Marja'
Marja' (Arabic: مرجع, romanized: marjiʿ ; plural marājiʿ ; 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 (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) 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.[1][2][note 1] A marji' is also, or usually is also,[3] a grand ayatollah.
This article is about a Shia authority. For the town in Afghanistan, see Marjah. For people named Marja, see Marja (name). For mother of caliph Al-Ma'mun, see Marajil. For lists of Maraji, see Lists of Maraji.
Sources differ as to when the institution of the marja˓ emerged, with Murtadha al-Ansari (died 1864)[2] and Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (died 940 or 941)[4] both being called the first marja'.
As of 2023 there are approximately over 50 living maraji, almost all residing in Iran or Iraq.
History[edit]
First marja'[edit]
Shiʿi "biographical compilations generally" consider Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni (d. 940 or 941) – one of the first compilers of Shiʿite hadith – to be "the first" post-occultation marja al-taqlid, according to Neguin Yavari
and Eric Hooglund.[4] However, according to Robert Gleave, the institution of the marja˓ did not emerged until the nineteenth century,[note 2] with the first universally recognized marja˓, "the influential mujtahid Murtadha al-Ansari (d. 1864)".[2] Still another source – four mullahs at al-islam.org who were asked directly "Who was the first ever Marja-e-Taqleed?" – was non-committal. Only one of four (Mohammad Al-Musawi) replied and would only say, "from the time of the Prophet (SAWA) and the Infallible Imams, Muslims who lived in places far away from them, were ordered to refer in religious matters to the scholar in their area".[20]
Shiite authorities in the history of Shi'ism have an important role in the religious, political and social thought of their communities. One example is the fatwa of Mirza Mohammed Hassan Husseini Shirazi imposing sanctions on the use of tobacco during Qajar rule, which led to the abolition of the tobacco concession.[21]