Mohammad Ebrahim Jannaati
Encyclopedia
Grand Ayatollah
Mohammad Ebrahim Jannaati ' onMouseout='HidePop("73506")' href="/topics/Shahrood">Shahrood
, Iran
) is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja
. He has studied in seminaries of Qom
and Najaf
under Grand Ayatollahs Borujerdi and Khomeini. He is known for his progressive fatwas on women and youth issues, such as:
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘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...
Mohammad Ebrahim Jannaati ' onMouseout='HidePop("73506")' href="/topics/Shahrood">Shahrood
Shahrood
Shahrud Situated about an altitude of 4413 ft , it is located at latitude 36°25'N, longitude 055°01'E. Now, it is the largest city of Semnan Province and also its county has same position in the province...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
) is an Iranian Twelver Shia Marja
Marja
Marja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...
. He has studied in seminaries of Qom
Qom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
and Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
under Grand Ayatollahs Borujerdi and Khomeini. He is known for his progressive fatwas on women and youth issues, such as:
- Allowing women to be an Islamic judge, and Marja
- Allowing youth to get married (see Nikah Mut'ah) without parental permission
- Unlike conservative Shias, he declares all humans, including kafirKafirKafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
s naturally clean - Allowing betting on horse racing and archery competition; also considers playing with gambling devices allowable, if money is not involved
- Allows playing backgammon, cards and chess, if it is done for mental exercise, entertainment or improving mathematical ability, in all of this the game should not be played for a thing to be won or lost by either side or else it would be forbidden.
- Allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim yet religious women.
- Allows Muslims to consume non-halal meats provided by non-Muslims yet religious groups such as Christians and Jews.
- Allows Muslim men to shake hands with non-Muslim women if avoiding shaking hands is a bad habit in that culture or makes Islam to be viewed badly.