Hawza

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A hawza (Arabic: حوزة) or ḥawzah ʿilmīyah (Arabic: حوزة علمیة) is the collective term (plural hawzat)^[1] for a madrasa (i.e. seminary) where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated.^[2]

The word ḥawzah is found in Arabic as well as the Persian language. In Arabic, the word means "to hold something firmly".^[3] Accordingly, ḥawzah ʿilmīyah would mean a place where the firm knowledge (of the Muslim religion) is acquired. In the Persian language, ḥawzah refers to the middle part of a place or an area.^[4] Ḥawzah ʿilmīyah in Persian, therefore, means "the place of knowledge". Another meaning of the word is "circle of knowledge".^[5]

Several senior Grand Ayatollahs constitute the hawza. The institutions in Najaf, Iraq and Qom, Iran, are the preeminent seminary centers for the education of Shi'a scholars. However, several smaller hawzas exist in other cities around the world, such as at Karbala, Iraq, Isfahan and Mashhad in Iran, Beirut, Lebanon, Lucknow, India, Lahore, Pakistan, Europe and North America.^[6]

In countries with sharia courts such as Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, a hawza also functions as a law school for those wanting to practice law in Islamic courts.