Al-Haydari's intellectual output can be loosely grouped with a critical school within Islamic studies sometimes known as madrasat naqd al-turath (school of criticising [religious] heritage). This school is generally known for being critical of "accepted" or purportedly "orthodox" truths, and calls for a renewed examination of previously thought of "unassailable" texts or opinions.[3]
He has argued that Twelver Shi'i thought has by large evolved from a rational/theologically centered school of thought into a jurisprudentially centered school.
Al-Haydari was born into a renowned Karbalaei family, that goes back to their patriarch Mir Haidar al-Husayni, a descendant of the fourth Shi'ite Imam, Ali Zayn al-Abideen.[4] His great grandfather, Sayyid Abdullah al-Haydari (d. 1899) was a grand scholar, and is buried in the Imam Husayn shrine, along with his children. They played a large role in the expansion of the courtyard of the shrine from the south eastern side.[5]
Al-Haydari was born in 1956 to Baqir al-Haydari, a well-known cloth dealer in Karbala. He completed his elementary, middle and high school education in public schools. His family wanted him to pursue a career in medicine or engineering, but he chose to go down the religious academic path.[2]
He studied his primary religious studies in Karbala under scholars such as Sheikh Ali al-Eithan al-Ahsa'i, and his son Sheikh Husayn al-Eithan. He then moved to Najaf in 1974 to study at the College of Jurisprudence. He also took lessons at the religious seminary, completing his sutooh studies with Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Taqi al-Hakim and Ayatollah Sayyid Abd al-Saheb al-Hakim. He then began his bahth al-kharij studies with Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad-Baqir al-Sadr, Ayatollah Sheikh Ali al-Gharawi, and Sayyid Nasrallah al-Mustanbit.[6]
Al-Haydari gained a bachelor's degree in Islamic sciences with honors in 1978 from the College ohttp://alhaydari.com/ar/category/ebooks/quranic/f Jurisprudence, and then migrated to Kuwait in 1980 due to the rising pressures from the Ba'thist authorities, and then to Damascus, where he remained for nearly four months. He then left for Iran via Turkey and settled in the city of Qom. In Qom, he resumed his studies under some of the most learned such as Ayatollah Mirza Jawad Tabrizi, Ayatollah Sheikh Wahid Khorasani, Ayatollah Sheikh Javadi Amoli, and Ayatollah Sheikh Hassanzadeh Amoli.[2]
Al-Haydari announced his marja'iyah in 2012.[7] He has been known to be relatively controversial, including his critiques of the opinions of classical scholars such al-Saduq, al-Mufid and al-Hilli, as well as rejecting the idea of unanimity when it came to doctrinal matters. However, his critique that caused the most uproar in his sphere is his contention that the vast majority of surviving traditions in the four main books are a product of forgeries, known as Israʼiliyyat.[3]
He gained a lot of traction on al-Kawthar TV, where he hosted a show and discussed religious matters in the Quran and Hadith. However the show was cancelled in 2013 due to controversial remarks by al-Haydari.[8]
In 2019, al-Haydari supported the demonstrations during the October Revolution in Iraq stating:[9]
Corruption has become a phenomenon in the public life of the country facing no religious or legal deterrence. The demonstrations that erupted and that will break out are only a natural reaction to this corruption.
^Ṭuʻmah, Salmān Hādī (1998). Asha'er Karbala Wa 'Usariha [Tribes and Families of Karbala] (in Arabic). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Mahaja al-Baydha'. pp. 93–4.
