Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei (/ˈɑːbuː æl ˈkɑːsɪm æl ˈxhuːi/ ⓘ AH-boo al KAH-sim al KHOO-ee; Arabic: أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; Persian: ابوالقاسم موسوی خویی; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian-Iraqi Shia marja'.[1][2] Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential twelver scholars.
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Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
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السيد أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي
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Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei in his office at Najaf, 1970's
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| Personal | |
| Born | (1899-11-19)November 19, 1899 |
| Died | August 8, 1992(1992-08-08) (aged 92) |
| Resting place | Imam Ali Shrine |
| Religion | Islam |
| Children |
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| Parent | Ali-Akbar al-Khoei (father) |
| Denomination | Shi'a |
| Jurisprudence | Ja'fari (Usuli) |
| Creed | Twelver |
| Main interest(s) | Hadith, Fiqh |
| Notable work(s) | Mu'jam rijal al-hadith |
| Muslim leader | |
| Based in | Najaf, Iraq |
| Period in office | 1970–1992 |
| Predecessor | Muhsin al-Hakim |
| Successor | Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani |
| Website | Official website |
After the death of Muhsin al-Hakim in 1970, he became the spiritual leader of much of the Shia world until his death in 1992. He was succeeded briefly by Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari, until his death in 1993. Then his former student, Ali al-Sistani, took leadership of the seminary, whereby many of his followers became followers of al-Sistani.[3][4]
Al Khoei was born in the Iranian city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province in 1899. Khoei grew up in Iran. Around the age of 13, he moved to Iraq along with his older brother Abdullah 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 made a marja. Khoei continued 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.
Due to his prominent position as a 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 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 principles 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 Qur'an). His interests included astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy.
Al-Khoei's status as the pre-eminent scholar of his age did not go unchallenged. In the 1970s, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Al-Shirazi, a radical theologian based in Karbala had a long-running feud with Al Khoei and his fellow clerics in Najaf over the legitimacy of theocratic rule. The dispute resulted in Al-Khoei seeking to dismiss Al Shirazi's status as a religious scholar.[5]
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. Khoei died on 8 August 1992 in Najaf, at the age of 92.[6] His funeral was led by his student Ali al-Sistani. He was buried in the Shrine of Imam AliinNajaf.[7]
He was fervently dedicated to establishing welfare, social, cultural, and educational institutions for Muslims worldwide. The following are some of the institutions he established:
He was also the patron of about 1,000 grant-maintained students of theology from Iraq and other countries like Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Persian Gulf States, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South East Asia. He provided financial support for maintaining the schools including boarding expenses, teachers' salaries, and lodging costs.
Former student Ali al-Sistani is currently the most senior Shia cleric in Iraq and widely regarded as "wield[ing] enormous power over Iraq's Shia majority."[8] The degree of success of his articulation of moderate Shia politics in Iraq have been said to be "in no small part traceable to the legacy of his mentor and teacher", al-Khoei.[9]
Another significant student of al-Khoei, is Muhammad-Sadiq Rohani, who also shared a close relationship with al-Khoei.[10] He was considered a high religious authorities in Iran, alongside Waheed Khurasani.
Khoei wrote about various topics, ranging from Islamic jurisprudencetomathematics and astronomy and was a prolific writer in these disciplines. He wrote 37 books and treatises, most of which have been published. His works include:
Al-Khoei was an "old rival" of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from when the two lived in Najaf, and dismissed Khomeini's theory that Velayat-e faqih—i.e., a ruling jurist should be the basis of Islamic Government—as a "bogus innovation" in Islam according to scholar Vali Nasr. Nasr argues that Al-Khoei's importance in limiting the reach of Khomeini's ideas "is often underrated and unrecognized".[11]
Although enthusiasm was passionate in the Shi'i world for the Iranian Revolution in its early years, Al-Khoei "openly urged followers to ignore" Khomeini[12] and "kept alive" the tradition of Shia thought "that accords more leeway to the idea of distinguishing between religious and political authority" then and "did so" until enthusiasm for Islamist rule had lost much of its "allure" among Shia worldwide.[11] He should also be given much of the credit for whatever influence "moderate Shia politics" has had in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein through his mentee and student Ali al-Sistani[11] who became the leading marjaʿ in Iraq after Al-Khoei's death.
Khoei was married and had seven sons:
