A
Brief Account of the Life and Works of 1.
His Birth Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Fazel Lankarani was born in 1931
in the Holy city of Qum. His father, the late Ayatullah
Fazel Lankarani was a great
teacher and scholar in the Islamic Seminary of Qum. His dear mother, was a pure
and noble woman of descent from the family of the Prophet of Islam, Peace be
upon him and his family. 2.
His Studies At the age of 13, after the
completion of primary school, he began studying Islamic studies in the seminary
of Qum, where due to his great ability and aptitude, he was able to finish the
preliminary stages of Islamic studies within six years. At the age of 19, he started
attending lessons in Fiqh (Jurisprudence) and Usul (Principles of Jurisprudence) at the Kharij level (the highest level of Islamic studies), which
were being taught by Ayatullah al-Uzma
al-Hajj as-Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi, May Allah raise his status. Because of his young
age and his ability to pick up information very quickly, his fellow students
and his teachers quickly recognized him. One of his close friends and study
partners, during his quest for knowledge, was none other than the beloved son
of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the late Shaheed
Mustafa Khumayni,May he be showered in Allah's peace. 3.
His Teachers Ayatullah Lankarani benefited from Ayatullah
al-Uzma al-Hajj as-Sayyid
Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi's lectures in the subjects
of Fiqh and Usul for almost
11 years. He also participated in the classes of the late Ayatullah
al-Uzma al-Hajj as-Sayyid Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni for 9 years. Under these two great teachers, he
was able to benefit a great deal, and quickly excelled in his studies. He also took part in the
lectures on philosophy and Tafsir (Explanation) of
the Holy Qur'an under the great scholar, 'Allamah as-Sayyid Muhammad Hussayn al-Tabataba'I, May Allah raise his rank, in which he gained
much knowledge and enlightenment. Because of his perseverance
and endeavors, he was able to reach to the great stage of Ijithad
at the early age of 25, something that his eminent teacher, the late Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj as-Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi
gave to him in writing. 4.
His Teaching For many years, he was busy
teaching the intermediate level of studies in the Islamic Seminary of Qum to a
great number of students. In addition to this, for the past 25 years, he has
been teaching lessons of Kharij in the areas of Fiqh and Usul (Kharij is the highest level of Islamic studies after which,
if completed in their entirety, elevate the person to
a Mujtahid). His lessons are so popular that in any
one lesson, over 700 scholars and personalities of the Hawza
'Ilmiyyah of Qum can be seen taking part! In addition
to this, for the past few years, his lessons on Fiqh
have been broadcast by Iranian Radio, thus, those living within the Islamic
Republic, and even those in foreign countries have benefited from his vast
amount of knowledge. 5.
His Struggles against the Despotic Regime of the Shah From the beginning of the
political and social struggle and defiance of Ayatullah
Khomeini against the oppression, corruption and tyrannical government of the
Pahlavi dynasty in Iran, Ayatullah Fazel Lankarani was one of the
helpers and supporters of Ayatullah Khomeini. Step by
step in every movement that the defenders of Islam took, Ayatullah
Lankarani was there and played an active role. One of
his important moves was to be involved with the Jami'ah
Mudarasin, a group that consists of the teachers in
the Hawza 'Ilmiyyah of Qum
in which they were busy spreading the word of Islam and the Islamic Revolution
among the masses. More than this, it was they who announced the Marja'iyat and Leadership of Ayatullah
Khomeini...Many times during this difficult period, Ayatullah
Fazel Lankarani was jailed,
and finally, as if the Shah could no longer take the 'Ulama
and their standing up for the truth, he was forced to exile him to an area
known as Bandar Lange. After staying there for 4 months, we was
moved to the city of Yazd, where he was forced to reside for a period of 18
months. After the victory of the
Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatullah Fazel Lankarani continued to play
an important role along side the leader, Ayatullah
Khomeini, May his spirit be sanctified, and even today, under the leadership of
Ayatullah Khameni'i, he is
still fully supportive and active. After the Islamic Revolution
in Iran, Ayatullah Lankarani
was appointed as a member of The Council of Experts, and for more than 10
years, served as the administrator of the Islamic Seminary of Qum. 6.
His Love for the Ahl al-Bait, Peace be upon all of
them From the earliest of times,
himself and his family have been lovers and followers of the Ahl al-Bait, Peace be upon all of them, and as has been
noted, weekly gatherings to commemorate the martyrdom of Abu 'Abdillah al-Husayn, Peace be upon
him, and his loyal family and followers, gatherings to commemorate the
martyrdom of the Ma'sumin, Peace be upon all of them,
and programs to celebrate the birth anniversaries of the Leaders of Islam,
Peace be upon all of them, were held by his late father, and even today,
continue to be held. 7. Salat al-Jama'at in Qum After the passing away of Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Sayyid Shahab ad-Din Najafi al-Mar'ashi, he was
inundated with requests from the students of the Hawza
'Ilmiyyah of Qum, as well as from the people of Qum,
not to mention from those in charge to oversee and run the daily programs of
the Haram of Fatimah al-Ma'sumah,
Peace be upon her, to lead the Salat al-Jama'at. He humbly accepted this responsibility, and every
night, under the graceful eyes of the sister of Imam 'Ali ibn
Musa al-Rida who is buried in Qum, thousands of
scholars, students, visitors to this holy city and residents of Qum offered
their prayers behind this humble man. 8.
The Station of Marja'iyat After the death of Ayatullah al-Uzma al-Hajj as-Sayyid Ruhullah al-Musawi al-Khumayni, May Allah raise his rank, the believers turned to him for Taqlid. After the untimely demise of Ayatullah
al-Uzma ash-Shaykh Araki,
May Allah raise his rank, Ayatullah Fazel Lankarani was officially
introduced, by the Hawza 'Ilmiyyah
of Qum in their statement, as the number
one Marja Taqlid of the
Muslim Ummah. Moreover, a number of prominent scholars have approved his
eligibility and recognized him as the most qualified and learned Mujtahid. 9.His Writings Along with the important task
of teaching the future scholars of Islam, and raising
up the guardians of the Religion, he also finds time to write and compile
books, some of which include: 1. Tafsil
al-Shari'ah (Arabic): A
concise, explanatory work detailing the book Tahrir
al-Wasilah, which was Ayatullah
Khomeini's compilation of Islamic rules and regulations written in Arabic. Up
to now, 13 volumes of this work have been printed and are available, with
another 5 volumes under print. 2. Hashiah
al-'Urwatul Wuthqa
(Arabic): The detailed book of Fiqh written by Ayatullah Sayyid Kazim Yazdi, with the opinions of
Ayatullah Fazel Lankarani. 3. Nihaya
al-Taqrir (Arabic): The notes of the
lessons of Ayatullah al-Uzma
al-Hajj as-Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Burujerdi's classes on Salat,
printed in two volumes. 4. Hashiah
Kitab at-Taharah Misbah al-Faqihi (Arabic): The
notes on the "Book of Cleanliness" written by Muhaqqiq
Hamdani. 5. A summary on the topic of
"al-Ijtihad and at-Taqlid"
from the book al-'Urwatul Wuthqa
in Arabic. 6. Kitab
as-Sawm (Arabic): The Book of Fasting 7. Kitab
al-Qada (Arabic): The Book of Passing Judgement 8. Al-Masail
al-Mustahditah (Arabic): A
compilation of the Islamic laws. 9. A discussion on the ruling
of reading the Salat while wearing clothing that one
has doubts about. (Arabic) 10. A discussion on the Hajj
and 'Umrah.(Arabic) 11. Al-Ahkam
al-Wadihah (Arabic):
Compilation of the Islamic rules. 12. Ahkam
al-Hajj (Arabic): Notes on the book Tahrir al-Wasilah on the section of Hajj. 13. Al-Qawa'id
al-Fiqhhiyah (Arabic): A
text covering the various laws of Islamic Jurisprudence. 14. Taqrirat
al-Usul (Arabic): His notes on the
lessons of Ayatullah Khomeini,
printed in 5 volumes. 15. Tibyan
al-Usul (Arabic): His notes on the
lessons of Usul that he has taught,
printed in four volumes. 16. Taqrirat
al-Usul (Arabic): His notes on the
lessons of Usul that were taught by Araki Burujerdi. 17. Taqrirat
Dars-e-Kharij Usul (Farsi): His Notes on the lessons of Usul that he has taught, printed in
8 volumes. 18. Tawdhi
al-Masail (Farsi): Complete collection
of Islamic laws. 19. Manasik
Hajj (Farsi): Rules for the Hajj. 20. An Introduction to Tafsir in the Science of the Qur'an (Arabic) 21. Tafsir
of Surah al-Fatiah (Arabic) 22. Possessing a country in
the view point of Imam 'Ali, Peace be upon him. 23. The Infallibility of the
Prophets 24. A Collection of Indexes: An
index to Bihar al-Anwar, al-Ghadir and al-Mizan. 25. Ahl
al-Bait, Peace be upon them: The 14 lights in the Ayah of Tathir
(33:33) 26. The Pure A'immah, Peace be upon all of them: The Guardians of the Revelation in the Holy Qur'an. (These two books ( |