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THE HAWZA
Ten centuries ago, a university-type hawza was founded by the
most knowledgeable person then alive, namely shaikh Muhammad ibn al-Hassan
al-Toosi, may Allah have mercy on his soul. Al-Toosi was an intellectual
giant, a genius by all standards, and a man who was able to absorb
various types of knowledge and science. He was the undisputed authority
in fiqh, the founder of the science of hadith, an
innovative mentor of the science of usool, nay, the scholar of
scholars in all branches of knowledge related to the science of
biographies, akhlaq, and ilm al kalam. Thus did al-Toosi
lay the foundation for the hawza which has been functioning since
then, i.e. since 449 A.H.
Since that
year, this blessed hawza has passed through three significant
periods: The first extended from its year of establishment till early
tenth century; the second period started from then and ended at the
early twelfth century; the third period started from then and continued
till our present time. During each of these periods, certain
personalities rose to distinction and contributed to the development and
improvement of the functions of this great university; here is their
short list:
1) Those
who were distinguished during the first period included the founder,
Shaikh al-Toosi, his son al-Hassan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hassan who is
well known as Abu Ali al-Toosi, and Abul-Nasr Muhammad ibn Abu Ali ibn
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Toosi.
2)
Scholars whose star shone during its second period were many; among them
are: al-Muqaddas Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Ardabili, then the lighthouse of
knowledge Jamalud-Deen al-Hassan ibn Zaynul-Deen, the Second Martyr,
then Shaikh Ahmed ibn Isma'eel al-Jazairi, author of Ayat al Ahkam,
then both famous scholars Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-Uloom and Shaikh
Ja'far Kashiful-Ghita.
3) Men of
this period are innumerable, yet the most renown among them are: Sayyid
Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-Uloom, Shaikh Ja'far Kashiful-Ghita, Shaikh
Muhammad Hussain al-Najafi, author of Al Jawahir, Shaikh
al-Ansari, author of Al Makasib wal Rasaail, Muhammad Kazim
al-Khurasani, author of Al Kifayah, and Sayyid Muhammad Kazim
al-Yazdi, author of Al Urwah. Less renown were scholars such as
Mirza Hussain al-Naeeni, Shaikh Muhammad Hussain al-Isfahani, Shaikh
Diyaud-Deen al-Iraqi, Sayyid Abul-Hassan al-Isfahani, and Sayyid Muhsin
al-Tabatabai al-Hakim (the grand Ayatullah who preceded the late grand
Ayatullah Abul-Qasim al-Khoei). The list is concluded by men of genius
such as Abul-Qasim al-Moosawi al-Khoei, may Allah be pleased with him,
during whose period the hawza became like a bee-hive, full of
energy and productivity and scholarly competition. Some scholars have
described this particular period as the period of the Renaissance of the
hawza, while others refer to it as the period of the perfection
of scholarship due to the large number of those who proved their genius
and due to the huge public demand from Arab and non-Arab seekers of
knowledge to study there.
MENTORS
OF AL-KHOEI
If we were to research the fountainheads that nurtured the intellect
of the late al-Khoei, we will come across a list of the finest among all
contemporary scholars such as Shaikh Fath-Allah who is better known as
Shaikh al-Sharee'a al-Isfahani, Shaikh Mahdi al-Mazandarani,
Shaikh Diyaud-Deen al-Iraqi, Shaikh Muhammad Hussain al-Kampani
al-Isfahani, Shaikh Muhammad Hussain al-Naeeni, Shaikh Muhammad Jawad
al-Balaghi, and others. All of these men were considered as pioneers in
the fields of their specialization. The impact of these men on shaping
the mind of the late al-Khoei is best described by al-Khoei himself who
has said,
"I have learned
from each one of them a complete course in the science of
usool, and digested a number of books in the science of
fiqh, for many years. I used to provide a critique of the
research relevant of each one of them before a number of
scholars who specialized in that branch of knowledge, and my
audience included a good number of very highly respected
scholars. Al-Naeeni, may Allah have mercy on his soul, was the
last mentor I used to accompany more frequently than anyone
else."
If you
read Al Bayan fee Tafseer al Qur'an, you will most likely think
it was written by al-Balaghi, may Allah rest his soul in piece, but
worded by al-Khoei!
AL-KHOEI AS MENTOR
The above covers the stage of the life of al-Khoei when he was a
student. This chapter deals with his being a professor who taught the
most significant stages of theological studies in Islam, namely the
stages of al sutooh and al kharij, which may be compared
to the M.A. and Ph.D. respectively. Al-Khoei, may Allah be pleased with
him, colored both stages with his own hue and stamped them with his own
stamp; thus, a new generation of scholars graduated from his school;
nay! A whole new generation of scholars graduated from his school as
masters of the sciences of fiqh, usool, hadith, ilm al rijal,
tafseer, and ilm al kalam. Roughly translated, these sciences may be
said to be the sciences of jurisprudence, basics of jurisprudence,
traditions, biographies, exegesis, interpretation of the Holy Qur'an,
and theological philosophy, respectively.
Al-Khoei
had his own style in teaching and tutoring. Those who graduated from his
courses describe his method of teaching as immaculately minute,
stunningly easy and clear, amazingly logical. They say that there is
neither undue complexity nor ambiguity in his style, and this can be
said about all the courses he taught. How was his style in discussing
and debating? The answer to this question is provided by one of his
students: the struggling scientist, the pioneer and the shining star
Shaikh Muhammad Jawad Maghniyyah who has said the following in this
regard:
"He [al-Khoei] was
like the sun that sends its rays everywhere, all the time. He
was my professor and the professor of all other scholars at
al-Najaf al-Ashraf, and the pivot round which the motion of
scholarship revolved, and to whom the hawza is indebted
for appreciation and loyalty... His was the golden age during
which stars such as al-Shaikh al-Ansari and al-Shaikh
al-Khurasani and their disciples shone... He remained [at the
hawza] for more than seventy years learning, teaching,
writing, helping scholars graduate, debating newcomers as well
as alumni... His style in discussing and debating is that of
Socrates: He deliberately feigns his lack of knowledge and
pretends to accept the argument of the other party, then he
confronts him with doubts and assails him with questions. He
pretends to seek benefit and guidance from his opponent, just as
a student or an inquirer may do, so much so that when the poor
debater innocently and with naivete provides an answer, he
sharply assails him, pouncing down on him like an eagle and
dragging him to show him the facts that support his own argument
and from which the opponent cannot rescue himself. He then
causes his opponent to unknowingly contradict himself, forcing
him to admit his error and ignorance."
TEACHING THE AL-KHARIJ STAGE
In order to demonstrate the extent of contribution of his late
holiness al-Khoei, consider the following facts:
* Shaikh
Murtada al-Ansari founded and polished the science of usool more
than a century and a half ago;
* Shaikh
Murtada al-Ansari continued learning then teaching this science for more
than twenty five years;
* Al-Mirza
Habib al-Rashti dedicated thirty years of his life to the study of this
science alone;
* Shaikh
al-Akhoond al-Khurasani continued his studies of this science for more
or less than twenty years;
* Al-Mirza
al-Naeeni continued studying this science for twenty-five years and a
few months;
* Shaikh
Diyaud-Deen al-Iraqi dedicated more than thirty years of his life to the
study of this science;
* Shaikh
al-Kampani Muhammad Hussain al-Isfahani was distinguished by the fact
that he spent thirty years of his life studying only this science;
*
Al-Sayyid Abul-Qasim al-Khoei passed the stage of usool and
continued teaching the much more advanced stage of al kharij for
more than fifty years...! The number of his graduates is estimated at
tens of thousands...
In order
to form an idea about what this stage involves, let us ask its professor
himself about it, for surely his answer is more precise than that of
anyone else. He, may Allah be pleased with him, says:
"I have taught
extensively, delivering numerous lectures in fiqh,
usool, and tafsir, nurturing a large number of highly
respected students at the hawza of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. I
delivered my lectures in the stage of al kharij for two
complete courses utilizing the scholarly achievements of his
holiness al-Shaikh al-Ansari, the greatest mentor, may Allah be
pleased with him, and I taught a number of other books as well.
Then I taught two complete courses related to the Book of
Salat (prayers). On Rabi' al-Awwal 27, 1377 A.H. I started
teaching Al Urwah al Wuthqa by the faqih of the
school of thought al-Sayyid Muhammad Kazim al-Tabatabai
al-Yazdi, starting with the Book of Tahara (cleanliness),
after having taught ijtihad and taqleed. I
continued, by the Grace of Allah, doing so for a good while till
I reached the Book of Ijarah which I started teaching on
Rabi' al-Thani 26, 1400 A.H., finishing it in the month of Safar
of the year 1401 A.H. I delivered my lectures in the science of
usool, in the stage of al kharij for six complete
courses, concluding them with the research on al didd.
During the past few years, I have been teaching the exegesis of
the Holy Qur'an till circumstances beyond my control forced me
to terminate them..."
Books
written by al-Khoei and already published have already numbered ninety,
not counting his numerous manuscripts. The topics his writings have
covered include Islamic law, religious biographies, philosophy and
commentary of the Holy Qur'an. His best known books of guidance are
being used today throughout the Shi'a world, and they have been
reprinted numerous times, and every Shi'a country in the world boasts
eminent scholars who were his students. This figure demonstrates the
power of his overflowing pen despite his numerous responsibilities as
the spiritual leader of two hundred million Shi'a Muslims worldwide and
the person responsible for their guidance in matters related to both
secular and theological problems. It is truly a task that distracts one
from reading, let alone writing.
NAJAF'S
HAWZA UNDER HIS SUPERVISION
The monumental achievement of his late holiness Abul-Qasim al-Khoei
is his development and improvement of Najaf's theological school known
as al hawza al ilmiyya, the inclusive school of knowledge and
scholarship over which he presided in 1970 after being elected successor
to the late Ayatullah al-Uzma Sayyid Muhsin al-Tabatabai al-Hakim. He is
described by his students as a compassionate father, a man who believed
in moderation and who led a most austere life in strict adherence to the
tenets of the Islamic faith. Al-Khoei had attained the coveted title of
"Ayatullah" when he was in his early thirties.
The
hawza at al-Najaf al-Ashraf has been for the past ten centuries
attracting students from all over the world. The main topics taught at
the hawza are: philosophy, theology, and jurisprudence, and the
number of its students and teachers during its hay days reached 10,000.
It contains several libraries where ancient and rare manuscripts are
treasured and guarded as one would guard a gold mine.
In Najaf
in general and around the premises of the hawza in particular,
bookstores outnumber grocery stores. The hawza also accommodates
facilities for the use of manuscript copiers. Learning at it is a
full-time career, and students actually live and learn at the same place
where they are offered very modest accommodations. There were dark
periods when this great center of learning was fought and its teachers
hunted. To be exact, that was the period when Iraq was placed by strong
foreign nations under the British mandate.
The
British, who claim to be the most civilized people in the world and the
champions of learning, chased Muslim theologians because of the latter's
opposition to their presence in Iraq. One teacher recollects how he and
other fellow teachers during that dark period of persecution by the
British had nothing to eat all day long, so, they would wait till the
dark to go out to the streets looking for the skins of watermelons
whereby they could sustain themselves.
SOME OF
HIS RENOWN STUDENTS
It is no exaggeration to indicate here that 70% of Shi'a scholars
worldwide are either graduates of al-Khoei's hawza or students of
such graduates, and each one of them is like a bright star. Only Allah
knows the exact numbers of those taught directly by al-Khoei or by his
students, but we would like here to indicate some of the most renown
scholars who were students of Imam al-Khoei and who are very well known
throughout the Islamic world:
1) the
great Islamic philosopher, theologian and economist Martyr Ayatullah
Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr,
2)
Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Beheshti,
3) the
authority-referee, scholar and philosopher Hujjatul-Islam Shaikh
Muhammad Taqi al-Ja'fari,
4) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Shaikh Muhammad Mahdi Shamsud-Deen,
5)
Ayatullah Sayyid Taqi al-Qummi,
6)
Ayatullah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani,
7)
Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad al-Roohani,
8) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Shaikh Muhammad Asif al-Muhsini,
9) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah,
10)
Ayatullah Shaikh Hussein al-Waheed,
11) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Sayyid Muhyi al-Deen al-Ghuraifi,
12) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Shaikh Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad,
13) the
scholar Hujjatul-Islam Sayyid Ali Mekki,
14) the
scholar, authority-referee, Martyr Sayyid Abdel-Sahib al-Hakim, to name
only a few.
A GREAT
ADMINISTRATOR
Imam al-Khoei kept in touch with his followers worldwide through a
very well organized and centralized network of representatives. The
latter have been charged with duties such as: making sure that the
social, educational, theological, cultural and even financial problems
of their respective communities are properly addressed and solved. He
proved his administrative genius in handling the financial aspect of
running such a huge and intricate network of charitable trusts overseen
and supervised by the Khoei Foundation which has been building schools
and religious and cultural centers wherever there is a sizeable
following community.
During the
Afghani struggle against the Russians, Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Khoei
organized aid for Afghani war victims. When natural disasters hit
Bangladesh, India, Kashmir (chopped off into Pakistani and Indian
slices), and Iran, al-Khoei issued orders to spend generously on the
victims of these disasters regardless of their schools of Muslim law.
Moreover, he was credited with the task of establishing projects to dig
wells and irrigation canals for the believers who live in isolated
villages in East Africa and the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent, for
undertaking numerous housing projects, schools and both mobile and
permanent clinics, all funded by voluntary contributions from the Shi'a
faithful under his supervision and administrative guidance.
INSTITUTES HE ESTABLISHED
Since he took charge of Najaf's hawza, al-Khoei became the
caretaker of all Shi'a charitable institutions, mosques and
husayniyyas, theological hawzas, etc. all over the world.
Among the most significant of such institutes which he ordered to be
founded, and which he supervised through his representatives, are the
following:
1) in
India, where there are an estimated forty million followers of his
(according to his representative there Sayyid Muhammad al-Moosawi), he
established the Educational Charitable Complex in Bombay which is
regarded as the largest educational and theological project in the
world, and it includes various departments each one of which specializes
in a particular activity, and it is comprised of elementary and
secondary (high) schools, various accredited colleges, a large hospital
and a huge mosque, in addition to spending on attendants of theological
centers in other parts of India such as Ali Poor, Nibras and Hyderabad;
2)
Madeenat al-'Ilm, the city of knowledge, at the holy city of Qum,
Islamic Republic of Iran, which is the largest theological institute in
Shi'a world and where more than three thousand students are studying
theology, and it includes dormitories for 500 married students, in
addition to theological centers at Mashhad and Khurasan, spending,
according to his representative in India Sayyid Muhammad al-Moosawi,
more than one million Iranian toomans a month as grants to
students of theology there;
3)
Al-Khoei's Mabarrah in Beirut, Lebanon, which provides cultural
and social services for a large number of orphan children who have lost
their families during the catastrophes to which Lebanon has been
subjected, and it is a five building complex housing an orphanage, a
vocational school and an institute, and it surely is a monument of what
true charity can accomplish;
4)
Ayatullah al-Khoei's School and Library of Mashhad, Islamic Republic of
Iran, the building of which is a masterpiece of a marriage between
traditional and modern architecture;
5) Dar
al-'Ilm School at Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, from which highly qualified
jurists and mujtahids have been graduating, and which has
accommodated more than 200 students of the higher level of theological
studies, in addition to dormitories and a library, and it has been
demolished by the filthy hands of Saddam Hussein's troops as part of a
plan to demolish schools and mosques in Najaf, the holiest city for the
Shi'as of the world;
6)
numerous other theological studies styled after Najaf's hawza
located in Thailand, Bangladesh (in West Bengal), India, Pakistan and
other countries;
7) Imam
al-Khoei's Library at Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, which contains 25,000 books
and 6,000 rare hand-written manuscripts, and it was established by his
late holiness for the benefit of researchers, critics, and scholars of
theology, and it used to publish and internationally distribute quality
Islamic literature, but its press has been confiscated by the oppressive
authority of Saddam Hussein's regime;
8) offices
in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan, to disseminate religious education
and the translation and distribution of quality Islamic literature; and
9) an
office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the publication and distribution
of religious literature.
AL-KHOEI FOUNDATION
In addition to all the projects enumerated above, his late holiness
had ordered the establishment of an international charity to look after
the followers of our creed in all corners of the earth and to establish
a high quality cultural and social system; therefore, Imam al-Khoei
Benevolent Foundation was founded and first headquartered in Najaf
al-Ashraf in 1988 with branches in Europe (including one in London,
U.K.) and the Middle East. The London branch office had been established
by a select committee of nine highly respected dignitaries who formed
its Central Committee. Those nine founding members were:
1) Sayyid
Muhammad Taqi al-Khoei (son of the late Imam al-Khoei),
2) Shaikh
Muhsin Ali al-Najafi,
3) Shaikh
Yousuf Nafsi,
4) Sayyid
Muhammad al-Moosawi (of Bombay, India)
5) Sayyid
Fadil al-Meelani,
6) Sayyid
Majeed al-Khoei (son of the late Imam al-Khoei),
7) Shaikh
Hajj Kazim Abdel-Hussein,
8) Sayyid
Muhammad Ali al-Shahristani, and
9) al-Hajj
Mustafa Kawkal.
After the
Rajab 1412 (March 1991) Intifada (uprising) of the people of Iraq
against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, the Najaf headquarters were
transferred to London, U.K., where the said Committee was charged with
overseeing the activities of all branch offices of al-Khoei Foundation
in India, Pakistan, U.S.A., Canada and Kuwait.
Kuwaitis
who suffered untold atrocities at the bloody hands of Saddam Hussein
after he had invaded their country secretly received huge sums of money
from the late ayatullah who instructed his representatives there to help
all families that suffered from the invasion regardless of their sect.
No other Muslim organization in the world helped Kuwaitis who were
trapped inside the country, or who lost their means of income because of
the execution of their bread earners, as they were helped by al-Khoei...
His benevolence also reached all families that suffered from the
Iraq-Iran war, and his assistance to them infuriated Saddam's government
and led the latter to once confiscate his entire funds at al-Rafidain
Bank in Baghdad.
The Deputy
Director of the now London Headquarters is also Director of the al-Khoei
Foundation in New York which supervises cultural and theological studies
of the Medina school and the Khoei Center. He is Mawlana Hujjatul-Islam
Shaikh Fadil al-Sahlani who has been representing al-Khoei in the U.S.
and Canada since 1990. In addition to all the above, his late holiness
also sponsored and funded the activities of students of theology in
Syria, Turkey, Palestine and the African continent. In Canada, he fairly
recently established an Islamic school and center at Montreal. During
the war between Afghani heroes and Communist kafir forces, the
deceased Imam provided all support he could to the Mujahidin, and he
even permitted the distribution of collected religious taxes to Afghani
Mujahidin.
HIS
ASCETICISM
Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Khoei was the embodiment of asceticism,
scholarship, and renunciation of worldly riches. His son Sayyid
Abdel-Majeed al-Khoei narrates anecdotes about the simple life his holy
father used to lead.
He says
that his father never deducted his own share of the religious taxes his
representatives were collecting on his behalf; instead, he used to spend
on his family, relatives and friends from whatever gifts handed to him
by some of his followers. "My father," says Sayyid Abdel-Majeed
al-Khoei, "never bought himself a new outfit except after the one he
wears is totally worn out.
Some of
those who were very close to him criticized him for wearing such shabby
clothes, telling him that it did not fit his status as the supreme
leader of the faithful to dress like that.
His answer
to them was that as long as the outfit he was wearing was clean, there
was nothing wrong with its being old. Some even suggested to him to give
his worn-out clothes to others and replace them with new ones."
He was
also passionate about seeking knowledge and sharing it with others. When
his health deteriorated prior to his demise, and he was hospitalized,
his medical team advised him to do something to entertain himself.
He told
them that reading always made him relaxed while lecturing was the only
entertainment he had ever known. He used to wake up before sunrise, make
tahajjud, perform his morning prayers, then eat his breakfast
with his family. His breakfast most often was no more than a piece of
bread, some domestic cheese, and a tiny cup of tea, and he never ate by
himself. Instead, he insisted on eating with other members of his family
or those who helped them at home, or with his guests. Before midnight,
he used to read a book, then listen to world news, tuning to local, Arab
or international stations.
He was
often seen the next morning with blackness around his eyes. The sage
could not sleep because of hearing some disturbing news about what was
happening to the Muslims in this country or that.
THE
IMAM AT HOME
His son, Sayyid Abdel-Majeed al-Khoei, says the following about his
father, "My father was always smiling when he was with us. He always
arbitrated between his sons whenever there was a dispute, and he was
quite witty.
If he saw
one looking forlorn or happily excited, he would ask him about the
reason, and every evening he would distribute candy for the children in
addition to whatever other gifts he had received that day from the
admiring faithful." Despite his extremely lofty status, he never
hesitated to help his family in domestic chores, including kitchen
chores. He never opened the mail coming to any of his family members.
One of his sons told him once that nobody in the house had any secret to
hide from him, and that it was perfectly alright with them if he opened
their mail, but he insisted never to do so.
He always
instructed members of his family to deliver funds for highly esteemed
but impoverished families without doing so publicly, telling them to
help those whom the ignorant ones mistake as wealthy because of their
abstention from begging for help.
IMAM'S
DEMISE
After the failure of the Intifada of March 1991, the Grand
Ayatullah was briefly imprisoned then forced to appear on television
with the Butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein who always kept pressuring
him to issue fatawa, religious verdicts, supportive of Saddam and
his government, something which he never did despite all the persecution
to which he, his representatives and family members were subjected.
Because of
refusing to cooperate with the dictatorial government of Saddam Hussein,
he was put under house arrest till his death. Saddam also exiled,
jailed, or assassinated many of the gifted students, representatives and
distinguished followers of al-Khoei and ordered the destruction of their
mosques and libraries particularly those in Najaf and Kerbala.
As if the
Iraqi government predicted the death of al-Khoei, it cut off all
telephone connections with his Kufa residence in the morning of
Saturday, August 8, 1992 and with the houses of those who were close to
him. Having performed the afternoon prayers that day, the health of his
late holiness suddenly deteriorated and a severe chest swelling was
visible. Doctors in the medical team charged with supervising his health
conditions was called in, but they could not tend to him early enough.
He
informed his family and those in his presence that last night he felt
that it was the last night he was spending with his family. He asked for
water to perform his ablution, and as soon as he finished his ablution
his soul passed away to its Maker exactly at 3:13 pm. Throngs of the
believers started pouring into Kufa, surrounding his residence, and it
was not long before the whole country came to know about the sad news.
Military
units of Saddam's "Special Forces" moved quickly to close all highways
leading to both Najaf and Kufa as well as other cities in Iraq's central
regions, then they moved to disperse the thronging crowds in the pretext
of making preparations for the Grand Ayatullah's funeral the next
morning.
Curfew was
enforced in the cities of Najaf, Kufa and other central cities, and
heavily armed police and military units started patrolling the streets.
Armed forces stationed at Baghdad and in central and southern Iraqi
cities were all placed under maximum alert in anticipation of a popular
reaction to the sad news and to the ambiguous way it happened and was
handled by the Iraqi government.
Patrol
vehicles were visible throughout the streets of al-Thawarah, al-Shu'lah
and al-Kazimiyyah, all of which are major Shi'a towns in metropolitan
Baghdad. Iraq's radio and television stations suspended their usual
programs to announce the sad news of the demise of the great leader,
informing the public that his funeral services were scheduled for Sunday
morning.
At
midnight on Saturday, however, the family of the deceased was ordered to
bury the Imam before sunrise. Local government authorities prohibited
the public in Najaf and Kufa from taking part in his funeral services,
angering the faithful in Iraq and the world.
His body
was washed Saturday evening at his Kufa house in the presence of a
handful of his family members, and the funeral prayers were conducted by
his eminence Ayatullah Ali al-Sistani, one of his closest aides and a
member of his four-member juristic Shura (Consultative)
Committee. (The other three members have been: Ayatullah Shaikh Murtada
al-Burujardi, Ayatullah Shaikh Ali Azghar al-Ahmadi, and, of course,
Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Khoei himself.)
A
three-day mourning period was announced by the government which
prohibited the family of the deceased dignitary from holding the
traditional Fatiha majlis, while the Ministry of Awqaf (Islamic
Trusts) declared that it would conduct such majalis for his soul.
Telephone connections between the cities of Kufa and Najaf and the rest
of the world were by now cut off, too, till Sunday evening.
The
hypocritical news media of the Butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein was
busy circulating lies about the demise of Imam al-Khoei, claiming that
he had received a great funeral service wherein the people and
representatives of the Iraqi government participated, that his corpse
was carried around all religious sites in the area, and even calling him
"the martyr of the nation and the country." Baghdad's official newspaper
Al-Jumhuriyyah called him "the martyr of Islam and the nation,"
publishing his photograph on its front page. International news
agencies, on the other hand, published photographs of his coffin
escorted by no more than six persons.
Shortly
before his death, the greatest scholar and leader al-Khoei expressed no
concern about anything in this vanishing life more than the possibility
of the loss of his precious manuscripts the writing of which had
exhausted so many years of his life... Surely the Islamic world will
find it very hard to compensate for the loss of such a man, nay, a
legendary institute and a lighthouse of knowledge and scholarship...
Inna Lillah wa Inna Ilyahi Raji'oon.
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