Abul-Qassim Khoei

Grand Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei (1899 - August 8, 1992) was an important Shia Ayatollah, who at one point was considered the premiere leader of Shias across the world.

Born in the Iranian city of Khoy in 1899, Khoei grew up in Iran. Around the age of 13, he moved to Iraq 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 subsequently made a marja. Khoei would continue 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.

Teaching, Juristic, and Writing Merits

Khoei also wrote on various topics, ranging from Islamic jurisprudence to math and astronomy and was a prolific writer in the these disciplines. He wrote 37 books and treatises, most of which have been published. His works include:

• Lectures in the Principles of Jurisprudence - 10 volumes
• Biographies of Narrators of Tradition - 24 volumes.
• Islamic Law - 18 volumes.
• Al-Bayan fi tafsir al-Qur'an ( The Elucidation of the Exegesis of The Qur'an)
• Minhaju-us-Saliheen (The Path of the Righteous) - 2 volumes, reprinted 78 times ( guide book on religious practice and law ) .
• Anthology of Religious Questions - Concise version of the Path of the Righteous - in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, English, Turkish, * * Thai, Malay, Indonesian, and Gujarati.
• Mabani al-Istinbat ( Edifices of Deduction) Principles of Jurisprudence.
• Ajwad-at-Taqrirat (The Best of Regulations) Principles of Jurisprudence.
• Sharh-el-Urwatul-Wuthqa (Commentary on The Steadfast Handle) - Jurisprudence.
• Treatise on Suspected Attire - Risala fil Libas Al-Mashkok, Evidential Jurisprudence.
• Nafahat-ul Ijaz ( the Fragrance of Miracles ), in defence of The Noble Qur'an.

Due to his prominent position as 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 Ayatollah Sayed 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 priciples 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 Holy Qur'an. His interests included astronomy, maths, and philosophy.

His post-graduate institute normally accommodated some 150 students, at any given time. Among the students who attended classes and were personally supervised by Khoei included

• Ayatullah Al-Shaheed As-Sayyid Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr, Iraq
• As-Sayyid Mahdi Al-Hakim Mohammad Mahdi Shamsuddin ( Lebanon)
• Imam Mousa As-Sadr ( Lebanon)
• As-Sayyid Mohammad Husain Fadhlallah ( Lebanon )
• Ayatullah Seyyid Mohammad Al-Rohani ( Iran)
• Ayatullah Al-Ardabili, former Chief Justice of Iran
• As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Makki (Syria)
• As-Sayyid Mohammad Ali Bahrul 'Uloom (UK)
• Imam Al-Khoei Islamic Center in New York
• Al-Iman School, New York, U.S.A.
• Imam As-Sadiq Education Institute for Boys, London, U.K.
• Imam As-Sadiq Education Institute for Girls, London, U.K.
• Ahlul-Bayt University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
• Al-Akhund
• Darul Hikmah ( House of Theosophy)
• Madinatul Ilm (City of Knowledge) in Qom, Iran, considered one of the biggest theology centres in the Shia world. The complex -comprises the school building and living quarters capable of accommodating 500 families.
• As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center in Bangkok, Thailand.
• As-Sayyid Al-Khoei Center in Dhakkah, Bangladesh.
• Imam Al-Khoei Orphanage Beirut, Lebanon

He was also the patron of about 1,000 grant-maintained students of theology from Iraq and other countries like Lebanon, Syria, Gulf States, India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South East Asia. He provided financial support for maintaining the schools including boarding expenses, teachers' salaries and lodging costs.

Other Institutions

• Publishing House - Translation, printing and distribution of books worldwide, Karachi, Pakistan.
• Cultural Complex, Bombay , India. Considered among the biggest Shi' ite Muslims cultural centre-under construction.
• Representative Offices catering for the religious, social, educational, and cultural needs of Muslims all over the world,with the Headquarters in London, U. K. and branches in the United States, Canada, India, Pakistan, U.A. E., Oman, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, North Africa, Syria, Lebanon, Malaysia.

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, and died in 1992.

His son Abdul Majid al-Khoei would later become a prominent Shia cleric who opposed the regime of Saddam Hussein. On April 10, 2003, having returned from exile in Britain to encourage guarded cooperation with the US occupation, he was killed near the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf.