Hawza Najaf

Ali al-Sistani (current chancellor of Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf) and Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei (ex-chancellor of Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf)

The Najaf Seminary (Arabic: حوزة النجف), also known as the al-Hawza Al-Ilmiyya (الحوزة العلمية), is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world.[1] It is located near the Imam Ali Shrine in the city of Najaf in Iraq, and also operates a campus in Karbala, Iraq. It was established by Shaykh al-Tusi (385 AH/995 CE – 460 AH/1067 CE),[2] and continued as a center of study after the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921.[3][4]

As of 2023, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani heads Hawza 'Ilmiyya Najaf, which includes two other Ayatollahs - Mohammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad and Bashir al-Najafi.[5] The number of students studying there has waxed and waned in modern times, from 15,000-20,000 in the mid-20th century, down to 3000 during the repressive reign of Saddam Hussein, to around 13,000 as of 2014.[6]

As of 2014 the curriculum has been updated to include many modern subjects as well as inter faith and inter sectarian initiatives.[6]

  1. ^ "A rare look inside the 'heart of society' for Iraq's Shi'ites". Reuters. 12 October 2017.
  2. ^ http://www.al-islam.org/fiqh/chap2.html [1] FIQH and FUQAHA - An Introduction to Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Containing Forty Four Life Sketches of the Great Past Masters, Published by the WORLD FEDERATION OF KHOJA SHIA ITHNAASHERI MUSLIM COMMUNITIES
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ai-Hawza was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Sreeram Chaulia. "Shiites and Democracy". Mideast Monitor. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.
  5. ^ Marcinkowski, Christoph (25 April 2007). Thinking ahead : Shi'ite Islam in Iraq and its seminaries (hawzah 'ilmiyyah) (PDF). Singapore: S. Rajaratnam School of international Studies. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  6. ^ a b Mamouri, Ali (8 April 2014). "Najaf's Shiite seminaries enter 21st century". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 18 July 2023.