Abd al-A'la al-Musawi al-Sabziwari was an Iranian-Iraqi Shiamarja'. He is regarded as one of the most influential grand religious authorities, and a contemporary of Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei. He was briefly the head of the Najaf seminaryafter the death of al-Khoei in 1992. After al-Sabzawari's death in 1993, there was competition between Ali al-Sistani and a few other senior jurists, to lead the seminary. It was after the fall of the Bathist regime, that al-Sistani took exclusive control of the marja'iya. He is dubbed a renewer in Quranic exgesis, and this is seen in his notable book Mawahib al-Rahman.
Lineage
al-Sabziwari was born to Sayyid Ali Ridha Sabzevari, a senior alim, in Sabzevar. He has an ethnic Arab background on his fathers side. al-Sabziwari's great ancestor was Ibrahim al-Mujab, the grandson of the seventh Shia Imam, Musa al-Kadhim. His lineage is as follows:
ʿAbd al-Aʿlā bin ʿAli Ridhā bin ʿAbid Ali bin ʿAbd al-Ghani bin Muḥammad bin Ḥusayn bin Muhammad bin ʿAli bin Masʿud bin Ibrahim bin Ḥasan bin Sharaf al-Din bin Murtadhā bin Zayn al-Abideen bin Muḥammad bin Aḥmed bin Aḥmed bin Muḥammad Shams al-Din bin Aḥmed bin Muḥammad bin Abu al-Fatḥ al-Akhras bin AbuMuḥammad bin Ibrahim bin Abu al-Fityān bin ʿAbdallāh bin al-Ḥasan Baraka bin Aḥmed Abu al-Ṭayyib bin Muḥammad al-Ḥaʾiri bin Ibrahim al-Mujāb bin Muḥammad al-ʿAābid bin Musa al-Kāthim bin Jaʿfar as-Sādiq bin Muḥammad al-Bāqir bin ʿAli al-Sajjad bin Ḥusayn al-Shahid bin ʿAli Ibna Abi Talib.
In 1924, he travelled to Mashhad and studied under more senior clerics such as Sheikh Hasanali al-Isfahani, Mirza Adib Nishaburi, Mirza Askar Shahidi, Sayyid Muhammad al-Lawasani al-Assar and Sheikh Ali Akbar al-Nahawandi. He remained in Mashhad for eight years.
1932-1946: ''Najaf''
In 1932, he decided to go to Najaf to complete his advanced education in jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, philosophy, exegesis and other Islamic sciences. However, he decided to walk the distance from Mashhad, and this took him approximately just over a month. In Najaf, he attended the classes of great religious authorities such as Sheikh Muhammad-Hussain al-Na'ini, Shiekh Dhiya al-Dina al-Iraqi, Sheikh Muhammad-Hussain al-Gharawi al-Isfahani, Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-Isfahani and others. He managed to get a hold of Sheikh Muhammad-Jawad al-Balaghi a year before he passed away, and participated in his Quranic exegesis classes. This helped him with exegesis, debating and theology. He studied philosophy and gnosis under Sayyid Hussain Badkubeyi and Sayyid Ali al-Qadhi. He gained the level of ijtihad at the age of 36, from prominent scholars, Sheikh Abdallah al-Mamaqani, Sheikh Abbas al-Qumi and a few other of his teachers. By 1946, he was teaching advanced level of jurisprudence and principles of jurisprudence.
Political Stand
al-Sabziwari was an avid supporter of the people of Iraq and was the only marja' that issued a fatwa in support of the 1991 uprising, which began with the quranic verse "Permission has been given to those who are being fought, because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory." , disregarding the inevitable consequences. He took stands against the Bathist regime and hardly compromised. His house was besieged several times by the regime, who later laid on him several restrictions.
Personal Life
al-Sazbiwari was married to the daughter of Ayatollah Muhammad-Jawad al-Modarresi, and had three sons and one daughter. Muhammad died in a car accident, between Tehran and Qom in April, 1994, aged 48. Ali is a senior cleric that resides in Najaf, and is a teacher at the seminary of Najaf; Hussain is also a cleric, he resides in Mashhad, and teaches in its seminary. al-Sabziwari's wife is the paternal auntie of Grand AyatollahMuhammad-Taqi al-Modarresi.
Death
al-Sabziwari passed away in the late hours of Monday, August 16th, 1993, in Najaf. According to London-based researcher, Dr. Sahib al-Hakim, al-Sabziwari was killed by poisoning, at the hands of the Bathist regime. Due to the Bathist restrictions, al-Sabziwari's funeral was only attended by his family, and he was buried in the mosque that he taught in, which is known today as al-Sabziwari Mosque, in the al-Huwaysh mahala in Najaf.
Works
al-Sabziwari wrote on various topics, mostly Islamic jurisprudence and philosophy. His works include:
Mawahib al-Rahman Fi Tafsir al-Qur'an : 30 volumes. It is reported that al-Sabziwari, once saw Muhammad in his dream, and he gave him a Quran, and said "Here, take the talents of the merciful." and so al-Sabziwari decided to use that alleged description as the title of his book.
Muhadhab al-Ahkam Fi Bayan al-Halal wa al-Haram: 30 volumes
Tahthib al-Usul : 2 volumes
Lubab al-Ma'arif: 2 volumes
Ifadat al-Bari Fi Naqd Ma Allafahu al-Hakim al-Sabziwari
