Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi
One of the most knowlegable of our time
About the Author
Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi
Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi was born, in 1926, to a religious family in Shiraz. He finished his school in Shiraz, forwarding his education in religious arena at the age of 14 in a religious seminary named "Agha Babakhan" in Shiraz. Thereafter taking some courses on related fundamentals, he started studying jurisprudence.
He made great headway in this area and finished studying the introductory and intermediate levels of Islamic studies in roughly four years. During this time, he also taught at the religious seminary in Shiraz.
At the age of 18, he gained admittance to the theological seminary of Qom, and for the next five years attended the religious gatherings and classes of some of the well-known Islamic teachers- Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi, Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem Shariatmadari, to name a few.
In 1950, he made his way to the seminary of Najaf, taking part in classes of teachers like Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim, Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoei and Ayatollah Abdul Hadi ash-Shirazi.
He was granted complete ijtihad, at the age of 24, by two senior clerics in Najaf. In 1951, the religious cleric returned to the holy city of Qom. After returning to Iran, Ayatollah Nasir Makarim Shirazi began teaching the intermediate and higher levels in jurisprudence area. Also, he was a member of the editorial board of the first Islamic magazine named "Maktab'e Eslam".
Social and Political Background
Iranian senior cleric's signature can be observed in many statements against Pahlavi government. He also cooperated in drafting the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, playing a telling role in social and political arena.
Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi is of the well-known top clerics in the World of Islam giving his life over to countering Takfiri movements and promoting unity among Muslim nations.
International Conference on the Threats of Takfiri Movements
The World Congress on Extremist and Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars’ View was held with prominent clerics and thinkers in attendance. Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi was the chairman of the congress, and Grand Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani was the gathering’s scientific secretary.
More than 600 Muslim scholars from over 80 countries took part the two-day event and, according to reports, 40 percent of the participants were Shia and 60 percent of them were Sunni.
According to Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, the gathering was aimed at finding ways to counter the threat of Takfiri ideology and extremism. "Takfiris harm both the divine religion of Islam and the human society," pointed out the religious cleric adding that work must be done in order to root out the extremist ideology of the Takfiris.
To the senior cleric, Takfiri militants are damaging the image of Islam by committing crimes in the name of Islam. Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi condemned the atrocities of Takfiri groups in the event and said such heinous crimes have nothing to do with Islam.
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi's Fatwa against insult to Sunni sanctities
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi also issued a decree wherein he prohibited insult to Sunni sanctities, urging Muslims from all sects and denominations to respect each other's takes and thoughts. To the religious cleric, treasuring our relations and behaving with each other magnanimously is a necessity.
