He lives in Iraq.
Is he considered the spiritual leader of shias around the world (including Iran), or is his influence more on Iraqi shias and some shias in other parts of the world (but not many)?
I guess the main question is, in view of shias in Iran, what is the status of Ayatollah Sistani?
his title "ayatullah" shows his status i guess....
So is there only one ayatollah at one time. In the present times, isn't there an Irani Ayatollah too?
I think he is given same stature by some shiaz as that of Khomeni....
The main difference between the two was i suppose the concept of wilayat e faqih.........a shia guupi may shed more light on this.......but the concpet now has some substatial ooposition in iran also ..amking sistani ever more popular.....
At this point, I am more focussing on his status amongst the shias in Iran, cz Iran has the only shia majority government, at present (I think).
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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
At this point, I am more focussing on his status amongst the shias in Iran, cz Iran has the only shia majority government, at present (I think).
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Azerbaijan: 90% shia
^ Well, thanks for the general knowledge... but it really didn't help me in the question I actually asked.
Ayuttallah is the highest rank a scholer can get..i am not sure exactly how many Ayutullahs we have right now but most of them are in Iran and Iraq...the most famous one in Iran i believe is Ayuttallah Khamnie and in Iraq is Ayutallah Seestani..both of these are obviously very respected figures for all the shias, doesnt matter where they live..its never Ayutallah vs. Ayutallah...almost every shia i met is following Ayutallah Seestani
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*Originally posted by Sheraz CT: *
Ayuttallah is the highest rank a scholer can get..i am not sure exactly how many Ayutullahs we have right now but most of them are in Iran and Iraq...the most famous one in Iran i believe is Ayuttallah Khamnie and in Iraq is Ayutallah Seestani..both of these are obviously very respected figures for all the shias, doesnt matter where they live..its never Ayutallah vs. Ayutallah...almost every shia i met is following Ayutallah Seestani
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Does it mean, that in Islamic jurisprudence and fiqh questions the shias in Iran also follow the rulings of Ayatollah Sistani?
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*Originally posted by Faisal: *
Does it mean, that in Islamic jurisprudence and fiqh questions the shias in Iran also follow the rulings of Ayatollah Sistani?
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ofcourse the shias of Iran CAN follow Ayutallah Seestani and some probably do..just because He lives in Iraq does not matter..i mean not everyone can become an Ayutallah and once someone reaches that stage, he gets universal respect from every shia even if they are not following his taqleed
There are dozens of ayatollah. Sistani is a grand ayatollah.. just means he's been around longer, really. But I think the best way to put this is that Sistani is not the spiritual leader of shias around the world, but a spiritual leader of shias who choose to listen to him.
From what I understand, in Iran, Khameni (however you spell the current one's name) can overrule Sistani. But they speak in diplomatic codes almost and everything's so indirect that if they ever came to oppose each other bluntly it'd be surprising. But more to answer the question.. yeah, some Iranians follow Sistani. I'd think that's more due to social reasons than any defined religious structure.. y'know, people who were exposed to him more than others, have relatives involved with him, etc.
i know this is not what u asked for but i will paste the meaning of taqleed in short by an aalim:
You perform the taqlid of a marja' who is most learned (a'lam). This can be known from the ahl al-khibra ( the experts in the field), or if one is learned enough to identify the most learned by himself or you may even follow the advise of one reliable person if he tells you of a mujtahid being a'lam provided this statement is not contradicted by somebody else.
Taqlid literally means to imitate. You follow a specific taqlid so that you
are able to perform the duties required by Allah, the Almighty. Just as you follow the advise of a doctor when sick or refer to an accountant for your accounting problems, you need to do the taqlid of the most learned in the field of performing your religious obligations. By doing the taqlid of an a'lam, the responsibility of researching the divine ruling on a particular issue is removed from you. Instead, you merely follow the ruling of a marja on that issue.