Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei (/ˈɑːbuː æl ˈkɑːsɪm æl ˈxhuːi/ AH-boo al KAH-sim al KHOO-ee; Arabic: أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; Persian: ابوالقاسم موسوی خویی; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian-Iraqi Shia marja'.[1][2] Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential twelver scholars.
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
November 19, 1899
August 8, 1992 (aged 92)
- Jamal al-Din
- Ali
- Abbas
- Abd al-Sahib
- Muhammad-Taqi
- Abd al-Majid
- Ibrahim
Ali-Akbar al-Khoei (father)
Mu'jam rijal al-hadith
1970–1992
After the death of Muhsin al-Hakim in 1970, he became the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992. He was succeeded briefly by Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari, until his death in 1993. Then his former student, Ali al-Sistani, took leadership of the seminary, whereby many of his followers became followers of al-Sistani.[3][4]
Biography[edit]
Al Khoei was born in the Iranian city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province in 1899. Khoei grew up in Iran. Around the age of 13, he moved to Iraq along with his older brother Abdullah and took up residence in the holy city of Najaf where he began studying Shia theology with the scholars of that city. He eventually attained the rank of Ayatollah and was made a marja. Khoei continued to live in Najaf, becoming a teacher for the remainder of his life, and overseeing the studies of scholars who would be qualified to issue fatwas based on Shia theology.
Due to his prominent position as a teacher and scholar in Najaf, he became an important leader of worldwide Shias. He was made the most prominent Grand Ayatollah in 1971 after the death of Muhsin al-Hakim. In this position, he became a patron of numerous institutions across the globe that sought to provide welfare, and also provided scholarships to theological students from across the Muslim world.
He is considered as the architect of a distinct school of thought in the principles of jurisprudence and Islamic law, and one of the leading exponents of kalam (scholastic theology) and rijal (study of the biographies of transmitters of ahadith, the prophetic traditions), fiqh (jurisprudence), and tafseer (exegesis of the Qur'an). His interests included astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy.
Al-Khoei's status as the pre-eminent scholar of his age did not go unchallenged. In the 1970s, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Al-Shirazi, a radical theologian based in Karbala had a long-running feud with Al Khoei and his fellow clerics in Najaf over the legitimacy of theocratic rule. The dispute resulted in Al-Khoei seeking to dismiss Al Shirazi's status as a religious scholar.[5]
After the Persian Gulf War, Khoei was arrested by Saddam Hussein during the mass Shia uprising that followed the defeat of Iraqi forces. While under arrest, he was taken to Baghdad and forced to make public appearances with Saddam Hussein. Hussein eventually allowed Khoei to return to Najaf, but he was placed under house arrest. Khoei died on 8 August 1992 in Najaf, at the age of 92.[6] His funeral was led by his student Ali al-Sistani. He was buried in the Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf.[7]
Khoei was married and had seven sons: