He retired and pulled the cover from Al-Sadr.. Who is the Shiite authority, Kazem Al-Hairi?

Kazem Al-Haeri is a prominent Iraqi cleric, and one of the most prominent disciples of the late Shiite cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr.

He was born in 1938, and the late Shiite cleric Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr - the father of the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr - recommended

Birth and upbringing

Kazem Ali Al-Husseini Al-Hairi was born on October 5, 1938 (1357) in the city of Karbala, southwest of Baghdad.

His father, Ali Al-Husseini Al-Hairi, was born in Karbala.

He moved to Najaf to complete his religious studies, and became one of its most prominent Shiite scholars, and he died in 1978.

He had 5 siblings, 3 of whom died.

Al-Haeri moved with his father to Najaf when he was a baby. When he was 22 years old, he married his cousin, with whom he had 4 children, one of whom died in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).

Study and scientific training

His mother supervised him at the beginning of his education at the age of five, so he learned reading, writing, and the Holy Qur’an through her hands, then he studied under his father and studied religious sciences in the Shiite sect in addition to the Arabic language.

The Shiite authority Mahmoud al-Shahroudi remained for 14 years, and he studied the principles of the jurisprudence of the Twelver school of thought, and his teacher referred to him some of the referendums he took at that time, then completed his studies with the authority Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr for a period of 12 years, so he learned jurisprudence, principles, philosophy and economics, and contributed to the writing of his teacher’s book. The logical foundations of induction.

Religious and political experience

Al-Haeri was following the political situation while in Najaf, and gave directions and fatwas, including his book "The Mujahid Way", which was a reference for some opponents of the rule of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Before the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Al-Haeri issued famous statements, including a statement "wasting the blood of Baathist symbols", and a statement in which he refused to recognize the interim constitution, and stated that "this constitution in its entirety is an illegitimate constitution, and is not binding on any of the Muslims."

Accordingly, Al-Haeri ordered his office to prepare a permanent constitution for the country to be published in the name of "a proposed primary building block for the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iraq."

Because of his position on the government at the time, he left Najaf in 1974, heading to the Iranian city of Qom, which is the religious scientific center of the Shiites after Najaf.

After the execution of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr during the era of the late President Saddam Hussein in 1980, Al-Haeri accompanied the so-called "Iraqi Islamic Movement" and encouraged "jihad" against Saddam's rule.

In the early eighties of the last century, Al-Haeri founded a scientific school specialized in teaching the sciences of "Ahl al-Bayt", and named it after his teacher "Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr." By sending "scholars" to report in multiple regions.

In 1982, Al-Hairi was chosen as a jurist for the Islamic Dawa Party in Iraq, but problems occurred between him and the party because of his view of the necessity of exercising the same powers of Ayatollah Khomeini in the leadership of Iran, which the party rejected completely, and a dispute arose between the two parties that made the party delete the article “Faqih of Dawa.” From the bylaws of 1984, and redrafts the Fiqh Council.

He had a position rejecting the entry of "coalition forces" into Iraq during the US invasion of the country, describing them as "occupation" forces.

His relationship with the Sadrist movement

His relationship with the Sadrist movement lies as the religious authority chosen in implementation of the will of the reference Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (father of Muqtada al-Sadr), who was assassinated in 1999 during the era of Saddam Hussein, and was directed to follow either Ishaq al-Fayyad or al-Haeri.

And the religious reference in the Shiite concept means following the reference that has reached the rank of jurisprudence and science in deriving the provisions of Sharia, as it has become qualified to issue fatwas on jurisprudential rulings, and is expressed as the religious reference or as the “Great Ayatollah”.

On August 28, 2022, Al-Haeri announced his retirement from religious work as a reference to the Sadrist movement, citing illness and his old age, and recommended following the reference of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and gave 7 commandments to his followers in Iraq.

Al-Haeri announced, "dropping the agencies and permissions issued by him and his office, and directed implicit criticism of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, and accused him of seeking to disperse the Iraqi people and the Shiite sect in the name of the two Shiite references, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, and addressing the leadership in their name, while he lacks diligence or the rest of the conditions stipulated in The legitimate leadership is - in fact - not a Sadrist, no matter what he claims or affiliation with.

Al-Sadr did not hesitate to respond to Al-Haeri, and said in a tweet to him on Twitter, "Many people, including Mr. Al-Haeri, think that this leadership came thanks to them or by order. No, that is thanks to my Lord first and the grace of my father, Muhammad Sadiq Al-Sadr, who did not abandon Iraq and its people."

Functions and Responsibilities

After the assassination of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, Haeri became a reference for many Iraqis in political matters, the first of them being the Sadrist movement.

literature

Al-Haeri has authored many books and research. Before the “Iranian Revolution” that overthrew the monarchy in Iran in 1979, he wrote “The Basis of Islamic Government” (1978), and several books followed in separate years, such as “Armed Struggle in Islam” (1981), and Guardianship in the Age of Backbiting, Judiciary in Islamic Jurisprudence, Imamate and Community Leadership, and others.