Naser Makarem Shirazi

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi (Persian: ناصر مکارم شیرازی‎, born 25 February 1927[2] in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian Shia marja' and religious leader.

Naser Makarem Shirazi
Member of the Assembly of Experts for Constitution
In office
15 August 1979 – 15 November 1979
ConstituencyFars Province
Majority518,149 (84.2%)
Personal details
Born (1927-02-25) 25 February 1927
Shiraz, Iran[1]
NationalityIranian
Political partySociety of Seminary Teachers of Qom
Signature
Websitemakarem.ir
Theological work
ReligionIslam
DenominationTwelver Shīʿā
SchoolJaʿfari
Main interestsFiqh, Kalam and Tafsir

Biography

He was born in the city of Shiraz, Iran. According to his website, his father was Ali Mohammad, his grandfather was Mohammad Karim, his forefather was Mohammad Baqer and his progenitor was Mohammad Sadeq.[3] According to Parvaneh Vahidmanesh, he has Jewish ancestors.[4] He finished his school in Shiraz.[5]

He started his formal Islamic studies at the age of 14 in the Agha Babakhan Shirazi seminary. After completing the introductory studies, he started studying jurisprudence (fiqh) and its principles (usool al-fiqh).

He made rapid progress and finished studying the complete levels of introductory and both the levels of the intermediate Islamic studies in approximately four years. During this time, he also taught at the Islamic seminary in Shiraz.

At the age of 18, he formally entered the theological seminary of Qom, and for the next five years was present in the religious gatherings and classes of some of the leading Islamic teachers of those days, such as Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi, & Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Shariatmadari.

In Najaf

In 1950, he made his way to the seminary of Najaf, Iraq. Here, he was able to take part in classes of teachers such as Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim, Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei and Ayatollah Abdul Hadi ash-Shirazi.

At the age of 24, he was granted complete ijtihad by two senior scholars in Najaf. Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim also wrote a short, comprehensive letter of commendation for him.

In 1951, he returned to Qom, since he did not have the means to survive and continue his studies in Najaf.

After returning to Iran, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi began teaching the intermediate and higher level of studies in usul al-fiqh and fiqh. Also, he was a member of the editorial board of the first Islamic magazine published in Iran named "Maktab'e Eslam", next to Ayatollah Shariatmadari.

He has won the Iranian Royal Academy of Philosophy' award for his essay "Filsuf-Namaha".

Fatwas (Rulings)
Makarem Shirazi in his office in 2016

Women's attendance in stadia
See also: Sex segregation in Iran

In the aftermath of an attempt by President Ahmadinejad to allow women to attend soccer matches in stadiums (something they are not able to do now), Makarem issued a fatwa objecting to this.[6]

Alternatives to stoning

Makarem's fatwa concerning stoning to death for adultery reads: "In certain circumstances, death by stoning can be replaced by other methods of punishment".[7]

Smoking

Makarem issued a fatwa declaring smoking as forbidden (Haram).[8]

Dogs and pets

In 2010, he responded to a request inquiring why a dog is considered unclean under shariah despite a lack of any references to dogs in the Quran. In his fatwa, he emphasized that under shariah, dogs are indeed considered unclean based upon riwayahs, reliable narrations (hadith) handed down from the Prophet Muhammad and his household. Makarem described the current Iranian inclination toward dogs as "blindly imitating the West";[9] something that he believes will result in "evil outcomes."

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran reacted to this fatwa by banning all advertisement related to keeping, buying, and selling pets.[10]

Holocaust

In September 2010, he was quoted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) as saying "The Holocaust is nothing but superstition, but Zionists say that people of the world should be forced to accept this. The truth about the Holocaust is not clear, and when the researchers want to examine whether it is true or the Jews have created it to pose as victims, they jail the researchers".[11][12][13][14]

Underage marriage

In reference to marriage of girls under 13 years of age, which is allowed in Iran under certain circumstances, he has stated that, although such marriages were permitted in the past, in modern times it has been demonstrated that they are not in the best interest (maslahat) of the parties involved and should be considered invalid.[15]

Political career

Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi was active in the pre-revolution days, hence he was thrown in jail many times. He was even exiled on three separate occasions to three different locations-Chabahar, Mahabad and Anarak. After the Iranian revolution, he was appointed to the Assembly of Experts for construction and played a major role in writing the first constitution. He is no longer a member of the government, and resides in the city of Qom. On November 23, 2014 and after months of preparations, he finally managed to gather in over 600 religious scholars from around the world in a conference titled The International Congress on Extremist and Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars’ View. It was a meeting for discussing controversial issues effecting the Muslim world, especially Takfiri movements.[16] After the first successful hosting in which he condemned the inaction in the face of ISIL atrocities, he decided to reorganize another conference, Extremism and Takfiri Movements in Today’s World on 28 January 2016, to further focus on the responsibilities of the Muslim scholars regarding the unwelcome emergence of extremism. At the second congress same as the first one, scholars of more than 80 countries received invitations and about one thousand people participated.[17]

Selected bibliography

Some of his publications include:"[18] "[19]

  • the Message of Quran
  • OUR BELIEF
  • Khums the Fund of Independence of Bait Al Mal
  • Quran Translation and Commentary in Brief
  • Life under the Grace of Ethics
  • Universal Government of Mahdi
  • Islamic Law
  • sexual problems of the youth
  • Shia Answers
  • Commentary on the book Kifayatul Usul (at age 18)
  • The Manifestation of Truth‌
  • Commentary on the Quran (Tafsir Nemooneh)
  • The Message of the Quran
  • Anwar al-Fuqahah
  • al-Qawaidul Fiqhiyyah
  • The Limits of Azadari[20]
  • They Will Ask You[21]
  • 50 Life Lessons from the Ahl al-Bayt (a)[22]
gollark: It works ingame, too!
gollark: Ah no, I did, good.
gollark: Don't tell me I forgot to add *that* too...
gollark: Great, I didn't add "sucks" to the negative word list!
gollark: <@270210946201288714> The public key is `IgjuLVkKGYiyDIckqY_7`.

See also

References
  1. http://www.makaremshirazi.org/english/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3%5B%5D
  2. ID card of Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi afkarnews.com
  3. makarem.ir. "زندگینامه مکارم شیرازی".
  4. Parvaneh Vahidmanesh. "Sad Fate of Iran's Jews". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 30 April 2018. Nasser Makarem-Shirazi, one of the Shia Grand Ayatollahs, who is close to the government, had Jewish ancestors. He is now known as a radical cleric.
  5. "Biography-The Official Website of Grand Ayatollah MakaremShirazi". makarem.ir.
  6. "BBCPersian.com". bbc.co.uk.
  7. "Iran clerics say death by stoning may be stopped-World-The Times of India".
  8. "Prohibition of Smoking in Islam". Islamic Insights. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018.
  9. "Iran cleric says dogs unclean and not to be kept as pets". Reuters.
  10. "Pet Ads Banned In Iranian Media Based On Fatwa". payvand.com.
  11. http://www.france24.com/en/20100904-top-iran-cleric-rejects-holocaust-superstition%5B%5D
  12. "Top Iran cleric rejects Holocaust as 'superstition'». The Sydney Morning Herald". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018.
  13. "ایت الله مکارم شیرازی: هولوکاست خرافه‌ای بیش نیست". Radio France Internationale (in Persian). 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018.
  14. "انتقاد آیت الله مکارم شیرازی از وجود خرافات در جامعه". Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  15. علی سودایی (Dec 25, 2016). "در یک دهه ۴۰۰ هزار دختر زیر ۱۵ سال در ایران ازدواج کردند". BBC Persian.
  16. "World Congress on Extremist and Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars' View wrapped up". Abna24.
  17. "Conference on "Extremism and Takfiri Movements in Today's World" underway in Qom, Iran". Abna24.
  18. Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi. compilations. Archived from the original on 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  19. makarem. official website.
  20. "Account Suspended". www.14publications.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22.
  21. "They Will Ask You". 14 Publications.
  22. "Account Suspended". www.14publications.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22.
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