لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Ayatollah Seyyed Abul Qasim Al-Khui
The Muslim world has lost one of its brightest stars when,
at 3:13 pm on Saturday, Safar 8, 1413 (August 8, 1992), Ayatullah
al-Uzma (Grand or Supreme Ayatullah, the highest theological degree
in Shi'a Islam) Abul-Qasim al-Khoei died at his Kufa home of heart
failure. He was born on Rajab 15, 1317 A.H. (November 19, 1899)
at Khoei in Iranian Azerbaijan, heartland of many great Shi'a
thinkers and sufis, ascetics. Even in his early childhood, al-Khoei
was versed in religious Persian and Arabic poetry and languages,
and in Turkish as well.
It was in 1330 A.H./1912 A.D. that al-Khoei, who was then only
thirteen years old, migrated to al-Najaf al-Ashraf, Iraq, in pursuit
of knowledge. Even then, he was characterized by brilliance and
a readiness to absorb knowledge and scholarship. In all stages
of his study and research, progress and success were his companions.
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.
[1] This article
was abridged and published in Noor al-Islam magazine
of Beirut, Lebanon, in its issue dated November/December 1992.
