Religion:Shia clergy

In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy (collectively called the ulema) and keeping such a structure holds great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches has different clergy structures. Individual clerics are referred to as mullā or ākhūnd, but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term rūḥānī has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself".

Twelver

Usooli school

Among the different schools of Twelver Shi'i Islam are Usooli and Akhbari. In the late 18th and early 19th century the Usooli "triumphed" over the Akhbari Twelver.

Usooli Shia argued that "since only someone who has expended the time and effort to become a mujtahid could possibly know all the details of religious observances and law", it was obligatory for "anyone who was not himself a mujtahid to follow the rulings" of one so as to avoid committing religious errors. They believe the 12th Imam, ordered them to follow the scholars (Fuqaha) who: "...guard their soul, protect their religion, and follow the commandments of their master (Allah)..." Consequently, the Usooli Shia community is divided into mujtahid (those who follow their own independent judgement in religious law) and muqallid (those who must follow the rulings of a mujtahid). The practice of following a mujtahid is called taqlid. Because of this, it can be said that clergy in the Usooli Twelver Shi'a have exerted much more authority in their religious community than the Sunni ulema (or Akhbari Shi'i ulema) in theirs.

Also as a consequence of the dominance of Usooli Shi'ism, mujtahid have risen in both importance and number. Up until the mid-19th century there were "three or four" mujtahid "anywhere at any one time"; by the end of the century there were several hundred. Also during the 19th century, improvements in communication technology gave a higher profile to the most eminent mujtahids, as "important or controversial questions" no longer had to be left to local mujtahids. In "this way a small number of eminent mujtahids in Najaf became regarded as being the marja' at-taqlid for a particular area to be referred to "by both "ordinary Shi'is and local mujtahids". As of 2014, there were over 60 recognized Marj in the Shia Muslim world.

In Iran (the largest majority-Twelver Shi'i country) and "to a lesser extent" in other Shi'i communities, "the clerical class [ ulema ] constitutes a fairly distinctive entity".

Shia believe that the study of Islamic literature is a continual process, and is necessary for identifying all of God's laws. They believe that the process of finding God's laws from the available Islamic literature will facilitate dealing with any circumstance. They believe that they can interpret the Qur'an and the Twelver Shi'a traditions with the same authority as their predecessors. This process of ijtihad has provided a means to deal with current issues from an Islamic perspective.

Education

Traditionally (and as of 1985, at least in Iran) education of a member of the ulema (and many other people) began with primary school or maktab. After completing this, those who wanted to be members of the ulama attended madrasa (religious college, "collectively referred to as hawza", plural hawzat) situated in big cities. The most prestigious of them were located in the holy cities of Qum, Mashhad and Najaf. The madrasa course of study has three level:

1. Muqaddamat (preliminary level) where they would develop a "good grasp" of Arabic language and their teachers would be "senior students and assistants of the principal mujtahids". This level may take ten years or so.
2. As-Sutuh (the externals) here the teachers are usually recently minted mujtahids "seeking to build up their reputations", students may pick and choose lectures and develop a special interest, but must obtain "a thorough grasp" of the "two principal subjects", fiqh and usul al-fiqh to advance to the next level.
3. Dars al-Kharij (graduation classes), the students in their mid-twenties, and the teaching done by the principal mujtahids, there are "no set books", and the style of teaching often "dialectical involvement of the audience".

Tuition, room and board is provided for students from charitable contributions, if only at a very spartan level.

Ijaza

Unlike in most Western higher education programs (where failure to graduate is usually considered a failure on the part of some combination of the student, school or society), "only a small percentage" of talib who start out in a madrasa complete these courses and receive a ijaza. Instead, the number of talib thins out at each level of promotion, with the drop-outs going on to less demanding and prestigious, but still respected religious roles. Most drop out at some point out of "financial or personal considerations", lack of intellect, and/or lack of perseverance. To be considered for a ijaza (literally "permission, authorisation", i.e. authorisation to exercise ijtihad and thus can be called a mujtihad) a student (talib) must be

a. Maturity

b. Of the male sex

c. Legitimate birth

d. Faith

e. Intelligence

f. Justice (i.e. following Sharia in words and deeds, its obligations and prohibitions).

They must write a treatise on fiqh or usul al-fiqh and be granted the ijaza from a "recognized mujtahid". It is "uncommon" to obtain an ijaza before the age of 30, and "not uncommon" for 40 and 50-year-olds to still be students.

Hierarchy, types of ulama

The ulama is much larger than just "recognized" mujtahids (i.e. mujtahids who have a following of Muslims who are prepared to refer to them on matters of Islamic law). Below these are those who drop out of madrasa "consider themselves members of the ulama" although they make their livelihood in some non-religious occupation (merchant, craftsman, etc.). Others are talib who "obviously" did not have the ability to complete the course and become a mujtahid, in the eyes of their mujtihad and are asked by him to take up a position as a

• teacher for a maktab
• mullah for a village
• pīshnamāz (prayer leader)
• mutawallī (custodian) of a shrine or endowment

by a town that has asked the mujtihad to provide them with one. Other occupations often filled by drop outs -- though they "need not have attended a madrasa" to be one are

• wāʿiẓ (traveling preacher) or
• rawḍa-khān (narrator of the tragedy of Hussein at Karbalā).

In addition there are those who earned an ijaza but did not become "recognized", because they lacked the patronage of an eminent mujtahid, the prestige among other students, family connections, or talent for preaching and communicating. These are sometimes called mujtahid muḥtaṭ (mujtahid in abeyance).

The hierarchy of Twelver Shi'i "has been described" as one of "deference", that is the lower ranking ulama will defer to a higher ranking one -- "a locally prominent mujtahid" -- who will defer to an "eminent mujtahid" (marja' al-taqlid) in Najaf, Qum or Mashhad.

• Ayatollah (sign of God) is a fairly recent term, originating in the 20th century as a title for marja' at-taqlid, but suffering from inflation such that following the 1979 Iranian Revolution it was used "for any established mujtahid".
• Hujjatu'l-Islam (proof of Islam) originated as a title for certain high-level mujtahids in the 19th century (Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Shafti, Mirza-yi Shirazi); following the 1979 Iranian Revolution it was used for "aspiring mujtahid".

Devaluation trend

The title of Ayatollah (and other Iranian Shi'i titles) has been "cheapened" in recent decades.

According to Michael M. J. Fischer, the Iranian revolution led to "rapid inflation of religious titles", and almost every senior cleric was called an Ayatollah.

The same phenomenon happened to the title Hujjat al-Islam before, which is today a less prestigious title than Ayatollah. However, as of 19th century it was given to people who were not only Mujtahids, but also were the most distinguished clerics of that time. Today there are "tens of thousands" called with that title, who are just aspiring to become a Mujtahid.

This trend led to the invention of a new title called Ayatollah al-Uzma (lit. Great Sign of God). In the beginning, about half a dozen people were addressed with the latter title, but as of 2015, the number of people who claimed that title was reportedly over 50.

Historical role in politics and society

Modern history

The Shia clerics in this period were closely tied with the bazaars that were in turn strongly linked with the artisans and farmers that together formed traditional socioeconomic communities and centers of associational life with Islamic occasions and functions tying them to clerics who interpreted Islamic laws to settle commercial disputes and taxed the well-to-do to provide welfare for devout poorer followers. A succession of prayer meetings and rituals were organized by both clergy and the laity. Bazaars also enjoyed ties with more modern sectors of Iranians society as many Iranian university students were from the merchant class. But since the 1970s, the Shah of Iran aroused the defense and oppositions of the bazaar by attempts at bring under control their autonomous councils and marginalizing the clergy by taking over their educational and welfare activities. This combined with the growing public and clerical dissatisfaction with Shah's secular policies and his reliance on foreign powers, particularly the United States, led to a nationwide revolution, that saw a high-ranking cleric Ayatollah Khomeini and his clerical disciples as its top leadership, that deposed the Pahlavi Shah and founded the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ismaili

The Imamate in Nizārī Ismā'īlī doctrine (Arabic: إمامة) is a concept in Nizari Isma'ilism which defines the political, religious and spiritual dimensions of authority concerning Islamic leadership over the nation of believers. The primary function of the Imamate is to establish an institution between an Imam who is present and living in the world and his following whereby each is granted rights and responsibilities. See also Imamate in Nizari doctrine for further information.

The term Dāʻī al-Mutlaq (Arabic: الداعي المطلق) literally means "the absolute or unrestricted missionary". In Ismā'īlī Islām, the term dāʻī has been used to refer to important religious leaders other than the hereditary Imāms and the Daʻwa or "Mission" is a clerical-style organization. "The Daʻwa" was a term for the Ismā'īlī faith itself from early on. The Dāʻīs are also called Syednas. See Musta'li and Taiyabi for further information. List of Dai of Dawoodi Bohra

Contemporary scholars

Afghanistan

• Ali Mohaqiq Nasab
• Asif Mohseni
• Muhammad al-Fayadh
• Mohaqiq Kabuli

Azerbaijan

• Allahshukur Pashazadeh

Bahrain

• Abdul Amir al-Jamri
• Ali Salman
• Isa Qassim
• Mohammad al-Sannad (fa)

India

• Ali Naqi Naqvi
• Syed Ali Nasir Saeed Abaqati
• Aga Syed Yusuf Al-Moosavi Al-Safavi
• Syed Aqeel-ul-Gharavi
• Ghulam Rasool Noori
• Syed Hamidul Hasan
• Hasan Naqvi
• Syed Kalbe Hussain
• Kalbe Jawad
• Mirza Mohammed Athar
• Aga Syed Mohammad Fazlullah
• Sheikh Mussa Shariefi
• Aga Syed Mustafa Moosavi
• Syed Ali Akhtar Rizvi
• Syed Saif Abbas Naqvi
• Syed Zafrul Hasan Rizvi
• Zeeshan Haider Jawadi

Iran

• Abbas Ali Akhtari
• Abbas-Ali Amid Zanjani
• Abbas Ali Karamatlu (fa)
• Abbas Ali Rostami Sani (fa)
• Abbas-Ali Soleimani
• Abbas Amirifar
• Abbas Hosseini Kashani
• Abbas Ka'bi
• Abbas Mahfouzi
• Abbas Matin (fa)
• Abbas Almohri
• Mohammad Montazeri
• Abbas Mousaviyan (fa)
• Abbas Tabrizian
• Abbas Vaez-Tabasi
• Abdul Fattah Nawab
• Abdul Hadi Hussayni Shahroudi (fa)
• Abdul Hamid Khodri (fa)
• Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani
• Abdol Hossein Dastgheib
• Abdul Hussein Mo'ezzi
• Abdol Javad Alamolhoda
• Abdul Karim Abidini (fa)
• Abdul Karim Farhani
• Abdolkarim Hasheminejad
• Abdul Karim Haghshenas
• Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili
• Seyyed Abdollah Fateminia
• Abdullah Haji Sadiqi (fa)
• Abdullah Hajiani (fa)
• Abdullah Hussayni (fa)
• Abd al-A'la al-Sabziwari
• Abdollah Javadi-Amoli
• Abdullah Musawi Shirazi
• Abdollah Nouri
• Abdul Mahmoud Abdullahi (fa)
• Abdul-Majid al-Khoei
• Abdul Mohammad Rastad (fa)
• Abdolmoghim Nasehi
• Abdul-Nabi Mousavi Fard
• Abdul-Nabi Namazi
• Abd al-Rahim Aqiqi Bakhshayishi
• Ayatollah Abdul Rahman Heidari Ilami
• Abdul Rasoul Mousavi (fa)
• Abdul Reza Pourzahabi (fa)
• Abdolvahed Mousavi Lari
• Abu al-Fazl Mir Mohammedi (fa)
• Seyed Abolfazl Mousavi Tabrizi
• Abu al-Fazl Razavi Ardakani (fa)
• Abulhassan Navab
• Abolghasem Khazali
• Abu al-Qasem (ar)
• Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
• Abolghasem Wafi Yazdi
• Abu al-Qasim Yaqoubi (fa)
• Ahad Azadikhah (fa)
• Ahmad Alamolhoda
• Ahmad Azari Qomi
• Ahmad Beheshti
• Ahmad Hemmati Meshgini (fa)
• Ahmad Hussayn Fallahi (fa)
• Ahmad Hosseini Khorasani
• Ahmad Jannati
• Ahmad Khatami
• Ahmad Khomeini
• Ahmad Khonsari
• Ahmad Marvi
• Ahmad Mazani
• Ahmad Moballeghi
• Ahmad Mohseni Garakani
• Ahmad Mojtahedi Tehrani
• Sayyid Ahmad Mousavi (fa)
• Ahmad Parvai'i Rik (fa)
• Ahmad Ghabel
• Mir Ahmad Reza Hajati
• Seyyed Ahmad Reza Shahrokhi
• Ahmad Sabiri Hamedani (fa)
• Ahmad Salek
• Ahmad Vaezi
• Akbar Ahmadpour (fa)
• Akbar Ghaffari Qarabagh (fa)
• Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
• Allah Nour Karimi Tabar (fa)
• Ali Ahmadi Mianji (fa)
• Ali Akbar al-Modarresi
• Ali Meshkini
• Ali-Akbar Hosseini
• Ali Akbar Masoudi Khomeini
• Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur
• Ali Akbar Kalantari (fa)
• Ali Akbar Ghoreishi
• Ali Akbar Hamidzadeh (fa)
• Ali Akbar Mousavi Hussayni (fa)
• Ali Akbar Nasseri (fa)
• Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri
• Ali Akbar Rashad
• Ali al-Sabziwari
• Ali Asghar Baghani (fa)
• Seyed Ali Asghar Dastgheib
• Ali Asghar Hussayni (fa)
• Ali Asghar Masoumi Shahroudi (fa)
• Ali Asghar Rahimi Azad
• Ali Asghar Rahmani Khalili
• Ali Banaei
• Ali Fallahian
• Ali Davani
• Ali Gharavi (ar)
• Ali Ghiouri (fa)
• Ali Golzadeh Ghafouri
• Ali Hussayni Ashkevari (fa)
• Ali al-Sistani
• Ali Islami (fa)
• Ali al-Kazemi Momendi (fa)
• Ali Khamenei
• Ali Khatami (Zanjan) (fa)
• Ali Mirkhalili (fa)
• Ali Mo’alemi (fa)
• Ali Mohammad Bozorgvari (fa)
• Ali Mohammad Dastgheib Shirazi
• Ali Momenpour (fa)
• Ali Nazari Monfard (fa)
• Ali Orumian
• Ali Qazi Askar
• Ali Qoddusi
• Ali Razini (fa)
• Ali Reza Afqahi (fa)
• Alireza Arafi
• Ali Reza Ebadi (fa)
• Ali Reza Islamian (fa)
• Alireza Panahian
• Alireza Qaeminia
• Alireza Salimi (politician)
• Ali Safi Golpaygani
• Seyyed Ali Shafiei
• Sheikh Ali Shahrokhi (fa)
• Ali Shirazi
• Ali Tahiri Gorgani (fa)
• Ali Zadsar Jirofti (fa)
• Amanallah Alimoradi (fa)
• Aman Narimani (fa)
• Amir Qoli Jafari Borujeni (fa)
• Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani
• Assad-Allah Imani
• Asadallah Kian-Arasi (fa)
• Mir Asadollah Madani
• Asgar Dirbaz
• Ataollah Ashrafi Esfahani
• Azizollah Khoshvaght
• Dakhil Abbas Zarazadeh Mehrizi (fa)
• Davoud Samadi Amoli (fa)
• Fakhraddin Hashemi (fa)
• Fakhreddin Mousavi
• Fakhraddin Sabiri (fa)
• Fathallah Omid Najafabadi (fa)
• Ghiyasaddin Taha Mohammedi (fa)
• Gholam Ali Naim Abadi (fa)
• Gholam Ali Safai Bushehri
• Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani
• Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i
• Gholam Hussayn Nadi (fa)
• Gholam Reza Fayazi (fa)
• Gholamreza Hassani
• Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghaddam
• Gholamreza Rezvani
• Gholam Reza Sultani (fa)
• Habibollah Ashouri
• Habiballah Mehman Navaz (fa)
• Habiballah Sha’bani Movasaqi (fa)
• Habib Boromand Dashghapu
• Hadi al-Modarresi
• Hadi Barikbin (fa)
• Hadi Doust Mohammadi (fa)
• Hadi Ghaffari
• Hadi Khamenei
• Hadi Khosroshahi
• Hadi Ghabel
• Hadi Rohani
• Hamid Rasai
• Hamid Shahriari
• Mirza Hashem Amoli
• Hashem Bathaie Golpayegani
• Hashem Hamidi (fa)
• Hashem Hashemzadeh Herisi
• Hashem Hejazifar (fa)
• Hashem Hosseini Bushehri
• Hashem Niazi (fa)
• Hassan Abtahi (fa)
• Hassan Alemi (fa)
• Hassan Alidadi Sulaymani (fa)
• Hasanali Morvarid
• Hasan Ali Nejabat Shirazi
• Hassan Ameli
• Hassan Aqa Hussayni Tabataba’i (fa)
• Hassan Emami
• Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli
• Hassan Eslami Ardakani
• Hassan Khomeini
• Hassan Malek Mohammadi (fa)
• Hassan Mamduhi (fa)
• Hassan Namazi
• Hassan Nowrouzi (fa)
• Hassan Rouhani
• Hassan Sanei
• Hassan Shariati Niyasar (fa)
• Hassan Shahcheraghi (fa)
• Hassan Shuja’i Aliabadi (fa)
• Hassan Shuja’i Kiyasari (fa)
• Hassan Tabatabaei Qomi
• Hassan Taheri Khorramabadi (fa)
• Heydar Moslehi
• Hussein-Ali Montazeri
• Hussayn Ali Sa'adi (fa)
• Hossein Borujerdi
• Hossein Ansarian
• Hussayn Ansari Rad (fa)
• Hossein Ayatollahi
• Hussayn Hashemian (fa)
• Hussayn Irani (fa)
• Hussayn Jalali (fa)
• Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi
• Hossein Lankarani
• Hossein Mazaheri
• Hussayn Mirza'i (fa)
• Hossein Mousavi Tabrizi
• Hossein Noori Hamedani
• Hussayn Rasti Kashani (fa)
• Hussayn Sobhani Nia (fa)
• Hossein Taeb
• Hossein Wahid Khorasani
• Ebrahim Amini
• Mir Ebrahim Seyyed Hatami
• Ebrahim Raisi
• Isa Tarafi (fa)
• Ismail Ferdowsipour (fa)
• Esmaeil Khatib
• Seyed Esmaeil Mousavi Zanjani
• Jafar Karimi Divkola'i (fa)
• Jafar Sobhani
• Jafar Shojouni
• Jalaleddin Taheri
• Jalal Yahyazadeh Firouzabadi (fa)
• Javad Alavi Boroujerdi (fa)
• Javad Gharavi Aliari
• Javad Hussayni Kia (fa)
• Javad Khamenei
• Jawad Tabrizi
• Javad Mojtahed Shabestari
• Javad Nikbin (fa)
• Kamel Khairkhah (fa)
• Karamatallah Emadi (fa)
• Karamatollah Malek-Hosseini
• Khalil Boyukzadeh
• Khalil Mobasher Kashani
• Seyed Kazem Seyed Bagheri
• Kazem Mousavi (fa)
• Kazem Nourmofidi
• Kazem Seddiqi
• Lotfollah Dezhkam
• Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani
• Mahmoud Taleghani
• Mahmoud Alavi
• Mahmoud Da’ai (fa)
• Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
• Mahmoud Hussayni Dowlatabadi (fa)
• Mahmoud Madani Bajestani (fa)
• Mahmoud Mar'ashi Najafi
• Mahmoud Mohammedi Araqi (fa)
• Mahmoud Nabavian
• Mahmoud Nourizadeh (fa)
• Mahmoud Salavati
• Mahdi al-Modarresi
• Mahdi Baqiri (fa)
• Mahdi Hosseini Rohani
• Mehdi Karroubi
• Mahdi Mousavinejad (fa)
• Seyed Mehdi Ghoreishi
• Mehdi Shabzendedar Jahromi
• Mahdi Sheikh (fa)
• Mahdi Yasrebi Kashani (fa)
• Majdaddin Ghazi Dezfuli (fa)
• Majid Ansari
• Majid Nasserinejhad (fa)
• Majid Nasira'i (fa)
• Majid Talkhabi (fa)
• Mansour Leghaei
• Masoud Khamenei
• Ali Younesi
• Mohammad Aba’i Khorasani (fa)
• Mohammad-Ali Abtahi
• Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem
• Mohammad Ali "Mokhtar" Aminian (fa)
• Mohammad-Ali Angaji
• Mohammad Ali Araki
• Mohammad Ali Ayazi (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Faiz Lahijani Gilani (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Gerami Qomi
• Mohammad Ali Hadi Najafabadi (fa)
• Mohammad Alavi Gorgani
• Mohammad Ali Esmaeelpoor Ghomsheie
• Mohammad Ali Naseri (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Nekounam (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Mousavi (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri
• Mohammad Ali Movahed Abtahi (fa)
• Ali Movahedi-Kermani
• Mohammad Ali Qazi Tabatabaei
• Mohammad-Ali Rahmani
• Mohammad Ali Reza'i (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Sadouqi (fa)
• Mohammad-Ali Shahidi
• Mohammad Ali Shar’ai (fa)
• Mohammad Ali Shomali
• Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri
• Mohammad Amin Khorasani (fa)
• Mirza Mohammad Anvari (fa)
• Mohammad Ashrafi Isfahani Khozani (fa)
• Mohammed Bahrami Khoshkar (fa)
• Mohammad-Bagher Bagheri
• Mohammad Baqir Ebadi (fa)
• Mohammad Bagher Kharazi
• Mohammad Baqir Mohammadi La’ini (fa)
• Mohammad Baqir Movahed Abtahi (fa)
• Mohammad Ebadizadeh (fa)
• Mohammed Emami-Kashani
• Mohammad Faqih (fa)
• Mohammad Fazel Lankarani
• Mohammad Feyz Sarabi
• Mohammad Hadi Abdekhodai (fa)
• Mohammad Hadi Ghazanfari Khansari
• Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh
• Mohammad Hadi Rabbani (fa)
• Mohammad Haji Abu al-Qasem Doulabi (fa)
• Mohammad Hashemian (fa)
• Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard
• Mohammad Hassan Ahmadi Faqih
• Mohammad Hassan Jamshidi Ardeshiri (fa)
• Mohammad Hassan Mar’ashi (fa)
• Mohammad Hassan Nabavi (fa)
• Mohammad Hassan Ghadrdan Gharamaleki
• Mohammad Hassan Rahimian
• Mohammad Hassan Zali (fa)
• Mohammad Hussayn Ahmadi Shahroudi (fa)
• Mohammad Beheshti
• Mohammad Hussayn Hussaynzadeh Bahraini (fa)
• Mohammad Hussayni Rouhani Qomi (fa)
• Mohammad Hussaini Shahroudi
• Mohammad Hussayni Shahroudi (fa)
• Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini Zanjani
• Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai
• Mohammad Hussayn Zarandi (fa)
• Mohammad Ebrahim Jannaati
• Mohammad Ibrahim Nekounam (fa)
• Mohammad Ismail Shushtri (fa)
• Mohammad Ezodin Hosseini Zanjani
• Mohammad Jafari Gilani (fa)
• Mohammad Jafar Montazeri
• Muhammad Jafar Moravej
• Mohammad Jafar Sadat Mousavi (fa)
• Muhammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari
• Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
• Mohammad Javad Pishvai
• Mohammad Karim Marouji (fa)
• Mohammed Kadhim al-Modarresi
• Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari
• Mohammad Khamenei
• Mohammad Khatami
• Mohammad Mahdi Aftakhari (fa)
• Mohammad Mahdi Hussayni Hamedani (fa)
• Mohammad Mahdi Mir Baqeri (fa)
• Mohammad Mahdi Pourfatimi (fa)
• Mohammad Mahdi Rabbani Amlishi (fa)
• Mohammad Mahdi Shahrokhi (fa)
• Mehdi Tabatabaei
• Mohammad Mofatteh
• Mohammad Mo’adebpour (fa)
• Mohammad Mohad (fa)
• Mohammad Mohammadi Gilani
• Mohammad Momen
• Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha
• Mohammad Mofti al-shia Mousavi
• Mohammad Mojtahed Shabestari
• Mohammad Naqi Lotfi (fa)
• Mohammad Naqi Shahrokhi Khorramabadi (fa)
• Nasser Biria
• Mohammad Qomi
• Mohammad Rahmati Sirjani
• Mohammad Rajaei Baghsiai (fa)
• Mohammad Reyshahri
• Mohammad Razavi Yazdi (fa)
• Mohammad Reza Abbasi Fard (fa)
• Mohammad Reza Amiri Kohnuj (fa)
• Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani Araghi
• Mohammad Reza Baqiri Bonabi (fa)
• Mohammad Reza Dowlatabadi (fa)
• Mohammad Reza Faker (fa)
• Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani
• Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani
• Mohammad Reza Meghari Moruji (fa)
• Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini
• Mohammad-Reza Modarresi Yazdi
• Mohammad Reza Naseri Yazdi
• Mohammad Reza Nekoonam
• Mohammed Ridha al-Sistani
• Mohammad-Reza Tavassoli
• Mohammad Reza Za’iri (fa)
• Mohammad Rouhani Qomi (fa)
• Mohammad Sabzi (fa)
• Mohammad Sadat Ibrahimi (fa)
• Mohammad Sa’id Mahdavi Kani (fa)
• Mohammad Sadiq "Mohiaddin" Haeri Shirazi (fa)
• Sadegh Khalkhali
• Mohammad Sadeq Rouhani
• Mohammad-Sadegh Salehimanesh
• Mohammad Sadeqi Tehrani
• Mohammad Sadoughi
• Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi
• Mohammad Safari Molkmian (fa)
• Mohammad Shahcheraghi
• Mohammad Shahi Arablu (fa)
• Mohammad-Taher Shubayr al-Khaqani
• Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi
• Mohammad Taqi al-Khoei
• Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat Foumani
• Mohammad Taghi Falsafi
• Mohammad-Taqi Ja'fari
• Mohammad-Taghi Khalaji
• Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi
• Mohammad Taqi Mohassil Hamadani (fa)
• Mohammed Taqi Morvarid
• Mohammad Taqi Naqd Ali (fa)
• Mohammad Taghi Pourmohammadi
• Mohammad Taqi Rahbar (fa)
• Mohammad-Taqi Shoushtari
• Mohammad Taghi Vaezi
• Mohammad Waezzadeh Khorasani (fa)
• Mohammad Vaez Mousavi
• Mohammad Yasrebi (fa)
• Mohammad Yazdi
• Seyyed Mohammad Ziaabadi
• Mohiaddin Fazl Harandi (fa)
• Mohsen Araki
• Mohsen Faqihi
• Mohsen Heidari Alekasir
• Mohsen Kazeroni (fa)
• Mohsen Kharazi
• Mohsen Koochebaghi Tabrizi
• Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari
• Mohsin Qara'ati
• Mohsen Qomi
• Mohsen Rohami
• Mohsen Sa'idi Golpaygani (fa)
• Seyed Mojtaba Hosseini
• Mojtaba Mo’adpour (fa)
• Mujtaba Musavi Lari
• Mojtaba Tehrani
• Mojtaba Zonnour
• Mokhtar Waziri (fa)
• Morteza Aghatehrani
• Morteza Fahim Kermani (fa)
• Morteza Mati’ayi (fa)
• Morteza Moghtadai
• Morteza Motahhari
• Morteza Mousavi (fa)
• Morteza Razavi (fa)
• Morteza Sadouqi Mazandarani
• Morteza Salehi Khvansari (fa)
• Mousa Ahmadi (fa)
• Mousa Ghazanfarabadi (fa)
• Mousa Mousavi (fa)
• Mousa Qorbani (fa)
• Mousa Shubairi Zanjani
• Mostafa Boroujerdi
• Mustafa Fargh Dezfuli (fa)
• Mostafa Khamenei
• Mostafa Khomeini
• Mustafa Mohami (fa)
• Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad
• Mostafa Mousavi Faraz
• Mostafa Pourmohammadi
• Mustafa Tabataba’inejhad (fa)
• Mustafa Ulama (fa)
• Mustafa Zu al-Qadir (fa)
• Moslem Malakouti
• Motahar Kazimi (fa)
• Nasir Hosseini
• Nasrollah Pejmanfar
• Nasrallah Shah-Abadi
• Naser Makarem Shirazi
• Seyed Naser Mousavi Largani
• Nasser Mousavi (fa)
• Nasser Qawami (fa)
• Nematollah Salehi Najafabadi
• Nourallah Tabresi (fa)
• Qasem Ravanbakhsh
• Mir Ghesmat Mosavi Asl
• Ghodratollah Alikhani
• Qodratallah Najafi (fa)
• Qodratallah Nazari Nia (fa)
• Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi
• Qorban Ali Qandahari (fa)
• Rahim Tavakol (fa)
• Rasoul Fallahati Gilani (fa)
• Rasul Jafarian
• Rasoul Montajabnia
• Reza Akrami (fa)
• Seyed Reza Bahaadini
• Reza Hosseini Nassab
• Reza Mohammadi Langroudi
• Reza Nouri
• Reza Ostadi
• Reza Ramezani Gilani
• Reza Taqvi (fa)
• Ruhollah Beigi
• Ruhollah Hosseinian
• Ruhollah Khatami
• Ruhollah Khomeini
• Ruhallah Sadr al-Sadati (fa)
• Sabir Jabbari (fa)
• Sadeq Larijani
• Sadiq Tabataba’inejhad (fa)
• Saied Reza Ameli
• Seyed Sajjad Izdehi
• Salman Zakir (fa)
• Shahab al-Din Ishraqi (fa)
• Shahab ud-Din Mar'ashi Najafi
• Shams al-Din Mohammad Mujatahidi Najafi (fa)
• Sharaf al-Din Malek Hussayni (fa)
• Sirajaddin Mousavi (fa)
• Taha Hashemi (fa)
• Taher Ahmadzadeh
• Taqi Tabatabaei Qomi
• Teymour Ali Asgari (fa)
• Wahid Ahmadi (fa)
• Yadollah Duzduzani
• Yahya Ansari Shirazi (fa)
• Yahya Nouri
• Yasubedin Rastegar Jooybari
• Younis Mousavi Sarcheshmeh (fa)
• Yousef Madani Tabrizi
• Yousef Saanei
• Yousef Tabatabai Nejad
• Zakrallah Ahmadi (fa)
• Zaynolabideen Ghorbani

Iraq

• Abbas Modaresi Yazdi
• Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
• Abd al-Hadi al-Fadli
• Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai
• Abdul-Satar al-Bahadli
• Abu al-Hassan al-Gharifi (ar)
• Ahmed Al-Waeli
• Ahmad Hassani Baghdadi
• Akram al-Kaabi
• Al-Sayyed Riyadh Al-Hakeem
• Ali al-Hakim
• Ali al-Milani
• Ali Hassani Baghdadi
• Allaedin Ghoraifi
• Ammar al-Hakim
• Baqir al-Irawani
• Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi (ar)
• Fadhil al-Milani
• Fazel Maleki
• Hamid Rashid Ma’aleh (ar)
• Hassan al-Qazwini
• Hassan al-Shirazi
• Husham Al-Husainy
• Hussein Al-Sadr
• Hussein al-Shirazi
• Iyad Jamal Al-Din
• Jafar al-Hakim
• Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir
• Jawad al-Khalesi (ar)
• Kamal al-Haydari
• Kazem al-Haeri
• Mohammad al-Sadr
• Muhammad Ali al-Hakim
• Mohammad Ali Shirazi
• Mohammad Ali Tabatabaei Hassani
• Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim
• Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr
• Mohammad Hadi al-Milani
• Mohammad Ebrahim Ansari
• Mohammed Kadhim al-Qazwini
• Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim
• Mohammad al-Shirazi
• Mohammad Taher Khaqani
• Mohammad Taqi al-Mawla (ar)
• Mohammad Yaqoobi
• Muhsin al-Hakim
• Mujtaba al-Shirazi
• Murtadha al-Qazwini
• Murtadha al-Shirazi
• Moustafa Al-Qazwini
• Qais Khazali
• Qasem Taei
• Sadiq al-Shirazi
• Saleh Taei
• Shamsodin Vaezi

Kuwait

• Muhammad Baqir al-Muhri
• Yasser Al-Habib

Lebanon

• Abbas al-Musawi
• Abdel Karim Obeid
• Ali Al-Kourani
• Hashim Safi Al Din
• Hassan Nasrallah
• Hossein Korani Ameli
• Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah
• Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine
• Mohammad Yazbek
• Musa al-Sadr
• Naim Qassem
• Ragheb Harb
• Subhi al-Tufayli

Nigeria

• Ibrahim Zakzaky
• Qasim Umar Sokoto

Pakistan

• Syed Ali Raza Rizvi
• Syed Ali Naqi Naqvi Qumi
• Arif Hussain Hussaini
• Allama Rasheed Turabi
• Allama Aqeel Turabi
• Bashir Hussain Najafi
• Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi
• Hafiz Riaz Hussain Najafi
• Hassan Raza Ghadeeri
• Allama Hassan Turabi
• Jawad Naqvi
• Muhammad Hussain Najafi
• Muhammad Latif Ansari
• Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai
• Syed Safdar Hussain Najafi
• Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi
• Talib Jauhari
• Zeeshan Haider Jawadi

Saudi Arabia

• Nimr al-Nimr

See also

• Akhoond
• Hawza
• Imamzadeh
• Islamic scholars
• List of ayatollahs
• List of maraji

References

• Algar, Hamid (18 August 2011). "ĀyatallāH". in Yarshater, Ehsan. Encyclopædia Iranica. Fasc. 2. III (Online ed.). New York, NY: Bibliotheca Persica Press. p. 133. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayatallah. 
• Fischer, Michael M. J. (1980). Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution. Harvard University Press]. p. 2016. ISBN 9780674466159. 
• Religion and Politics in Iraq. Shiite Clerics between Quietism and Resistance, M. Ismail Marcinkowski (ISBN:9971-77-513-1).
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. New Haven, CT; London, England: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300035314. https://books.google.com/books?id=B0OL5Z8S-V0C&q=An+Introduction+to+Shi%27i+Islam. 
• Momen, Moojan (2015), Shi'I Islam: A Beginner's Guide, Oneworld Publications, ISBN 9781780747880