awza instruction and its role in shaping modern Shɨ‘ite identity: The ![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
Notes
1. For more on this period see E. Kohlberg, ‘Im[abar]m and Community in the Pre-Ghayba Period’, in Arjomand Said Amir (ed.), Authority and Political Culture in Shɨ‘ism (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1988), p.34.
2. The ‘minor occultation’ lasted for 67 years, from 874 to 941 CE. For more details see, for example, A.A. Sachedina, Islamic Messianism (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1981), pp.85ff.
3. ‘A. al-
usayn al-
ālihɨ, ‘Ma‘ālim jāmi‘atayn al-Najaf al-ashraf wa-Karbalā’ al-Muqaddasa’[‘The Features of the Two Colleges of al-Najaf and Karbalā'], in Al-Najaf al-Ashraf ishāmāt fɨ al-a
āra al-insāniyya[Al-Najaf, Contributions to Human Civilization] (London: Markaz Karbalā’ lil-bu
ūth wal-dirāsāt, al-Markaz al-islāmɨ fɨ ingiltirā, 2000), pp.539–40.
4. For more on the Safavids see R.E. Darley-Doran, ‘Safawids’, EI 2 , Vol.8 (1995), pp.765–93.
5. F. al-Huwaydɨ, ɨrān min al-dākhil[Iran from the Inside] (Cairo: Markaz al-ahrām, 4th printing, 1991), pp.57–8; S.A. Arjmand, The Shadow of God and the Hidden Im[abar]m (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984), p.109.
6. However, historical sources do mention one clash during the period in question, which they describe as the first confrontation in modern Shɨ‘ite history between clerics and the authorities and the first test of Shɨ‘ite power. The incident in question took place during the reign of Shah ‘Abbās I (the Great) (ruled 1587–1629 CE). The cleric Mullā Ahmad Ardibillɨ had a quarrel with the Shah during which he told him that his authority was neither of divine origin nor due to his family's talents; rather, he served as the viceroy of the ‘hidden imam’, and if he violated the trust placed in him, the clerics had the right to remove him from his position. For details see H. Algar, The Roots of the Islamic Revolution (London: Open Press, 1983), p.15.
7. For details of the Qajar dynasty see A.K.S. Lambton, ‘Kādjār’, EI 2 , Vol.4 (1997), pp.387–99.
8. For more detail about the ikhbāriyya school see E. Kohlberg, ‘Akbāriya’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol.1 (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985), pp.716–18; E. Kohlberg, ‘Aspects of Akhbarɨ Thought in Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’, in N. Levtzion and J.O. Voll (eds.), Eighteenth Century Renewal and Reform in Islam (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1987), pp.133–60; W. Madlung, ‘Akhbāriyya’, EI
2
(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980) Supplement, 56–7; H. Algar, Religion and State in Iran 1785–1906: The Role of the Ulama in the Qajar Period (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1969), pp.7ff, 19, 33–6, 64–6; G. Scarcia, ‘Intorno alle controversie tra Ab[abar]rɨ e U
[ubar]lɨ Presso gli Imamiti di Persia’, Rivista delgi Studi Orientali, Vol.33 (1958), pp.211–50.
9. For details see N. Keddie, ‘The Roots of the Ulama's Power in Modern Iran’, in N. Keddie (ed.), Scholars, Saints and Sufis: Muslim Religious Institutions Since 1500 (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1972), p.223. For more on the dispute between the two schools and on the significance of the ikhbāriyya victory see Keddie, ‘The Roots of the Ulama's Power’, pp.211–30; L. Binder, ‘The Proofs of Islam: Religion and Politics in Iran’, in G. Makdisi (ed.), Arabic and Islamic Studies in Honor of Hamilton A.R. Gibb (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1965), pp.118–14; D. Minshari, Iran in Revolution (Tel Aviv: HaKibbutz HaMeuhad, 1988), pp.44–5 (Hebrew).
10. H. Mamūd, ‘Fikrat [Abar]yat Allāh al-‘uzmā’[‘The Thought of the Great Ayatollah’], http://www.islamonline.net/Arabic/famous/2004/08/article02a.SHTML
11. For more detail on the concept of emulation among Shɨ‘ites see: L. Clarke, ‘The Shɨ‘I Construction of Taqlid', Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol.12, No.1 (2001), pp. 40 – 64.
12. For details see Keddie, ‘The Roots of the Ulama's Power’, p.223.
13. E.W. Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1865), II, p.667, s.v. ‘WZ’; I.M. al-Mirɨ (Jamāl al-Dɨn Muammad b. Makram), Lisān al-‘Arab[Tongue of the Arabs Dictionary] (Beirut: Dār adir, 1990), 5, pp.341–2, s.v. WZ; al-Huwaydɨ, ɨrān min al-dākhil, p.112.
14. ‘A.H. al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-aq
ār al-islāmiyya[awzas in the Lands of Islam] (Beirut: Bayt al-‘ilm lil-nābihɨn, 1st printing, 2004), pp.21–2; Markaz al-takhɨ wal-manāhij al-dirāsiyya [Centre for Planning and Curricula] (ed.), al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ fikr al-imām al-Khāmina'ɨ[The awza in the Thought of the Im[abar]m al-Khāmina'ɨ] (Beirut: Ma‘had al-rasūl al-akram al-‘ālɨ lil-sharɨ‘a al-islāmiyya, 1st printing, 2002), p.18.
15. There are a number of reasons why Shɨ‘ite religious leaders established awzas next to the shrines of imāms and prominent religious scholars. These locations were considered auspicious and believed to afford protection; founders of awzas also took into consideration the fact that the shrines were visited by many pilgrims, and that this way awza students and the Shɨ‘ite masses would come into closer contact; there are also those who believe that the proximity of awzas to shrines imparted a popular rather than an elitist character to the learning there (although the character of the more advanced stages of awza instruction is quite rarefied); furthermore, the very existence of a awza next to a shrine causes visitors to the shrine to take counsel with the clerics there in the course of performing the pilgrimage ceremonies. For more details see G. bin Jiddu, ‘Madɨnat Qumm’[‘The City of Qumm’], programme broadcast on al-Jazeera television, 10 January 2005, and again on 5 February 2005; see http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres.
16. See ‘A. al-Bahādilɨ, ‘al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya ladā al-muslimɨn al-shɨ‘a’[‘The Shɨ‘ite awzas’], al-‘Irfān, Vol.80, No.3–4 (1996), p.124.
19. M. al-Gharawi, al-Hawzat al-'ilmiyya fi al-Najaf al-Ashraf (The Hawza in al-Najaf) (Beirut: Dar al-adwa, 1994), p.232.
20. For more details on teaching methods at the awzas see: M. al-Gharawɨ, Ma‘a ‘ulamā‘al-Najaf[With the Scholars of al-Najaf] (Beirut: Dār al-thaqalayn, 1st printing, 1999), 1, p.55ff.
21. Ibn Jiddu, ‘Madinat Qumm', op. cit.
22. Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.43–5; M. al-Gharawɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf al-Ashraf[The awza in al-Naja] (Beirut: Dār al-a
wā’, 1st printing, 1994), pp.229–31.
23. For details see http://www.hawzah.com/nobtha/manhajiya.htm.
24. J. Berkey, The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A Social History of Islamic Education (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992), p.34; R. Hillenbrand, ‘Madrasa’, EI 2 , Vol.V (1986), pp.1123–54.
25. For more on the khawā
see J.B. àl Mabūba, Māɨ al-Najaf wa-āiruhā[Najaf, Past and Present] (al-Najaf: Maba‘at al-adab, 1955), 3, p.417; M.M. Kā
imɨ, Asan al-wadɨ‘a fɨ tarājim ashhar mashāhɨr mujtahidɨ al-shɨ‘a[A Treasure of the Best: Biographies of the Most Renowned Shɨ‘ite Mujtahidɨn] (Baghdad: Maba‘at al-najā, 1348/1929); M.M.[Abar].B. al-
ahrānɨ, Nuqabā’ al-bashar fɨ al-qarn al-rābi‘‘ashar[The Leaders of Humanity in the Fourteenth Century AH] (al-Najaf: al-Matba'a al-'Ilmiyya, 1954–1968), pp.792–3.
26. For details see M. Litvak, ‘Continuity and Change in the Ulama Population of Najaf and Karbala, 1791–1904: A Socio-Demographic Study’, Iranian Studies, Vol.23 (1990), pp.31–60.
27. M.M. Tunikauni, Qia al-‘ulamā’[Stories of the Scholars] (Teheran: Kitabfurush-yi ‘Ilmiyyah- 'i Islamiyyah, 1346/1967), p.107; M.. al-Dɨn, Ma‘ārif al-rijāl fɨ tarājim al-‘ulamā’ wal-udabā’[The Lore of Men: Biographies of Scholars and Writers] (al-Najaf, 1964–1965), 2, pp.376–9.
28. See, for example, M.M.[Abar].B. al-ahrānɨ, al-Kirām al-baraza fɨ al-qarn al-thālith ba‘da al-‘ashara[Prominent Eminences in the Thirteenth Century AH] (al-Najaf: al-Matba'a al-‘Ilmiyya, 1954–1968), pp.382, 749–50; al-ahrānɨ, Nuqabā’ al-bashar, pp.140–7; M. al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a[Shɨ‘ite Notables] (Sayda: Matba‘at al-Irfan, 1957), 17, p.164; al-Dɨn, Ma‘ārif al-rijāl, 2, pp.125–8.
29. Tankābūnɨ, Qia al-‘ulamā’, p.55 and also Nole 27.
30. Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.38–9; al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.232.
31. Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.37–8; al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.234.
32. awza students from outside of Iran generally choose their textbooks and teachers by language; thus students from the Arab countries will choose Arab teachers and Arabic textbooks, and so on. For more details see, for example: al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.234; Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.37–8.
33. Such schools are particularly numerous in the awza of al-Najaf, where they number 41. The oldest school there is the murta‘awiyya. For details see al-Gharawɨ, Ma‘a ‘ulamā’ al-Najaf, 1, p.39ff.
34. Ibid., 1, p.38.
35. http://www.attajdid.ma/old/archives/2001/138/Hiwarat.html; M.R. al-Muaffar, ‘Jāmi‘at al-Najaf al-ashraf wa-jāmi‘at al-Qarawiyyɨn’[‘The University of al-Najaf and the University of al-Qarawiyyɨn’], Majallat al-mujamma ‘al-‘ilmɨ al-‘irāqɨ, Vol.11 (1964), p.296.
36. G. bin Jiddu, ‘abɨ‘at al-dirāsa fɨ Qumm’, aljazeera.net, 2 May 2005.
37. al-Huwaydɨ, ɨrān min al-dākhil, p.122.
38. M. Litvak, Shɨ‘ɨ Scholars of Nineteenth-century Iraq (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p.32.
39. Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.40–41; al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, pp.235–6.
40. The date of this commemoration is the 20th of the month of afar (commemoration of the fortieth day after usayn's death at Karbal[abar]'), also known among Shɨ‘ites as maradd al-ra's (‘return of the head’) since according to tradition on this day the beheaded usayn's head was returned from Damascus to Karbalā’ and buried next to his body. On this day every year many Shɨ‘ites visit the grave. The pilgrimage to usayn's shrine has become one of the five distinctive characteristics of Shɨ‘ite practice, the other four being 51 daily prostrations, wearing a ring on the right hand, putting one's forehead on the soil when prostrating, and publicly proclaiming ‘in the name of Allāh the Kind the Merciful’. For more details on usayn's death see, for example, ‘A. al-Qummɨ, Mafātɨh al-jinān[Keys of Paradise] (Beirut: Dār al-mujtabā, 1995), pp.501–3; M. Ayoub, ‘Arba’in’, Encyclopaedia Iranɨca, Vol.2 (1985), p.276.
41. Al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.236.
42. On the 18th of the month of Dhū al-ijja, the anniversary of Ghadɨr Khumm.
43. The Persian New Year falls on 21 March. It has been celebrated since Sassanid times and is still considered the most important secular holiday in Iran. For details see C.E. Bosworth, ‘Nawrūz’, EI 2 , Vol.VII (1993), pp.1047–8.
44. M.K. al-urayɨ, al-Najaf al-ashraf madɨnat al-‘ilm wal-‘umrān[Najaf, City of Knowledge and Civilization] (Beirut: Dār al-mahdɨ, 1st printing, 2002), p.195.
45. The financial situation of the awzas of al-Najaf and Karbalā’ has improved quite considerably since the tenth century AH, when they began to receive contributions from India, Iran and other Muslim countries. For details see al-Dɨn, Ma‘ārif al-rijāl, 2, pp.2–4; al-urayɨ, al-Najaf al-ashraf, p.195.
46. For more on the ‘fifth’ see A.A.A. Shachedina, ‘Al-Khums: The Fifth in the Imamite Legal System’, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol.39 (1980), pp.275–89.
47. Qur’ān 8:41.
48. Litvak, Shɨ‘ɨ Scholars of Nineteenth-century Iraq, p.35.
49. Oudh is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, formerly a part of the Mogul Empire.
50. The Oudh Bequest was established in 1825 by king Ghāzi al-Dɨn aydar, ruler of the Shɨ‘ite kingdom of Oudh in India (1720–1856). It amounted to about 10,000 pounds sterling, which the British representative in Baghdad distributed annually to the senior mujtahids of al-Najaf and Karbalā’. See for example J.R. Cole, Roots of North India Shɨ‘ism in Iran and Iraq. Religion and State in Awadh, 1772–1859 (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1988), p.327; J.R. Cole, ‘Indian Money and the Holy Shrines of Iraq’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.22 (1986), pp.461–80; A. al-Kātib, al-Marja‘iyya al-dɨniyya al-shɨ‘iyya: dawla fɨ dawla wa-namūdhaj lil-dɨmūqrāiyya al-sha‘biyya[Shɨ‘ite Religious Leadership: State within a State and a Model of a Popular Democracy], http://www.fnoor.com/fn0163.htm, pp.7–8.
51. For more details on the stages of study at the awza see J. al-Khalɨlɨ, Mawsū‘at al-‘atabāt al-muqaddasa[Encyclopedia of Holy Thresholds] (3 vols.) (Baghdad: Dār al-ta‘āruf, 1965–1970), 6, p.106; Anon, ‘Le programme des études chez les Chiites et principalement chez ceux de Nadjef’, Revue du Monde Musulman, Vol.23 (June 1913), pp.271–5.
52. For details on this stage see al-Muaffar, ‘Jāmi‘at al-Najaf’, p.297.
53. Al-Muaffar, ‘Jāmi‘at al-Najaf’, p.298.
54. [Abar]l J. Al-Khalili, Mawsu’at al-’atabatal-Muqaddasa (Beirut: Mu'assasatal-A'lami lilbnatbu' at, 1987), p.379.
55. Al-Muaffar, ‘Jāmi‘at al-Najaf’, pp.297–8.
56. For details on this stage see, for example, J.M. al-Najjār, al-Ta‘lɨm fɨ al-‘irāq fɨ al-‘ahd al-‘uthmānɨ al-akhɨr 1869–1918[Education in Iraq during the Latter Ottoman Period, 1869–1918] (Baghdad: Dār al-shu’ūn al-thaqāfiyya, 2002), pp.96–8.
57. Al-Muaffar, ‘Jāmi‘at al-Najaf’, pp.299–300.
58. Al-Huwaydɨ, ɨrān min al-dākhil, p.123.
59. These are known as fiqh al-Qur’ān (‘Qur’ānic Jurisprudence’), which consists of some 140 Qur’ānic verses dealing with various aspects of worship, including prayer, charity, pilgrimage and more; about 70 verses about marriage, divorce and other aspects of personal status; about 70 verses on commercial law; about 30 verses on criminal law; and some verses on war and peace. For more details on these see, for example, J. al-aqq, Ma‘a al-Qur’ān al-karɨm[With the Holy Qur’ān] (Cairo: Dar al Faruq, 1981), pp.166–7.
60. In recent years the awza at Qumm has begun training
uffā
, people who know the Qur’ān by heart. Thus says Shaykh Muammad al-[Abar]ifi, an Iraqi cleric who teaches at the Qumm awza in Iran, in an interview with him published on the internet, http://www.attajdid.ma/old/archives/2001/138/Hiwarat.html.
61. ‘A.. Khamenei, Thawābit wa-mutaghayyirāt al-awza al-‘ilmiyya[Constant and Changing Aspects of awzas] (Beirut: Dār al-afwa, 1994), pp.109–11.
62. M.B. al-Majlisɨ, Mir’āt al-‘uqūl fɨ shar akhbār āl al-rasūl[Mirror of Minds: Commentary on the Annals of the Messenger's Family] (Teheran: Dār al-kutub al-islāmiyya, 3rd printing, 1404–14 12 AH/1983–1991 CE), 12, p.525.
63. M..A.H. al-Khū’ɨ, Minhāj al-barā‘a fɨ shar nahj al-balāgha[The Way of Proficiency in the Method of Rhetoric] (Beirut: Mu’assasat al-wafā’, 1983), 2, p.214; al-Majlisɨ, Mir‘āt al-‘uqūl, 12, p.525. The sūra of ‘The Two Lights’ appears in the following Shɨ‘ite sources: .b.M.T.N. al-abarsɨ, Fatl al-khiāb fɨ ithbāt tarɨf kitāb Rabb al-arbāb[Separation of the Speech: On Demonstrating the Corruption of the Master of Masters' Book] (lithograph), p.180; M.B. al-Majlisi, Tadhkirat al-a’imma[Commemoration of the Im[abar]ms] (in Persian) (Iran: Manshūrāt mawlānā, 1871), pp.18–19; al-Khū’ɨ, Minhāj al-balāgha, 2, p.172.
64. The sūra of ‘The Succession’ appears in the following Shɨ’ite sources: al-Khū’ɨ, Minhāj al-balāgha, 2, p.217; al-Majlisɨ, Tadhkirat al-a’imma, pp.19–20; N.A.M. al-Jazā‘irɨ, al-Anwār al-Ni‘māniyya (Ni‘ma’s Lights) (Tabriz: Maba‘at sharikat jāb Tabrɨz, 1378–1382 AH/1959–1962 CE), 2, p.360.
65. The concept of dissimulation among Shɨ‘ites involves hiding one's true beliefs, and doing and saying things they believe to be false, in order to prevent attacks on their property and lives. For details see, for example, E. Kohlberg, ‘Some Im[abar]mɨ Shɨ‘ɨ Views on Taqiyya’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol.95 (1975), pp.395–402; E. Meyer, ‘Anlass und Anwendungsbereich der taqiyya’, Der Islam, Vol.57 (1980), pp.246–80; N.J. Coulson, Conflicts and Tensions in Islamic Jurisprudence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969), pp.31–3; N.J. Coulson, Succession in the Muslim Family (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971), pp.108–34.
66. This refers to the twelfth imam, known by a number of different epithets, among them ‘the rightly guided one’ (mahdɨ), ‘the awaited proof’ (al-ujja al-muntaar), and ‘master of time’ (sāib al-zamān). For details on him see, for example, J.G.J. Ter Haar, ‘Muhamad al-Kā’im’, EI2, Vol.VII (1993), p.443; A.A. Sachedina, Islamic Messianism (Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1981), pp.39–77.
67. For details about these certificates see pp.845–6 in the present paper.
68. An exception to this is provided by the awza zaynabiyya, located in the Sayyida Zaynab neighbourhood of Damascus, where annual exams are required of students at all three stages of study. The exams, which have both oral and written parts, last for a whole week and begin every year on the 11th day of the month of Rabɨ‘al-Thanɨ. Passing the exams is a condition for moving up to higher level of study. For details see: http://www.ebaa.net/takreer-khberi/024/024.htm.
69. In emulation of the Prophet's turban, made of black silk and named ‘the cloud’, because it fluttered in the wind like a rain cloud (for details see Ibn Manūr al-Mirɨ (Jamāl al-Dɨn Muammad b. Makram), Lisān al-‘arab (Beirut: Dār al-fikra, 1990), 1, p.461, s.v. ‘SHB’; Lane, Arabic English Lexicon, 4, p.1314 s.v. ‘S.H.B’; K. Sindawi, ‘The Maqātil in Shɨ‘ite Literature’ (Hebrew), unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel, 2000, p.109 (Mustadrak al-wasā’il, 3, p.276, No.3573–5, 3, p.278, No.3577–9; Wasā’il al-shɨ‘a, 3, p.512, No.4323; al-Kāfɨ, 1, p.236, No.9, 6, p.462, No.1). The Prophet gave it to ‘Alɨ, and whenever the latter appeared in it the Prophet would say: ‘‘Alɨ has come to you in a cloud’ (for details see Biār al-anwār, 16, p.251). The turban was bequeathed from one imam to the other until the twelfth, along with the Prophet's arms.
70. Al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.242.
71. For details on these epithets see Al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, pp.239–40; Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.56–7.
72. Al-Gharawɨ uses the epithet ‘allāma, but it would appear that Shɨ‘ites are not all in agreement as to its use. For details see al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, p.239.
73. Al-Gharawɨ calls this title just ‘
ujja’. See ibid., p.239.
74. See J. al-Qazwɨnɨ, Ta’rɨkh al-mu’assasa al-dɨniyya al-shɨ‘iyya[History of the Shɨ‘ite Religious Establishment] (Beirut: Dār al-rāfidayn, 2005), p.436; M.B. al-Khuwānasārɨ, Rawāt al-jannāt fɨ awāl al-‘ulamā’ wal-sādāt[Gardens of Paradise: On the Conditions of the Scholars and Masters] (Teheran: Dar al Kutub al-Islamiyya, 1957), 2, p.94.
75. Al-Gharawɨ does not mention this title, demonstrating the fact that, as we pointed out above, some titles are used in certain awzas but not in others.
76. For more detail on the title of Ayatollah see J. Calmard, ‘[Abar]yatullāh’, EI
2
(1980), Supplement, pp.103–4. The first person to possess this title was Shaykh Abū Manūr b. Yūsuf al-illɨ (d. 726 AH/1352 CE) (see al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, p.56). After him no one was given this title for many centuries. The next person to be called Ayatollah was Shaykh Muammad Bāqir al-Majlisɨ (d. 1111 AH/1699 CE). Another bearer of the title was Shaykh Muammad Bāqir b. Akmal al-Bahbahānɨ, known also as al-Waɨd (‘the only one’) (d. 1205 AH/1791 CE). Since the eighteenth century the title has been granted more freely (for details see J. al-Qazwɨnɨ, Ta’rikh al-mu’assasa al-dɨniyya al-shɨ‘iyya (Beirut: Dār al-rāfidayn, 1st printing, 2005), pp.433–4.
77. For more detail on the concept of ‘source of emulation’ see J. Calmard, ‘Marja‘ i Ta
lɨd’, EI
2
, Vol.VII (1991), pp.548–56. It should be noted that such a ‘source of emulation’ is neither elected (like the Pope) nor appointed (like the head of al-Azhar). Rather, he comes to hold his position thanks to his erudition. A ‘source of emulation’ does not have to belong to a specific nationality; thus, for example, in the awza of al-Najaf he may be an Arab or an Iranian. However, all ‘sources of emulation’ at a awza are always either Arabs or Iranians. The reason this is so lies in the fact that awza students of all other nationalities return to their native lands after their studies, where they may become ‘sources of emulation’ locally. For details see al-Amɨn, al-Mawsū‘a, s.v. ‘al-Najaf’, p.378.
79. al-Qazwɨnɨ, Ta’rɨkh al-mu’assasa al-dɨniyya al-shɨ‘iyya, p.435.
80. For details see ‘A.. al-Jundɨ, Nawa taqnɨn jadɨd lil-mu‘āmalāt wal-‘uqūbāt fɨ al-fiqh al-islāmɨ[Towards a New Codification of Procedures and Punishments in Islamic Jurisprudence] (Cairo: al-Dār al-Qawmiyya lil-ibā‘a wal-nashr, 1963), p.33; al-Huwaydɨ, ɨran min al-dākhil, p.125.
81. M. Litvak, ‘Teachers and Students in Najaf and Karbalā’ during the Nineteenth Century’, in A. Ayalon and D.Y. Wasserstein (eds.), Madrasa: Education, Religion and State in the Middle East (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, 2004), p.133 (Hebrew).
82. By composing commentaries or ‘marginal notes’ to existing books of jurisprudence, students make an important contribution to connecting the rulings of past Shɨ‘ite jurists with those of the present. ‘Marginal notes’ often contain innovative ideas which expand the scope of past rulings. For more details on this matter see: M.M.[Abar].B. al-ahrānɨ, al-Dharɨ‘a ilā taānɨf al-shɨ‘a[Guide to Shɨ‘ite Writings] (al-Najaf: Maba‘at al-qaā’, 1936), 6, p.7.
83. Al-urayɨ, al-Najaf al-ashraf, pp.178–9; http://www.hawzah.com/nobtha/ijtihad.htm.
84. Al-Kātib, al-Marja‘iyya al-dɨniyya al-shɨ‘iyya; http://www.fnoor.com/fn0163.htm, p.2; al-Najjār, al-Ta‘lɨm fɨ al-‘irāq fɨ al-‘ahd al-‘uthmānɨ, p.98.
85. B. al-Mabūba, Māi al-Najaf, 1, pp.143, 379, 2, p.139; M.A. al-‘[Abar]milɨ, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a, 44, p.6.
86. For details see M. Litvak, Shɨ‘i Scholars of Nineteenth Century Iraq: The ‘Ulama’ of Namaf and Karbala (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), Chapter 5.
87. For details see: M. al-Mar‘ashɨ, ‘Dawr ijāzat al-riwāya fɨ al-taqrɨb’[‘The Role of Transmission Authorization in Taqrɨb], Risālat al-taqrɨb, 23, pp.96–7; http://www.alhakeem.com/∼istefta/day/23-07-04.htm; A.A.A.. Sachedina, The Just Ruler (al-Sulān al-‘[abar]dil) in Shɨ‘ite Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), p.59.
88. A
usayniyya is a large, mosque-like hall, in which the mourning ceremonies on the anniversary of al-usayn's death take place every year. The first
usayniyyas appeared during the Fatimid period. The largest can be found in Shɨ‘ite holy cities such as Karbala’, al-Najaf, Mashhad and Qumm. In addition to their function as the site of annual mourning ceremonies, they also serve as hostels where pilgrims may stay free of charge. They are often named after the city whose inhabitants erected it, for example ‘the
usayniyya of the Ifahānis’, etc.
usayniyyas are called by a number of different names. Thus, for example, in the Gulf States they are referred to as ma’tam (literally: ‘funeral service’) and in India and Pakistan they are know as imam bara (‘the imām's centre’), the imām in this case being, of course, usayn b. ‘Alɨ. Since the beginning of the twentieth century
usayniyyas have become social and cultural meeting places which play a role that is religious and also social, political and cultural. For more details see: S.A. ‘Alɨ, Mukhtasar ta’rɨkh al-‘arab[A Short History of the Arabs] (Beirut: Dar al-‘ilm lil-malāyɨn, 5th printing, 1990), p.499; J. Muaddithɨ, Mawsū‘at ‘āshūrā’ (The ‘[Abar]shūra’ Encyclopedia), translated from the Persian by Z. al-‘Iāmɨ (Beirut: Dār al-rasūl al-akram and Dār al-ujja al-bayā’, 1st printing, 1997), p.143; M. Karɨm, Al-Nūr magazine No.50 (London, 1995), p.42; I. al-aydari, Trajɨdiyā Karbalā’[The Tragedy of Karbalā’] (Beirut: Dār al-sāqɨ, 1st printing, 1999), p.164; S.H. am‘a, Karbalā’ fɨ al-dhākira[Karbalā’ in Memory] (Baghdad: Ma
ba‘at al-‘[Abar]nɨ, 1988), p.180; J. Calmard, ‘osaynɨya’, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Fascicule 5 (New York: The Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation, 2004), Vol. XII, pp.517–18.
91. For details see M. al-Qazwɨnɨ, ‘Mas’ūliyyāt al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya wal-marākiz al-islāmiyya tuhāha muslimɨūrubbā’[‘The Responsibilities of awzas and Islamic Centres towards the Muslims of Europe’], http://darislam.com.home/alfekr/data/feker5/1g.htm.
92. Al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a (Sayda: Matba'at al-'Irfan, 1957), 32, p.72; . al-adr, Takmilat amal al-āmil[Supplement to ‘Amal al-āmil’] (Qumm: Maktabat āyat Allāh Mar‘ashi, 1404 AH/1985–1986 CE), pp.22, 394.
93. M.M.[Abar].B. al-ahrānɨ, Hadiyyat al-zārɨ ilā al-imām al-mujaddid al-shɨrāzɨ[Gift of the Faultfinder to the Innovative Imam al-Shɨrāzi] (Teheran: Mɨqāt, 1984), p.73.
94. See, for example, the conflict which broke out between Ja‘far Kāshif al-Ghiā’ and his student Sayyid Jawād al-‘[Abar]milɨ when the latter decided to become an independent mujtahid. For details see al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a, 17, p.164.
95. In some cases the sons of a teacher inherited the respect of their father's students after his death, if it happened that they, too, were teachers. A good case in point is the relation between the family of al-Na
āwɨ and that of Bar al-‘Ulūm. For details see Mabūba, Mādɨ al-Najaf, 3, pp.450–9; al-Dɨn, Ma‘ārif al-rijāl, 2, pp.277–82, 3, pp.217–19. Another example is the relationship between Muammad al-‘Anūz and that of Kāshif al-Ghiā’; see al-Dɨn, Ma‘ārif al-rijāl, 2, pp.351–2.
96. Another example is that of the students of the mujtahid
asan Shɨrāzɨ, who joined him in the awza of Sāmirrā’ out of pride in their association with him. For details see al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a, 20, pp.40, 96.
97. For details about the development of the marja‘iyya see A. Amanat, ‘In Between the Madrasa and Marketplace: The Designation of Clerical Leadership in Modern Shɨ‘ism’, in S.A. Arjomand (ed.), Authority and Political Culture in Shɨ‘ism (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1988), pp.98–132.
98. Al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a, 40, pp.55, 324–425.
99. Mahbūba, Mādɨ al-Najaf, 3, pp.253, 433; ahrānɨ, al-Kirām al-barara, pp.600–5; ahrānɨ, Nuqabā’ al-bashar, p.963; A. al-Khāqānɨ, Shu‘arā’ al-ghariyy[Poets of al-Ghariyy] (al-Najaf: al-Matba'a al-haydariyya, 1954), 6, pp.179–80; al-Amɨn, A‘yān al-shɨ‘a, 23, p.279.
100. A. Arjomand, The Turban for the Crown: The Islamic Revolution in Iran (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), pp.52–3.
101. For details about the relation between politics and knowledge in Iranian awzas see, for example, Amanat, ‘In Between the Madrasa and Marketplace’, pp.98–132; M. Litvak, ‘The Rule of the Clerics in Iran: Vision and Reality’, The New Orient, Vol.42 (2001), pp.167–84 (Hebrew).
102. Sir John Malcolm noticed the power of the mujtahids as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century: ‘it is difficult to describe the operation of the separate parts, or of the whole, on a system of government, exposed like that of Persia, to continual and violent changes; but though these changes produce a great effect on the character and condition of the nation, they neither destroy nor materially alter those rules which, guarded as they are usage, by public opinion, and by religion, are seldom infringed with impunity’; see Sir J. Malcolm, The History of Persia from the most Early Period to Present Time (London: J. Murray, 1829), 2, p.344.
103. For details about this fatwa see al-Huwaydɨ, ɨrān min al-dākhil, pp.63–5; . Majdhūb, ‘al-‘irsh lil-mulūk wal-sula lil-a’imma’[‘The Throne Belongs to Kings, and Rule to Im[abar]ms’], Milaff al-nahār al-‘arabɨ wal-dawlɨ, 19 February 1979.
104. On this matter see A. Lamton, Qajar Persia: Eleven Studies (London: I.B. Tauris, 1987), pp.249–51. According to Nam al-Islām Karamānɨ the fatwa was originally given by al-Mɨrzāasan al-Ashtiyānɨ, whence it passed into the hands of al-Shɨrāzɨ (for details see Lamton, Qajar Persia, p.249). It may be pointed out that although the Shāh annulled the agreement, the affair remained to haunt him, and eventually cost him his life, for he was shot to death in 1869 by a student of al-Afghānɨ. For details see Y. Ibrahimyan, Khalfiyyāt wa-‘awāmil al-thawra al-dusturiyya[Background and Factors of the Constitutional Revolution, a study of the writers of Iran, 1900–1980] (Beirut: Mu‘assasat al-abhath al-arabiyya, 1980), p.44.
105. Al-āliɨ, al-awzāt al-‘ilmiyya, pp.37–8; al-Gharawɨ, al-awza al-‘ilmiyya fɨ al-Najaf, pp.169–79.