Ayatullah
al-Uzma al-Hajj as-Shaykh Muhammad Fadil al-Lankarani
1. His Birth
AYATULLAH AL-UZMA AL-HAJ ASH-SHAYKH FADIL LANKARANI was
born in 1931 in the Holy city of Qum. His
father, the late Ayatullah Fadil 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 her 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 Fadil 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 Fadil 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 Fadil 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 f 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 Fadil
Lankarani was officially introduced, by the
Hawza 'Ilmiyyah of Qum in their statement,
as the number one Marja Taqlid of the Muslim
Ummah.
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 Fadil 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 (Ahl
al-Bait, Peace be upon them: The 14 lights
in the Ayah of Tathir (33:33) and this one))
were compiled and written along with
Ayatullah Ashraqi.
27. Manasik Hajj (Arabic)
28. Questions and Answers regarding the Hajj (Arabic)
29. Questions and Answers regarding the Hajj (Farsi)
30. Jami' al-Masa'il (Farsi):
Two volumes of Questions and Answers dealing with various Islamic
topics.
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