Marja

Marja (Arabic/Persian: مرجع), also appearing as Marja Taqlid or Marja Dini (Arabic/Persian: مرجع تقليد / مرجع ديني), literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference". It is the label provided to Shia authority, a "Grand Ayatollah" with the authority to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and less-credentialed clerics. After the Qur'an and the Prophets and Imams, "marjas" are the highest authority on religious laws in Usuli Twelver Shia Islam.

Title

Currently, "marjas" are accorded the title "Grand Ayatollah" (Arabic/Persian: آية ‌الله العظمی "Ayatollah al-Uzma"), however when referring to one, the use of "Ayatollah" is acceptable. Previously, the titles of Allamah [such as Allameh Tabatabaei, Allameh Majlesi, Allameh Hilli] and Imam [such as Imam Khomeini, Imam Rohani [http://imamrohani.com imamrohani.com] , Imam Shirazi [http://imamshirazi.shirazi.ir/ imamshirazi.shirazi.ir] and Imam Sadr [http://www.imamsadr.net imamsadr.net] ] have also been used.

Authority of marjas

This "marja'yiat" of an Ayatollah transpires when he becomes a celebrated figure in the "hawzas" and his students and followers trust him in answering their questions, and ask him to publish his juristic book - in which he answers the vast majority of daily Muslim affairs. This book is called "Resalah" and contains his "fatwas" on different topics, according to his knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life. Traditionally only the most renowned Ayatollahs of the given time published "Resalah", while today many Ayatollahs of various illustriousness have published this book, but some of the renowned ones have refused to do so.

Where a difference in opinion exists between the "marjas", each of them provide their own opinion and the "Muqallid" will follow his/her own "marja's" opinion on that subject. http://www.m-narjes.org/maaref/ahkam/tafkik/ahkam8.htm "FAQ on Marjas - in Persian"]

Several senior Grand Ayatollahs constitute the "hawza", a religious institution. The "hawzas" of Qom and Najaf are preeminent seminary centers for the training of Shia clergymen. However, there are other smaller "hawzas" in other cities around the world, such as Karbala in Iraq and Mashhad, and Isfahan in Iran.

Difference of Opinion between Marjas

Some say that having different "marjas" may cause certain problems in Shia Islam. They argue some "marjas" might have a liberal view on a subject such as music, while others may be restrictive and have conservative "fatwas" on music. This situation has raised certain difficulties in running a "velayat-faqih" system in Iran, where the "fatwas" of the Supreme Leader is usually given precedence to others. "(See: The situation in Iran)"

However others argue that although it might seem that difference of opinion among "marjas" would be a source of contention, almost all "marjas" agree on vast majority of the rulings. There are very few rulings on which marjas differ, and even then they are quite similar to each other. For example, one "marja" might declare something to be "wajib" (obligatory), whereas another might consider it "mustahab" (recommended). However, it is never the case when one marja considers something "wajib", whereas another considers it "haram" (forbidden).

Most critics agree that a marja is essential in preventing sectarianism and other differences in belief from creating conflict. Whereas differences in the beliefs of various mollanahs have historically created conflict; the marja system aids in maintaining unity in a land and preventing individuals from dividing the ummah.

ee also

*List of marjas
*Risalah (fiqh)
*Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom
*Hawza

References

External links

* [http://slate.msn.com/id/2098364/ Slate Magazine's "So you want to be an Ayatollah"] , explaining how Shiite clerics earn the title