Najaf -
The preachers of the Shiite cleric Mahmoud Al-Sarkhi's call for the demolition of religious shrines shed light on the conflict between Shiite authorities in Iraq, and the nature of the differences between them.
There is still uncertainty regarding the concept of the "religious reference" that leads the Shiite sect, which according to semi-official statistics constitutes an estimated 150-200 million people around the world, an
estimated 10-13% of the total number of Muslims in the world.
And the religious reference means - in the Shiite concept - the followers of Shiite Muslims, the reference that has reached the rank of jurisprudence and scholarly in deriving the provisions of Sharia, as it has become qualified to issue fatwas on jurisprudential rulings, and is expressed by the religious reference or (Great Ayatollah).
To shed light on the most prominent religious references in Iraq and the extent of the difference between them on the one hand, and on references outside Iraq on the other hand, Al Jazeera Net prepared this report:
Shiite references in Iraq (the upper shrine institution in Najaf)
Differences in the references of Najaf
Most of the references in Najaf are not Iraqis;
The supreme reference for the Twelver Shiites in Iraq and the scholar Ali al-Sistani is of Iranian origin, followed by the reference Sheikh Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayyad (of Afghan origin), the reference Sheikh Bashir al-Najafi (of Pakistani origin), and then the reference Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim, who died in September 2021 (Arabic).
There are other, less influential references, such as Mahmoud Al-Sarkhi (whose reference is not recognized by all references), Sheikh Qassem Al-Tai, Al-Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi, and Sheikh Uday Al-Asam. ;
The great references were unable to accommodate these personalities to follow the same seminary methodology of the Najaf seminary.
There are marja’iyas in Iraq with offices, but they belong to the “Qom” seminary, such as Muhammad Taqi al-Madrasi and Sadiq al-Husayni al-Shirazi, while the Shiite authority Kazem al-Hairi resides in Qom (and he is one of the most prominent students of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr).
The difference between these references is that part of them believes in Wilayat al-Faqih, and the other believes in wilayat al-hasabi;
Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi and Sheikh Qassem al-Tai believe in wilayat al-faqih, and Mahmoud al-Sarkhi also believes in wilayat al-faqih as an idea, but he does not follow the Supreme Leader in Iran Ali Khamenei, but rather follows the modern scientific school, i.e. the school of al-Sadr (Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, who was executed in 1980, and Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who He was assassinated in 1999), and he has positions rejecting all of al-Sistani’s positions, while the rest believe in wilayat al-hasabi.
Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (father of the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr) believed in Wilayat al-Faqih, but in a special way, meaning the mandate that is not acquired from the science of jurisprudence and principles, but from the esoteric paths;
Therefore, during his reference and existence, he opposed the regime of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hasban and became influential in society through Friday prayers, which he considers obligatory, while Al-Sistani’s reference believes in the statutory mandate and adopted the principle of “piety” until the US invasion of the country and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
It also distinguishes between them that there is a section of them that believes in the school of reference Muhammad Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and the other section believes in the origins of Sheikh Muhammad Reda al-Mudhaffar;
The origins of Muhammad Reda al-Mudhaffar - from the point of view of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr - have scientific loopholes, so he refined them and produced the original episodes of 3 parts, and this is a fundamental point of difference.
Another dispute in the Najaf hawza is represented in the men of the narrators (narrators of hadith), one part depends on the men of Sheikh Al-Hilli (Al-Hassan bin Youssef Bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Mutahar Al-Hilli, known as the scholar Al-Hilli, the jurist and Shiite speaker in the eighth century AH), and the other depends on the men of Sheikh Al-Tusi. (Abu Jaafar Muhammad al-Tusi, known as the sheikh of the sect, from the theologians, hadiths, exegetes, and jurists of the Shiites in the fifth century AH), and everyone who believes in the men of the first does not believe in the men of the other, and this has produced a significant jurisprudential dispute among the jurists.
Al-Sistani (left) is one of the most prominent students of the late reference, Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei (right) (Al-Jazeera)
Najaf leadership
There is no distinction between the four major references in Najaf, except that the religious and popular leadership in Najaf belongs to Sistani. On the scientific level, there is, for example, the reference of Sheikh Bashir al-Najafi, who is scientifically capable and outperforms his three peers, and the leadership came through the proximity of the reference of Sistani to the reference of Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei ( One of the authorities in Najaf, who led it until his death in 1992), and Al-Sistani is one of his most prominent students, as well as the husband of his daughter. There is a fundamental difference between Al-Khoei and Muhammad Baqir Al-Sadr, in terms of the men of the narration;
Each of them does not believe in the men of the other and they differ in the origins. Al-Sadr has his own origins and is considered a newcomer in this field, while Al-Khoei also has his own opinion on fundamentalist premises, noting that Muhammad Baqir Al-Sadr was one of Al-Khoei’s students.
Historical sources confirm that Najaf is the seat of the Shiite authority, not Qom (Al-Jazeera)
Najaf and Qom
The Iraqi and Iranian cities of Najaf and Qom are considered the poles of Shiism in the world, as they contain what is known as the Hawza, i.e. the academy or university from which Shiite clerics of different nationalities graduate. From being a disagreement between the two estates, because they depend on the same foundations in proving the reference of each of them.
As for the test in the fundamentals, jurisprudence, or the testimony of the experts (external research students who attended all the jurists), here they testify to the validity of a reference over another, or the shia. Where, while in Qom, it is central to the care of the state.
The essential difference between them lies in that the authority of Qom is based mainly on the authority of the jurist, while the one who dominates the authority of Najaf is the one who believes in what is known as the wilayat al-hasabi, which is based on the fact that the authority does not simply have a hand to dispose of the affairs of the Muslims in its own right, but rather to act according to the evidence. Including taking legal rights, disposing of them, and issuing fatwas on the affairs of Muslims. As for Wilayat al-Faqih, it believes that it is on behalf of Imam al-Mahdi (the twelfth imam among Twelver Shiite Muslims, and he is Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Mahdi, whose lineage goes back to al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him). They have the right to dispose of all matters of Muslims.
Here, a note in Qom and Najaf indicates that there are those who believe in wilayat al-faqih and wilayat al-fiqih, but whoever controls Qom believes in wilayat al-faqih, and whoever controls Najaf believes in wilayat al-faqih.
The concept of velayat-e faqih differs between Najaf and Qom, for velayat-e faqih is agreed upon to be among the most knowledgeable among those who believe in it, whether in Najaf or Qom, but on what is that based?
The Iraqi authority, Muhammad Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (the most prominent references in Najaf until his execution by the Iraqi authorities in 1980) says that the most knowledgeable is the most knowledgeable in the principles of jurisprudence, while in Qom they see that the most knowledgeable is the most knowledgeable in the principles that mean logical rational rules, and jurisprudence is jurisprudential rules learned from some novels The Twelver Imams.
While the reference Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr (one of the most prominent Shiite references in Najaf until 1999 when he was assassinated) does not believe in the two methods of proving the guardianship of the jurist, he believes that the general guardianship does not depend neither on principles nor on jurisprudence, but on a difficult esoteric path, But it is possible for a guardian to be a jurist and a guardian at the same time, and a jurist cannot be a guardian if the inner path is not obtained.
The conflict between the two authorities of Najaf and Qom lies in the dispute over the headquarters and establishment of the seminary.
The city of Qom has come to say that the religious seminary was established in it and is its headquarters, taking advantage of the weakness that the Najaf seminary was going through until the overthrow of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, but historical sources confirm that the seminary originated in Najaf and its religious reference is in this city, and the essence of the conflict is control on the Shiite leadership.
There is a link to the political aspect regarding the issue of the difference between the reference of Najaf and the reference of Qom. For Iran, the first person from a political point of view is the Guardian Jurist Ali Khamenei, and therefore here the reference is the one who rules, while in Najaf the role of the reference does not go beyond advice and guidance, which is the reason for the second dispute.
The door of ijtihad is open to the Shiites, so no reference is able to monopolize the reference for itself (Al-Jazeera)
Who imitates the Shiites of Iraq
With regard to imitating the references, the door of ijtihad is open to the Shiites, as no reference is able to monopolize the reference for itself, and it does not allow others to appear and announce their reference. The multiplicity of references in the past decades has become prevalent, especially in the time period that came after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991, Especially in the absence of a higher council of jurists that brings together these references, and there is also a jurisprudential permissibility in this plurality in the sense that there is no problem from the jurisprudential side of imitating a reference other than the recognized reference or the leader, and there is a permissibility of imitation just by being reassured, but the psychological sensitivity exists among the popular bases.
Reference tasks
With regard to the most prominent religious, political, and social tasks of these references, the matter differs between those who claim wilayat al-faqih, and those who advocate wilayat al-faqih. He has the upper hand in everything related to society and the individual, and the popular bases must obey and implement. As for the second school (wilayat al-hasabi), it does not say that at all. Rather, it is permissible for him to interfere in very simple things, and they have no effect. However, the authority of al-Sistani that depends on the state Al-Hasibiya interferes in political and social matters with the available amount of advice and guidance only, but it considers itself uneasy in its conduct.
A new concept has also crystallized in the Shiite community about the reference, which is the need for the religious reference to lead political imitators in addition to clarifying the legal rulings;
In other words, the fatwas of the reference are not limited to moral issues, buying and selling, purity, khums, zakat, marriage, divorce, prayer, fasting and pilgrimage, but also include the attitude towards governments and their agents, issues of war and peace, taxes and other modern state affairs.
Therefore, the division in the Shiite evaluation of their references was clear;
Some of them were imitating the reference who interfered in political affairs, and some of them were following the conservative reference if it is correct to say, and the advocates of politicizing the reference were accusing Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei of not interfering in politics.
This is part of the process of imitation, and the other aspect of it is that every Shiite must pay every year one-fifth of what is added to his wealth during the year to the reference, and the reference in turn spends these sums on the poor and finances his cultural, religious and charitable projects, so the more followers of the reference increase the money Which he obtains through his agents who are spread all over the world.