Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Kadhim al-Husayni al-Modarresi (Persian: محمد كاظم حسينى مدرسى; Arabic: محمد كاظم الحسيني المدرسي; 1911[5]–April 5, 1994) was an Iranian-Iraqi Shia scholar and mystic.[6] He was a prominent teacher at the seminaries of Mashhad and Karbala, teaching Islamic philosophy.[7] He held the Quranic exegesis chair of the Karbala seminary and taught aqaed in the al-Hindiya and al-Badkubeh schools.[6]
Muhammad-Kadhim al-Modarresi | |
|---|---|
السيد محمد كاظم الحسيني المدرسي | |
| Title | Ayatollah |
| Personal | |
| Born | 1911 |
| Died | April 5, 1994 (aged 82–83) |
| Resting place | Fatima Masumeh Shrine |
| Religion | Islam |
| Nationality | Iranian |
| Children |
|
| Parent | Muhammad-Jawad al-Modarresi |
| Denomination | Twelver Shīʿā |
| Relatives | Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi (father-in-law) Muhammad al-Shirazi (brother-in-law)[3] Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari (brother-in-law)[4] Mohammed Kadhim al-Qazwini (brother-in-law), Mohammed Taqi Morvarid (cousin) |
Al-Modarresi was constantly in pursuit of spiritual self-discipline by means of self-reflection and other ascetic, religious and ethical practices.[8]
Family
editAl-Modarresi was born into a distinguished religious Shia family in Mashhad in Iran. His father was Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Jawad al-Modarresi, the son of grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Baqir Golpayegani (also known as Jorfadiqani).[9] His mother was the daughter of Ayatollah Sheikh Ali Akbar Morvarid. He claims descent from Zayd ibn Ali (died c. 740 AD), the great-great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.[10]
Religious career
editAl-Modarresi studied and graduated from the religious seminaries of Mashhad. One of al-Modarresi's main teachers was Mirza Mahdi al-Isfahani (d. 1945), the founding father of the tafkiki school of jurisprudence in its new manifestation. Tafkik–as described by Muhammad-Reza Hakimi–"comprises the belief that the truths about religion and the correct knowledge of it are the ones stated in the Quran and have been taught by the Prophet and afterwards by his appointed successors, who have inherited his knowledge." al-Modarresi was a firm believer that acquiring knowledge by other ways than the way shown by the Ahl al-Bayt is tantamount to denying them, i.e. disbelief.[11]
In the 1940s, he emigrated to Najaf with his father, who later died and was buried there. After his father passed away, he moved to Karbala, and joined the religious seminary as a teacher. As well as other sciences, he specialised in teaching the methodologies of al-Isfahani in jurisprudence.
By 1970, due to the rising pressures of the Baathist anti-Shia sentiment, al-Modarresi left for Kuwait with his family.[12][13] After the Iranian revolution, al-Modarresi relocated to Qom. Over there he established a library, and one of the most interesting books in his collection was a hand-written copy of Nahj al-Balagha, written by Muhammad bin Ali al-Hamdani in October, 1179.[14]
Some of his most notable students included:
- Sayyid Muhammad-Taqi al-Modarresi (his son)
- Sheikh Jawad al-Mothafar[15]
- Sheikh Baqir al-Irawani (recorded al-Modarresi's death in a chronogrammatic poem.)[8]
Personal life
editAl-Modarresi married the daughter of grand Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi in Karbala.[3] He had three daughters, and seven sons, whom are all clerics.[8] They are:
- Muhammad-Taqi is a marja'. He resides in Karbala.
- Hadi is a mujtahid and Islamic intellectual. He resides in Qom.
- Hussain is a mujtahid. He resides in Qom.
- Abbas is a mujtahid and poet. He resides in Karbala.
- Ali-Akbar is an alim and educator. He resides in Mashhad.
- Ali-Asghar is an alim and orator. He resides in Sydney.
- Muhammad-Baqir is an alim and orator. He resides in Mashhad.
His sons-in-law were, Faeq Alkazemi, the son of Kuwaiti businessman Zaid Alkazemi; Sayyid Husayn al-Radhawi, the son of Sayyid Sajjad al-Radhawi; and Bahraini scholar, Sayyid Mahmud al-Musawi al-Bahrani.
Death
editAl-Modarresi died of heart failure in the early hours of April 5, 1994 in Tehran, whilst he was performing Fajr prayer.[16]
The night before, his son-in-law narrated that he overheard al-Modarresi talking to himself, saying: "O' Kadhim, enough of this life, do not worry. This is the path that the others have taken. O' Kadhim this is your final night. Strengthen your faith in Allah and do not be fearful."[17]
He was buried in the courtyard of Fatima Masumeh in Qom, in room no. 41, near the grave of Sheikh Fazlollah Nuri.[18]
Works
editAl-Modarresi authored one of the leading books on the tafkiki school of jurisprudence named Buhuth Fi al-Ilm (Research in Knowledge).
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Office of Sayed Mahdi al-Modarresi". www.almodarresi.org. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ al-Jibouri, Kaamil Salman (2003). Mu'jam al-'Udaba' Min 'Asr al-Jahili Hata Sanat 2002 [Glossary of Scholars: From the Jahiliyyah to 2002 AD] (in Arabic). Vol. 3. Beirut, Lebanon: Daar al-Kitab al-'Ilmiya. p. 301.
- ^ a b Louër, Laurence (2011). Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf. Hurst. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-84904-214-7.
- ^ al-Muhtadi, Abd al-Atheem (2009). Qusas Wa Khawatir - Min Akhlaqiyat 'Ulama' al-Din [Stories and Memories - From the Manners of the Scholars]. Beirut, Lebanon: Mu'asasat al-Balagh. p. 345.
- ^ Al-Shahroudi, Nurrudeen. Usrat al-Mujjadid al-Shirazi (in Arabic). p. 281.
- ^ a b Ṭuʻmah, Salmān Hādī (1998). Asha'er Karbala Wa 'Usariha [Tribes and Families of Karbala] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Mahaja al-Baydha'. p. 197.
- ^ Ḥamādah, Rāshid (1990). Asifah Fawq Miyah al-Khalij [Storm Over the Water] (in Arabic). Bahrain: al-Safa Lil Nashr Wal Tawzee.
- ^ a b c al-Muhtadi, Abd al-Atheem (2009). Qusas Wa Khawatir - Min Akhlaqiyat 'Ulama' al-Din [Stories and Memories - From the Manners of the Scholars]. Beirut, Lebanon: Mu'asasat al-Balagh. p. 581.
- ^ al-Tehrani, Agha Buzurg (2009). Tabaqat A'lam al-Shia; al-Kiram al-Barara Fi al-Qarn al-Thalith Ashar [Levels of the Notables of the Shia (13th Century)]. Vol. 10. Cairo, Egypt: Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-Arabi. p. 165.
- ^ Ṭuʻmah, Salmān Hādī (1998). Asha'er Karbala Wa 'Usariha [Tribes and Families of Karbala] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Mahaja al-Baydha'. pp. 197–8.
- ^ Hakimi, Mohammad Reza (2014). Muslim's Knowledge. Alulbayt Organization. pp. 186–7. ISBN 978-1496063236.
- ^ "Saddam Hussein's legacy of sectarian division in Iraq". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ "Iraq's Oppressed Majority". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
- ^ "Fahras Ba'dh al-Nusakh al-Khattiya Min Nahj al-Balagha al-Mowjooda Fi Ba'dh al-Maktabat al-'Ama" [Glossary of some of the handwritten copies of Nahj al-Balagha currently present in public libraries.]. Balagha Network. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ "A'lam al-Najaf" [Prominent Figures of Najaf]. Maktabat al-Rawdha al-Haydariya (in Arabic). Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ al-Muhtadi, Abd al-Atheem (2009). Qusas Wa Khawatir - Min Akhlaqiyat 'Ulama' al-Din [Stories and Memories - From the Manners of the Scholars]. Beirut, Lebanon: Mu'asasat al-Balagh. p. 577.
- ^ "La Takhaf Inahu al-Tariq" [Do not fear, it is the way!]. al-Kawthar TV (in Arabic). Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ Merali, Abbas; Merali, Shaheen (2005). Short Accounts of the Lives of Various Ulema buried in the Holy City of Qom (PDF). Qom, Iran: Iran Ziarat.