Morteza Ansari
Encyclopedia
Morteza Ansari (1781–1864, Dezful
), was a Shia jurist
who "was generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time." Ansari has also been called the "first effective" model or Marja
of the Shia or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law", and the first to develop the theory of Vilayat-e Faqih, later made famous by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
as a political ideology.
around 1781, the time the Qajar dynasty
was establishing its power in Iran. He commenced his religious studies in Defzul, under the tutelage of his uncle, himself a notable scholar. At the age of twenty, he made Ziyarat
with his father to Kerbala, Iraq
, where he met Mohammad Mujtahid Karbala'i, the leader of the city's scholars. Ansari demonstrated considerable promise during a debate with the senior Mujtahid, who was so impressed that he induced his father to allow Ansari to continue his studies with them. Ansari studied in Kerbala for four years, until the city was besieged by Dawud Pasha and his rebels, causing the scholars of Kerbala and their students to flee to Baghdad
and the shrine of al-Kazim. From there, Ansari returned to his homeland, where he quickly became restless and resolving to find teachers to continue his religious instruction. After about a year of traveling, he spent two years in Najaf
studying under Musa al-Ja'fari and Sharif Mazandarani and a year in Najaf studying with Kashf ul-Ghita. Returning from a pilgrimage to Mashhad
, Khurasan
, he encountered Ahmad al-Naraqi, an authority in fiqh
, usul al-fiqh
and irfan
, and - although Ansari was already a mujtahid in his own right when he left Karbala - studied with him for a further four years. After again traveling for a number of years, he returned to Najaf where he completed his studies under Kashf ul-Ghita and Muhammad Hasan Najafi (author of Jawahir ul-Kalam) and began teaching.
and Usul al-fiqh
became incredibly popular, attracting hundreds of students. Furthermore, it is estimated that 200,000 Tomans a year of Khums
money was tithed to Ansari's base in Najaf
"from all over the Islamic world". Despite this, Ansari lived humbly, generously provided stipends to his Talebeh
(Islamic students) with these funds, and this resulted in a confirmation of Najaf
's standing as center of Shiah learning. In spite of the tremendous prestige attached to his position, Ansari lived the life of an ascetic. When he died, his two daughters were unable to pay for his funeral expenses from his inheritance. He rarely used his authority in the Shia community, seldom judging cases or giving fatawa
.
, Ansari was celebrated for his piety and generosity and "more than that of any mullah leader of the past two centuries, his leadership celebrated his learning." Through the expansion of rational devices in Usul al-fiqh
, Ansari implicitly admitted the uncertainty of much of the sacred law. For this reason, he emphasized that only a learned Mujtahid could interpret scripture (i.e. the Qur'an
and Hadith
) and employ reason to produce legal doctrines. The rest of the community was obliged to follow (Taqlid
) the doctrines of these legal scholars.
The author of some thirty books and treatises, his work is noted for its clarity and readability. Most of his works center on Fiqh
and Usul al-Fiqh
. Of the former, his most important work is the Makasib
, a detailed exposition of Islamic Commercial Law
, which is still taught today in the Hawza
and has yet to be surpassed. Of the latter, his Fara'id ul-Usul remains an extremely important work. In it, he is credited with expanding the scope of the usul 'amaliyyah (practical principles, as opposed to semantic principles) in Shi'i jurisprudence. For this reason, Ansari is said to have laid the foundations of modern Twelver jurisprudence and his style - more than any other classical scholar - is imitated by the modern jurists. He also developed the theory of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (Vilayat-e Faqih), by which jurists were to become legal guardians of orphans, the mentally incompetent, etc. However he did not extend this so far as to give the jurists general political leadership, and was personally extremely reluctant to intervene in politics in any way.
Dezful
Dezful is a city in and the capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 228,507, in 55,711 families.The city houses a bridge that dates back to 300 BC.In 2006, the city had 235,819 inhabitants.-History:...
), was a Shia jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
who "was generally acknowledged as the most eminent jurist of the time." Ansari has also been called the "first effective" model or Marja
Marja
Marja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...
of the Shia or "the first scholar universally recognized as supreme authority in matters of Shii law", and the first to develop the theory of Vilayat-e Faqih, later made famous by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
as a political ideology.
Life and Studies
Morteza Ansari was born in DezfulDezful
Dezful is a city in and the capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 228,507, in 55,711 families.The city houses a bridge that dates back to 300 BC.In 2006, the city had 235,819 inhabitants.-History:...
around 1781, the time the Qajar dynasty
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
was establishing its power in Iran. He commenced his religious studies in Defzul, under the tutelage of his uncle, himself a notable scholar. At the age of twenty, he made Ziyarat
Ziyarat
Ziyārah is an Arabic term literally means "visit", used to refer to a pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants , his companions, or other venerated figures in Islām, such as the Prophets, Sufi saints and Islāmic scholars...
with his father to Kerbala, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, where he met Mohammad Mujtahid Karbala'i, the leader of the city's scholars. Ansari demonstrated considerable promise during a debate with the senior Mujtahid, who was so impressed that he induced his father to allow Ansari to continue his studies with them. Ansari studied in Kerbala for four years, until the city was besieged by Dawud Pasha and his rebels, causing the scholars of Kerbala and their students to flee to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and the shrine of al-Kazim. From there, Ansari returned to his homeland, where he quickly became restless and resolving to find teachers to continue his religious instruction. After about a year of traveling, he spent two years in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
studying under Musa al-Ja'fari and Sharif Mazandarani and a year in Najaf studying with Kashf ul-Ghita. Returning from a pilgrimage to Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
, Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
, he encountered Ahmad al-Naraqi, an authority in fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
, usul al-fiqh
Usul al-fiqh
Uṣūl al-fiqh is the study of the origins, sources, and principles upon which Islamic jurisprudence is based. In the narrow sense, it simply refers to the question of what are the sources of Islamic law...
and irfan
Irfan
‘Irfān literally means knowing/awareness. The term is often translated as gnosis, however it also refers to Islamic mysticism. Those with the name are sometimes referred to as having an insight into the unseen...
, and - although Ansari was already a mujtahid in his own right when he left Karbala - studied with him for a further four years. After again traveling for a number of years, he returned to Najaf where he completed his studies under Kashf ul-Ghita and Muhammad Hasan Najafi (author of Jawahir ul-Kalam) and began teaching.
Religious Leadership
When the last of the prominent scholars of the generation senior to Ansari died in 1849, Ansari was universally recognized as the 'most learned Mujtahid' (marja') in the Twelver Shi'ah community. His lessons in FiqhFiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
and Usul al-fiqh
Usul al-fiqh
Uṣūl al-fiqh is the study of the origins, sources, and principles upon which Islamic jurisprudence is based. In the narrow sense, it simply refers to the question of what are the sources of Islamic law...
became incredibly popular, attracting hundreds of students. Furthermore, it is estimated that 200,000 Tomans a year of Khums
Khums
Khums is the Arabic word for One Fifth . According to Shia Islamic legal terminology, it means "one-fifth of certain items which a person acquires as wealth, and which must be paid as an Islamic tax"....
money was tithed to Ansari's base in Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
"from all over the Islamic world". Despite this, Ansari lived humbly, generously provided stipends to his Talebeh
Talib
A talib or talibé is a student, particularly a student of Islam, who may study in a madrasah or with a religious teacher....
(Islamic students) with these funds, and this resulted in a confirmation of Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
's standing as center of Shiah learning. In spite of the tremendous prestige attached to his position, Ansari lived the life of an ascetic. When he died, his two daughters were unable to pay for his funeral expenses from his inheritance. He rarely used his authority in the Shia community, seldom judging cases or giving fatawa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
.
Intellectual Contribution
According to Roy MottahedehRoy Mottahedeh
Roy Parviz Mottahedeh is a professor of pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East at Harvard University and expert on Iranian culture.-Life:...
, Ansari was celebrated for his piety and generosity and "more than that of any mullah leader of the past two centuries, his leadership celebrated his learning." Through the expansion of rational devices in Usul al-fiqh
Usul al-fiqh
Uṣūl al-fiqh is the study of the origins, sources, and principles upon which Islamic jurisprudence is based. In the narrow sense, it simply refers to the question of what are the sources of Islamic law...
, Ansari implicitly admitted the uncertainty of much of the sacred law. For this reason, he emphasized that only a learned Mujtahid could interpret scripture (i.e. the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
) and employ reason to produce legal doctrines. The rest of the community was obliged to follow (Taqlid
Taqlid
Taqlid or taklid is an Arabic term in Islamic legal terminology connoting "imitation", that is; following the decisions of a religious authority without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision, such as accepting and following the verdict of scholars of...
) the doctrines of these legal scholars.
The author of some thirty books and treatises, his work is noted for its clarity and readability. Most of his works center on Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
and Usul al-Fiqh
Usul al-fiqh
Uṣūl al-fiqh is the study of the origins, sources, and principles upon which Islamic jurisprudence is based. In the narrow sense, it simply refers to the question of what are the sources of Islamic law...
. Of the former, his most important work is the Makasib
Makasib
Kitab ul-Makasib is a Twelver Shi'ah legal manual of Islamic Commercial Law written by Morteza Ansari. It remains a key textbook in the modern Hawza and has been the subject of numerous commentaries....
, a detailed exposition of Islamic Commercial Law
Islamic Commercial Law
Islamic Commercial Law by Mohammad Hashim Kamali, professor of law at the International Islamic University, Malaysia, is an analysis of options and futures contracts as trading tools from the point of view of shariah....
, which is still taught today in the Hawza
Hawza
Hawza or ḥawza ʻilmiyya is a seminary of traditional Islamic school of higher learning. It is a term used mostly by the Shi'a Muslims communities to refer to a traditional Shi'a centre where clerics are trained...
and has yet to be surpassed. Of the latter, his Fara'id ul-Usul remains an extremely important work. In it, he is credited with expanding the scope of the usul 'amaliyyah (practical principles, as opposed to semantic principles) in Shi'i jurisprudence. For this reason, Ansari is said to have laid the foundations of modern Twelver jurisprudence and his style - more than any other classical scholar - is imitated by the modern jurists. He also developed the theory of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (Vilayat-e Faqih), by which jurists were to become legal guardians of orphans, the mentally incompetent, etc. However he did not extend this so far as to give the jurists general political leadership, and was personally extremely reluctant to intervene in politics in any way.
Sources
- Mottahedeh, RoyRoy MottahedehRoy Parviz Mottahedeh is a professor of pre-modern social and intellectual history of the Islamic Middle East at Harvard University and expert on Iranian culture.-Life:...
, The Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran, One World, Oxford, 1985, 2000 - Amin, Muhsin, Ayan ul-Shi'ah, Dar ul-Ta'aruf, Beirut, 1983 (Arabic)
- Murata, S. ANṢĀRĪ, SHAIKH MORTAŻĀ B. MOḤAMMAD AMĪN. Encyclopædia Iranica: www.iranica.com (accessed 29.09.09)
- Momen, An Introduction to Shi'ī Islam
- Tabataba'i, Hossein ModarressiHossein ModarressiHossein Modarressi is a leading Muslim jurist, born in Qom, Iran. He attended the Islamic seminary at Qom where he received a complete traditional Islamic education in Islamic philosophy, theology and law, ending with a certificate of ijtihad, the highest degree in Islamic religious tradition...
, An Introduction to Shi'i Law: A Bibliographical Study: London 1984