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Ayatollah
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Ayatollah ( ayatollah from , ayatu l-Lah "Signs of God", ayah (plural: ayat) and Allah) is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shi‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin.
title is currently granted to top Shia mujtahid, after completing sat'h and kharij studies in the hawza.
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Ayatollah ( ayatollah from , ayatu l-Lah "Signs of God", ayah (plural: ayat) and Allah) is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shi‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin.
Rank
The title is currently granted to top Shia mujtahid, after completing sat'h and kharij studies in the hawza. By then he would be able to issue his own edicts from the sources of religious laws: Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijma? and 'Aql "intellect" (rather than the Sunni principle of Qiyas). Most of the time this is attested by an issued certificate from his teachers. The Ayatollah can then teach in hawzas according to his speciality, can act as a reference for their religious questions, and act as a judge.
There is an important difference from Shi'a Ayatollah's and "saints" in other religions and Sunni Islam. They are not regarded as enlightened by God Himself, but by the Word of God.
There are a few females which are equal in ranking to the Ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahideh. A current example of a Lady Mujtahideh is Zohreh Sefati. Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi'ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli.
History
According to author Baqer Moin, "the title "ayatollah" was introduced at the time of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905 to honour those clerical leaders who signed the constitution."
Grand Ayatollah
Only a few of the most important Ayatollah are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah (Ayatollah Uzma, "Great Sign of God"). This usually happens when the followers of one of the Ayatollahs refer to him in many situations and ask him to publish his Juristic book in which he answers the vast majority of daily Muslim affairs. The book is called Resalah, which is usually a reinvention of the book Al-Urwatu l-Wuthqah, according to their knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life.
There are currently five grand ayatollahs in Najaf, Iraq, center of the Iraqi Shi'i seminaries orHawzas (currently the most senior is Ali Sistani). The others are Grand Ayatollahs Bashir Najafi, Muhammad Said Al-Hakim, Muhammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad, and Muhammad Taqi Modarresi. There are more in Iran and wherever the Shi'a exist. There are more than 20 living world-wide; the most famous of them are Ali Khamenei, Ali Sistani, Makarem Shirazi, Malakouti, Montazeri, Fadlullah, Haeri and Sadiq Shirazi.
See also
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