 1978, near Paris, where he continued to speak out against the shah. During that time he also refined his theory of velāyat-e faqīh (“government of the jurist”), in which the Shīaynite clergy—traditionally politically quiescent in Iran—would govern the state. Iranian unrest increased until the shah fled in 1979; Khomeini returned shortly thereafter and was eventually named Iran's political and religious leader (rahbar). He ruled over a system in which the clergy dominated the government, and his foreign policies were both anti-Western and anticommunist. During the first year of his leadership, Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehrān—greatly exacerbating tensions with the U.S.—and the devastating Iran-Iraq War (1980–90) began.
Learn more about Khomeini, Ruhollah with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Rank
The title is currently granted to top Shia mujtahid, after completing sat'h and kharij studies in the hawza. By then he would be able to issue his own edicts from the sources of religious laws: Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmāˤ and 'Aql "intellect" (rather than the Sunnī principle of Qiyas). Most of the time this is attested by an issued certificate from his teachers. The Ayatollah can then teach in hawzas according to his speciality, can act as a reference for their religious questions, and act as a judge. There is an important difference from Shi'a Ayatollah's and "saints" in other religions and Sunni Islam. They are not regarded as enlightened by God Himself, but by the Word of God.There are a few females which are equal in ranking to the Ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahideh. A current example of a Lady Mujtahideh is Zohreh Sefati. Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi'ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli.
History
According to author Baqer Moin, "the title `ayatollah` was introduced at the time of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905 to honour those clerical leaders who signed the constitution.Grand Ayatollah
Only a few of the most important Ayatollah are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah (Ayatollah Ozma, "Great Sign of God"). This usually happens when the followers of one of the Ayatollahs refer to him in many situations and ask him to publish his Juristic book in which he answers the vast majority of daily Muslim affairs. The book is called Resalah, which is usually a reinvention of the book Al-Urwatu l-Wuthqah, according to their knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life.There is usually one Grand Ayatollah in Iraq that heads the Hawzas (currently Ali Sistani) and a few that coordinate with him like Ayatollah Bashir Najafi, Mohammad Said Al-Hakim, Mohammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad, and Mohammad Taqi Modarresi. There are more in Iran and wherever the Shi'a exist. There are more than 20 living world-wide; the most famous of them are Ali Khamenei, Ali Sistani, Makarem Shirazi, Malakouti, Montazeri, Fadlullah, Haeri and Sadiq Shirazi.
See also
References
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 09, 2008 at 18:20:35 PDT (GMT -0700)
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