Hawza of Najaf

{{Short description|Shia seminary in Iraq}}{{Infobox seminary school | name = Najaf Seminary | native_name = {{native name|ar| '''حوزة النجف'''|italics=off}} | native_name_lang = ar | image = Najaf City 1.jpg | other_name = | type = Hawza | established = Possibly {{circa|the 9th century AD}}, see ''Founding'' | founder = | dean = Ali al-Sistani | religious_affiliation = Twelver Shia Islam | city = Najaf | country = {{flag|Iraq}} | campus_type = Urban | language = Arabic | pushpin_map = Iraq }}[[File:Ayatollah al-Khoi and Ali al-Sistani.jpg|thumbnail|250px|Ali Sistani (current chancellor of Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf) and Abu al-Qasim Khoei (ex-chancellor of Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf)]]

The '''Najaf Seminary''' ({{langx|ar|حوزة النجف}}), also known as the '''al-Hawza al-Ilmiyya''' (الحوزة العلمية), is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world.<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |title=A rare look inside the 'heart of society' for Iraq's Shi'ites |newspaper=Reuters |date=12 October 2017 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-religion-hawza/a-rare-look-inside-the-heart-of-society-for-iraqs-shiites-idUSKBN1CH29U}}</ref> It is located near the Imam Ali Shrine in the city of Najaf in Iraq, and also operates a campus in Karbala.

Grand Ayatollah Sayed Ali al-Sistani currently serves as head of the Hawza Al-Ilmiyya in Najaf, which includes two other Ayatollahs - Mohammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad and Bashir al-Najafi.<ref name="NTU">{{cite book |url=https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/bitstream/10356/90469/1/RSIS-WORKPAPER_102.pdf |title=Thinking ahead : Shi'ite Islam in Iraq and its seminaries (hawzah 'ilmiyyah) |date=25 April 2007 |publisher=S. Rajaratnam School of international Studies |location=Singapore |last1=Marcinkowski |first1=Christoph |access-date=19 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719143809/https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/bitstream/10356/90469/1/RSIS-WORKPAPER_102.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The number of students studying there has waxed and waned in modern times, from 15,000 to 20,000 in the mid-20th century, down to 3000 during the repressive reign of Saddam Hussein, to around 13,000 as of 2014.<ref name="monitor-enter-2014" /> Courses include Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh''), theology, Islamic philosophy (''falsafa''), logic (''mantiq'') and Qurʾanic interpretation (''tafsir''); completing advanced seminary study in Najaf usually requires at least ten years, and around 200 fully fledged clerics graduate each year.<ref>{{Cite news|title=A look inside the "heart of society" for Iraq's Shi'ites|url=https://widerimage.reuters.com/story/a-look-inside-the-heart-of-society-for-iraqs-shiites|work=Reuters|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en|last=Dhiaa Al-deen|first=Abdullah|date=27 October 2021}}</ref>

As of 2014 the curriculum has been updated to include many modern subjects as well as interfaith and inter-sect initiatives.<ref name="monitor-enter-2014">{{cite news |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/najaf-hawza-educational-development-iraq.html |title=Najaf's Shiite seminaries enter 21st century |agency=Al-Monitor|last1=Mamouri |first1=Ali |date=8 April 2014 |access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref>

== History == === Founding === The exact date of the establishment of the Hawza of Najaf is unknown, and indeed in what century it was established is disputed,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/amman/20688.pdf|title=Al Hawza of Najaf Iraq|publisher=Friedrich Ebert Stiftung}}</ref> with one view maintaining that the Hawza existed possibly as early as the 9th century AD<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arabicradio.net/news/3525|title=تاريخ حوزة النجف الأشرف|publisher=Arabic Radio}}</ref> in the form of a guild of learned men centered around the Imam Ali Shrine whose deanship was held by a number of scholars, such as Ibn al-Sidra Sayyid Sharif al-Din Mohammed and Nasir al-Din Mutahhar Ibn Radhi al-Din Mohammed Ibn Husayn.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haydarya.com/?id=1294|title=بداية الحوزة العلمية الدينية في النجف الاشرف|publisher=Haydarya|language=ar}}</ref>

Another view, however, claims that Shaykh Tusi<ref name="F&F">http://www.al-islam.org/fiqh/chap2.html [https://web.archive.org/web/20101226122247/http://www.mulla-asghar.org/PDF/FIQH%20and%20FUQAHA.pdf] FIQH and FUQAHA - An Introduction to Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Containing Forty Four Life Sketches of the Great Past Masters, Published by the WORLD FEDERATION OF KHOJA SHIA ITHNAASHERI MUSLIM COMMUNITIES</ref> established the Hawza in the 11th century AD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Part 2: The Fuqaha |url=https://www.al-islam.org/fiqh-and-fuqaha/part-2-fuqaha |publisher=World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities |access-date=2018-12-19 |archive-date=2019-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809112717/https://www.al-islam.org/fiqh-and-fuqaha/part-2-fuqaha |url-status=dead }}</ref> Shaykh Tusi first migrated from his native Tus to study in Baghdad —the capital of the Islamic world at the time— but after 12 years he was forced to leave the city due to sectarian tensions, after which he decided to relocate to Najaf.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jaffer - XKP |first1=Mulla Asghar Ali M. |title=FIQH and FUQAHA |date=4 November 2015 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 4, 2015) |isbn=978-1519106759 |url=http://www.mulla-asghar.org/PDF/FIQH%20and%20FUQAHA.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226122247/http://www.mulla-asghar.org/PDF/FIQH%20and%20FUQAHA.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-12-26 }}</ref> He died in 460 AH (1067 CE).<ref name="ai-Hawza">{{cite web|url=http://www.al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258 |title=Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies |publisher=Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308210212/http://www.al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258 |archivedate=8 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="S&D">{{cite web|url=http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0705/0705_3.htm |title=Shiites and Democracy |author=Sreeram Chaulia |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626070555/http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0705/0705_3.htm |archivedate=26 June 2008| publisher=Mideast Monitor}}</ref>

=== Modern period === In the mid-20th century, the Hawza "witnessed huge developments in its educational program"<ref name=monitor-enter-2014/> and the student population grew to 15,000-20,000. During the repression of the Baath party era it declined to around 3000 as the Shiite political awakening (''Sahwa'') was attacked by the regime and attendance by foreign students fell off because of the Iran-Iraq war.<ref name=monitor-enter-2014/> By the time Saddam fell in 2003, there were only approximately 3000 students<ref name=monitor-enter-2014/> and 2000 clerics in Najaf.<ref name="Mamouri-2018">{{cite news |last1=Mamouri |first1=Ali |title=The dueling ayatollahs |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2018/04/dueling-ayatollahs-sistani-khamenei-shiite-iran-iraq.html |access-date=19 July 2023 |agency=Al-Monitor |date=11 April 2018}}</ref> Their number then commenced to grow again, and as of 2014 there are 13,000 students, according to a census by Al-Monitor news service,<ref name=monitor-enter-2014/> including approximately 50 from foreign countries—Iran, India, Thailand, France, the United States, Canada, etc.<ref name=monitor-enter-2014/>

== Structure == One of the main pillars of the Najaf Seminary is its leadership, known as the za‘ama (supreme authority). The leader of the seminary is the figure through whom the core positions and policies of the seminary are articulated. This individual typically holds the highest religious rank within the seminary. Although the leader's decisions are not issued as formal orders, they are generally followed and respected. In recent decades, the leadership of the Najaf Seminary has been held by Grand Ayatollahs Muhsin al-Hakim, then Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, and currently Ali al-Sistani.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=2019-04-26 |title=The Najaf School of Thought from an Outside Perspective |url=http://www.ensafnews.com/166427/%d9%85%da%a9%d8%aa%d8%a8-%d9%86%d8%ac%d9%81-%d8%a7%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%81-%d8%8c-%d9%86%da%af%d8%a7%d9%87%db%8c-%d8%a7%d8%b2-%d8%a8%db%8c%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86/ |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Entekhab News |language=fa-IR}}</ref>

The Najaf Seminary is regarded as a foundational institution in the Shia Islamic scholarly tradition. It places strict emphasis on jurisprudence (fiqh) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh), the development of jurists (faqih) and mujtahids (those qualified for independent legal reasoning) above all else. Unlike other seminaries, such as its counterpart in Qom, Najaf places limited focus on philosophy and mysticism (irfan), instead concentrating on advanced jurisprudential studies (dars al-kharij). The seminary favors oversight of politics rather than direct political engagement in the conventional sense. Students are generally discouraged from participating in executive or administrative political roles, and political activism in the typical sense is uncommon within the seminary. Economically, the Najaf Seminary operates independently of government funding, relying instead on public donations and the collection of khums (the one-fifth tax).<ref name=":0" />

In terms of social conduct, Najaf's seminary students adhere to traditional norms and remain largely faithful to its customs.<ref>{{cite web |title=History and Antiquity of the Najaf Seminary |url=https://hawzah.net/fa/Discussion/View/75840/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE-%D9%88-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%AD%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%87-%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%81-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%81 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=hawzah.net}}</ref> They do make use of modern communication tools. The Seminary does not have a specialized clerical court, as disciplinary matters are handled within Iraq's regular judicial system. Its senior clerics rarely give interviews or issue political statements. Moderation is valued among Najaf scholars, and they have expressed openness to interfaith dialogue.<ref name=":0" /> An example is the 2021 meeting between Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Pope Francis, which marked a historic dialogue between Najaf and the Vatican.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statement from the Office of Grand Ayatollah Sistani Regarding His Meeting with Pope Francis |url=https://www.sistani.org/persian/statement/26511/ |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=sistani.org}}</ref> While clerics in Najaf generally do not view existing global governments as ideal, they choose to maintain a positive approach toward engaging with various states.<ref name=":0" />

The Najaf Seminary entered a period of intense scholarly activity beginning in the 11th century AH (17th century CE). This intellectual revival began with Muhammad Baqir Behbahani and continued through recognized scholars such as Mohammad Mahdi Bahr al-‘Ulum, Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi (author of Jawahir al-Kalam), Murtadha Ansari, Hossein Wahid Khorasani, Mirza Shirazi, and Muhammad Hussain Naini, among others. In contemporary times, major religious authorities in Najaf include Ali al-Sistani, Muhammad Is'haq Fayadh, Bashir al-Najafi, and Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim, who died on 3 September 2021.<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-12-31 |title=The Najaf Seminary: A Religious School with Over a Thousand Years of History |url=https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5108359/حوزه-علمیه-نجف-مدرسه-علمیه-ای-با-قدمتی-بیش-از-هزار-سال |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Mehr News Agency |language=fa}}</ref>

Teaching in the Najaf Seminary takes place in various venues, including religious schools (such as the courtyards of the Imam Ali Shrine and the Kashif al-Ghita’ School,) as well as in mosques and libraries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Religious Schools and Seminaries |url=https://imamali.net/?id=1272 |access-date=2021-12-04 |website=Official Website of the Imam Ali Shrine}}</ref> Between 14,000 and 15,000 students are currently enrolled in the Najaf Seminary.<ref name=":0" />

==Subjects== The subjects taught at the seminary include:<ref>{{cite web |title=Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies |url=http://www.al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110308210212/http://www.al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-03-08 }}</ref> * Mantiq (Logic) * Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence) * Fiqh (Jurisprudence) * Tafsir al-Qur'an (Qur'an Exegesis) * Ulum al-Qur'an (Qur'an Sciences) * Ilm al-Hadith (The Study of Traditions) * Ilm ar-Rijal (Science of Narrators) * Tarikh (History) * Aqaid / Kalam (Theology) * Lugha (Language Studies) * Falsafa (Islamic Philosophy) * Irfan (Islamic Mysticism) * Fiqh al-Muqaran (Comparative jurisprudence) * Ilm al-Ma’rifah (Epistemology)

==Trained scholars== Some of the known Shia Grand Ayatollahs were trained in the Najaf seminary.<ref name="Rasoul Imani">{{cite web |last1=Khoshkhu |first1=Rasoul Imani |title=A Glimpse at the Major Shi'a Seminaries part 1 |date=10 November 2016 |url=https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol-14-no-1-winter-2013/glimpse-major-shia-seminaries-part-1-rasoul-imani-khoshk-0#flourishing-once-again |publisher=Ahlul Bayt World Assembly}}</ref> *Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ardabili - he was one of the most famous Shia scholars. He was known as Mohaghegh (researcher) and Moghaddas (saint).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ghobadzadeh |first1=Naser |title=Religious Secularity: A Theological Challenge to the Islamic State (Religion and Global Politics) |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2014) |isbn=978-0199391172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7upBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA261}}</ref> *Moḥammad Mahdī Baḥr al-ʿUlūm - he was known as Baḥr al-Ulum for his considerable knowledge. Bahr al-Ulum was a popular Shia Muslim scholar. He is specifically known as one of the few individuals who attained the climax of spiritual perfection.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Litvak |first1=Meir |title=Shi'i Scholars of Nineteenth-Century Iraq: The 'Ulama' of Najaf and Karbala' |date=2 May 2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press (May 2, 2002) |isbn=978-0521892964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3pYRFQQG5kEC&q=Sayyid+Muhammad+Mahdi+Bahr+al-Ulum&pg=PA50}}</ref> *Mohammad Bagher Shafti - he was the leader of Isfahan seminary.<ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> *Akhund Khorasani - he was a student of Murtadha al-Ansari. Khorasani was the greatest Marjaʿ after Mirza Shirazi and before Mohammad Fadhil Sharabiani, he was known as an indubitable master of usul al-fiqh.<ref name="Iranica">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Hairi|first1=A.|last2=Murata|first2=S.|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/akund-molla-mohammad-kazem-korasani|title=AḴŪND ḴORĀSĀNĪ|date=1984|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Irannica}}</ref> He authored a book focused on commercial law.<ref name="Mottahedeh1985"/> *Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei - Ali al-Sistani was his student.<ref name="bbc">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3033306.stm Who's who in Iraq: Ayatollah Sistani, 26 August, 2004]</ref> He was made the most prominent Grand Ayatollah in 1971 after the death of Muhsin al-Hakim.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Wall Street Journal: Index, Volume 2 |year = 1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5oyAQAAIAAJ&q=al-Khoei+was+leaded+the+most+prominent+Grand+Ayatollah+in+1971 |publisher=Dow Jones & Co., 1992}}</ref> He was well-known author in Hadith studies and Rijal and Kalam knowledge.<ref name="bbc"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Allawi |first1=Ali A. |title=The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace |year=2007 |publisher=Yale University Press; Reprint edition (March 18, 2008) |isbn=978-0300136142 |url=https://archive.org/details/occupationofiraq00alla|url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/occupationofiraq00alla/page/207 207] |quote=al-Khoei is lead rijal. }}</ref> *Ibn Idris Hilli - he founded the Hillah seminary.<ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> *Mirza Shirazi - he was the leader of Samarra seminary and Tobacco Protest.<ref name="Mottahedeh1985">{{cite book |last1=Mottahedeh |first1=Roy |title=The Mantle of the Prophet |date=18 October 2014 |publisher=Oneworld (August 15, 2000) |isbn=978-1851682348 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlsQBwAAQBAJ&q=The+Mantle+of+the+Prophet%3A+Religion+and+Politics+in+Iran}}</ref> *Mohammad Ibrahim al-Karbasi - revived Isfahan seminary, and served as its Dean.<ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> *Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi - he was the founder of the Qom Seminary in Iran.<ref>{{cite web |title=Haeri Yazdi، Ayatollah Abdulkarim |url=http://www.ijtihad.ir/ScholarDetailsen.aspx?itemid=396 |access-date=2018-12-19 |archive-date=2018-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219182524/http://www.ijtihad.ir/ScholarDetailsen.aspx?itemid=396 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ruhollah Khomeini was his student. He was Marjaʿ.<ref>Mottahedeh, ''The Mantle of the Prophet'', (1985, 2000), p.229</ref> *Kashif al-Ghita - he was the leader and great Marjaʿ of Shia.<ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> *Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi - he authored Javaher al-kalam Fi sharh-e Sharay-e al-Islam<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sachedina |first1=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |title=The Just Ruler in Shi'ite Islam: The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence |date=8 October 1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press; Revised edition (October 8, 1998) |isbn=978-0195119152 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AH9k4VIznQwC}}</ref> and was a leader of the Najaf seminary.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Arjomand |first1=Saïd Amir |title=Authority and Political Culture in Shi'ism (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies) |date=January 1988 |publisher=SUNY Press; Annotated edition (July 8, 1988) |isbn=978-0887066399 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSc31NvlnnQC&q=Authority+and+Political+Culture+in+Shi%27ism}}</ref> *Murtadha al-Ansari - considered the founder of modern Shii jurisprudence, he was the leader of Najaf seminary after the death of Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi.<ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> He has been called "first effective" Marjaʿ of the Shia<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mottahedeh |first1=Roy |title=The Mantle of the Prophet |date=18 October 2014 |publisher=Oneworld (August 15, 2000) |isbn=978-1851682348|page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YlsQBwAAQBAJ&q=The+Mantle+of+the+Prophet%3A+Religion+and+Politics+in+Iran}}</ref> or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John L. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam (Oxford Quick Reference) |date=21 October 2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press; 1 edition (October 21, 2004) |isbn=978-0195125597 |page=21 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC&q=the+oxford+dictionary+of+islam}}</ref><ref name="Rasoul Imani"/> *Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi - his popular students included Imam Khomeini, Hossein Vahid Khorasani, Sayed Ali Khamenei, Sayyid Ali Sistani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, and Dr. Seyed Ali Mirlohi Falavarjani.<ref>{{cite book |script-title=fa:The course of Imam Khomeini's struggles narrated by SAVAK |url=http://archlibserver.imam-khomeini.ir/site/catalogue/fulltext/582100/4425282 |trans-title=Seir e mobarezat e imam khomeini be revayat e savak |language=persian |volume=1 |page=45 |archive-date=2018-12-19 |access-date=2018-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219182718/http://archlibserver.imam-khomeini.ir/site/catalogue/fulltext/582100/4425282 |url-status=dead }} and http://english.khamenei.ir/news/2130/bio</ref> Borujerdi was the sole marja "in the Shia world" from 1945-6 until his death in 1961.<ref>Mottahedeh, ''The Mantle of the Prophet'', (1985, 2000), p.231</ref> Borujerdi was the first Marja who attempted Islamic unity. He sent Sayyid Muhaqqiqi to Hamburg, Germany, Aqa-e-Shari'at to Karachi, Pakistan, Al-Faqihi to Medina and Musa al-Sadr to Lebanon.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ayatollah Seyyed Hossein Borujerdi |url=http://golab.ansarian.ir/english/83946.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Chehabi, Abisaab |first1=Houchang , Rula Jurdi |title=Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years |year=2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris (April 2, 2006) |isbn=978-1860645617 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elHww0W0ZO4C&q=Boroujerdi+sent+Musa+al-Sadr+to+Lebanon&pg=PA151}}</ref> *Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i - he authored Tafsir al-Mizan<ref>[http://www.islamic-laws.com/marja/Allameh%20Tabatabai.pdf Biography of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei by Amid Algar], University of California, Berkeley, Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.</ref> and he was one of the most prominent Intellectuals of philosophy and contemporary Shia Islam.<ref name="tabatabai">{{cite web |last1=Legenhausen |first1=Dr. Muhammad |title='Allamah Tabataba'i And Contemporary Philosophical Theology |date=19 February 2015 |url=https://www.al-islam.org/contemporary-topics-islamic-thought-muhammad-legenhausen/allamah-tabatabai-and-contemporary |publisher=ALHODA PUBLISHERS}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Husayni Tihrani |first1=Sayyid Muhammad Husayn |title=Shining Sun |year=2011 |publisher=Islamic College for Advanced Studie; UK ed. edition (May 1, 2011) |isbn=978-1904063407 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOXatMw2FCIC&q=%27Allamah+Tabataba%27i++Philosophical+Theology&pg=PA367}}</ref> He was an expert in philosophy in Islam. His philosophy is focused upon the sociological treatment of human problems.<ref name="tabatabai"/> His book, Shi'ite Islam, was translated into English by Hossein Nasr and William Chittick as a project of Colgate University. He was interviewed by Henry Corbin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Randall |first1=Yafia Katherine |title=Sufism and Jewish-Muslim Relations: The Derekh Avraham Order in Israel |date=31 March 2016 |publisher=Routledge; 1 edition (April 7, 2016) |isbn=978-1138914032 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OB7eCwAAQBAJ&q=tabatabai+interviewed+with+Henry+Corbin.&pg=PT164}}</ref> *Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi - he was one of the greatest Marja in Lebanon. He attempted to bring Shia and Sunni closer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rizvi |first1=Arsalan |title=Sayyid Sharafuddin al-Musawi |date=11 August 2008 |url=http://www.islamicinsights.com/religion/history/sayyid-sharafuddin-al-musawi.html}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070105132945/http://www.islamonline.net/English/artculture/2003/09/article03.shtml Towards an Understanding of the Shiite Authoritative Sources] *[http://www.hawzah.net/en/default.html Hawza Ilmiyya, Qom, Iran] *[http://www.andisheqom.com/ Research centre of Hawza Ilmiyya, Qom, Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211023602/https://www.andisheqom.com/ |date=2021-02-11 }} *{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20030331103516/http://www.al-shia.com/html/eng/ser/hawza/hoz_h.htm About the Hawza Ilmiyya of Qom, Iran]}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130604111303/http://imam-hussain.com/ Imam Hossain University (Howza)] *[http://www.alqaem.us/ Alqaem Institute] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070810012254/http://www.al-islam.org/hawza/ Hawza - Advanced Islamic Studies]

Category:Hawza Category:Islamic education in Iraq Category:Islamic terminology Category:Single-gender schools