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Iran’s prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq Rouhani, has passed away at the age of 96.
His father, ayatollah Haj Mirza Mohammad Rohani, one of the luminaries of Qom seminaries, was born in 1307 A.H in Qom.
He traveled to Najaf under the auspices of ayatollah seyed Abolhasan Esfahani and Mirza Naeeni. For a while, he was a student of the deceased ayatollah Haji Hussein Tabatabaei qomi. Then he came back to Qom. Through his continuous attempts, the great ayatollah Sheikh Abdolkarim Haeri traveled to Qom and started to teach seminary science. He was one of the Ayatollah Haeri’s special and best students.
After his father death, used to answer people’s religious questions and solve their living problems in “Aqa mosque”, Qom to mention some of his great measures, one can recall his cooperation with Ayatollah Kashani in the issue of nationalizing Iran’s oil industry, fighting Reza shah in the issue of removing the Hijab and religion from the country, making attempts to invite ayatollah Haeri to Qom paving the way for his teaching, and cooperating in the process of establishing Qom seminary.
The religious authority, Ayatollah Sadegh Rohani, passed away in Sha’ban, 18, 1381(A.H) due to a long-lasting disease. When the news of his death circulated around the city of Qom, city bazaar, offices and religious schools were adjourned in respect.
All religious authorities, luminaries, teachers and students of the seminaries took part in his funeral while traders, craftsmen and offices raised black flags as an emblem of mourning and attended mourning sessions. After the funeral prayer, his body was buried in Bala sar mosque, Qom.
His mother was also one of descendants of Imam Hussein (a). She was daughter of ayatollah Haji Seyed Ahmad Tabatabaei Qomi, who used to hold congregation prayer in the courtyard of Hazrat Masuma’s holy shrine.
1- Great Ayatollah Haji Sheikh Kazem Shirazi (1290-1367)
2- Great ayatollah Haji Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Esfahani, also known as Company (1361- )
3- Great ayatollah Haji Sheikh Mohammad ali Kazemeini
4- Great Ayatollah Haji Sayyed Abdolhasan Esfahani (1284-1365)
5- Great Ayatollah Haji Sheikh Mohmmad reza Al-e-yasin
6- Great Ayatollah Haji Sayyed Abolghasem Khoei (1317-1413)
7- Great Ayatollah Haji Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Tabatabaei Boroujerdi (1292-1380)He learned many valuable things from his famous teacher and has always been thankful to them. However, the role ayatollah Khoei played in treating Ayatollah Rohani was really appreciable. As he acknowledges, a great share of his knowledge is due to 15-year attendance in public and private classes of Ayatollah Khoei among the rest of great Ayatollahs. There was consensus among almost all of scholars of that time that Ayatollah Khoei was an incomplete jurisconsult (Faqih) who was expert in seminary sciences such as fiqh (jurisprudence), methodology, kalam (speculative theology), interpretation, rejal (biography and criticism of traditional) and philosophy. His published works verifies this claim.Ayatollah Khoei used to scout around for intelligent students and to play greater role in training them.When attended Najaf seminary in his adolescence, Ayatollah Rohani was a young student with an unbelievable comprehension power and intelligence. He should learn complicated lessons of fiqh write down the notes and make a fair copy of them at home, discuss the lesson with his friend, and pre-study for the next day lesson. This huge bulk of task, especially in lack of learning and living facilities, took 16 hour of his day. Moreover, he should do his personal affairs such as earning his living while tolerating the economic pressures. Being a young man he suffered from a harassing economic situation. Sometimes he had to borrow things and money from the neighboring traders who know him. Contentment was the most significant secret of his success in learning Islamic sciences.
Ayatollah Rohani’s Teaching
He began to teach in the courtyard of Imam Ali’s holy shrine. Attending Ayatollah Khoei’s classes for a short period, he was able to assert “Fiqh and methodology” lessons for those interested in seminary sciences. It wasn’t long before he was just like a shining sun in the sky of Najaf. For the same reason, Ayatollah Khoei’s relationship with him was growing more and more. Although Ayatollah Khoei used to not let anyone raise question while he was teaching and wanted them to asked their question at the end of the lesson, he repeatedly asked the young Rohani to raise question whenever he deems proper. This indicates Ayatollah Rohani’s merits.
The class relationship between the teacher and the student was in such a way that Ayatollah Khoei discussed the teaching matters with Ayatollah Rohani several times. Great Ayatollah Khoei praised the 15-year-old Rohani’s great knowledge, comprehension power and briskness in learning (the full text of Ayatollah Khoei’s manuscript can be found in this web site, which is also published in biography books in Arabic and Farsi). Verified by the great Ayatollah and religious authorities, Ayatollah Rohani reached the stage of “religious authority” being only 14 years old.
He came back to Qom in the late 1329(H.S) and started teaching Kharej (seminary lectures not based on reading text book) in the courtyard of “Hazrat Masuma’s” holy shrine in early 1330(H.S).
Ayatollah Rohani is used to speaking eloquently while teaching. He avoids engaging in useless matters in his teaching. His lessons include ideas of outstanding Islamic pundits attached with his own discussions on acceptance or rejection of their beliefs. He fights stiffness, one-sidedness, excessive precaution, and blind imitation because he believes that illogical imitation and prejudice on Islamic pundits’ beliefs while fighting any news idea will enfeeble the scientific power of the seminaries. He therefore, respecting all Islamic pundits’ beliefs, analyses their beliefs as a critic.
Works
1- “Fiqh-al-sadegh”: full encyclopedia of Shia fiqh (in Arabic)
This comprehensive source has been published in 40 volumes annexed by a full list of sources and bibliography.
About two hundred years ago, the valuable book “Jawaher-al-kalam”. Ayatollah Rohani wrote this book in his youth. Sunni purdites also verified this book. “Fiqh-al-sadiq” is being taught in the department of Islamic studies in famous western universities and is regarded as a valid source.
2- “Zobdat-al-Usul” (Methodology, in Arabic) in 6 volumes asserts a full review of methodology in rational discussion format.
3- “Menhaj-al-foghaha” (the way of the jurisprudence, in Arabic). In 6 volumes is a description of Sheikh Ansari’s “Makaseb”(Earnings and professions) in an innovative way.
4- “Al-masael-al-mostahdetha” (the recent question, in Arabic): include answering today’s new problem with respect to the holy Quran traditions, and fiqh.
5- An explanation of the book “Menhaj-al-salehin” (the way of the righteous) in 2 volumes (in Arabic)
6- An explanation of the book “Urvat-al-wosgha” (the strongest handle) in 2 volumes (in Arabic)
7- An explanation of the book “Wasilat-ul-nejat” (means of salvation, in Arabic)
8- A treatise of the book “Uncertain clothing” (in Arabic)
9- A treatise of the book “Principle of no harming” (in Arabic)
10- “Determinism and freewill” (in Arabic translated into Persian)
11- A treatise on (in Arabic)
12-“Scared rites of hajj” (in Arabic)
13- “Masael-al-montakhaba” (the selected question, in Arabic)
14- A treatise on “Principle of collecting knowledge” (in Arabic)
15- Al Ejtehad-wa-al Taghlid” (religious authority and imitation) (in Arabic)
16-“Qawaed-al-thalatha” (the three principles) (in Arabic)
17-“Al-leqa-Al-khas” (the special meeting, in Arabic)
18- Tozih-al-masael” (the Islamic epistle, in Arabic)
19-A research on “Determinism and freewill” (in Farsi)
20-“The government system in Islam” (in Farsi, Turkish, and Urdu)
21-“Sacred rites of hajj” (in Farsi)
22- “A selection of Islamic ordinances” (in Farsi)
23-“Religious consolation of the judicial power and the law institute of international lawyers” (in Farsi)
24-Islamic ordinance of today’s problem (in Farsi)
25-“The ordinances” in question and answer format: in 2 volumes (in Farsi)
26-“One thousand question and answers” in 6 volumes: 1000 questions and answers each (in Arabic)
